#creation and destruction; a god that brings both good things and bad things to men | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dailytatsu · 3 years

Note

Hello! I love your writing and I recently saw a post of yours about the reader being the God Of Chaos and I was wondering if you could make a part two with characters of your choice, if it’s not that much of a trouble! Remember to drink water and rest well <3

Tysm! I’m really happy to see that a lot of you enjoyed it, and being honest, chaos reader now have a special place in my heart lol

Then let’s write a second part! Hope everyone likes these as well! ( ✌︎'. ')✌︎

Thanks for the request!✨

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

[II - HC] God of Chaos! Reader & Genshin Characters

Characters: Bennett, Tartaglia, Scaramouche, Ganyu, Chongyun

Gn! Reader

Sorry for any mistakes!

Request are open!

Genshin Masterlist

<- First part

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

BENNETT

First of all, how dare u

This boy already has a chaotic life for you to arrive and making it worse.

But being honest, it wasn’t intentional, just like always.

Besides he’s a kid. The chaos of a kid + chaos of his bad luck, I mean- how were you not supposed to meet him?

That day was really strange, for the very first time the chaos wasn’t attracted by you, but you were attracted to chaos. Like a moth following a lantern on the street, something that you felt like you had to do, some kind of childish curiosity that guide your way to find Bennett in the middle of his adventure.

Poor boy was charging his pyro attack to max until a barrel exploded near him, he flew in the air waiting for a rough landing before his trajectory sent him where you were standing, still looking for the origin of that uneasy sensation of curiosity.

Luckily for him you could see his shadow just in time to react. You looked up because of the strange silhouette on the ground next to you and there he was, surrounded by a cloud of smoke and fire, with his screams getting louder and louder as he falls.

You trapped him in your arms, with the situation turning even more strange when the first thing he said was “nice catch!” with the bright smile of his.

Like if his hair on fire wasn’t a big deal.

It’s raining men ig

Before you could ask anything, a crowd of angry hilichurls appeared from the same direction where Bennett came at first.

The white haired boy jumped off from your arms and tried to grasp your hand to run away together, but instead you pulled him near and then behind you before rising your hand to the front, pointing the stampede of furious creatures about to reach you both.

Not even a leaf fell from a tree before the hilichurls stopped, all of them felt your presence immediately, the primitive sensation of danger that meant a silent threat. Following the message that another camp of them told long ago, ‘get away from that stranger’.

Bennett was surprised, kind of scared at least. He wasn’t sure about how to call that feeling.

Are you a beast tamer?! Maybe an adventurer that discovered a secret about hilichurl’s behavior! Wait- where are you going? Don’t leave him behind, the doubt won’t let him sleep tonight!

You explained to him that it was dangerous for both to be near each other (more dangerous for him than for you), still you needed to get away. To protect Bennett and the other adventurers that were exploring nearby.

But why? He was so excited about meeting someone who could react that fast and precise! Like the heroes in the legends!

Please show him your ways, he’s begging you, how can you be rude to Bennett? That literally illegal.

When he heard that there was a God of Chaos exploring all over Teyvat like an errant he connected two points (even if there wasn’t a single thing to connect in first place).

You’re like him!

Hello ?? You’re literally ?? the most qualified to be part of Benny’s Adventure Team ??

Negative plus negative is positive, isn’t it? Maybe if you roam near Bennett his bad luck can collide with your chaos to neutralize each other!

You told him that you were leaving after that short conversation, but in reality you just hide from his sights and followed him from behind.

That kid really put you on your nerves, running into danger without knowing. Was that what Zhongli have to deal with every time you visit Liyue?

The old man really deserves an apology.

You’re not doing this an habit, of course not! You’re the all mighty God of Chaos, the ultimate troublemaker! How was even possible to think about wanting to protect a human just because he has bad luck? That’s ridic-

“Watch out!” You had to abandoned your hiding spot to reach Bennett again, pulling him away from the place where a bunch of hunter’s traps were. “Barbatos, why all your children have to be like this?…” You whispered for yourself, actually waiting for a answer, maybe a little too much because you didn’t free Bennett. His feet were just barely touching the ground.

“Oh, it’s you! Hello again!”

Enough of babysitting, that’s it, both of you are heading back to Mondstadt. This boy is a danger for himself, who allowed him to be an adventurer in first place?

After abandoned him in front of the city’s bridge you turn back to the forest, believing that it was the end, even if in the process your chaos took the life of some pigeons nearby.

Next morning you were sleeping peacefully on the branches of a huge old tree, feeling the wind of your bard friend greeting you from the distance.

Then a storm started out of nowhere; your fault.

And almost immediately you heard a cheerful voice below you, calling your name like a lost child searching for their parents.

As Bennett climbs the tree to talk with you a lightning strikes near enough to make both of you jump because of the surprise, falling from the branch and meeting each other on the mud below.

“Sorry, my bad.” Bennett and you said at the same time, to later laugh because of that.

It seems that both are more alike than you would expect

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

TARTAGLIA

How do I explain that this guy already knew about you-

As you may suspect, yes, his only reason of wanting to meet you was to fight you.

The first step for taking the thrones of gods is beating one of the youngest, isn’t it? It would be a good start, and you’d be also one of the best opponents he ever fought! The only thing still needed was a way to make you accept his challenge.

Tartaglia’s first try was by attacking you without hesitation, not even a warning, just shooting an arrow for behind and waiting for you to counter. And yes, that didn’t go as planned, the rope of his bow snapped even before aiming.

It wouldn’t be that easy, the distance is always boring for a fight, why not just attacking directly?

Because you learned from Morax that you must not hurt mortals; the reason of your trip was for appreciate the human’s life, to understand why you exist, to have a reason to not end with everything that crosses your path.

To convince yourself that you’re not only destruction.

But it was hard to stay calm if he constantly provokes you to fight back. Always dodging, always running away, always breaking his weapons.

Barely holding yourself to not to break his Vision at this point.

Dodging one of his attacks again you ended up on top of a nearby structure by the side of the road, watching him from above and begging for him to stop for once.

Tartaglia clicked his tongue in annoyance, you would escape again. He was as sick as you of that senseless hunt. Maybe was the stress what impede him to think wisely, because his next strategy was like a death wish.

The water blades disappeared from his hands and, for the first time, he had a casual talk with you. Smiling and waving his hands to look relaxed.

Then he mentioned the incident with Osial, a event that almost became a tragedy. And the only reason you knew about that was because Morax told you about it, about his contract and the reason why he left his position as an Archon the next time you visited him.

It was your fault, isn’t it?

“… what?”

"As you heard! The conditions for summoning Osial was ideal, bringing back a sealed god filled with hatred and hungry for destruction couldn't have been possible if you hadn't been around Liyue that day.” His hand lifted to pointing at you, also smiling as your expression turned into a concerned one. “Oh, our God of Chaos, you were successfully satiated as the catastrophe filled the ocean! Bring us back the destruction, because it's the only thing you ever knew!”

He was obviously just mocking you, but still Tartaglia managed to actually make you think about it.

Your fault. Your chaos.

And even with that, Rex Lapis didn’t seal you or tried to eradicated you like the burden that you are for every nation.

It’s just a matter of time before you destroy all humane existence when you get bored of your fantasy of not being a spirit of chaos.

An infinity of negative and dark thoughts began to fill your mind.

It was sad, it was so sad that the erosion already began to have an effect on you being so young. You were afraid, you were concerned, the stress ate you inside while you tried to convince yourself that it wasn’t like he said.

Your mind collapsed, and you left the wrath take the control for the first time in centuries.

A fight? That’s all he wanted? Easy, that’s easy, just kill him and everything will end. His annoying voice won’t torment you ever again, his words won’t hurt ever again.

It’s easy, so easy. Mortal life is so easy to end.

He’ll defeat the gods, he’ll take their thrones and will witness the world’s end in the final battle he planned since his first encounter with the traveler.

But that day Tartaglia noticed the difference between your strength, it wasn’t huge, neither significant enough. But you were stronger, and it’s well known that wrath and despair can provide extra energy when it’s needed.

The perception of time disappeared, the world did too. Nature, men creation, everything will succumb against chaos, existence itself will be reduce to ashes.

That’s why you exist, to make sure there’s not too much heroes trying to make the nations a boring place. You just need to accept it!

But…

‘There’s no other way?’

The question sparkle inside your mind, bringing you back out of nowhere. There’s a lot of irregularities in the ground nearby, the land was broke for something that impacted with an inhuman strength, even the structure where you step on top was gone, just the remain of a building was left.

And your hands were holding something bland and soft, the warm sensation on your palms and the strange movements caught your attention to look down. Your hands were strangling Tartaglia.

From the other side his hands were trying to remove yours, his strength was minimal, not even able of closing his fingers around your wrist.

A expression full of pain and regretting of his decisions, question by question filling his mind while the air became harder to get.

A broken bow, his Vision has been thrown away. Now it was a human versus a god.

You took a step back, afraid of what you were about to do. You have to stay calm and quiet forever? To prevent catastrophe, to bring peace to mortals? Who’s the one you have to blame for creating you? How you could think that coexisting with humans was possible? Even if you say that you don’t want to make any problems you would stay near them.

“Just… leave me alone.”

Was the last thing you said, a whisper that wanted to apologize for a whole eternity, a regret that couldn’t be forgot. And then you left that place, escaping one last time.

But wait for him, Tartaglia thought, he didn’t need your compassion.

Sooner or later he would have his revenge.

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

SCARAMOUCHE

Finally! With Shogun Raiden’s gnosis on his possession and the all mighty hero of Mondstadt weakened there’s no way things can go wrong for him!

A little delay in his plans, but still a smile remained on his face. Kunikuzushi couldn’t wish for anything else right now.

But you already know what is going to happen next.

In this world exist Murphy’s Law?, because anything that could go wrong went wrong after he claim for victory. Even being far away of the factory it seemed that the karma reached him immediately.

He just got his guard down for a couple seconds, and then, whoshh. Now you see it, now you don’t. The gnosis disappeared from his pocket, not here, not there. The annoyance filled his chest and then a irritated growl came from his throat.

What in the world happened?

Scaramouche looked to a huge tree in front of him, and there you were. On your favorite place to sit, above from everyone else in a branch. Holding the gnosis as the board piece it looks like, playing throwing it up a little and then catching it again and again.

Who you think you are to act that carefree on his presence? If you wanted to die so bad then you could just have asked for it.

Even if he called you and made a question first you counter it with another one, what was he doing with that thing?

You were sick of those who defy the gods thanks to his ‘workmate’.

Scaramouche ordered you to give him the gnosis back, threats and insults came out from his mouth as a distraction; in reality, he was just ready to set the first hit from behind.

But something made him stop just in time when you talked again.

“I don’t care what you are planning, but if it involves the ones who I’m in debt with, you will surely fail.”

“Another clairvoyant? Hah, your type are more words than an actual subject matter, but I have to admit it, they’re also very skill to escape.”

“It was a warning.” You said, throwing again the gnosis, this time to his direction.

Scaramouche reacted in time to rise his arms but in midair something caught the chess-like piece before his fingers. Surprising him again and making the irritation event more unbearable.

It was a tanuki. The same that looked behind a second before running even deeper in the forest.

The chaos isn’t necessary a huge disaster; a little accident, an inconvenient, a failure, it depends time and place to be considered like a catastrophe.

Scaramouche had a killer gaze just for you in his face, in respond you smiled at him, then covered your mouth with both hands to fake surprise.

“What a shame! Better luck next time, gods defier.” Your laugh could be heard all over the woods, like a spectral echo that chased him his way to get back the gnosis.

He got it back after a few minutes of a stressful walk through the forest, found the tanuki dancing on a stone before disappearing again. When he got closer he found that piece, making sure it was the real one and not just another trick.

The following days he received endless reports of Fatui soldiers and entire camps being reduced to rubble aside lost or destroyed materials; it was a higher level sabotage done by who they said was someone of relatively young appearance in strange clothes, the one that enjoyed staring at them until something goes wrong.

Nobody could defeat them, not even get closer. And with that, Scaramouche knew they were talking about you.

Was that what you meant with “warning”? Who are you exactly? Not even holding a Vision, how could you… ?

A quick order was enough to deliver him a book full of ancient legends, part of the Fatui private collection. Texts that were lost and the world had forgotten, his only hope was that you weren't exactly mortal, and if that was the case they could take advantage of your nature.

Hah, he found you.

God of Chaos, a body sculptured by the blood and bodies of the ones who died in middle of the wars. At first they were just a being full of anger and affinity for taking the life of every living being on earth, until the same hand that created them gave them a human heart of their own. Made without any prior basis, without being the remains of the deceased. Something one of a kind, the mortal heart of a god.

When human emotions filled the vessel they were released into the world, to mourn over the spilled blood and to know how everything of their existence originates. Born from the red that stained the fields and being the bud that seemed withered, the same that now has the deepest roots ever found.

Hmm, that brings back some memories…

But hey, that vital energy could be useful.

Don’t be surprised if one day you wake up chained and feeling dizzy as Scaramouche drains your life. You know what? Just wait for it! Running away as you did with that idiot won’t work this time.

Every possibility can be foreseen, every inconvenience can be solved. And if you think that you’re an exception then you’re stupider than you look.

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

GANYU

Bold of you assume that Zhongli didn’t introduce you to everyone the first time you travel to Liyue.

The difference between your meeting was that it had to be really short. Ganyu is always busy so you couldn’t know her better before her duty called for her again.

Obviously you heard a lot of stories of her childhood thanks to Cloud Retainer. The day she knew about it Ganyu avoided you, next week she apologized with you about it. It was very rude, please pardon her.

Such a big sister vibes ngl

An Adeptus working that hard to human’s matters. It was so cool to follow her from a significant distance to see how was her routine.

If you could only live that peacefully near humans without causing any problem! What a dream! The envy was killing you.

Ganyu didn’t mind about you stalking her, the feeling of a companion was always present and she also knew that you had to keep some distance from everybody to not cause any accident. She appreciated your consideration.

Until a soldier from the millelith arrested you for harassment, wait- you’re innocent! Don’t get closer, hold on! Hold on!

The handcuffs broke almost immediately, though.

When Ganyu resolved the misunderstanding she hold your hands to apologize again, it had to be really stressful to be aware of any chaos you could create accidentally.

What if you… wait for her on the surroundings of the city?

Please, she have a lot of work, don’t interrupt her, she’s begging you.

Ganyu thought you heard her request, but she knew that you were just hiding when a window opened out of nowhere and a lot of documents flew away in the room.

You appeared hanging upside down from the other side of the window, jumped down and entered to pick up the documents. You hand her over all the pages and then you leave through the space on the wall.

“… I’ll be in Huaguang Stone Forest… ”

“Thank you.”

Even though you both agreed that you would return to the stone forest, she couldn't help but feel guilty as the hours passed, did you feel like a nuisance? Maybe she should apologize. Again.

When another successful day at work ended, she realized that repeating the same words over and over was not the best way to show her regret. That’s why a better idea formed in his head as she approached the abode of the rest of Adeptus.

Ganyu found you being scolded by Mountain Shaper for unintentionally releasing the trespassing intruders along with other creatures from their amber prisons.

After rescuing you again, she was able to propose her idea to you. With a calm and charming voice she asked you if you would like to learn about Liyue's traditions from the human perspective.

Sure, Zhongli could tell you about the beginning of traditions and festivities, but the way to celebrate them and pay tribute to the Adeptus was something that only a person who had lived among mortals for years could explain to you.

Your eyes shone in gratitude but no words really came out of your lips, kind of embarrassed you said some nonsensical things and then another amber cracked when you brushed its surface.

Mountain Shaper kicked you out without thinking twice.

But hey! The next day your classes on Culture from the Mortal Perspective began! A quick but calm walk through Liyue that got spread when a bunch of kids recognized you.

How could they not remember the person who plays with them every time they get a chance?

Ganyu sat by the side of the road on an empty bench, watching you scamper the children who seemed happy at your mere presence. Like the occasional accidents of a child, the curious and outlandish nature cannot be controlled, only accepted.

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

CHONGYUN

Don’t move! The future best exorcist in the world, Chongyun, will put an end to your legacy of misdeeds and pranks! No evil specter that causes bad luck will survive to-!

Just by lightly tapping with your fingertips you were able to break the seal of the talismans that surrounded you out of nowhere. Pushing back the boy who was convinced that he had beaten his yang.

how dare u interrupt him.

Another of Xingqiu’s pranks? Isn’t this going a little to far? He hadn’t learn about not believing everything his friend says smh.

Let’s just mess with him a little.

‘Measure your words, human. In the presence of the God of Chaos, the first thought that should run through your mortal instinct is to beg for your life, since those who dare to defy them will be punished and displayed as a trophy in the infinity of the abyss from which the catastrophe came out.’

You took a few steps closer to him, while Chongyun kept backing away. The scene was so dramatic that you had to stop when the boy summoned his sword.

Haha jk, nice to meet u.

It's nice to know that there are still such dedicated exorcists out there.

But wait-, so you're not an evil spirit? A God? Why is there a god causing accidents all over Liyue!? That makes no sense! If you think you can deceive him by pretending to be a deity then he shall punish you severely for disrespecting them!

After a detailed explanation of your identity, Chongyun's mood plummeted again due to another failure as an exorcist.

He sat silently on a rock and remained silent, his expression showed so well his disappointed that it made you feel like it was your fault.

Ohno, a sad human child, your weakness-

At the end you sat next to him to listen to what he had to say.

Did he really want to see a spirit so badly? Those things are horrible, wearing strange clothes and yelling all the time, buagh! The thought of it gives you chills. But there's nothing you can do, after all they are drawn to your chaos.

When you finished talking so indifferently about what you lived through from day to day, you looked back at Chongyun, finding his expressive eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief.

Are you a magnet of evil? Chaos and destruction? Demons and spirits alike appear wherever you go?

Then you stopped him, it wasn't something to take so lightly; there’s also the chaos of the butterfly effect, natural disasters, unforeseen events, influencing the mood of evil people, losing your favorite pair of socks-

But you attract spirits, right!? You have to help him! How can you say ‘no’ to that face?

The next day he took you to one of his commissions as an exorcist, a house that had numerous reports from its previous tenants. He stayed outside and asked you to come in first, obviously you refused, if your chaos broke something inside you would have more problems besides the ghosts of the house.

He insisted a little more, it worked. Now you were waiting to feel the presence of some spirit trying to attack you. You could feel it, their energy was spread throughout the building, but still there was no movement. Neither hostility, neither terror, just the presence of a soul.

When it was Chongyun's turn to enter you explained this to him, his yang was also easy to perceive, you could describe it as a blizzard in the middle of the storm. But despite this, that presence didn’t react to his energy, nothing changed.

Then you understand it, your energies neutralized each other. Your chaos and his yang ended in a stalemate that went nowhere.

“I was really hoping to see an actual spirit and not only stay still in the middle of the entrance… “

“Well, I can still curse you. Want to try?” Chongyun crossed his arms, annoyed for your jokes.

“Maybe I should exorcize you instead… ”

“Ohh, so the little exorcist wants a deity to be his personal dummy? Let’s make a pact then. Promise me your soul.”

“I-I thought you said you weren’t actually a demon!”

When you stroked his hair he couldn't help but think about how much he still had to learn, so much so that even the gods were taking pity on him.

316 notes · View notes

hamliet · 4 years

Text

Metals and Heavenly Bodies: Why There Is So Much Metal in RWBY

So, why is RWBY so metal?

RWBY uses metallic symbolism to explore the alchemical process (the refinement of metal into gold via the creation of the philosopher’s stone). Alchemy has seven metals that are ordered in terms of refinement: three base metals, one that is the most refined of base metals, and three refined metals. RWBY has been associating each metal with certain characters. It’s also been giving these characters their ultimate focus in the precise order of refinement.

Metals in alchemy are also associated with heavenly bodies, or planets (well, plus the sun and moon, because we’re dealing with ancient astronomy here). The planets, of course, are named after Roman gods, so they too can be associated with the metals, and RWBY directly correlates them.

NB: It’s very valid to critique tropes and subtext. This isn’t intended to invalidate any criticism but rather to offer a symbolic reading of the metal motif.

So, let’s dive in.

Base Metals:

Lead-Saturn

Associated characters: Qrow Branwen, Ruby Rose, Mercury Black

While I can’t think of any specific reference to lead in RWBY, there are a ton of references to the mythical Saturn.

Saturn's father (Uranus) was a piece of work who hated Saturn’s mother and so took his son (and other children) and imprisoned them in a cave so that they could never see the sunlight. Saturn’s mother eventually persuaded Saturn to take a sickle and castrate his father. He then wasn’t a particularly great dad himself, becoming more like his father than not.

In alchemy in particular, we have images of Saturn with a prosthetic leg (see: above). This is where Mercury begins his arc. He’s abused by his father, who steals his semblance and refuses to allow Mercury to be his own person (effectively rendering him a prisoner). So, Mercury kills him, and then is taken in by Cinder and Emerald to be an assassin for them, an assassin just like his father. You can see the parallels.

Saturn’s sickle is also often drawn as a scythe, which Death holds in the above image. A scythe is of course the weapon used by Ruby and by Qrow--specifically, Qrow is the person Ruby imitates and admires. But we know (and Ruby now does to) that Qrow is a flawed human himself; Ruby is better of becoming her own person rather than continuing to stay like her father-figure in Qrow (her own dad is great, but that doesn’t mean Qrow isn’t also a dad figure to her!)

Qrow, of course, is self-destructive, believing his semblance is to bring bad luck wherever he goes. His name is “crow,” the bird symbolizing the first (black) stage of death and rotting in alchemy. His own upbringing can also be compared to Saturn’s.

But, you see, Saturn isn’t actually a sign of doom and death. It is one of the symbols of the prima materia, the lead to be transformed into gold by the end of the alchemical process. It shows where the characters can grow, and indeed all three of them are along their path towards growing.

Tin-Jupiter

Associated character(s): James Ironwood (maybe Weiss Schnee)

Well, I’m actually going to talk more about Ironwood and his arc in the next section. But in Ozpin’s circle, in which characters are based on The Wizard of Oz (a blatantly alchemical story), we have Qrow as the scarecrow, Lionheart as the Cowardly Lion, and Ironwood as the tin man. Jupiter is also associated with the Sublimation stage in the process of alchemy, which is where we are now.

In case we didn’t get the allusion, RWBY has helpfully placed artwork of tin men on the walls in the background of Weiss’s room this season.

I’m aware that this screenshot isn’t from this season but it gets the point across. I also feel tin might well have an association with Weiss and where she was at in her arc after the fall of Beacon.

Additionally, Jupiter is actually Saturn’s son in mythology, and is saved from being eaten by his father (look Saturn really wasn’t awesome). He returns to force his father to regurgitate his siblings, and Jupiter and his rescued siblings (yes they were still alive; it’s mythology) fight to dethrone their father. They succeed with the use of lightning, among other things. Saturn was then imprisoned in tartarus. You can see the parallels.

Do note that the glowing sun above the head of the tin man on Weiss’s wall, showing Weiss is destined to become refined like gold. The golden sun is in sharp contrast to Ironwood’s allusion to the Dark Sun, but there’s a lot more to say about Ironwood in the Iron section.

Iron-Mars

Associated characters: James Ironwood, Marcus Black, Mercury Black

First, let’s continue with Ironwood. I’ve noted before that iron is associated with war:

Iron in particular is ruled by Mars, the god of war, meaning it is associated with violence. It’s not a coincidence that pretty much from the second Ironwood is introduced, the concept of war comes up, and his entire character has gone on to be the embodiment of the military and violence.

In addition to seeing himself as a sort of be-all-end-all Jupiter figure, Ironwood of course is always expecting war. His arc is one of reverse alchemy, which is a thing. It means that instead of becoming refined, he’s corroding from Iron to Tin. I don’t see good things for him.

Mars in mythology also becomes obsessed with Venus, which... you’ll have to read the next section for that ;)

Marcus Black, of course, is an assassin, hence it makes sense that his name literally means “dedicated to Mars.” Mercury (our Mercury) becomes more like him in taking over his role as an assassin. He’s so broken from his father’s abuse that he refuses to become his own person and just falls into his father’s role. It’s tragic.

So is Mercury’s arc reverse alchemy? No, I don’t think so. There’s more (of course) later on, but if we look at the stages of his development, we see he has moved from Lead to Iron. It’s progress. His leg is a focus for the early arcs of the story (he uses it, along with Emerald’s semblance, to trick everyone into turning against Yang), and only later did we learn his history with his father. Even if the events of course did not happen in succession, the story revealed the allusions one after each other. He’s also made progress in that he’s clearly emotionally attached to Emerald even if he pretends otherwise. Also... (see below)

The Most Perfectable Base Metal:

Copper-Venus

Associated character: Penny Polendina

As I also mentioned previously, Penny’s name references copper (a “copper penny”). The Summa Perfectionis, a thirteenth century alchemical text, calls copper “the most perfectable of base metals.”

Venus in alchemical imagery is almost always wearing (or surrounded by, since she’s also often, well, not wearing anything) green.

Green is in alchemy the color of the prima materia, the raw, immature material that will eventually be refined into gold, because green is of course symbolic of the earth, fertility, growth, etc.

As I wrote previously, in mythology Mars had a thing for Venus. I’m certainly not suggesting Ironwood has a thing for Penny in a romantic/sexual sense, but he does seek to control her, and like the Mars of myth, his pursuit of Penny/Venus leads to his humiliation (the Mars of myth gets caught in a trap--no literally a net--by Venus’s angry husband).

In contrast to Ironwood, Penny, who is originally made entirely of metal, becomes human, while Ironwood becomes more metal--not necessarily literally, but in his spirit. He’s lost his humanity, or rather, gave it away, while Penny found hers. It makes sense to me that a story with spiritual alchemy at its core (which focuses in the Jungian sense on individuation/self-actualization, or fully coming into an understanding of the self) would have Penny literally transform into what she has always been: a final product, a real girl, the philosopher’s stone.

Refined Metals:

Now these are going to be a bit more predictive. The allusions are clearly there, but how exactly those will play out I don’t know because if we look at these metals as steps in the process, we’re not quite there yet.

Mercury-Mercury

Associated character(s): Mercury Black, (maybe Emerald Sustrai)

I think the name says it all.

Kidding. Mercury as a metal is also known as argentvive or quicksilver. It, along with sulphur, form the basis of the alchemical process. They must be united to achieve the Philosopher’s Stone (it’s one of the reasons I am wondering if we’re going to get an important, Mercury-related event in a place named for sulphur or its other name, brimstone, in Vacuo; all the places we know of in Vacuo are named after types of stones including several that are sulfuric in nature). Mercury himself unites the two principles of the work, sun and moon (for who those are, read below). Mercury is the metal from which all other metals come from--he’s way more important to this story than we’ve seen yet. Most likely, he will eventually turn on Salem as well, and in a pivotal moment.

As a god, Mercurius is the author of alchemy. He’s the mythical author of the Emerald Tablet (which Emerald’s name alludes to; I actually don’t personally think Emerald alludes very much to Aladdin. Instead, I think her allusion is the Emerald Tablet and her Egyptian design is based on Thoth, Mercury’s Egyptian counterpart). Mercury is the spirit that gives life.

Lyndy Abraham notes that Mercury is “both destructive and creative” (oh look at the relics of Atlas and Vacuo) and that “the elusive, duplicitous Mercurius who consorts with the devil is at the same time a redeeming psychopomp” (”psychopomp” means spiritual guide) “The fact that he can freely participate in both light and dark worlds without taint makes Mercurius the perfect mediating bridge.” Jung calls Mercury “a symbol uniting all the opposites.” So yeah, Mercury should have a redemption arc that will probably be pivotal in the story.

If we follow the self-actualization endgame of spiritual alchemy, with true life and wisdom as the metaphorical philosopher’s stone here, I think it’s likely Mercury becomes more himself--going from being Lead to Iron (as he’s clearly spiraling right now, but also has a connection to Emerald) to Mercury. I would also suspect he’d get his semblance back to establish that he’s his “own person” (a major recurring theme of RWBY), and while, like with Yang and her arm, I don’t think he’ll get new legs, I think it’s pretty likely his semblance will enable him to fly (since mythical Mercury, you know, flies).

Silver-Moon

Associated character(s): Ruby Rose (also Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Oscar Pine, Jaune Arc, and Summer Rose).

The most important character here is Ruby, obviously. She’s our MC and titular character! But Weiss, Jaune, Blake, Summer, and Oscar are all addressed here. But I think it’s obvious that Ruby’s defining trait is her silver eyes. They got her noticed by Ozpin and sent to Beacon early, they’re the reason Salem is targeting her, they’re what could destroy her (turning into a Grimm) or save the world (what’s going to happen). Silver is noted to be “pure” which is what other characters constantly comment Ruby is.

Gold-Sun

Associated character(s): Oscar Pine (also Sun Wukong, Yang Xiao Long, Tai Xiao Long, Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos, and maybe Jaune Arc)

The most important/obvious character here is Oscar. Oscar’s first name is a shade of gold and a type of fish that is most often brown or gold. He’s facing a similar dilemma to Ruby: the threat of merging forever with Ozpin (which clearly won’t happen; he needs to be his own person, as Ruby said).

Both Ruby’s and Oscar’s individualizations are somehow instrumental to defeating Salem.

#rwby #rwby meta #rwby vol 8 #oscar pine #mercury black #emerald sustrai #rwby theory #alchemy #james ironwood #weiss schnee #penny polendina #qrow branwen #ruby rose #ozpin #rwby volume eight

145 notes · View notes

giorno-plays-piano · 4 years

Text

The Void

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x mutant!Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, HYDRA’s experiments, brief mention of suicidal thoughts, captivity, home invasion, stalking, kidnapping.

Words: 2381.

Summary: Once an ordinary human, you keep running away from both HYDRA and Avengers, knowing what your powers will be used for. The problem is the Soldat picking up your trail.

P.S. The reader is somewhat dark-ish in this one.

________________

Carefully slipping inside the laundry room through a broken window, you landed on the cold concrete floor and shivered, hoping you could find a really warm blanket somewhere upstairs.

Although you still felt a bit ashamed breaking in the houses of other people like that, at this point it was the one and only alternative you had. Of course, there was always an option to submit to HYDRA or whoever else was hunting you down, but you didn’t really appreciated it, simply trying to stay away from both heroes and villains since to you they were all the same. You knew perfectly well once somebody captured you they’d be using you for murdering other people.

Thankfully, laundry room wasn’t locked, and you started wandering the house, peeping into each and every room. Watching photos of the family the house belonged to, you felt guilty again. These people weren’t at fault you were homeless and chased out from every damn place on the Earth, but you still took what was theirs just because you could find no other way to live. Well, at least you tried to leave the place as it had been prior to your break-in, except a broken window in the laundry room and canned beans you’d eat.

God, you could kill for a bowl of homemade chicken soup. You barely remembered eating it before HYDRA captured you a few years ago. Of course, they didn’t try to starve you there, but you couldn’t call what they’d been giving you real food either. Thinking of your cell and those meals made you squeeze your eyes shut and take a deep breath. Everywhere was better than there, so you needed to put your shit together and take whatever fate offered you.

It was getting late, and you glanced at the tiny window in the basement, wrapped in a big grey comforter you brought from upstairs. You never slept in the rooms of other people, not knowing when the rightful owners of the houses you broke in could come back. Generally, you didn’t have problems with people, either escaping before their return or finding your way out secretly without them knowing somebody was hiding in their basement. However, sometimes you had a feeling people hunting you were coming close, and you didn’t risk getting too comfortable. Today was one of those days, and you bit down on your lower lip. These ones were probably not HYDRA operatives - they’d never risk attacking you at night when your powers were at peak. Nevertheless, it didn’t mean whoever was coming for you was harmless. You had to be prepared.

That’s it. Somebody was approaching, you could feel it in your bones. It was probably the one and only thing you were grateful to HYDRA - you were nearly invincible in the dark.

Silently leaving the comforter on the floor near an empty can, you got up, moving to stand near the wall behind the door, hardened black mass blocking tiny windows and leaving the intruder only one way to get in. You hoped they weren’t bringing explosives as you still had a hard time compressing the darkness around them - a month ago it resulted in some serious damage done to the house where you were hiding.

But this time was different: there was only one man who came for you, A strange man, though. He had a metal arm, and his body… It was something you had never felt before. The man was like that Duracell bunny they showed in TV ad, enhanced to the point he was barely human, probably.

But he was still just a man, now all alone with a monster like you.

When he entered quietly, leaving the door barely open, you blew it off its hinges. You had very little patience - now you would have to have a sleepless night, trying to find a new hideout as far as you could from this place and hoping HYDRA wouldn’t track you down. Its operatives were way more creative in their attempts to catch you: that mirror box trapping light nearly killed you last time.

Wrapping your fists into black mass like boxing gloves, you punched the man, but he quickly moved away, apparently, more skilled in combat than you were. Well, whatever, you thought as the darkness disintegrated on top of your skin, and then the intruder got a direct blow to his stomach without you getting near him. Coming to you at night was a suicide.

You kept beating him down until he dropped to the cold floor of the basement, beads of sweat and blood shining on his skin as you pinned him down, completely unharmed. You did your best to avoid the vital organs, but it was probably unnecessary - you could literally feel the soldier regenerating while he laid down, staring at the ceiling. Was he HYDRA’s creation just like you were? Or did good guys make beasts like him, too?

“I won’t do anything to you,” you told him, coming closer to look into his surprisingly handsome face, “but I’ll kill whoever you send to catch me next.”

“HYDRA’s… coming after you.” The soldier muttered, coughing and wincing from pain as you towered above him.

“You or them, doesn’t matter much.”

A part of you felt remorse for beating the stranger so bad he couldn’t rip the restraints holding him down despite his enormous strength, but the other part made you remember you were the victim, not him. The only thing you ever wanted was living like a human being, not a lab rat or a weapon of mass destruction used by whoever hold you hostage.

Besides, if this guy didn’t know the nature of your powers before attacking you, now he certainly did. It was unwise to let him live - he would definitely let his masters know - but you couldn’t force yourself to end him. Killing wasn’t nice. You had never enjoyed it.

“Avengers can protect you.”

What? Did the man work for them, then? You smirked, shaking you head.

“Avengers can’t protect themselves. Now please be quiet and let me leave. We’re done for today.” Turning your back at him, you went to grab your backpack and then put a few cans in it to continue your journey, tired and upset you couldn’t rest despite travelling all day long.

“I can help you.”

You abruptly turned to face him still chained to the floor and clenched your teeth. This was what HYDRA’s men were telling you year after year. Helping you, that what they were doing.

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m going to plant spikes right through your tongue.” You hissed at him, going back and watching him with his pretty mouth finally shut. “If you wanna play a hero so much, go wipe HYDRA out and forget I’ve ever existed.”

The soldier stayed silent, and you exhaled angrily, marching through the basement to the stairs and quickly going up. God knew how many people could be waiting for you outside of the house - Avengers were usually gathering together on the missions, even you knew that from occasionally seeing them in the news.

Shit, it was going to be a long night.

________________________

One more month was gone as you continued to run and hide like the world’s top criminal, chased out of many cities where you could find peace for at least a couple of days. Now it was mostly one-night sleepovers anywhere you could find. You finally understood what being a mad dog meant - sometimes you thought you could kill for those canned beans you hated so much before.

Slowly, but surely you were running out of options where to hide. The only place now was the forest surrounding that little town where you relocated after your brief encounter with HYDRA two days ago. Forest was a bad place to be. You had very little skills allowing you to survive out in the wild for long. The more you thought about that, the more you realized you had, in fact, only one option left.

Suicide. Only then you could become truly free of that mad chase and ensure no one would use your abilities for killing others. You already had enough blood on your hands.

And still, when you though of black spikes piercing your head, you were shaking. It would be so much easier if somebody just shot you when you weren’t looking.

Huh, what a cruel world you lived in, you thought while finishing a can of chicken ham - God, you didn’t even remember when you ate something so delicious. It was harder to imagine killing yourself after a good meal, but you still considered the option, looking at the carpet with a dull expression on your face.

You were euphoric after your escape from that facility where you were held, and now you were thinking maybe it was better to just wither there like all those countless men and women before you, unable to contain their enormous powers in pathetic human bodies. What was the point of being so strong if you couldn’t have your life back? What were these powers for except the destruction? You’d gladly exchange your fantastic abilities on a chance to return home to your family. That is, if HYDRA let it be, which was unlikely.

You blinked, tired to the point you barely felt your own body. If they’d decide to come for you now, you probably couldn’t dodge the attack this time.

But it wasn’t HYDRA who came for you - with a syringe in your neck, you suddenly fell down to the floor, watching the handsome face of a man who had seemingly emerged from the wall behind you like a ghost. What was that? Was he like you, too? You didn’t sense it in him the first time, but maybe the soldier was more dangerous than you anticipated. Well, he certainly was, you thought as he carried you upstairs like a firefighter escaping the burning house. Would he lock you down in a cell, too? Would he let his masters experiment on you for the sake of humanity? Would he kill you once you closed your eyes?

Before the soldier reached the front entrance, you had already lost consciousness under the influence of the drag he injected.

The darkness that followed should had been calming, soothing, as you only felt safe in complete darkness, but you couldn’t find your peace: it was cold and lonely and scary when you were falling down deeper and deeper into the black void. Did he kill you, then? Was it the end? Would you spend your eternity in the dark?

It certainly felt like eternity before you woke up, still in the middle of nowhere, but feeling a soft mattress beneath your back. Your arms and legs hurt - it felt like you were tied up to bed. However, the fabric of your clothes was nothing like the ones you wore before the assault. It felt soft, and smelled pretty nice, too.

But you still saw nothing, nothing at all. Everything was pitch black.

Were you in a dark room? A cell? Whatever, you could work with it, you though and called the darkness as if it was a part of you.

And nothing happened.

You called again, then once more and once more, but the darkness didn’t free you. It didn’t answer to your plea - it wasn’t there at all.

Suddenly, you realized there was no darkness surrounding you as you heard a subtle buzz of dozen projectors directed right at you. The darkness was in your head because they blinded you.

You were screaming and crying and jolting on the bed, trying your best to break free, crush the metal headboard, do anything at all to just touch your eyes, discover what they did to you as you felt nothing but numbness and some tingling. Did they pluck out your eyes? Did they take them out because it would be easier to control you once you lost your eyesight?

You didn’t know whether you were still screaming when you felt a stranger’s hand on your cheek as he sat down on the bed. Exhausted and horrified, you tried kicking him, but the restraints kept you in place as he lowered his head to your face, “it’s alright. You’re safe.”

Oh, it was him. It was the soldier who had emerged from the wall of the house you were hiding the last time.

“What did you… do to me?” Breathing hard, you yanked your head to the side to avoid his touch. Huh, safe, that how he called it. HYDRA or Avengers, there had never been any difference to you.

“I had to temporarily blind and drug you. The effect will wash off in a few days.”

With that, you forgot how to breathe for a couple of seconds. Temporarily? Did it mean you eyes would be alright? Did he not pop your eyes out of their sockets?

“Please, calm down. I won’t hurt you.”

You stayed quiet, but not because the soldier asked you to. You just laid there, listening to the buzz of the projectors and thinking you would be able to see something again. For a few seconds you were filled with a bitter sense of triumph. Maybe you were crying again, though you couldn’t really feel the tears streaming down your face.

Oh, how could you wish to die? How could you even think of committing suicide? No, no, never again, even if you’d have to break each and every bone in the bodies of your enemies, and rip their heads off. Whatever it takes just never to return to that black void again.

“No one knows you’re here.” The soldier said somewhere close to your face, and you furrowed your brows. “HYDRA won’t find you.”

“Until you push me to the battlefield.” You sneered, still furious he did such a horrible thing to you, leaving you here like that.

“Avengers don’t know you here either.”

Laughing sarcastically, you fell silent as you felt his flesh hand touching your cheek and brushing the hair out of your face.

“Don’t worry, I will fulfill your wish.” You could smell the metal of his breath. “You won’t exist for anyone but me.”

_______________________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki @helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin @void-hoechlin @abyssaint @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @brattycherubwrites @sllooney @angrythingstarlight @soleil-dor @lookiamtrying @buckysbunny @iheartsebastianstan @stargazingfangirl18 @ninefuckingoneone

#bucky barnes #dark bucky barnes #winter soldier #yandere #mcu #mcu fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #dark bucky barnes x reader

173 notes · View notes

lovelivingmydreams · 4 years

Text

As adults

Okay... so people liked my emotionally fueled writing... So instead of just an additional short like I said I’d make, her’s is the conversation between Patton and Logan. I might venture into he mind of our snake boy in another post before I write what happens the next day. I tried to tag everyone who liked or reblogged my original post but I might have missed one or two.

AGAIN SPOILER WARNING FOR THE LATEST SANDERS SIDES!

Here’s the previous instalment Summary for that part: When Roman leaves he doesn’t go to his room straight away. Maybe his turbulent mind sought this place out to fit his mood. Maybe deep down he knew that there was only one person who could help him understand what he did wrong.The conversation leads to discussions and reminiscing of their past, why the King ever split, why Virgil left to the ‘dark side’ to begin with and the reason Virgil doesn’t trust Deceit despite living with him and the others for years. Summary for the story below the cut: After leaving Virgil to help Roman, Patton goes to talk with Logan. They can talk about this like grown men can’t they?

When Patton arrived back in his room in the mindscape he took in a deep, calming breath. Today had been a hard day. And he had a lot of apologizing to do. Janus had helped him look at his life in a new light, one he didn’t want to acknowledge until now. First stop: Roman. Patton went to work on a good cup of coco to bring along as a sign of good will. Roman had been trying so hard lately. Trying to support Patton in his decisions, trying to share center stage more with the others, trying to be more open about his feelings. And when Roman needed him in his corner, Patton had managed to make him feel betrayed. It hadn’t been intentional, even Janus had been surprised at that turn of events. Patton clenched his teeth as he thought back to Roman’s face when he left. He’d failed him. Roman had clearly been hurting for a while and Patton had been too busy with his own issues to pay attention. Self-care meant nurturing every aspect of yourself. This included the parts you thought were fine. With a cute kitten cup of coco that said ‘you are meauwvelous’ in hand he walked over to Roman’s door. Cheer Roman up, rebuild his confidence and get him to give Janus another chance. He could do that. Piece of cake. He gently knocked on the door and cleared his throat. “Roman? You in there sport? I brought hot coco?” he asked gently. It was quite for a bit and right when Patton thought he should knock again he heard movement on the other side. The door opened to reveal... Virgil? Patton hadn’t really seen him since he left for his room when they left the reception. He hadn’t expected to see him quite so soon. At the same time he was surprised the younger side hadn’t appeared as soon as Deceit showed himself. Patton noticed the headphones hanging around Virgil’s neck. Had he been drowning out the discussion on purpose to spare Thomas?

Before Patton’s thoughts can stray any further, Virgil speaks. “He’s taking a nap. Seems really out for the count. I was going to check up on Logan next, but could you do that? You know how emotional roller coasters like today take it out of me. Besides, I think Lo would much rather hear from you anyway. I’m going to nap in here. My room is a bit too much for me right now you know?” Virgil spoke just a little too quick, something Patton probably wouldn’t have caught on to if not for everything that had happened today making him stand on high alert. Virgil was trying to get him to leave. Though Patton didn’t think he was insincere in his concern for Logan, the worry in the protective side was clear and genuine.

Logan... God’s he’d have to talk to him as well. He knew this as soon as Logan left of course. But Patton had tried to view the rest of the day as one task at a time. He was almost relieved to find that both Roman and Virgil were giving him a pass to postpone his full apologies to them by a day. So he chose to go along with the lie for now in favor of keeping Virgil in the loop. He didn’t want the anxious young man to feel blindsided by Janus’s presence tomorrow.

“Oh, of course Kiddo! You take it easy. I’m going to need to talk to you about something though...” How to say this without making Virgil switch to fight or flight? “How you’ve left Janus of all people in charge of Thomas’s post learning moment aftercare? Yeah, Roman gave me the headlines.” Patton’s eyes widened. Right, Roman was there. While Patton was making coco, Virgil had already been taking care of their friend. And if the look on his face was anything to go by he didn’t like the decision. Virgil sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, most likely to calm down his own anxiety. When he looked back at him, his eyes were determined but also trusting. “I trust your judgment Patton. But I don’ trust Jan. Not for a second.” He stated it so plainly, Patton wanted to say something on the yellow side’s behalf but Virgil raised his hand to stop him. “He’d never hurt Thomas on purpose, I know that, none of us would. Thomas isn’t self-destructive by nature. The problem is, I’m not sure if he’s ready to see that he can hurt him on accident.” It was quiet for a minute. Virgil had no clue how close to home that statement hit. Would Patton loose Virgil’s trust once he learned that he too was capable of hurting Thomas?

“I think I know what that’s like...” Patton admitted. Then he took a deep breath. Time to be brave. If Virgil was to realize how much damage Patton had done with his good intentions then Patton would rather have it be because of him. and not because of anyone else. And if that meant Patton would be someone Virgil now would see as a potential danger to Thomas’s health and happiness then so be it. Virgil deserved an apology as well. Even if it hurt to say it. “I’m really sorry kiddo. I know that I’ve been the cause of a lot of your pain too,” Virgil blinked in confusion as Patton bit his lip and searched for the words to explain. How could he cause his dark son so much pain? “I remember when Thomas was still young and you just started to really manifest. Before... Before we pushed you away as a bad thing. You’d hang onto me and panic whenever I got nervous about Thomas doing a wrong thing, thinking a bad thought...” The memory was so bittersweet. The sparkle in Virgil’s eyes at the magnificent creations of the King and later his shy laugh at the antics of the twins. The way he’d listen with rapt attention when Logan explained what caused the loud noise or the creepy shadow making it a little less scary still. The way he nodded along at Patton’s words of comfort and love and his quiet giggles at his silly jokes. But even if Virgil sought comfort and steadiness with Patton back then, it had been him who caused many of his episodes and creativity who had soothed him more than any of them could. If no amount of rationalizing from Logan or encouragements from Patton could convince Virgil that there was no monster in the closet, then the King or Roman and Remus could convince him that there was nothing to be afraid off. Because they were brave warriors and Virgil was their knight. And together they were stronger than any monster could hope to be. The scary thing became an exciting adventure Thomas could smile about as he fell asleep... And Patton had ruined that perfect picture. Shattered it with his own narrow mindedness. “I did that to you. Because I was too strict and I was teaching you to think in black and white too. And when we pushed you away... Of course you thought you had to be the bad guy to do your job. I taught you that. And I hate it. I wish I could go back. Go back and hug little you and me and say that it’s okay. But I can’t. I just hope that you’ll believe me when I say... I’m really sorry and I’ll try to be better.” Please forgive me, please don’t push me away. I want to be the person you thought I was back then. I want to deserve the way you used to look at me. A few more moments of silence hung between them and just when Patton was about to despair, Virgil spoke carefully. Choosing each word as if everything depended on it. “Pops... you aren’t entirely to blame for me believing I was bad. Janus, has just as much to do with that, if not more.” Patton felt something twist inside. Another question he’d failed to ask that he really should have before today. “What do you mean kiddo?” Virgil shifted his weight nervously before shoving his hands deep in his pockets and looking down at his shoes as he recalled times before he was welcomed at the table.

“The thing about him is, he deals in extremes. Today you might have seen him in a sincere and nurturing mood, but we have all seen how deceitful and destructive and manipulative he can be,” Virgil explained gently. Mindful of a sleeping friend who wasn’t really asleep. “You saw what that behavior did to Roman, even if he didn’t mean to hurt him.” Patton felt both pain and comfort at that statement. Pain because his friend had been hurting and he was once more remained that he’d failed to see that. But comfort because he was just so glad that the friendship these two once shared was getting back to what it once was. It had been something so precious in Patton’s eyes when they were young, to see the king pretend to be slain and Virgil frantically imploring him to be better, a wish that was always granted. Or Roman nearly being done in by his brother which encouraged Virgil to be brave and help Roman. Remus had been fine with it. The game was: make Virgil not afraid anymore, so if he had to lose two on one for that to happen then the green clad twin would take it. The close bond between creativity and caution had been lost for much too long. But now, it was back. Patton forced himself to redirect his attention to Virgil’s explanation. “One moment he looks at you and sees a friend a brother... A son.” Oh... Oh. Was that it? Was that why Virgil was a bit shy about being treated like Patton’s son all of a sudden? Because Janus, his former parental figure was back and it brought back bad memories? “The next, you are a pawn to be manipulated in any way that suits what he thinks to be the greater good in that moment. And when he speaks you never know for certain if it’s a painful truth you need to hear to become better, stronger, or a hurtful lie to make you suit his needs.” Virgil took in a long breath and let it out with a sigh. Patton held back the urge to hug him. Hot coco in his hands. Hugging wasn’t a good idea. “It’s a long story, and you should really go get Logan hot coco just the way he likes it. He deserves some patented Patton love as well,” Virgil urged with a slightly forced smile. Patton nodded and offered a look of comfort and understanding in return. “Alright kiddo. Thanks for being honest with me. I hope you’ll tell us all the story later so we can understand. But take your time,” he insisted. And then, because he wanted to be clear and honest in his communication with Virgil, “And thank you for trying to spare my feelings by not telling me that Roman isn’t ready for a talk yet. You two rest up. Take care of him for me, and tell him... Tell him I’m sorry I let him down.” Virgil’s sheepish look at getting caught in his lie changed to a worried frown as he nodded in confirmation to ensure that he would convey that message to Roman. “I’m sure he’d say that you did nothing of the sort. Don’t let Janus get into your head too much. Ugly truths and painful lies Patton. Don’t fall for the latter just because he gave you a little of the former,” Virgil warned. Patton nodded. Like with Virgil, it would take them some time to figure out how to talk to the new side at their table, but they would manage. Patton was confident in that much. “I’ll keep that in mind. Good night then. Thomas should be taking a day or two to relax and take care of himself so you should get plenty of time to recover,” Patton assured Virgil. “Night, see you in a minute when something goes wrong anyway.” Patton chuckle at Virgil’s jab before closing the door. When he emerged from his room for the second time that night, now with a mug that only had a single paw print as decoration for Logan he spotted a figure at Virgil’s door... It was Janus. “V... Do you want me to beg? Because I will,” he warned, his voice shaky with emotion. “He’s not in there,” Patton offered helpfully, feeling for the other side. He hadn’t heard the story yet, but he could gather that Virgil and Janus had been close once. The snake themed side probably missed his friend. Patton was happy that he tried to make amends right away. Janus looked up in surprise. “Oh... Patton I figured you’d be with Prince Charming still,” he muttered a little uncomfortable now that he was caught in what he thought as a private moment. “Me too. But Virgil was looking after him already. I’m on my way to Logan’s. Take a rest Janus. You earned it. Virgil is probably going to stick with Roman as long as he feels he is in danger.” It was something they’d noticed about the side. If any of them had a rough day, Virgil tended to hover over them a bit more until he felt certain that whatever had caused them distress had passed. Only exceptions being if he himself was overwhelmed. Janus looked back at the door a little dejected. “Oh... Well... Perhaps it’s better if he gets used to the idea a bit first anyway,” he mused, not sounding too convinced. “I’m sure it’ll all pan out. Roman and Virgil had a falling out that lasted close to two decades and now they are almost back to old times. Whatever happened between you two is going to sort itself out as well,” Patton assured Janus. The other side nodded and waved him off.

“Good luck with Logan,” he muttered, still sounding upset about his missed chance to talk to Virgil tonight. Patton almost followed after him but then decided that this problem was the kind where the best way to help was to stay out of it. Virgil and Janus had to solve their own issues. Now, he had a hot beverage to deliver. “Logan?” he asked gently as he knocked on the pristine door to the room. “I know you don’t want to talk, and you don’t have to, but I thought you might like a hot coco anyway?” After a few moments he heard the sound of a lock being taken off and the door opened. “A hot beverage would be pleasing,” Logan allowed stiffly as he let Patton into his room. Patton quietly walked into the spotless room. Aside from a few sciency posters and a lot of bookshelves, the room was very bare bones. Patton sat at the kitchen island and Logan joined him on the other side, accepting his drink. “Virgil is worried about you. I’m sure he’d like to hear from you that Janus didn’t hurt you when he took your place,” Patton offered. “I see. I shall talk to him about it later. When we’ve all gathered our bearings,” Logan nodded as he took a sip. “This is quite good,” he complemented. “Thanks... Logan. I just want to say I’m sorry for skipping your help... The truth is I was panicking and desperately trying to find clear instructions to follow that were impossible to find and if I listened to you, I might have realized what Janus was trying to teach me sooner... Like how listening to you helped us deal with Remus... I made so many mistakes Logan... I’m sorry I made you feel inadequate or not respected because of my own insecurities... I’ve hurt you all so badly. I’m sorry.” Logan nodded throughout the whole apology, seemingly more focused on his cup than the words. “I feel like my whole existence, I’ve been half blind and now I was forced to get a better prescription and see the damage I’d done... And I’m sorry that you were caught in the metaphorical fallout of this whole thing.” Logan nodded once again. “I appreciate your clarification on your use of figurative speech. Also you put effort in this offering,” he took another sip as if to stress what he was talking about. “and you were careful to direct your apology mainly at any distress your actions may have caused, rather than the guilt you feel. Your apology was sincere and therefore I accept it.”

Patton smiled gratefully at Logan. “Thank you Lo. And, if you change your mind and decide that you do want to talk, I’m here alright? I won’t push you away ever again. Even if what you have to say makes me feel uncomfortable or scared,” he vowed. Logan nodded again. “Let’s agree, that should someone’s behavior overwhelm you in any way, you signal me. By taking of your glasses by example. Even if I were to be the one to make you feel pressured, I will take note of this and attempt to calm the situation down enough for you to focus. Does that sound agreeable?” Patton nodded. “But only if you promise me to tug at your tie three times when you feel like you aren’t being listened to,” Patton insisted. Logan allowed for a small smirk and nodded. Satisfied with this agreement they both talked about simpler times. Patton asked Logan about his favorite memory of before Remus and Virgil were moved away from them and Logan recalled when Remus wanted to perform one of the experiments Logan had read about in a kids science book. Remus had some... Interesting additions. This had made Logan extremely curious. It was a mess and Logan hadn’t even cared. He didn’t have that much fun in ages before or ages to come. Roman and Virgil had performed the original experiment as a control case. They all realized that the results where whatever the twins would imagine it to be, but they had fun pretending they were serious scientists. “Sometimes I wonder...” Patton started as his nostalgia started to become clouded with regret. “Nothing could’ve been done about the situation Patton. Sooner or later, Virgil and Remus would be found Unwelcome by Thomas and they would have still ended up in the subconscious.” Logan sounded so sure that Patton let himself believe it for tonight. Then the scene shifted. “Thomas is getting ready for bed,” Logan observed. Before Patton could make to leave Logan alone he said something quite surprising. “Do you want to keep me company as I supervise the dreams? Roman is most likely not up for it, and I’d much rather Thomas get a full nights rest.” Patton smiled amused and nodded in understanding. If you let Remus anywhere near the dreams they would get really weird. Even by his standards. “I’d love to,” Patton nodded as he let Logan lead him the way to the observatory. As they settled into the comfortable chairs to observe the dreams they heard a voice drift trough the mindscape. “Who’s good or bad who’s to say?” And as that song continued Thomas fell asleep, feeling better than he had in months.

So I hope you liked that follow up. See ya! Edit: fixed spelling

Next part

Love Lovelivingmydreams

@cdragontogacotar, @the-classy-ghost, @smallwaffle224, @amberpeltsstuff, @altheaudaku, @atdffpetra, @lavenderchaitea, @kuroyurishion @marguii-14, @sweetlyprofoundphantom, @beepbeep-imscared, @rubixcubes-and-crowbars, @perfectly-princely-emo-nightmare, @xxmoonmorquanxx, @pdvzh2, @cthulhudonuts, @k-chanthecreator, @meowthefluffy, @rylan-sucks, @artemisontumb-lr, @nadja-chamack16, @friskthefallenmonster, @justgivemehugs, @naturallyunstablegamer, @greekgeekgoddess, @wherearealltheusernam3s, @intellectual-punk, @ciannathegiver58, @stubbornness-and-spite, @babygirllovelys-blog, @baby-bunny1221, @lucasdrawblog, @andear, @fatherminion, @fatherminion, @potatiowatchingyoutube, @myspatialspace, @mygenderisbees, @chibibunnis, @hi-fellow-demons, @ayidakira, @softballobsessed, @crackedcurse, @hickledickle, @your-local-fanboy-here, @ssimplification, @virgofoxy, @iwispkid, @alias290, @devoteddeceit, @parttimeliar, @maya-custodios-dionach, @booksfoodmusic-minion, @she-wants-me-dead, @hetacon, @aelingalathynius6, @theblackveilinreverse, @impalasquiptyseven, @confused-i-and-ready-to-die, @onecannotbebrave, @maryann-draws, @emo-nightmare-without-the-emo, @myspatialspace, @liveonmercury, @such-as-we-are-made-such-we-be, @afrostedfeather, @superspoopyspacealien, @muffin-2008, @alicethetrueunicorn, @hedgiehoggles, @errors-in-my-heart, @contemplativespectrum, @fandoms1reality0, @frida0043, @angelic-cali, @xxstill-i-risexx, @nina-maee

#Sanders Sides #Spoilers #Roman #Virgil #Patton #Logan #New episode #Our teacher and dad deserve some love too #Deceit

90 notes · View notes

eternal-echoes · 4 years

Text

Catechism of the Catholic Church

310 But why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it? With infinite power God could always create something better.174 But with infinite wisdom and goodness God freely willed to create a world "in a state of journeying" towards its ultimate perfection. In God's plan this process of becoming involves the appearance of certain beings and the disappearance of others, the existence of the more perfect alongside the less perfect, both constructive and destructive forces of nature. With physical good there exists also physical evil as long as creation has not reached perfection.175

311 Angels and men, as intelligent and free creatures, have to journey toward their ultimate destinies by their free choice and preferential love. They can therefore go astray. Indeed, they have sinned. Thus has moral evil, incommensurably more harmful than physical evil, entered the world. God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil.176 He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it:

For almighty God. . ., because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself.177

312 In time we can discover that God in his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil, even a moral evil, caused by his creatures: "It was not you", said Joseph to his brothers, "who sent me here, but God. . . You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive."178 From the greatest moral evil ever committed - the rejection and murder of God's only Son, caused by the sins of all men - God, by his grace that "abounded all the more",179 brought the greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But for all that, evil never becomes a good.

313 "We know that in everything God works for good for those who love him."180 The constant witness of the saints confirms this truth:

St. Catherine of Siena said to "those who are scandalized and rebel against what happens to them": "Everything comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does nothing without this goal in mind."181 St. Thomas More, shortly before his martyrdom, consoled his daughter: "Nothing can come but that that God wills. and I make me very sure that whatsoever that be, seem it never so bad in sight, it shall indeed be the best."182 Dame Julian of Norwich: "Here I was taught by the grace of God that I should steadfastly keep me in the faith... and that at the same time I should take my stand on and earnestly believe in what our Lord shewed in this time - that 'all manner (of) thing shall be well.'"183

314 We firmly believe that God is master of the world and of its history. But the ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God "face to face",184 will we fully know the ways by which - even through the dramas of evil and sin - God has guided his creation to that definitive sabbath rest185 for which he created heaven and earth.

#Catholic #Christianity #Catechism

6 notes · View notes

lawrenceop · 4 years

Text

HOMILY for 15th Sun after Pentecost (Dominican rite)

Gal 5:25-26, 6:1-10; Luke 7:11-16

The little Galilean village of Nain would have been forgotten and lost to history were it not for this miracle recorded only in St Luke’s Gospel. The location of Nain is not without significance. It is a short distance from Mount Tabor, within sight of the holy mountain where Our Lord was Transfigured. And this is fitting because it was on Tabor that Jesus revealed his glory to his disciples; it was on Tabor that Peter, James, and John had a glimpse of the resurrection and the heavenly life to come. So, too, through this miracle at Nain, it is as if his resurrection glory, shining forth from Mount Tabor, falls upon the widow’s son, and the dead young man is raised to life. This miracle, therefore points to the Resurrection of Christ through whom all the dead shall be raised to new life.

In the 4th century the bishop Eusebius of Caesarea noted that Nain was near another Biblical place, Endor where king Saul had consulted a witch and had asked her to summon the dead prophet Samuel in a séance so that he could consult him. There, at Endor, through a diabolical deception, the supposed ghost of Samuel is summoned and he speaks disaster for the king and his dynasty. One might say that due to Saul’s betrayal of God by daring to summon spirits and consult witches, God had abandoned Saul’s kingdom, and so it fell to the Philistines. So, the miracle at Nain reminds us that only God, who alone is the source of all life, can raise the dead; only God can give life and shed his glory upon Man. Hence, when Christ comes to the land and performs this miracle at Nain, the people cry out: “God has visited his people!”

Whereas Saul, in desperation at Endor, had looked to counterfeit powers and influences for life and hope of victory, in fact all he gains is death and destruction. For without God, there is only falsehood, failure, and destruction. For this is the destiny of Satan, and the evil spirits, and those who consort with the devil such as witches and mediums and fortune-tellers do. Therefore, at Nain, the Lord calls us to place our hope in him, and not in false gods nor in seductively easy and ‘quick fix’ so-called solutions that lead only to destruction. Instead, with patience and fortitude and with the theological virtue of hope, we profess: “exspécto resurrectiónem mortuórum, et vitam ventúri sǽculi”, ‘I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come’. As Christians, therefore, we profess our faith in eternal life in Christ and with Christ and through Christ, a heavenly glory that is foreseen on Mount Tabor by the apostles, where Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah, with those two prophets who are known in Judaism as the “living ones”, the undying ones. The glorious event of the Transfiguration makes clear that they receive their life from God, indeed, from Jesus Christ. So all who look to Christ, and who hear his Word, shall receive the gift of eternal life. All this is prefigured in the miracle at Nain of which we have heard in today’s Gospel.

Now when Jesus raises the only son of the widow of Nain, he does so purely by his Word, with a command: “Young man, I say to you, arise!” For God’s Word is creative and life-giving. As the psalmist says: “By the Word of the Lord, the heavens were made” (Ps 33:6). So just as God creates all things through his Word, so too, by his Word, God brings a new creation into being, a new heavens and a new earth, and he restores all things to new life. Hence the people cried out, God has visited his people. For they recognised, in awe-filled fear, that in Christ, God is present among us. In Christ, God comes and shares our human condition; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And Christ does this, and works his miracles, so that through these signs and wonders the people can see that God has come to redeem and heal and restore all of creation. For creation had fallen under the influence of the Evil One, creation had been alienated from God, and Man had turned away and worshipped false gods, indeed, Man had tried to set himself up in place of God. But this only leads to death, failure and destruction. Therefore, Christ, moved by compassion at the predicament of Mankind (who is represented by the poor weeping widow of Nain) has come to save Mankind: by the power of his living Word, God comes to raise us first of all from the spiritual death of sin, which has cut us off from God, the source of all life. By his Word, therefore, he raises us to the new life of grace which is our life now, as Christians. And then Christ has come, secondly, to give us new hope in the “life of the world to come”. For as he says in St John’s Gospel: “all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement.” (Jn 5:28f) So, it is by his Word, too, that our bodies and souls will be raised after death to eternal life, hopefully, with Christ in heaven. The miracle at Nain which is accomplished simply by Christ’s Word, therefore, points to both these new realities brought about by the Lord.

I want to focus now just on the life of grace, the raising of our bodies and souls from the spiritual death of sin. How does this happen? St Paul tells us in the epistle that our Christian lives involves dying to our old selves. Our sinful bodily habits and cravings have to die. So, too, our spiritual bad habits of pride, envy, self-conceit and so on. Then, the Holy Spirit, active in us through the grace of the sacraments, will raise us to a new life, to a new way of being and doing and behaving. As St Paul says: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another… For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Gal 5:25, 6:8)

If we pay attention to the original Greek text of today’s Gospel, it’s interesting to note that when Jesus commands the dead young man, he does not use the passive form, “Be raised”, but rather the active form, “Arise”, or in other translations “Get up”. So, although Christ, being God, is the cause of the miracle, the recipient is not entirely passive but co-operative. For it is likewise in the Christian life of grace, as we know. Although God is the giver of all grace, and the cause and origin and perfecter of our every good act, we must also be open to his grace and, as it were, co-operate with it, allowing God to be active in us and with us and through us. Hence St Augustine said: “God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.”

Looking closely again at the miracle recounted in today’s Gospel, notice that, at Christ’s command, the dead man sits up, and then he begins to speak. Before one can speak, one has to draw breath. This action of the dead man, therefore, is an analogy for the life of grace. By the Word of God, we have been raised to new life for it is through the sacraments, principally through Baptism, that the Word of God is at work, and is bringing his new creation to be. As we hear Jesus declare in the book of the Apocalypse: “Behold, I make all things new” (Apoc 21:5).

Through the sacraments, Christ makes new all of creation; through the sacraments, Christ is at work to renew you and me with his grace so that we become a new Man, fully alive and mature in Christ. This comes about by the power of the Holy Spirit active in us. So, just as the young man of Nain has to breath in before he speaks, so we must breath in the Holy Spirit, the divine Breath of God, so that, with the Holy Spirit active within us, with God’s grace working in us, we can speak. Raised by God to new life, therefore, we are not to speak empty words nor words of gossip nor detraction nor words that are destructive and devoid of charity. Rather, we are enabled by the Spirit to praise God in our words and in our actions, so that we shall, indeed, proclaim the Gospel of salvation to those around us in what we say and in what we do. Thus St Paul says to you and to me: “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal 6:10) Therefore, let our lives shine with good works and so give glory to our heavenly Father (cf Mt 5:16), for we draw our life from the Risen Lord: like the young man at Nain, we lift our face towards the light of Tabor, and turn our back on Endor.

#resurrection #life #charity #gossip #detraction #death #witchcraft #demons #séance #Sacraments #grace

6 notes · View notes

theleafpile · 5 years

Text

Lucifer moving forward

Thinking about the archetype of the King post-Lucifer season 4 finale and why I believe Lucifer will not and cannot stay in Hell - and who can and should take his place on the throne, already hinted at in this season and who could be a great antagonist going forward.

The King is a masculine energy whose primary purpose is to order. He brings peace, calm, law. He is the centering principle for his people and his kingdom, which is why he sits at a throne at the center of his world. According to King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette,

‘World’ is defined as that part of reality that is organized and ordered by the King. What is outside the boundaries of his influence is noncreation, chaos, demonic, and nonworld.

But that demonic world is Lucifer’s realm. He sits on a throne at the center of Hell.

According to the demon, without Lucifer as King, Hell has descended into chaos. Now, we’ve seen Hell up to this point not as a place of pandemonium, as shown by the artworks Chloe finds during her research, but as a boring place of order. Every sinner suffers an individual fate. Even Maze, in the flashback episode, is so excited to torture on Earth because she is limited in Hell to what the individual requires. Lucifer is not “biting the heads off of children” as Chloe asks.

So what exactly was Lucifer’s role in Hell?

To bring order. To maintain peace simply through his presence. Here is not the destructive Shadow King, the tyrannical force we expect from our understanding of the Devil. Lucifer is an angel, and the point that was driven again and again leading up to the finale was that a demon cannot take over the throne of Hell. It must be a celestial being. The demons wanted to take little Charlie, a nephilim, for the role, but whoever could sit on the throne had to be a being created by the hand of God. (Nephilim are considered the “sons of God and daughters of men.”)

Now where have we heard "created by the hand of God” before? Eve. She tells us, specifically, that she was not only created from Adam’s rib but by God himself.

But Wait! Eve is good. Inherently. She is as we are - selfish, naive, but also innocent. Even Amenadiel says this of her. She could never be a Queen of Hell, despite her fleeting dream of such. She never considered going to Hell until Father Kinley said it, because her primary role (at this point, in her mind) was to serve Lucifer, and Lucifer does not want to go back. But Eve also does not have the ordering principle of the King. Through her actions, Eve sowed the seeds of chaos, and continues to do so throughout the entire time we know her. She is no Queen.

Now, who is mentioned time and again, throughout this season, affecting the arcs of two primary characters?

Lilith.

Eve is jealous of Lilith, considering her the perfect woman, the woman Adam truly loved. Throughout Linda’s pregnancy, Maze is confronted with the idea of her own mother, the mother of a class of demons known as the Lilim. We see that she was not the nurturing mother archetype but an inverted one, the one who gives life in the realm of noncreation, aka Hell.

Lilith is the dark mother. She is a representative of that force of chaos that is inherent in nature, the destructive principle that also brings life. Think of hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, floods. In the second season, Mum/Goddess of All Creation was responsible for these things wiping out people on Earth. She was the destructive principle that also gave life (in the form of angels). Mum’s counterpart, her counterbalance (in this narrative, though not inherently equal) must be Lilith.

I think season 4 was what the story needed in order to move on to Lilith as what could feasibly be the final big bad. We see Chloe accepting Lucifer for who is he - and encouraging him to be more. Not for her, but out of a selfless love. She isn’t afraid of him, she is afraid for him, and that’s an important step for her character to take and the culmination of all the storytelling up to this point. This season had very little Deckerstar in the context of romantic gestures and kisses, because the love that needed to grow couldn’t be shown in those forms. It could only be seen through acceptance. Eve was a great character to push Lucifer forward by having him slide back into his old life and making him realize that the person he was doesn’t fit anymore. He’s outgrown that lifestyle - but he also says the same thing to Chloe, that he is not the person she sees him as, either. Eve’s love was a counterbalance to Chloe’s love because Eve’s was exactly what Lucifer thought he wanted and Chloe’s is closer to what he actually needs, but that doesn’t mean we throw Eve under the bus - she learned, too, what she needs and her arc ends on a hopeful note.

But. Lucifer’s devil form literally took over his body without his consent or control because of the way he felt about himself, which was confused, lost, and believing himself to the monster that everyone else has painted him as through time.

Now here’s where the King archetype gets interesting.

Lucifer took the first step in forgiving himself in saying he doesn’t know how to do it but that he wants to” That is the ordering principle at work. That is the principle that brings peace. He is embodying the archetype of the King, which is why his angel wings return and which plays a part in his acceptance of his role in Hell, because a big part of being King is realizing you are a servant to a greater cause. Traditionally, Lucifer is viewed as having said non serviam, “I will not serve,” before being cast out of Heaven, and our Lucifer bemoans that he is stuck “playing a part in [God’s] play” which is why he rebels again by leaving Hell in the first place. But in the finale he comes to term with his role, puts aside his selfishness, and decides to serve in order to protect those he loves. If that isn’t the actions of a King I don’t know what is.

But I fully believe Lucifer isn’t a King.

Father Kinley calls him the prince of lies. Not the Father of Lies, as is traditional, but the prince. When Chloe confronts him, asking about Hell, she asks if he enjoyed torturing people. Lucifer says, firmly, “It was a job” and one that he was “forced to do.”

Lucifer cannot be King, because that is God’s job (the phrase “king of kings” comes to mind). Lucifer is only King in Hell because 1) that’s how the demons understand his role and 2) God put him there. He is serving in God’s place, but not as God - Lucifer wants nothing less than to be associated with his father. The ordering principle breaks. There is a phrase we see (even in Star Wars) time and again, not in Lucifer but in how we understand the role of King - “The King is dead, Long Live the King.” What this means is that the role is acted by a servant and is passed on to another. Lucifer never accepted his role.

One theme throughout this season has been “first steps.” I think the finale, of Lucifer returning to Hell, was a first step in him accepting his role as King, but I firmly believe that the way the narrative is unfolding means that if the story continues along this path, then Lucifer will understand that being King of Hell, despite doing it to help protect those he loves, is not the role he wants to play. Lucifer does not want to play a role. He is the rebel. He wants, more than anything else, to be his own man. That desire does not disappear because he is learning to be selfless.

So here’s what I see, moving forward.

Lucifer sits once again on the throne of Hell. But this is no victory for him. This is a defeat. He has returned to the role he does not want for reasons of love, not of his Father, but of people on Earth he cares deeply about. This selflessness, this sacrifice, is a huge step forward for his character and means that he is, as Linda said, self actualizing. He is transcending role of both Devil and Angel. And, as this occurs, he will need to face that which is destructive in himself. Lucifer says there is something bad inside of him, and the best way for him to confront this is to do what he’s always done - to project or see it in an outward force. That force will be Lilith.

Lilith is Lucifer’s dark reflection. She was made perfect, whole, but with something corrupt inside that turned her into what she is now - the mother of demons. She embodies both creation and destruction. She is a woman, the first woman, and through her actions (though we don’t know the whole story yet) she is Lucifer’s opposite. If Lucifer is the lightbringer, Lilith is the bringer of darkness. She and Lucifer do not share a bond. They do not share love.

I believe that one way for the story to move forward is for Lucifer, who is becoming more Kingly, to confront Lilith as she becomes more Queenly. Lilith was made by the hand of God and is therefore the only other being who may seek the throne of Hell. But she would do so for destructive purposes. For revenge, not peace. This would require Lucifer to continue on his journey of self sacrifice and desire for the throne not out of a want of power but out of love for Earth and the people on it, because whatever Lilith has planned cannot be good. If Evil will be released I think she would be the one to release it.

I think Lilith would be the one to release Hell on Earth. I think this would take form in demons possessing the recently dead. I think Lilith would be a great antagonist because she is what Lucifer could have been, if he were not inherently good, and I this is a realization Lucifer needs to come to, that there is not something bad inside him. I think stopping the apocalypse would force Lucifer to completely transcend his role as the Devil. I think this would require the throne of Hell to be abolished. I think this would mean Hell itself would be forced to change. And I think this could lead to the happy ending we all want.

#lucifer #lucifer season 4 #lucifer s4 #lucifer meta #long post

241 notes · View notes

whoispeytonjames · 4 years

Text

Why God is the Ultimate Villain of the Supernatural Series

Warning: The following article contains quotes and spoilers from the television series Supernatural. If you have not watched up until season 15, please stop reading now.

While sitting around the dinner table with my partner, his father, and his stepmother, it occurred to me that after 15 years, I am in the minority of television viewers who are still as in love with Supernatural as the day that it first aired. During a discussion of iconic television series, of course, I had to bring up Supernatural. What could be more iconic than a genre show that has lasted long enough to make God a villain? Considering that my comments led to laughter and a discussion on when shows have “jumped the shark,” I can conclude that my main point was missed. Looking back on everything that has happened in the past 15 seasons, it makes sense that God is the true villain in a show about the threat that supernatural entities pose to humanity. Canonically, God created Archangels, Leviathans, Hellhounds, Angels, Humans, Souls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. Considering all these entities have created a major threat within the show; it seemed fitting that God was revealed as being the shocking twist ending at the end of Season 14. By revealing himself as being a cold and manipulative author, as opposed to a caring and benevolent God, Chuck became the “big bad” of the entire series.

When Supernatural first aired, the premise of the show centered around the two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, traveling around the United States to investigate and fight paranormal entities and urban legends. With the inclusion of Christian mythology in season 4, the overarching plot line of the series shifted so that the brothers were now saving the world from the apocalypse. Viewers of the show saw the aversion of the apocalypse at the end of season 5 and creator, Eric Kripke's departure, as being where Supernatural should have sung its swan song and disappeared into the archives of American genre television. Yet, the fan base had some other ideas, and kept the boys around for another decade despite some unfavourable moments (The British Men of Letters, anyone?). We have seen the Winchester brothers fight everything from demons and angels to the Leviathans and The Darkness, so what could be next? Well, God, of course.

From a logistical standpoint, Supernatural is entering into its final season, which means that it's imperative for the writers to escalate the level of threat that the Winchester brothers face. Since the face off with the Devil in season 5, the writers have struggled with the task of creating a villain or situation more dire than the apocalypse. With being forced to up the ante each season, it's no surprise that Supernatural has chosen to end after 15 seasons. How can you end a long-running television show that satisfies the most loyal fan base? By ensuring that the final season presents the greatest challenge that the Winchesters have faced to date. The odds need to be firmly stacked against the heroes and the show needs to present a spectacle for the series finale that is novel for the viewers. By making God the villain, whom is an omniscient and nigh-omnipotent character, the writers are sure to deliver on all the earlier listed criteria. This poses Sam and Dean with the impossible task of trying to stop a foe that can expect their intentions; not to mention that killing God will overthrow the Cosmic Balance. Although God's sister, Amara or The Darkness, has the power to wound him, and Death has claimed to be the one to reap God at the end of everything, doing so would destroy all the universes that he has created and the creations within them. If the brothers are all about "saving people [and] hunting things" how can they possibly hunt down God without destroying all creation? That's a question that I will leave for the writers to answer.

Beyond presenting viewers with a powerful antagonist for the final season, the writers of Supernatural are also alluding to an underlying thread that could make God the ultimate villain of the entire series. The apocalypse, Raphael's civil war, Leviathans, Naomi's control of Heaven, the fallen angels, the Mark of Cain, The Darkness, the corruption of all the other universes, as well as Jack's birth and death can all be traced back to God. As I mentioned before, God is the creator of the perilous threats that have plagued the Winchesters over the past 14 years; but as his existence is that of an absent father, he has also allowed his two chosen ones, Sam and Dean, to clean up his mess. Since his abrupt leave from Heaven after his creations, namely Lucifer, didn’t meet his expectations, God lived among humans as Chuck, your average everyday Joe, who enjoys nacho cheese, playing his guitar, and living his life as an out and proud bisexual. When Metatron challenges his decision to leave as being a cowardice act, in "Don't Call Me Shurley," God responds by saying that he was "done watching [his] experiments' failures." Beyond his disappointment, Chuck wanted to stay hidden and allow humanity, the archangels, and the rest of his creations to take responsibility for their actions, claiming that, "No one likes a helicopter parent." This sentiment is later echoed during season 14's "Moriah," when he reminds both Sam and Dean that he may have created the "sandbox," but he has remained "hands off."

Although God has presented himself as an occasional ally to the Winchesters throughout the years, he has never dealt with any of the obstacles that have arisen as a consequence of his absence. Instead, he ensured that the Winchesters would be present to settle each of these dilemmas in his place. Thus, the Winchesters were instrumental in Chuck's grand manuscript, as they played the all important heroes in his "favourite show." Instances of Chuck's meddling can be traced back to his coupling of John and Mary Winchester. When Sam, Dean, and Castiel meet up with Cupid in "My Bloody Valentine," he reveals that Heaven doesn't care about human matches, unless they lend to certain bloodlines and destinies. Cupid goes on to clarify that, "the union of John and Mary Winchester [was a] very big deal upstairs, [a] top priority arrangement." This was to ensure the existence of Sam and Dean Winchester. Without them, the apocalypse would have occurred as the archangels had planned and the world would have been destroyed, as shown in Apocalypse World. This is precisely why Chuck declares this world's Sam and Dean as being his favourite in all the multiverse: they are his self-sacrificing heroes. In Apocalypse World, for example, there's destruction and constant chaos with no sense of ease. When the antagonist is always winning, it's uncomfortable and boring to a Western audience that constantly consumes the narrative of the hero's quest. This literary trope has battling forces of good and evil, with the hero prevailing in the end; and for 14 seasons, Chuck has been weaving together narratives that pit the heroes against villains of his own creation. With the curtain pulled back to reveal the Wizard of Oz and all his tricks, it's time to face the antagonist left standing: God.

Upon the realization of Chuck's puppetry, Team Free Will has been effectively left shattered. After all, Sam and Dean have been "just hamsters running in a wheel [their] whole lives," or heroes acting out God's plan. Even though both brothers had the strength to escape their destiny as Michael and Lucifer's vessels, they have still been playing into the roles that Chuck had written for them, fulfilling a destiny versus being having the freedom of choice. Mary's death aside, this knowledge has already created a rift between Dean and Castiel; as Dean views their whole lives as being a lie, and Castiel views life as having predetermined obstacles, with a choice of how you overcome them. Not only has the concept of freewill been destroyed for the Winchesters, but the notion of Chuck's interference has also torn apart the Winchesters' familial bond with Castiel. If freedom and family, by both blood and bond, is truly what gives the Winchester brothers the strength to continue to fight evil, then God has already proven his status as the ultimate villain of Supernatural.

Let the end times roll.

#supernatural family #supernatural final season #supernatural season 15 #supernatural fandom #article #writer #writers

1 note · View note

nadziejastar · 5 years

Note

What was Lea’s personality during BBS and after? Up to Kh3? (U probably did this, but I love your analysis on Kh Isa and Lea)

Lea/Axel: The Alchemical Trickster

“The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.” – Carl Jung

Thank you! It is rather fun to write about Lea and Isa. ^_^

Well, actually I haven’t done a full write-up of Lea’s personality, though that was one of the many ideas I’ve had stirring around in my head. So, I’m glad you asked the question. More than anything I think Lea/Axel embodies the Trickster Archetype, which is an example of a Jungian Archetype. I picked up a very strong Jungian influence in the KH series. Jung’s famous quote on the shadow side of the human psyche is very similar to what The Fairy Godmother told Aqua in Birth By Sleep.

Carl Jung, The Trickster Archetype

A primitive cosmic being of divine-animal nature, on the one hand superior to man because of his superhuman qualities, and on the other hand inferior to him because of his unreason and unconsciousness. The more civilized we become, the more we will blame a “shadow” for our misfortunes. Like the trickster of old, the shadow represents a quality that isn’t accepted into the awareness. It can ‘pester’ us unmercifully but always has a gift for us, a missing quality, an attitude needed to cope, or self-realization.

Carl Jung’s explanation for the archetypes that surface in cultural and religious literature is that they are the product of what he calls the collective unconsciousness. That thread of consciousness that connects all human beings and cultures around the world. Jung would say The Trickster is a manifestation of our own collective unconscious.

In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human, or anthropomorphisation), which exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge, and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and conventional behavior.The Trickster is an alchemist, a magician, creating realities in the duality of time and illusion. The Fool survives in modern playing cards as the Joker.

The Trickster is an important archetype in the history of man. He is a god, yet he is not. He is the wise-fool. It is he who points out the flaws in carefully constructed societies of man. He rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates convoluted schemes, that may or may not work, plays with the Laws of the Universe and is sometimes his own worst enemy. He exists to question, and to cause us to question and not accept things blindly. He appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded, needs to be torn down, and built anew. He is the Destroyer of Worlds, and at the same time, the savior of us all.

In later folklore, the Trickster/Clown is incarnated as a clever, mischievous man or creature, who tries to survive the dangers and challenges of the world using trickery and deceit as a defense. He also is known for entertaining people as a clown does. The Trickster seems to be a comedy of opposites. For every good aspect of his persona there is an equal and opposite aspect. In religious stories his role is very diverse. He is the breaker of taboos. He provides comic relief to a religious myth. And he will pull off elaborate schemes to teach a moral lesson or expose the folly of men.

Tricksters “…violate principles of social and natural order, playfully disrupting normal life and then re-establishing it on a new basis.” The trickster crosses and often breaks both physical and societal rules. That’s why I think Axel’s weapons are based on the Sigil of Chaos. The weapon on the right, Dive Bomb is a combination of the Chaos Sigil and an alchemical vector, representing the union of Mercury and Sulfur, Sol and Luna, The Red King and White Queen of alchemy. Or the King and Queen of the Night, as Saïx’s weapons are so aptly named. I have absolutely no doubt that Lea was gonna “Dive Bomb” right into his boyfriend’s heart and wake his sleeping ass up.

Kairi: “Aren’t you…a bad guy?”

Axel: “I’m not. But not really a good guy, either.”

The Trickster behaves as he does from impulses over which he has no control, possessing no values, moral or social; he is at the mercy of his passions and appetites. The others in Trickster stories possess similar traits: the animals, the various supernatural beings and monsters, and man.

Often, the bending/breaking of rules takes the form of tricks or thievery. Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both. The trickster openly questions and mocks authority. They are usually male characters, and are fond of breaking rules, boasting, and playing tricks on both humans and gods.

According to Jung, through the Trickster we can see that “individuals have the power to recognize their shadows and in doing so, choose the better part.” It is in the Trickster these combinations of qualities are recognized as being in the world, and from the Trickster we learn existential lessons as to the consequences of letting our darker side rule our lives.

There is another side to the Trickster. As the giver of all great boons—the fire-bringer, teacher of mankind—it is common for the Trickster to be a creator figure who created the earth and brings culture and civilization to humans. Among the Classical Greeks, Prometheus as creator brought into being all of the world’s animals. For this he was badly punished by Zeus. One of Axel’s weapons is named Prometheus.

Day 299: The Value of a Lie

Roxas doesn’t trust me after the whole Xion incident, but I can’t tell him the truth yet. So I keep lying. It’s no big deal when you’re a Nobody. There’s no guilt, no feeling at all. So why does it still sting, just a little, when I lie to him? All my dealings with Roxas give me this bizarre illusion of humanity.

The Trickster of Greek mythology was a god by the name of Hermes. He is the Magician Arcana in the Alchemical Tarot.He is also the patron of thieves and the inventor of lying. Once again we see a sort of bridge between the average man and the gods. Hermes is the only god in Greek mythology that is born to a nymph (a mortal). Also with Hermes we see the recurring theme of flight. Hermes is said to have wings on either side of his head. It makes the scene where Axel flies in Neverland that much more enjoyable.

Physical reality is a game in which the Trickster challenges us at every turn. That is his role in the duality of this bio-genetic experiment in linear time. The Trickster is a teacher, survivor, and hero—always traveling, outrageous and cunning, foolish and wise, mischievous and often doing good despite himself. He is a metaphor for the evolution of consciousness in the alchemy of time.

In modern literature the Trickster survives as a character archetype, not necessarily supernatural or divine, therefore better described as a stock character. The Trickster seems to have supernatural powers which help him perform his tricks. He lives, dies, comes back, shape shifts, all sorts of magic as our reality is nothing more than an illusion. It is the mythology of our reality, birth, death, and rebirth from the ashes, the flame of creation.

The Trickster is almost always portrayed as male. In the duality he represents the lower emotions, lower chakras, that which gets us into mischief. This represents the aggressive side that deals with the lower frequency emotions: jealousy, anger, self destruction, rage, depression, even mental illness. The Trickster is the emotional body, our Inner Child or wounded soul, who evolves in our lifetimes as it spirals back to higher light.

Frequently the Trickster figure exhibits gender variability, changing gender roles and engaging in same-sex practices. Such figures appear in Native American and First Nations mythologies, where they are said to have a Two-Spirit nature. Even Artemis (one of Saïx’s weapons named after a goddess) was said to engage in cross-dressing. So it makes TOTAL sense to me that Lea and Isa were intended by the writers to be, yes, a romantic pairing.

Carl Jung was also a well-known proponent of alchemy. According to a manuscript in Jung’s collection published in his book Psychology and Alchemy, the Emperor and Empress of the Tarot deck represent the Red King and White Queen at the beginning of the great work, known as magnum opus.

The Empress and Emperor are put at the end of the Alchemical Tarot sequence, symbolizing the end product of their marriage: The Philosopher’s Stone. Like Jung’s Alchemical Tarot deck, Luxord’s deck ALSO ends its sequence with the Emperor and Empress cards. It’s for this reason I think that Luxord’s deck actually tells a story using the Alchemical Tarot as its foundation— Lea and Isa’s story as the alchemical Red King and White Queen, to be precise. It tells their love story SO perfectly. But that is a meta that I’m still working on.

Like Saïx/Isa, I also believe that Lea/Axel was inspired by the Zodiac signs, particualy the Fire Triad. Aries lives in the moment and moves fast and furiously. They’re natural-born leaders, and impossible to ignore. They are always ready to take charge and conquer whatever challenge they meet. Courageous and competitive, Aries is a powerful force, carving paths through new territory to find undiscovered treasures. This fearless sign lives life as a warrior, infusing everything it touches with fire, passion, and strength.

Aries’ Tarot Card: In Tarot, The Emperor card is a masterful representation of the zodiac sign Aries. The Emperor is a natural leader, just like Aries. The Emperor represents Aries’ loyalty and ability to stick by others through thick and thin. Like the royal figure on this card, Aries uses its sense of authority to help others, and to achieve its own goals.

Aries’ Symbol: The Ram represents courage, action, initiative, and authority. These traits are the backbone of Aries’ characteristics, and help Aries take every part of life head-on.

Aries’ Ruling Planet: Aries is ruled by Mars – the Red Planet, or the warrior planet. These two have been linked since ancient times, as Mars is the Roman God of War, and Ares is the Greek God of War. Mars is a planet of great action, aggression, and drive, influencing what we do, and how we do it, and enhancing the active energy of Aries. Mars is considered a pioneer of new territory, just like the Aries Ram. Among the 12 Zodiac signs, there is one specific sign in which a planet functions at its optimum. This is called its sign of “Exaltation.” The Sun is exalted in Aries.

Aries’ Ruling House: As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries rules the 1st House of Self. The 1st house is a representation of your overall self – the personality and traits that make you uniquely you. Aries’ connection to the 1st House of Self speaks to this sign’s pioneering nature, its bravery, and independence. Aries’ desire to create, identify, and deepen its sense of self is what the 1st house is all about.

Aries’ Element: The element of Fire fuels Aries’ courageous demeanor and desire for life. Fire is a self-motivated and high-spirited force that yearns to freely express itself and cannot be contained. Like a volcano, without warning, Aries is prone to bursts of enthusiasm or aggression. Aries embodies the Fire element through their identity and ego, acting as a trailblazer and a leader.

Aries’ Color: Red is the color of passion, excitement, and Fire, which supports Aries’ active energy and eagerness for life. Red is a vibrant color that demands attention – and Aries is a sign that doesn’t like to be ignored. It’s also no surprise that Aries’ ruling planet, Mars, is known as “The Red Planet”. The more red Aries surrounds itself with, the greater their natural powers can be.

Ruled by the vibrant Sun and driven by the warmth of its Fire element, the charming, magnificent, and dramatic Lion is the life of the party and loves attention. With its shining heart of gold, Leo is a loyal lover and a proud and courageous leader. This sign of the Lion embodies an air of royalty, just like the kings and queens of the jungle. Sometimes expressive to a fault, you’ll find them to be some of the most generous souls you’ll ever meet.

Leo’s Tarot Card: Leo is empowered by its Tarot card, Strength. In most Tarot decks, a Lion is featured prominently on this card, representing an obvious relationship with Leo the Lion. This card embodies nature in its most primal form, allowing the Lion to be and to express its true self. The Strength card is not only about physical strength, but also about strength of heart, mind, and soul. This card reminds Leo to balance its brute force and powerful roar with compassion, generosity, and love.

Leo’s Symbol: The Lion is known most for its strength and bravery as it rules over the jungle as one of the most powerful animals. The sign of Leo mirrors many aspects of this magnificent and royal feline, like instinct, affection, strength, and bravery.

Leo’s Ruling Planet: The expressive Sun is associated with the zodiac sign Leo. Just like the Sun is the center of the solar system, Leo likes to be the center of everyone’s attention. In Astrology, Leos are known to dazzle with charm, drama, and warmth. The Sun is a physical manifestation of all these characteristics.

Leo’s Ruling House: As the fifth sign of the zodiac, warm-hearted Leo rules over the 5th House of Pleasure. Both playful and full of energy, Leo the Lion feels right at home in this house that’s all about fun, creativity, and expression. And thanks to Leo’s frisky, flirty ways, this house also holds great clues to your romantic life, and the rewards love holds for you.

Leo’s Element: Leo is a Fire sign that shines as the center of attention wherever it goes. The element of Fire ignites Leo’s desire for life, drive for love, and eagerness for action. Like a roaring bonfire, Leo’s energy radiates warmth and lights up even the darkest nights. All it takes is one little spark to set Leo ablaze with with bold expression, brave choices, and powerful confidence.

Leo’s Color: Regal and bright, gold is the color for Leo the Lion. Glistening with royalty and class, gold has always been a symbol of power and prestige. So it’s no wonder Leo – the King of the Jungle – is represented by this expressive shade. When caught in the light, gold will glisten and shine so brightly it’s almost blinding. Just like Leo’s flamboyant nature, the color gold oozes with warmth, positivity, and attention.

Ruled by Jupiter, the planet of growth and opportunity, the sign of the Archer is an eternal student, looking for enlightenment through new ideas, people, and places. Sagittarius is on the hunt for the biggest, best experiences life has to offer. They have a positive and outgoing personality that makes them the life of any party. With a love of adventure and all things exotic, the worldly Archer just wants to soak it all in. Sagittarius is driven by a constant need to explore and expand its mind, heart, and awareness to the fullest extent. Fiery and free, Sagittarius knows that the only limits are the ones we create ourselves.

Sagittarius’ Tarot Card: Wise and understanding Sagittarius is connected to the Temperance Tarot card. The gentle process of tempering is about finding a perfect middle state, combining the best of all things to forge something that is stronger than the sum of its parts. By bringing the power of the philosophical world into their physical world, Sagittarius makes itself a source of ultimate truth and awareness.

Sagittarius’ Symbol: The zodiac sign Sagittarius is associated with the Archer, Chiron, and its glyph represents an arrow. Always eager to explore new horizons, the Archer sets its sights on a faraway target, then shoots toward it with precision. This focus on learning more, doing more, and seeing more is what Sagittarius is all about.

One of the tales about Chiron relates that he received a wound from a poisoned arrow. But because of his wisdom, he had been granted the gift of immortality from the gods. So he couldn’t die. But neither could the wound heal, for the poison was from a deadly serpent. So Chiron is the figure of the wounded healer, the sage who has an incurable injury yet who, because of his injury, understands the nature of pain far better than others.

Sagittarius’ Ruling Planet: Larger-than-life Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion. In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods, the biggest and the best. In Astrology Jupiter is known as the “benefic” planet, meaning it is the luckiest, most opportunistic planet of all. This positive energy influences Sagittarius’ optimistic, enlightening, and outgoing nature that shines and spreads through anyone they come into contact with. As the largest planet in our cosmos, Jupiter’s vastness encourages Sagittarius to stretch its mind and heart as far as it can.Sagittarius’ Ruling House: As the 9th sign in the zodiac, Sagittarius rules over the 9th House of Expansion. This house reveals how open our minds are, and how much we expand ourselves through education, exploration, and life lessons. From philosophical conversations to book research to world travel, the 9th house encourages you to go further than you’ve ever gone before. Sagittarius’ drive for adventure, growth, and awareness is strongly represented here.

Sagittarius’ Element: The zodiac sign Sagittarius is a Fire sign that lights up our lives with profound questions and exciting ideas. Just like an uncontrollable wildfire, this sign will happily go where the wind takes them to seek new experiences. Sagittarius uses its Fire energy on its lifelong journey of exploration, always ready to jump at the next adventure. The element of Fire continues to fuel Sagittarius’ never ending supply of optimism and inspiration.

Sagittarius’ Color: Purple is a color of abundance, which encourages Sagittarius’ natural luck and its drive to expand its mind and world. The color purple is also associated with spirituality and enlightenment, empowering Sagittarius’ philosophical explorations and lifelong quest for knowledge.

#kh axel #kh lea #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts meta #kh meta #anti-kh3 #kh leaisa #kh isalea #kh akusai #leaisa #isalea #akusai #kh isa

41 notes · View notes

jonathanraychapman · 5 years

Text

Comparing and Contrasting Blade II and Blade Runner

When I watch Blade II, I see a lot of the same ideas and plot twists from Blade Runner. I’ve spent way too much time watching both of these movies. They’re both favorites of mine. This is an essay comparing the two films. If you haven’t seen either, I recommend you quit reading and do so before continuing as I’m spoiling the heck out of these films’ plots.

First of all, Blade Runner is absolutely a classic and well-made movie - one of the top movies ever made. Meanwhile Blade II is simply not a classic (well maybe a cult classic). Blade II won’t be showing up on a top 100 movies list anytime soon. It’s just not going to happen. That’s not to speak unkindly of Blade II’s creators. Both writer David S. Goyer and director Guillermo del Toro do their best in playing to the strengths of the comic character (who has a fairly weak background to begin with) while utilizing Wesley Snipes as best they can. While Blade Runner (based on stories by famous writer Philip K. Dick) is a masterclass in both noir and science fiction, Blade II is more of an introduction into pulp fiction from yesteryear (one-part Kung Fu, one-part Film-Noir, and one-part Vampire/horror). That’s absolutely fine. And I think it’s fair to compare the films - just to explore how each dealt with similar plot points.

Even the lowest pulp-fiction story can have some really great ideas in it (riding on the shoulders of giants if you will). Blade II is (for myself personally) simply more entertaining than Blade Runner. Blade Runner can often feel heavy in its story-telling - offset by amazing visuals and intrigue. Meanwhile Blade II can feel light on its feet and is quite rewatchable (though sometimes in a so-bad-it’s-good way). I’d also like to point out that while both films are set in a futuristic noir world that seems to always be dark (I mean.. Vampires.. right?), there’s a lot of the American western that creeps in. We’ll get into that more with the protagonists though.

One utterly superficial thing to point out here at the beginning is the word “Blade” in both movie titles. Obviously this is a coincidence, but I thought I’d point it out. Blade is the name of the vampire slayer being famous for using blades while - in the other universe - a Blade Runner is a replicant running from death. I guess in both cases a “Blade” is symbolic of the death coming to supernatural creatures. I find it interesting that this similarity worked out so well.

The first element with Blade II worth pointing out (and sorry if I dwell on this too long) is the irony that it’s an ancient vampire (someone that doesn’t really have a lifespan) that creates a new breed of vampire that dies in a paltry 12 hours. This was supposedly an accident - as Eli Damaskinos (note the Biblical name) was trying to create a day-walker (supposedly Blade’s main advantage though he always seems to fight at night) to defeat the titular character since he defeated Deacon Frost in the last movie. The twist is that the vampires are converted from normal vampires with a bite of the single mutant progenitor (Damaskinos creation - who has a longer lifespan somehow). This is seemingly extremely limited compared with the replicants - who got 4 years to live. Of course - on the other hand - the vampires had their human years and whatever years they had had unlife before being cursed with the 12-hour-lifespan mutation.

The themes going on in these films here are nothing new. Both works really have a lot in similar with Frankenstein (maybe the common ancestor). Both involve a single male creator (the yin without the yang), trying to create artificial life using science (defying nature and God all the while). Both men have their creations (who are in constant pain or hunger) turn on them after abandoning them to find their own way in the universe. And even Mary Shelley was echoing elements of folklore (the golem for example) and Biblical themes (a parody or reversal of the Prodigal son). We’ve had many years of iterations on these themes to get to the time periods these films were made in. Original films can’t help but be products of the times they were created in. So as we wrestle with the concepts of genetically-modified life in science, these are bound to show up in science fiction.

Despite both films having single progenitors, there are differences in the two fatherly characters: the vampire Damaskinos and Dr. Eldon Tyrell. Damaskinos is basically a petty villain - completely selfish in his desire to have a son (merely as a weapon to defeat his enemies). I suppose there’s sort of a byline of benevolent shared protection of his people (though in reality he’s simply experimenting to be able to cure himself of the disadvantages of being a vampire). Also, remember that Damaskinos doesn’t really create anything himself. It’s human scientists that work for him that do the heavy-lifting (sort of implying that humans are the real monsters.. A theme set up with a human lawyer in the film). Though indeed Damaskinos does give his genetic material to the offspring - implying he takes personal interest.

Meanwhile, Dr Tyrell (who really is a genius creator - not just some corporate type that oversees things) thinks of himself as some sort of God (and to some extent he really is - though he is an aged man that has accepted his mortality). Tyrell is working out of the responsibility to lift up mankind - though the means are a slave race that he’s created. There are a lot of undercurrents of Prometheus - bringing fire to the human race - and also American slavery going on here. Tyrell thinks of his creations as his children (though it’s unclear if he’s given them any of his genes like with Damaskinos).

It’s at-first-glance hard to think of Dr Tyrell as being evil, while it’s very easy with the more-shady Damaskinos. Tyrell doesn’t really lie or present anything that isn’t true in his eyes. Meanwhile Damaskinos survives by lying and manipulating both his children and others. There’s sort of the question about the 4-year (due to the engineered Methuselah Syndrome) lifespan - about maybe Tyrell being afraid of his creations and petty in their creation. At a first glance, this limited lifespan is a safety precaution - to prevent the replicants from gaining the personality and empathy to pass the fictional Voight-Kampff test. And by the film’s lore, (to the corporation) this is justified - as there was a rebellion with previous models that had no such limit. It’s the Tyrell corporation that employs these creations as slaves (leading up the the rebellion).

It’s pointed out that a population of replicants are needed as mankind goes out to the stars - reminiscent of slaves and the exploration of the New World (America). So in the end, Tyrell wants to see humans lifted up on the backs of slaves while Damaskinos wants to see his people (vampires) fattened by humans that are literally turned into blood bags (mindless cattle). Both - in fact - are sort of villains (though maybe not in their own mind). It’s hard for me to understand Tyrell’s dualistic vision of creating children and then cursing those children with limited years while sending them out as a slave workforce. Yet he’s played off as an altruistic character in the films. I have a far easier time understanding Damaskinos’ motivations than Tyrell’s.

The second aspect of the film is involving the protagonist characters - Deckard and Blade for starters. Deckard (in a plot-twist that’s not completely accepted by the community) is supposedly a replicant himself while it’s canon that Blade is born a vampire. So both hunters hunt the very things they are. Both male characters are given female counterparts (the yang to their yin) to guide them - Rachael (a replicant) for Deckard, and Nyssa (a very snake-like name.. as a sort of Eve character) for Blade. Though Rachael (again with the Biblical undertones in the name) doesn’t really assist Deckard with tracking down the rogue replicants, Blade does get some help from Nyssa (though let’s face it.. she’s kind of a seductress turned honest - a common theme of the Western). Based on her looks in the film, I would have cast Rachael as a femme fetale. But in fact she’s a very shallow character and it’s not really clear that she does anything nefarious or helpful. Both Rachael and Nyssa are more of objectified goals for the protagonists - representing a love or a wholesome life they’ve never known (again the Western creeping in with turning nefarious women honest through a one-night stand).

This is in juxtaposition to all the destruction that both protagonists bring - both being essentially death-dealers (blades). In both cases, the other characters (and maybe the protagonists themselves) are somewhat appalled at the violence they’ve dealt on their journey. Both heroes have weapons that are given heavy emphasis visually - Blade’s sword and Deckard’s blaster. As they hunt their prey, there’s a lot of collateral damage done to the locations. These are sci-fi movies with a heavy focus on action and - as mentioned - sort of based on the Western to an extent. I will point out that while Blade is quite competent with weapons, Deckard sort of isn’t. Because the replicants are so strong (they’re enhanced humans after all), he’s always getting beat up before drawing or using his weapon. This always sort of made me question that he’s supposed to be a replicant himself.

This also raises another contrast. Blade has that Western-movie concept of always being aware of enemies approaching while in Blade Runner there’s not a lot of that going on (it’s more based on the detective genre where the hero is good at finding clues but bad at perceiving danger). So Deckard kind of bumbles his way through the plot. I suppose he’s really more of a successful detective (though Blade did figure out that he was being betrayed well in advance; sort of calling back to a Sherlock Holmes plot device). To be honest, I was never really sure how Deckard had his job in the first place - since he’s seemingly kind of not very good at it (outside of finding replicants). I mean in this huge futuristic world, I guess Deckard really is great in being able to find the next piece of the puzzle (though the clues are pretty obvious). In Blade II, the plot is kind of on autopilot most of the time. Blade is more of a warrior than a detective yet ironically better at understanding his circumstances.

The last aspect both films have in common that I’d like to go over are the antagonists. These are broken up into two categories: a main villain (Nomak and Roy) and side-villains (the Bloodpack and the other replicants). First the side-villains. Blade II has this very heavy-handed “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” theme (seriously.. they say this every five minutes). That’s who the Bloodpack are (that name is also quite ridiculous); they’re mercenary vampires that have temporarily sided with Blade in the effort to survive the plague of mutant vampires. This very much plays into the Western motif with the protagonist knowing when he’s about to get betrayed. Meanwhile, the replicants in Blade Runner are pretty straight-forward obstacles to overcome (each leading to another clue to help Deckard along). There’s not much else to say here except that these side-villains offer a lot of the action in both movies. I guess in Blade II, Reinhardt is more of an aware villain than the rest are because of how much he talks, but he’s of little consequence really.

So really it’s Nomak and Roy that are the main characters - abandoned artificial creations that want revenge on their creator (ala Frankenstein). Both are very strong and very resilient (sort of one-upping the protagonist physically). Both are also highly intelligent and both question their creators and find the answers lacking - leaving them angry over the unfair burden placed on them. And yet - in the end - both also go willingly into death at the end of their lifespan (sort of conceding their fate and letting the hero win). In this way, they go against the Frankenstein mold (he would end up living in spite of himself or intentions).

There’s not really much else to say about Nomak or Roy - since both show up late in the last quarter of their respective movie and kind of steal the show with an extended soliloquy. Maybe there’s more screen time and more character development for Nomak from some of the early fighting and horror scenes. But Roy also sort of makes Blade Runner great with his “tears in the rain” speech - so much that the mind makes you think he was there more than he actually was in the movie. So in a way (as a goofy twist), Roy is kind of the unicorn for Blade Runner’s viewers (making them think he was present in the plot more).

While both movies are obviously different from each other, I have to wonder how much of the similarities in both films are subconscious (or sort of a common ancestry in story-telling) and how much was actually conscious.

#Blade Runner #blade ii

3 notes · View notes

timhatchlive · 1 year

Text

Economic Judgment

Isaiah 13-23 is a series of 10 oracles against the nation in the geographical order of East to West, beginning with Babylon and ending with Tyre of the Phoenician empire. Interesting to note that Babylon was the political power of the day and Tyre was the engine of commerce. We have a picture of how God judges a nation or generation. First, starting with removing their political power and then leads to the destruction of their economic means.

Isaiah begins:

Isaiah 23:1–2 (ESV) The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. 2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.

Tyre and Sidon were key port cities in the Phoenician empire. This empire was a major influence of ancient idolatry in Israel. Later in the chapter, Isaiah notes Tyre's influence on kings in the region. They sought goods of Tyre across the world.

Sidon, also an economic power, was the idolatrous spiritual influence on Israel. The most well-known of her citizens was Jezebel, the daughter of a king who ran roughshod over Israel's prophets and sought to kill Elijah.

Isaiah 23:4 (ESV) Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: “I have neither labored nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up young women.”

The image of the sea mourning over the judgment befallen Sidon is instructive. Man living righteously is a joy to the whole Earth. But when mankind leverages the creation for immorality, the creation groans.

Isaiah 23:5 (ESV) When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.

Not only the sea but the nations who do business with Tyre lament the demise of it's economy.

Then God poses a question to His people, Israel:

Isaiah 23:8 (ESV) Who has purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?

The answer is in the next verse

Isaiah 23:9–11 (ESV) The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth. 10 Cross over your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint anymore. 11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has shaken the kingdoms; the LORD has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds.

The ultimate lesson of this first half of Isaiah is that God in sovereign over the global economy which is inextricably connected to both the creation and each nation. He wants His people made aware of this. To wander from the Lord is to depart from order and structure and find yourself in chaos. When nations fall we might be tempted to find explainable reasons such as poor leaders or bad policy. But the truth is God is bringing judgment to those who follow idols.

Isaiah 23:11 (ESV) He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has shaken the kingdoms; the LORD has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds.

The lesson is simple. God rules the economies of the Earth. If a nation forgets its humble dependency on His grace, they are left to His judgment. He is the owner of all things. To Him we must give account.

from Blogger https://ift.tt/odGT9iM via IFTTT

#belief #Bible #Christianity #faith #God #holy spirit #Isaiah #Jesus Christ #Truth

1 note · View note

pacack · 5 years

Text

Smash Bros. and Politics

So, I was seeing an argument on twitter that claimed that games have become steeped in politics to the detriment of consumers.

I thought to myself, “Alright, I know a game that spans game history from 1980 to now that we can look at to determine whether games have really gotten more political with time.”

Spoiler: Only 9.375% of the franchises represented by characters in Smash Bros. avoid political themes. Games are intensely political and always have been.

Actual spoiler warning: This includes spoilers for the general plot and themes of basically every game franchise included in Smash Bros.

Trigger warning: The following essay contains references to violence, death, war, emotional abuse, racism, racial and cultural stereotyping, sexism, minority oppression, poverty, gangs, animal cruelty, religious hypocrisy, pollution, and climate change.

Mario: Traditionally avoids complex plotlines entirely (though some games break that tradition,) but even the most barebones plots have “ruler who thirsts for power is a bad person, while ruler who does not is a good person.”

Donkey Kong: The themes are all blatantly environmental. The main characters are heavily intertwined with nature, while the big bad steals natural resources, uses technology that pollutes and disturbs the local area, and evolves over time from a corrupt monarch to a gun-touting pirate to a mad scientist. The evolution of the villain’s technology in the first trilogy is sending the message that oppression evolves over time to become more sophisticated.

Zelda: Varies from game to game but ranges from “bad guy literally is transformed into a pig because he desires power” to “crisis brings grief and makes us contemplate our morality, but that should make us value the connections we have more.”

Metroid: Game revolves around a skilled and wholly independent soldier/mercenary/bounty hunter that happens to be a woman. Laced with themes of “a person who is profoundly and intentionally alone does not need to be dependent on others to define herself” and “scientific progress that is intended for the betterment of mankind can and will be used to wage war by those who seek to do harm.”

Yoshi: “Communities should help and protect even complete strangers from those who would do them harm.”

Kirby: Themes range from “greed of a ruler leaves kingdom in poverty” to “people who band together in friendship can overthrow those who possess power.”

Star Fox: Tyrannical mad scientist plans to form an oppressive empire by using technology. Do I need to explain that?

Pokémon: Treat animals as partners and friends and marvel at the wonders of the natural world. Bad guys include:

an organization that abuses animals

an organization who aims to destroy the environment

an organization that doesn’t appreciate the current world and plans to reshape it into one where emotional attachment doesn’t exist

an organization that criticizes the current state of affairs in legitimate ways to hide their real intentions of stripping the common man from their power to resist their planned dictatorship

an organization that values beauty and power above all else (criticizing the French elite specifically)

A gang that recruits desperate people who feel they don’t have a family

A supposedly humanitarian organization that is headed by a possessive and emotionally abusive mother who is obsessed with owning things, people, and animals rather than loving them.

Earthbound/Mother: Discusses complex themes about love of family, pain of loss of and rejection from that family, the trauma one suffers because of that pain, and the importance of people learning form that pain rather than using it as justification for hurting others.

F-Zero: People meet one-another and trade, develop new social ties, have intellectual exchanges, and share technology, but some begin to abuse the framework of the system that brought everyone together to make themselves lavishly wealthy. These elites then develop dangerous sports for their own entertainment that the common man is enticed to compete in to improve their societal standing.

Ice Climber: Two characters that are coded as Inuit-Yupik enjoy themselves by cooperating and competing with one another in nature. While simple, the theme of connection between people over a shared activity can’t be recognized as completely apolitical when they’re in a minority group.

Fire Emblem: A just ruler is forced into conflict with a neighboring despotic country and must balance their duty to defend their people with their understanding that it is the innocent common folk of the other country that will suffer in place of the unjust rulers who began the conflicts. The game centers around meeting new people, many of them from the other side, who themselves are multi-layered and kind, but who live difficult lives. The unjust rulers are defeated, but a greater threat then brings all the people together, despite their differences, for the common good.

Game and Watch: Man juggles, cooks, and plays games with his friends :)

Kid Icarus: An angel who has a disability that prevents him from flying must save the world when circumstances leave him as the only person capable of resisting. He succeeds and is recognized by being promoted captain of the guard for his ability, courage, and tenacity. From that point on, the support of others allows him to live his life without his mobility defining what he can and cannot do.

WarioWare: The main character (who was conceptualized because artists’ freedom to create was limited by corporate greed and its insistence on maintaining the status quo) is a greedy man who plans on creating a poor, easily made product to sell to people as a get-rich-quick scheme with complete disregard for artistic integrity.

Metal Gear: The entire series began as a political commentary on the manipulation of soldiers by politicians in the Cold War. The series delves deeply into the morality of war and the negative impact that it has on a person, as well as discussing peace, revenge, racial violence, genetic engineering, censorship, societal loss of a person’s knowledge when they die, misrepresentation of history, and generational knowledge and bias. The main character, Solid Snake, is a critical analysis of the action hero trope, and the deconstruction of his character archetype reveals his increasingly broken spirit as he comes to see his life as unavoidably entwined with conflicts and war.

Sonic: Evil scientist destroys and pollutes the environment and abuses animals in his scheme to gain power, leading to the animals themselves revolting and overthrowing him for his actions.

Pikmin: A middle-class working man who cares only about supporting his family is made to work in dangerous conditions and suffers hardships because of his company’s desire to maximize profits.

Animal Crossing: A kind community of people welcomes a stranger and helps them to build a new life with them, teaching them how to survive and thrive on their own.

Mega Man: Society has advanced to the point that robots are used in day to day jobs, and an ambitious scientist hacks into them and uses the technology to throw society into disarray, with hopes of establishing a dictatorship.

Wii Fit: Fitness trainer teaches you how to exercise and become healthier :)

Punch-Out: A poor kid from the Bronx has dreams of becoming a star athlete, and his trainer, a kind, retired black boxer, trains and inspires him to achieve his dreams of having a better life. The international opponents in the game embody both harmless and harmful societal stereotypes of their cultures. The more ridiculous the stereotypes surrounding the group, the more ridiculous the opponent becomes. Ultimately the protagonist, a multiracial kid from one of the most diverse cities in the world, achieves his dreams and is respected globally for his skill and perseverance, reflecting the ideal of cultural harmony.

Mii: Customizable avatar characters play games :)

Pac-Man: Happy man eats food as cute monsters chase him around a maze :)…in a dramatic departure from the norms of the time in the industry, making the uncommon move of advertising to women by using cute, whimsical designs and appealing to and encouraging everyone’s common experience of eating. Avoided common themes of the time like violent space shooters, racing games, and sports titles, which were meant to appeal to young men.

Xenoblade: The plot revolves around predicting where the path you’re on leads you in the future and emphasizes heavily that there is nothing in life that decides your fate for you. Aims to explain that, while hardships in life can lead you to do the wrong thing, you always have the power to change that which seems destined in your life. It condemns those who use the hardships they’ve experienced to excuse wrongdoing and explains that a person has the power to learn and grow from those hardships instead.

Duck Hunt: You’re a duck hunter shooting down ducks with your trusty companion dog :)

Street Fighter: The continuity is a mess, but basically it boils down to an evil man being defeated by the honorable and pure philosophy of the protagonist. It involves different spiritualities that are a part of different martial arts and I’m not going to pretend to be qualified to talk about the cultural implications of them, but it generally discusses the morality of violence.

Final Fantasy VII: A soldier who lost his best friend in a battle long ago joins an ecoterrorist rebellion against a corporation that is draining the life force from the planet at the expense of energy. If I have to spell out the environmental themes there any more clearly you’re a moron.

Bayonetta: Sexual witch with guns sold her soul to demons and literally makes a living killing angels that are obsessed with the impending resurrection of God, the creation of a new world, and the destruction of the current one. Heavily inspired by and critical of Christianity, with the angels being named after virtues that they lack. The five main bosses in the game are the four Cardinal Virtues of Catholicism – Courage, Temperance, Justice, and Prudence – and the final boss is God herself, a self-centered and spoiled character that demands adoration from all. Contrasts the hypocritical, power-hungry, and overzealous forces of religion with the Bayonetta’s honest and unapologetic appreciation for worldly pleasures, her confidence in her autonomy, and her quest to understand her individuality.

Splatoon: Squid kids play paintball :)…except it’s actually a post-apocalyptic world where humanity died off due to climate change and cephalopods became the dominant intelligent life on Earth.

Castlevania: Heavy religious themes debating the worth of humanity as a man treks through a haunted castle to fight Dracula, a vampiric demon who keeps reincarnating and who occasionally quotes the Bible verbatim. Most games in the series center around the theme that, even though human life is fleeting, it is precious.

Persona: High school student goes into alternate world where his darkest subconscious thoughts manifest into a “persona” tied to him. Debates philosophical topics very, very heavily and questions the meaning of identity.

3 notes · View notes

thesilentinquisitor · 5 years

Text

About Evren

Basics

Name: Evren Tanith Anubis

Aka: Lady Anubis, Lady Inquisitor, the Emperor’s Jackal, the Silent Inquisitor, the Bone Witch. Aunt/Auntie Evren to many. Known to the Neverborn as the Fourteen-Eyed Jackal and the Crowned Devourer In Golden Chains. Evy or Eve to some.

Originally: Evren Tanith Burakgazi.

DOB: 21st December, 989.M1 (Sagittarius). Appears to be in her late twenties or early thirties.

Gender + Sexuality: Agender/demigirl. Poly-panromantic greysexual, with slight preference towards women when it comes to relationships and men when it comes to casual flings.

Origin: Liverpool, UK, Terra. Mixed Egyptian and Turkish, identifies as English.

Rank: [30k] Grand Inquisitor. Officially, she is the seeker of traitors and rebels, acting as a scalpel to cut out the cancer before it grows large enough to warrant calling in the Space Wolves or Night Lords. Unofficially, she seeks out artefacts, creatures, and people of great power and destructive potential and contains them, sometimes neutralising them or turning them to the use of the Imperium. These include Chaos or Warp-powered artefacts, xenotech, creations from before the Age of Strife, items from alternate universes, and things of stranger, more obscure origins. Her mission and means are highly secretive, with few beyond the Emperor and Malcador the Sigillite being aware of her true mission.

[40k] Loyalist Renegade/Inquisitor: After the Tomb Jackals were banished and wiped from the records at the end of the Heresy, they spent several centuries engaged in a Repentance Crusade in the Eye. However, they soon emerged and began engaging with the Imperium again, albeit under false names with false histories. Evren uses a fake Rosette to pass as an Inquisitor of Ordo Hereticus or Malleus.

History

Abilities:

Flawed Perpetual: Requires energy and biomass to regenerate lost body parts; she must eat an arm’s weight to get an arm back. Large healings leave her weak and sleepy from hours to days after; regrowing more than 50% of her bodyweight will cause her to fall into a coma. Will regenerate from the largest part remaining or the one with her head. Other parts die after an hour and are usually consumed to regain biomass. Never ‘dies’ but will lose consciousness if sufficiently injured.

Living Cancer: Thanks to her mother’s hasty dying pact and Malal’s sick sense of humour, Evren can best be described as a sapient infectious cancer. Her cells are constantly regenerating and can revert back to stem cell level to allow her to regenerate limbs or organs. Her cells replace any foreign organic material inside or added to her body - grafted-on limbs will change into copies of what she lost - which means she was never able to bear a child, even before she removed the required organs. Given sufficient time and material, she can convert corpses into copies of her or, if a live cell sample is placed in a nutrient broth, grow a new body from scratch over a period of roughly two and half months.

Gamma-level Psyker: biomancy/physiokinesis/chloromancy, telepathy, telekinesis, kine-shields. Studied and mastered necromancy from the post-Heresy-era onwards. Has an incredibly precise control over her magic and a long list of memorised spells, though her range is middling to poor. Good at sensing fluctuations in the Warp.

Biomancy: Her first and strongest discipline. Though she was first trained as a healer, Evren has turned what she learnt to the causes of torture and interrogation, shaping flesh and bone like wet clay. She knows dozens of methods for instant killing, as well as how to keep a victim alive long after they should have died. Her speciality is the draining of energy from victims, leaving them dried-out husks.

Chloromancy: An offshoot of biomancy devoted to the control of plants. She can create fully-grown plants from seeds in seconds, even if said seeds are inside someone’s stomach at the time. Evren’s presence enlivens plants - grass lengthens in her footsteps and flowers bloom where she uses her magic.

Necromancy: At the price of another life, Evren can bring back the dead - either has barely-sapient drones or exactly as they used to be. Those too damaged or rotten to be brought back properly are made into corpse-constructs - shambling creatures made from mismatched parts, sometimes with dozens of eyes or arms for legs - or as disposable troops. Can also summon, banish, and sense ghosts or spirits - not via any natural ability but the use of charmed props and equipment.

Daemonology: Has studied the lore of daemons, so can summon, banish, restrain, and otherwise deal with daemons. After her pact with Malal, she can access their Chains of Binding, which can make most daemons her slaves.

Strengths/Weaknesses:

+ Biology, genetic manipulation, botany: Excels in the sciences of life. Can create new species of plants, animals, and bacterium in her lab, for everything from relieving famine or curing diseases to bioweapons. Has an almost instinctive knowledge of cell function and makeup. + Occult knowledge: Widely read in the nature of magic and the Warp. Has memorised many spells, curses, and cantrips; draws protective sigils and wards with ease. Knows secrets that would drive many insane, which has had an impact on her sanity. + Resistant to pain and torture: Both thanks to experience and her ability to use biomancy to shut down her pain receptors, she can resist most interrogation techniques. When put under great stress, she will put herself into a coma. + Stealth and terror tactics: Can become all but imperceptible thanks to a combination of magical and mundane techniques. Trained in tracking, assassination, sabotage, recon, torture and interrogation, intelligence gathering, and item/personnel retrieval. + Shapeshifting: Disguising herself as others, of any height, weight, or bodyshape, is easy for Evren thanks to her biomancy. She deeply dislikes changing her skin tone and avoid it whenever possible. ~ Evren has autism, what was formerly known as Asperger’s Syndrome. - Suffering mentally: Her traumatic life experiences and knowledge of the universe has given Evren a depression and PTSD, both of which seem resistant to treatment. She suffers from panic attacks, nightmares, and is psychologically triggered by enclosed spaces, the colour yellow (especially hooded robes), pregnant women, and the sight of certain religious artifacts. She uses various meditation techniques and marijuana for her anxiety. - Cannot see into the future through dreams, visions, or third-party methods: she cannot scry, cast runes, or use the Tarot. To seers, her future actions are shrouded in darkness. Some report hearing the roar of static and feeling the attention of something dark fall on them, heralded by seeing dozens of blank, white eyes in the darkness. Others see dozens of extremely disparate futures to the point of being overwhelmed. - ’Perpetual’ nature causes her body to reject all non-organic implants, such as the Black Carapace: organic implants and transplants can be accepted via biomancy. - Must have a source of energy/food or healing abilities slow. Must have a source of energy/food or her healing abilities slow until they cease to work entirely, due to the high energy demands of her body, leading to wounds remaining open even after an ordinary human would have healed. Starves at the rate of one unenhanced, though her enhancements allow her to consume many things considered inedible. - Weak to things that destroy cells/atoms, i.e. atom bombs, strong radiation, gauss flayers, fire, being thrown into the Sun. Deeply fears Necrons for this reason. - Highly affected by Blanks. Cause painful rashes/skin peeling, bleeding from the eyes/nose, intense migraines, and seizures depending on closeness/length of exposure. Her healing factor is deadened to the point where one could kill her with a knife and a bit of patience. - Bad at spelling and mental mathematics, to the point of dyscalculia.

Personality:

+ Loyal, protective, generous, loving, charitable, friendly, patient, determined, optimistic, intellectual, courageous, devoted, flexible, playful, artistic, imaginative, trusting, forgiving.

- Liar, braggart, snobbish, patronising, glutton, literal-minded, coddling, depressive, zealot, hoarder, hypocrite, merciless, sadistic, vengeful, spiteful, stubborn, nosy, impulsive, selfish, clingy, melodramatic.

- Evren’s motivation in life is the protection and wellbeing of humanity; to this end very few actions are considered ‘too much’ or ‘too far’. Like the SCP Foundation before her, she will inflict pain and death on hundreds or thousands to save millions or even billions. - Highly curious, she is full of questions at all times and loves to explore. - Friends and family mean a lot to her; she values her brothers’ happiness highly and possesses an undying loyalty to the Emperor, even if she often doubts him. - She still has great faith in humanity and believes that most people are good - Has a 'better the devil you know’ attitude, used to enduring horrible things if it meant keeping humanity safe from even greater horrors or even annihilation - She has a deep-seated disdain for religion and identifies as a misotheist, having never met a 'god’ worth worshipping. Secretly she dreams of toppling the gods and perhaps even taking a little of their power for themselves - she’s sure she would use it better. - Due to the fact it was the last time she felt 'normal’ or 'like herself’, Evren is obsessed with the culture of the 1980s to 2020s and has gone out of her way to preserve artifacts from that era, including her favourite popular media. She enjoys cartoons and anime. - Despite, or possibly because of, living through the millennia-long suppression of magic by the Foundation, Evren is openly, unapologetically proud of being a psyker and campaigns for the better understanding of her fellow magic-users. - Secretly, she is somewhat of a coward and flees from anything she is sure can kill her, though she once managed to explore a Necron tomb with her Legion. - Often overwhelmed by her duties, she is full of doubts and often second-guesses herself - Is a hopeless romantic, in love with love, but treats sex casually - to her, it’s just another fun thing two or more people who like each other can do together

Likes/hobbies: Magic and studying magic, archaeology, history, exploring ruins or nature, tomb-raiding and grave-robbing, botany and gardening, cartoons comics, horror books/movies, making clothes and jewellery, puzzles/riddles, cooking, coffee/recaff (the more elaborate, brighter-coloured, and highly-flavoured the better), Turkish and Egyptian cuisine, dancing, singing, playing the piano.

Hates: Chaos-worshippers, the Chaos gods, religion in general, not being able to know things, traitors and backstabbers, letting down a friend, enclosed spaces, going hungry, wasting food, offal, eye contact, people who take advantage, corrupt officials, people who don’t care for others, Astartes who look down on humans, almost all Commissars not named Ciaphas Cain, the fact she has to remove all her body hair to wear her bodyglove comfortably. After the Heresy, she despises Iron Warriors and Word Bearers to the point where she’ll drop anything to kill them; it’s her dearest dream to sacrifice Erebus and Kor Phaeron to Malal.

Looks:

Height: 5′7″ (original) / 8′3″ (current). Can and will change her height with biomancy.

Eyes:

Golden with hints of brown. Dark rimmed irises like a wolf (or a chicken). In the 40k era, they turn white with black sclera when channelling the power of Malal.

Wears kohl eyeliner in the ancient Egyptian style, eyeshadow in shades of blue or red with a streak of gold. Long lashes usually enhanced with mascara.

Well-groomed, s-shaped eyebrows with a ‘hook’.

Possesses a unique, prototype in-built ‘prey-sight’ that allows her to see into the infrared spectrum and track targets by body-heat. Unfortunately, it also reduces her ability to see detail such as writing/screens and people’s faces, turns the world into a blobby mess of colour, and gives her crippling migraines if she uses it for more than five minutes. Her pupils are dilated and her eyes appear glazed during use.

Has a transparent, protective nictitating membrane.

Skin:

Brown, vaguely russet. Blushes easily, freckles in strong sunlight thanks to the Jackal geneseed. Some moles – aka ‘beauty spots’ - across her body and limbs.

No scars or wrinkles save for a line of small, round scars along her spine and faint marks on her stomach as if something with five claws slashed her from ribs to hip.

Removes all hair below the neck with biomancy, to keep it from catching in her armour and bodyglove; without that, she has dark body hair and a ‘treasure trail’.

Tattoos in gold ink of runes across her ribcage, arms to elbows, and on her stomach, spelling out incantations of warding and banishment; intricate magical diagrams and sigils cover her back from shoulders to hips. These act as protection against daemons, increase her magical abilities, and make her touch painful for any with above a certain amount of Warp energies inside them. Designed to ward off danger and interrogating Chaos worshippers, she cannot touch Sanguinius or Magnus with her bare skin without causing burning pins-and-needles tingling. Touching a daemon causes them severe pain, like touching a red-hot poker.

In the 40k era, she bears the brand of Malal on her stomach; the black-and-white skull mark only appears when she’s channelling the Outcast God’s power or consumed with thoughts of vengeance. At all other times, it’s invisible.

Sensitive to touch and ticklish, especially around the - ahem - chest.

Body:

Lean but muscular with long limbs/torso. Broad shoulders, slim waist, and powerful thighs. A six-pack and strong arms. Often compared to an Amazon or Valkyrie.

Disproportionate on close inspection, with her arms almost as long as her legs; can give an Uncanny Valley effect. Long stomach/spine between ribcage and hips; has three more lumbar vertebrae than normal. Long fingers, toes, neck.

Small chest - ‘small but perfectly formed’ as she sometimes says.

Highly flexible and double jointed, capable of impressive contortionist acts. Often cracks her joints to the point of sounding like an old man; is prone to aches and pains after too much flexing, which she eases with long baths.

Possesses all Astartes organs aside from the Mucranoid, Melanchromic Organ, Black Carapace, and Lyman’s Ear; her Sus-an Membrane has a malfunction that, whenever she activates it, plagues her hibernation period with horrific nightmares.

Lacks the Black Carapace and interface ports thanks to her Perpetual nature, so she syncs with her custom-made Power Armour (Mark IV variant, replaced by a Mark VI variant post-Heresy) via a series of needles that pierce her spinal cord.

Has several experimental organs not used in the final Astartes model: Angius Ligament (lets her stretch her jaws like a snake), Tanax Gland (produces a sticky, glue-like saliva that dries quickly on contact with air), Pera Organ (a second stomach), and Runco Node (a gland in the brain that, at times of great stress, releases hormones and chemicals to dull her feelings of pain, fear, and despair; in some circumstances, Evren goes into a trance-like state where she can only think of killing enemies and lacks morality, mercy, or a conscience. She never remembers her actions afterwards and the Jackals have sworn never to tell her).

Face:

Greatly resembles her Papa. They have the same eyes, brow, nose, and cheekbones. Diamond-shaped face with a strong jaw. Beauty spot near left eye.

Eight canine teeth; all teeth sharper and more pointed than normal.

Long, flexible tongue. Unsurprisingly, she’s also a very good kisser.

Wears a brown or berry-coloured blush and lipstick in maroon, berry, navy, or black.

Faceclaim: Jessica Penne.

Hair:

Black, glossy, falls in loose curls. Naturally thick and heavy. Soft and silky.

Shoulder-blade length and worn parted at her left side with a side-fringe.

Doesn’t often change her hairstyle, but she has experimented with various styles and lengths. Tends to go between straight and curly on a whim.

In battle, it’s braided and curled into a bun under her helmet.

Clothes:

Linen tunics, tight cloth trousers, long waistcoats, and long, fur-lined (often leather) coats. Soft leather knee-high boots, leather boots, flats, and ankle boots – never heels. Doesn’t wear socks. Wears black, white, gold, shades of red but usually crimson or maroon, and shades of blue from navy to turquoise.

Gold, copper, and bone accessories – from her kills, both animal, xenos, and human. Usually hand-made. Loves rubies, aquamarine, lapis lazuli, coral, and sapphires. Likes Egyptian, jackal, space, floral/plant, and skull/bone motifs.

Wears lots of rings, bracelets/bangles, and necklaces when off-duty.

Has a large hat collection, with hats for every occasion, but she most often wears a wide-brimmed black hat with the brim tilted just so. Hat never falls off because it’s held in place with a hatpin topped with a silver skull.

Attitude/Bearing:

Due to her autism, she rarely makes eye contact, has dulled facial expressions/RBF, tends towards a monotone voice, and stims by twining her hands, playing with her hair, or pressing her palms together. Looks at people’s noses or ears, as a rule.

Stands and walks with almost unnatural grace and flexibility. Very light feet. Will casually bend her limbs backwards to reach something or turn her head like an owl.

Has a faint Liverpudlian accent and a deep voice; the accent is a deliberate affectation and vanishes during times of stress, replaced with a Terran accent.

Daemon-Princess of Malal Form Evren can ‘summon’ small parts of her daemon form into her human body, such as horns, claws, eyes, and wings; her most common trick is to summon wings, pure black and flat as paper, the feathers razor-sharp.

Soul: To psykers and daemons, her soul appears to be glowing with a bright golden light that can be almost blinding. There’s an impression of many wings, eyes, and teeth and a burning crown. Her tattoos appear as literal golden chains and the influence of Malal as a spreading darkness centred around her solar plexus.

Equipment

Mark IV/ Mark VI Corvus Power Armour: Adjusted to her disproportionate frame, the biggest change is around the joints of the armour; plating has been re-shaped and in some cases removed to allow a much higher degree of flexibility. Instead of the classic ‘beaky’ helmet it has the white jackal mask worn by the Legion’s command ranks. The inside is coated with runes and sigils of protection, purity, and banishment. The pockets and waist pouches are much bigger on the inside than the outside.

Force Sword (Asurludu): Designed and built for a user who places speed and flexibility over strength, longer and lighter than the usual model. The hilt and blade show some influence from ancient Turkic designs. The blade is decorated with an ‘evren’ - that is to say, the dragon from Turkic mythology - and the grip is bound in dark blue.

Daemon Sword: A black-bladed daemon sword with an ornate gold hilt, decorated with obsidians and moonstones, and a scabbard decorated with many eyes. Contains Snuffer Of Faith’s Candlelight, a Guardian of Contradictions who displeased Malal and was sentenced to eleven thousand year’s imprisonment within the sword. Screams and wails when wielded. Can and will devour mortal souls and daemons alike.

Various grenades: Krak, frag, flashbang, and ‘Banisher’ - produced and equipped solely by the Tomb Jackals Legion, they contain blessed salt, iron, silver, and holy water. Evren often forgets they’re there or to replenish her supply, to the annoyance of her armoury staff. She retorts that her throwing arm is so bad they’re all but useless anyway.

Dataslate: Connected to the Weigher’s central database and intranet, Evren can call upon thousands of years of information in seconds. She can also connect to others’ dataslates and send messages to their ships or voxes. It can fold in half like a book and be used in either orientation. Most files are in Esceapian or Turkish; anything sensitive is protected with instakill memetic agents that cause fatal seizures and brain haemorrhages in any who haven’t been through the right psycho-programming.

Combat Knife: Carved with runes, it has a devastating effect on daemons and other creatures of Chaos. The default combat knife wielded by all Tomb Jackals and Shadows.

Bolter: She once owned a master-crafted, artisanal-made Crusade-pattern Bolter that was destroyed just after the Heresy, during their Crusade in the Eye, and never replaced. Since then she’s owned a variety of firearms, either losing them or giving them away. Her current weapon, as of 40k, is a Godwyn Mark Vb Pattern.

Snacks and drinks: Since both magic and healing drain a great deal of her energy, it’s important for Evren to stay well-fed. She keeps a supply of high-protein, high-fat, and high-sugar rations in the form of bars and drinks, fortified with iron and calcium, as well as more normal foodstuffs such as jerky, candy bars, and bottles of water.

Inquisitors’ Rosette: Before the Heresy, this took the form of the Emperor’s personal aquila in gold, with the SCA symbol on its breast, as a badge or a pendent. In the 40k, Evren wields the rosette of the Inquisition when going undercover. Kyete acquired it, as well as the official papers and paraphernalia, from a Custodian who owed her a favour. The rosette takes the form of the stylised I bearing the winged skull of a jackal.

First Aid Kit: For minor wounds she can’t or won’t heal with her biomancy.

#[ooc post]#[evren's personnel file]#[legion documents]

6 notes · View notes

howtodrawyourdragon · 6 years

Text

The Sound of Silence: Chapter 1

Summary: An alternate ending to 'Dire Straits'. Hiccup seemed fine when they returned to Berk. All he needed was to rest and stay warm. Fatal complications soon arise. A deathfic requested by @ashleybenlove and @bitter-feat-dragons.

Author’s Notes: This idea was spawned while watching @hello-em75‘s Httyd 3 countdown stream two weeks ago when the episode ‘Dire Straits’ from RttE season 4 arrived.

Also-

"I'm excited for the one where he dies" - @ashleybenlove

For a moment, Hiccup did not breathe.

He just lied there on the wooden deck of the ship. Soaked in sea water, limp, still, pale. It was the way they had dragged him out of the diving bell, his own creation, which had been ruined by a Submaripper. It had been riled up by Viggo Grimborn and his men, the Dragon Hunters, in an attempt to get rid of him. An attempt that may be successful.

The Riders all stood there in disbelieve, no one moved a muscle as they simply watched. The dragons, very much an equal part of their team, were quiet and waited for a single sign of life, no matter how small. It were Astrid and Toothless who sat by their leader's side and pleaded for him to awaken.

"Please breathe. Please breathe." Astrid begged with him aloud and with the Gods silently, one hand placed gingerly on his chest. It did not heave.

It would be much too soon for him to go to Valhalla. He was only eighteen years of age, just barely a man, much too young to go, and fighting a war for a cause they thought just. They needed him. She needed him. He couldn't leave them yet.

And what a way it would be for him to go. Not in an epic blaze of glory befitting the Heir of Berk, the Dragon Master, but alone in the dark depths of the ocean, slipping further and further away in the freezing cold, knowing that death was inching closer and unable to do anything about it.

Toothless crooned in desperation as he came closer and nudging with his snout against his Rider, licking his chin, his jaw, his face. As if the action was to remind him how to take a breath.

And he did.

Out of nowhere his body seemed to shock itself back into action. Hiccup's eyes flew open and he began to cough. His lungs were trying to expulse all the water he had breathed in from his system and it was doing it violently so.

Though the Dragon Riders were overwhelmed by relief, each wearing looks of varying degrees, Tuff even sagging against his sister and Fishlegs muttering a quiet 'oh, thank Thor', Astrid fought hers as she helped Hiccup turn onto his side. It was what she had to do to help him keep from choking on the saltwater he had coughed back up.

Toothless warbled in worry as he moved to Hiccup's front, nudging him again as he lied on his side and panted once his lungs had been mostly freed. He had folded in on himself by now, curled up and made himself so small for someone so tall. He trembled terribly and seemed barely aware of his surroundings, staring at his hands. But he was awake. He had made it and for now that was all that mattered.

"Is he...?" Snotlout wasn't sure what he wanted to ask as he and the others approached carefully, the dragons attempting to do so quietly as they came to see how their lead Dragon Rider was doing. Stormfly let out a short chirp.

They only felt truly at ease when Hiccup reached out a shaky hand to settle on Toothless nose, who crooned softly and closed his eyes at the touch.

"Hey, Bud. I'm okay." The Night Fury purred.

"How are you feeling?" Astrid softly asked what they were all wondering and then helped Hiccup sit up with the little bit of strength that he had.

"I'm..." He didn't seem sure what to answer, shaking his head when he didn't find the right words to use. But he was okay, he was breathing, he was awake. That had to mean nothing but good.

Astrid, still kneeled and losing all feeling in her lower legs, rested her hands on Hiccup's shoulder as he found it in himself to smile at her as she did at him, sandwiching a hand between hers. His was chilling to the touch and she noticed that his nails were a worryingly blue colour.

Toothless settled behind the two and roared out his gratitude to the Submaripper, who had stayed at the surface and awaited news on the well-being of the Viking who had freed it. It had also been the one to bring up the diving bell after the metal contraption had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, what had anchored the bell destroyed by an enormous rock catapulted to their ship by the Hunters.

The Ripper had realized only just in time on who's side Hiccup really was when it noticed its chains were no more.

It let out a gurgling roar and with a flip sank back into the sea to search for the deeper open water it once called home.

Despite many protests from the Riders to be careful and to conserve his strength, Hiccup had gotten Astrid and Fishlegs to help him on his feet. That was when a pain in his chest took his breath away and he laid a hand on the leather that covered him, gasping quietly.

He couldn't stand on his own. Fishlegs kept one large, comforting hand on his back while Toothless urged him to use his head as a pillar of support. Hiccup wasn't about to argue with them on that. He felt ready to fall over at any given moment.

"What... happened?" He asked, panting and genuinely confused. Though the diving bell wasn't exactly the safest of his inventions, there simply hadn't been enough time to test it out properly and work out the kinks, Hiccup was still puzzled as to just how his plan could've gone this wrong.

Astrid left his side to join up with Stormfly, as did the others with their dragons. Hiccup was safe and now there was something else she and the other Riders needed to do before they could return to Berk.

"Viggo happened." Snotlout growled, it was the first thing he had managed to say since Hiccup's awakening.

The Jorgenson had already climbed into his saddle and both he and Hookfang's worry had been replaced by anger, by rage even. It was a feeling all of them shared after what Viggo and the Hunters had tried to do to their friend and heir.

Hiccup only momentarily glanced at the opposing ship before his weak self jumped into action.

"Viggo... No, no, he can't... escape." He tried to get into his saddle, but his legs just wouldn't cooperate. They gave out underneath him when he tried. Fishlegs' strong hold on him was all that kept him from falling down to his knees.

"Easy, Hiccup, I got ya." The husky young man eased him with his words. It wasn't a good idea for him to climb onto Toothless and chase their foe now.

"Don't worry, he won't get far." Astrid promised with determination in both her voice and her very pose. She, too, had already gotten up on Stormfly. The Riders were ready to rain down fire and destruction on the Hunter ship for what they had almost done.

Fishlegs, Meatlug, Hiccup and Toothless watched them go. One of the latter two helplessly so. Being vulnerable and unable to do anything had always left a bad taste in his mouth.

The Dragon Riders were on their way and they planned on leaving no one alive.

As they approached, the skin of their dragons grew hotter than ever before as if their very blood was boiling as much as theirs', they were witness to a small confrontation happening on the deck. They were too far away to hear what was being said. All they knew was that Viggo had not taken kindly to being outsmarted and defeated again.

His loss did not quell the flames of their anger.

"Okay, let's wrap this up!" Astrid spoke, keeping a hold of herself in favour of a clear level-headed mind.

They were ready. All four of the Riders and the three dragons were ready to get this over with and go home.

Just then a dinghy with only Viggo and Ryker Grimborn left the ship and halted them in their tracks.

"What the?! Dinghy?" Tuffnut was as bewildered as they all were.

"Why would they just leave themselves exposed like that?" Astrid questioned, concerned of what the sudden appearance of nothing more than a small rowing boat could entail.

Why would the two brothers take such a risk knowing that the Dragon Riders could blast them to Valhalla right then and there? Something did not add up.

"No time for questions! Let's hit them with everything we got!" Snotlout was not in a mood to wait for their next move or discuss the meaning of these sudden turn of events. Viggo was going to get it for nearly killing his cousin and he was going to get it hard.

The others agreed. Without another word said, without even so much as a nod or a look at each other, they all agreed to Snotlout's possibly very reckless decision to just open fire without reading the situation first. Astrid, though usually more cautious and strategic in her thinking, seemed to have no qualms on following Snot's plan.

The dragons themselves followed the thoughtless plan without protest. They didn't even need to be told to fire. They gladly opened their maws and ignited their dangerous fires in the backs of their throats. Or in the Zippleback's case, Belch was ready to spark and Barf was already leaking gas.

When the dinghy turned out to be pulled by innocent Seashocker dragons, that put a hold on their plans again.

"Seashockers? Hold your fire! We can't risk hurting those dragons!" Astrid shouted her orders upon spotting the captive creatures of the sea and they all felt the discomforting sensation of frustration creeping in the backs of their minds and hearts.

Using living, breathing beings as shields. How disgusting, how cowardly.

And yet there was nothing they could do about it.

They could chase them and waste time trying to free them, but just how beneficial would that be when one of their own was still in need of medical care?

So the Dragon Riders had no other choice but to watch them go and retreat.

It meant leaving dragons in need behind. It meant that they could not avenge Hiccup for his near drowning.

They returned to their Berkian long boat to haul it all the way back home. It would be much faster than to simply sail it back.

On the deck, now lacking his leather and his tunic, Hiccup was sleeping up against Toothless with a blanket covering him and the dragon curled up around him.

"Keep an eye on Hiccup." Gothi's message had been clear.

He was to stay in bed and rest. He was to be kept warm and watched over in case the inhaling and swallowing of all that cold saltwater would make him sick. That is what their healer had said.

It was not something Hiccup agreed with.

"I can't just rest now. Not with Viggo still out there and the village still starving. I can't just lay in bed all day when others are suffering worse than me!" He was the leader of the Dragon Riders and he was often wiser than his age suggested, but even he could be incredibly dense and much too stubborn sometimes.

Astrid released a sigh as they argued at his front door.

"Hiccup, you didn't just swallow a bit of water or just passed out, you stopped breathing! Everyone saw it. We were scared to death that we were going to lose you!" She argued back, the events of earlier that day still fresh in her mind. In all of their minds. It probably would be for a long time to come.

"But, Astrid, I can't just-"

"Scared to death, Hiccup!" Hofferson made quick work of another attempt at protesting, he needed to sleep. He still looked so ghostly pale.

"I know that and I do get it, but-" For a moment it almost seemed like he wouldn't give up.

"Do you? Hiccup? Do you really get it? Because it looks like to me that you're not getting us at all." Astrid shot him down again and Snotlout crossed his arms behind her, quickly getting tired of his cousin's stubbornness. One look at his Riders told Hiccup that they all felt the same way.

Still...

"Guys, I can't just-"

"Hiccup, will you stop whining and go to bed already?!" The Jorgenson Rider had enough of this.

Toothless, who was the only dragon present for this conversation, seemed to agree. He growled disapprovingly at his Viking's want to act so difficult.

"What is that supposed to mean?! What about Berk?!"

"What about you?! What about us?!" Fishlegs was having none of it either.

"Hiccup, they almost watched a friend die today. I almost came home to the news that one of my best friends was dead. Doesn't that count for anything?" Heather had not been there to see the plan with the diving bell be sabotaged by the Hunters as she and Windshear were out searching the secret off-Berk storage house for anything that they might have missed.

That was her part of the mission and she had the displeasure of hearing all about what happened in the Straits of Baldur when she had returned and Hiccup, still barely conscious at the time, had been taken to Gothi.

The Dragon Rider fell silent upon hearing her words and gazed at each of them again to see that, yes, they had truly been terrified to lose him today and all that would ease their worried hearts now was the knowledge that he would rest and take proper care of himself. His stubbornness seemed to hurt them.

Hiccup sighed and he did so out of both guilt and defeat.

"Do me a favour then? While I stay here on Berk?" His friends visibly relaxed, knowing that he had finally caved in.

It lasted for a good second.

"What do you mean with 'while you stay here on Berk'?" Ruffnut asked and her brother followed.

"Yeah, 'cause it almost sounds like you're sending us away." Tuffnut could not bring himself to smile, even though the very notion of them leaving Hiccup as he recovered seemed completely ludricous.

Astrid glared at Hiccup, her hands settling on her hips. It was a warning to not answer that question with what she believed she was thinking of.

"Listen, Berk is still in trouble and Viggo is out there. I need you guys to go and find whatever trader is in the area. Find Johann, find someone. We can't wait around for weeks until word spreads that the Straits are clear again. People could start falling ill or even die if they go without food for too long. Especially young children or the elderly." It was true, the Hairy Hooligans were starving and it could take a long time for salvation to come in the form of a seafaring merchant.

"Please, Astrid." They all seemed doubtful about leaving him here, although he was far from alone. So Hiccup turned his attention solely to his second-in-command as he grabbed her hands, who he hoped to convince.

"If I'm gonna rest and ease your worries, than please ease mine too. Take care of Berk now that I can't." His hands were still freezing, his nails had barely regained their original colour, but she just couldn't say no to a face so genuinely worried.

"Okay, fine. We'll leave and find those traders. And we'll keep an eye out for Viggo and the Hunters." So Astrid gave in aswell. There was an uproar of protest behind her, but at least her leader looked back at her with a smile, tuning the others out.

"Thank you. Leave whenever, but please don't wait too-"

"But!"

Hiccup had a surprised and wide-eyed look to him when he was suddenly shut up again.

"But one of us stays. Just to keep an eye on you." That was their condition. They would go out and find help, but one of them would need to stay behind with him. At least they wouldn't try to lie about taking care of themselves.

Hiccup let out a slightly hoarse chuckle. His voice hadn't been quite right ever since his near-drowning.

"Okay, who?"

In the end Snotlout had been chosen to stay behind.

Astrid, as second-in-command, had to take Hiccup's place as he recovered. Fishlegs was their navigator and knew the locations of certain islands where they might find help. Heather was most familiar with trading routes due to her old habit of raiding ships with her Razorwhip not too long ago. And the twins, it was simply better to have two extra pairs of hands instead of just one.

Besides, Snotlout was family. A blood relative of Hiccup's from his mother's side. He seemed like the obvious choice in this situation.

They had decided to leave that very afternoon. Because the sooner they left, the sooner they would be back. And they weren't just going to search for merchants. The Riders had hoped to visit allied tribes that could trade some food they were willing to part with.

Best case scenario, they'd be gone until tomorrow evening. Worst case scenario, they would be gone for days. Either way, they were in a hurry.

But not before seeing Hiccup disappear through his front door.

Knees quaking, clothes still a little damp, growing weaker every passing moment, the Haddock heir had been holding onto his dragon as he was helped inside.

Stoick, who had arrived near the end of their conversation and almost had his fury return to him when he noticed his son still wasn't bed, was keeping the door open.

"I'll see you guys later!" Hiccup had shot them the most reassuring smile he could muster in his condition. Astrid vaguely noted how even his freckles weren't as lively as they used to be anymore.

He disappeared from sight with Toothless helpfully by his side and they left, expecting to return to a brighter smile as their greeting than to the one they had been send off with.

They had no idea.

Snotlout had stayed true to his promise to keep an eye on Hiccup.

After leaving the Haddock home for no more than an hour to check up on his parents and younger sister, he got himself some of the reserves that were being served as a soup at the plaza.

Word about what Hiccup had done in the Straits for Berk had spread quickly and Snotlout had been given an extra bowl upon mentioning that he was visiting him later. They wanted to make sure their heir would eat and regain his strength.

It was with two bowls of soup that he returned to their Chief's abode and with the rude boldness that only a Jorgenson could have did he enter.

"Hiccup, you better be hungry 'cause I got- Oh hey, Chief!" And all that bravado vanished into thin air the second Snotlout noticed Stoick sitting at the dinner table with Gobber. One looked mildly amused while the other looked like someone had just spit in his mutton and then tried to deny it.

"He's upstairs. Count yourself lucky I hear that my son is still awake, Jorgenson. Or you would've been out of here faster than you can blink." The Chief's hands balled into tight fists at the less than modest entrance Snotlout had made.

The teen counted himself lucky indeed and muttered a quick apology before ascending the stairs to Hiccup's room. Gobber let out a laugh at Snot quickly retreating like a skittish little mouse and joked about something with Stoick that he couldn't quite hear.

With no overbearing fathers glaring at him with a look that could almost kill, Snotlout could hear Hiccup's familiar voice coming from his room, backing up Stoick's assumption that his son was still up.

"-You know what? That is just unfair. Terrors have their strengths and Night Furies have their weaknesses!" Toothless warbled in disagreement and rolled his eyes. It was a human trait he had picked up after spending the last three years with Hiccup.

Snotlout almost groaned after entering the room as he had walked in on another animated discussion that this particular dragonriding duo often seemed to have. To him, they were even worse than those Hicclegs lovefests. You could at least understand what Fishlegs was saying. No one, sometimes not even Astrid, was sure if Hiccup could truly understand his dragon or if he was making it all up.

"Snotlout! Come to check up on me, huh? Well, I've tried falling asleep, but... Well, an annoying aching in my chest is kind of keeping me up. And my stump is cold. I'm waiting for the willow bark to kick in. Hopefully I'll be able to get some shut eye soon." For all his talk of jumping right back in the saddle earlier that day, Hiccup did look genuinely exhausted.

It was what helped Snotlout believe him as he walked over and offered the fullest bowl to him. That and the fact that Toothless didn't feel the need to 'convince' Hiccup to tell the truth with a tailfin to the back of his head.

"Thanks. I'm still a little full on seawater, but thank you. I appreciate it." The heir spoke gratefully as he accepted the meal and held it in both hands seemingly more to warm up than anything else.

Besides the leggings he wore, the young man was mostly nude, lacking his leather armour, his tunic and his boot. His metal pegleg had also been discarded, his stump hidden by a pant leg and held onto by Toothless in an attempt to give it warmth.

The Night Fury had his head on the Viking's lap with him draped over it and a thick fur around his shoulders. Like this, Hiccup was between a wall and a dragon to soak up some of his warmth.

Snotlout would've made a comment about his friendly gesture not getting the appreciation it deserved by not having him eat the soup and normally he would've kept the fuller bowl to himself, but these were special circumstances.

"Figured I could bring you some. Didn't know if you got to eat yet or not." There was a softer side to the stouter young man sitting before him on a stool he had grabbed after offering the soup. It was one part of him that he would only show privately and during situations such as these.

They were some of the moments that made Hiccup realize that, maybe, they tended to take him for granted. He had already made a mental note to rectify that.

Snotlout could be a jerk, everybody knew that, but he had his good moments. And anybody who didn't see that didn't know the real Snotlout.

Hiccup brought no attention to it as he had seen this once or twice before, though particularly when his leg was involved.

This was, to him, nothing new.

"Dad tried to feed me earlier, but... You know." He was referring to another bowl that was cooling on his nightstand and shot it a look of guilt. His village was starving and here he was wasting two valuable meals.

"Maybe you should give this to someone else while it's still hot. I know that the traders should return soon, but there are other people who need it more than me. I'll eat when I have less water in my stomach." It wasn't meant to be taken as a joke as Hiccup handed his bowl back, but he was still the one who let out a dry chuckle.

"Have you tried to eat? Maybe you're hungry and you just don't know it yet." Snotlout suggested honestly, though he was a bit miffed that he went through all this trouble just to end up giving the soup to someone else when it was meant for Hiccup.

"Snotlout, the very thought of eating anything right now is making me physically ill. So no, I haven't." It was an acceptable excuse, the Jorgenson boy supposed, but all it had done was make him feel even worse.

"Fine, I'll give this stupid bowl to someone else. Be right back or whatever." Snotlout got back up again from the stool to move out the door, a little bit disappointed and showing it too. Perhaps there was a kid or something somewhere who wanted some soup.

Hiccup smiled tiredly at him, his chin resting on top of Toothless' head.

Snotlout did stop at the stairs, however. And he took a moment to look back at his friend.

"We're gonna get Viggo for this. I know you're not all that vocal about getting revenge and such, but we're gonna make him pay. No way is he gonna get away with this." He wasn't sure if he was telling this to Hiccup or to himself.

Hiccup didn't quite respond in any way. He didn't condone revenge, though he had almost made himself guilty of it aswell. What was important to him, was that none of his Riders got hurt. His own health did not matter.

With silence as his only answer, Snotlout walked out the door. He didn't need to tell Hiccup and Stoick that he would return later.

He would come back to spend the rest of the evening with the heir in lighter spirits. They would joke, they would talk nonsense, it was a conversation like any other. Forgettable, really. Nothing special. There were supposed to be many like them after that day.

Snotlout left with an eased heart that night because of this quiet reassurance. Hiccup was still pale, still cold, still tired, but as he had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of one of a Jorgenson's typical animated tales, Snotlout had thought nothing was out of the ordinairy.

Honestly, why should he?

With a gasp did Hiccup Haddock startle awake in the middle of the night. Jumping upright, gasping, sweating, from a different position than the one he had fallen asleep in. Toothless must have moved him somehow in his sleep without rousing him. He found himself lying up against the dragon's side instead.

The Night Fury heard him easily, purring as he woke up and lifting his head to meet his Rider's gaze with a look of worry of his own. One that urged him to speak about what was troubling him.

Hiccup looked back at him as he panted, near tears. A hand was on his chest and Toothless wondered if it was bothering him again, if he needed his dragon to wake Stoick so he could prepare willow bark for him again.

"Bud?" The Viking started with a voice that could only be called scared. Like a little boy's after he woke up from a terrible nightmare.

"Do you ever feel like... like something is wrong with you? Physically?" The question alarmed Toothless as he heard it, and rightfully so, as he got up on all fours and seemed to warble his concern. He pushed his snout against Hiccup's bare chest, sniffing up and down as if it would help him identify whatever 'wrong' he was feeling.

"Tooth-Toothless-" Hiccup found himself caught in a coughing fit when trying to address his Night Fury and he pushed his nose away from him.

Toothless respected his want for distance and drew back, watching with narrowed pupils until the coughing ceased.

As he finished, Hiccup sat there and panted , staring down at his lap before glancing up to Toothless.

He stared at the Night Fury and suddenly there was something subdued about him, as if he was calmer.

"I'm fine, Toothless. I'm fine, Bud." His breathing evened out and he looked down again, offering his right hand like he had done so many times before. Closing his eyes and releasing a sigh, he felt the warm familiarity of a dry, scaly nose against his palm. It was reassuring.

Toothless had momentarily closed his eyes aswell, but when he opened them again, he noticed some tear streaks on his Rider's cheeks.

He crooned softly.

"I'm fine, just a little startled, Bud. That's all." Hiccup answered with a sniff, though he stared entirely too long at his dragon, who wasn't quite sure what to think about this strange... exchange.

"We should get some sleep. I'm... really tired. Like I could sleep for ages!" Toothless purred at those words, agreeing that Hiccup needed to try to doze off again and get the rest that his healing body so desperately needed. They could always request a visit from Gothi tomorrow and have her find this 'wrong' that the Rider was feeling and his dragon could not find.

He would probably have to make Hiccup let the elderly woman examine him as the young man was often too stubborn for his own good, but those were concerns for later.

Toothless lied down on the stone slab they had chosen as their bed for tonight and Hiccup snuggled up next to him, trying to take in all that warmth the reptilian scales provided for him. With his head resting on a foreleg, he found a comfortable position and closed his eyes. Sighing, he could feel Toothless curling up around him, protecting him from the cold.

"I love you, Bud." Hiccup muttered, a hand on his other half's scaled hide.

It was a typically human phrase, but Toothless knew what it meant, knew its significance, and warbled something back that sounded quite similar. He had taught it to himself, just for his human boy.

The next morning, these strange couple of minutes made all the more sense.

When Snotlout woke up as the sun rose for once, the first thing he did after a refreshing morning stretch to wake himself up was going out to see if the other Riders had returned with new reserves and new traders on the way.

They hadn't yet, which most likely meant they could expect them to come back to Berk somewhere in the afternoon or evening at the earliest, and Snotlout decided to grab himself some breakfast.

Though it was still so early in the morning, the kitchens just might still have some leftovers from last night and he was determined to get his cousin to eat today.

The soup was all gone. And if there still was some, it would've been cold and Snotlout did not fancy the idea of heating it back up again. So he settle for an old biscuit that was still somewhat soft and moist that Hiccup would somehow already get his fill from. He didn't know how someone could eat so little, but it was true.

Besides, who even wanted to have soup in the morning?

It was with one biscuit and one apple, the former for Hiccup and the latter for himself, that Snotlout made the trek up to the Haddock house, which stood on a hill overlooking the village.

It was a short walk, one he knew by heart for years already. For anyone who wasn't as used to being at the Chief's house as him, the way there would've almost seemed long.

All of Berk was still quiet at this time of the crisp morning and a soft layer of fog was his only companion. The baker wasn't up yet due to a lack of ingredients he could use and that gave this particular day almost something lonely that went right over Snot's head.

He arrived at the Haddock household and entered, quietly for once. Chances were, Stoick was only just waking up and he did not feel like angering the Chief once more.

Call it instinct after all the battles he had fought the past three, almost four, years or perhaps it was something else entirely, Snotlout could sense that nothing was right the second he stepped inside the house.

The fire place wasn't lit, which made it as chilly as in here as it was outside. There was no sign of either father or son having had any sort of breakfast this morning. It was something he expected for Hiccup, but not for Stoick. There was nothing to indicate that the Chief had risen early to tend to his duties as he normally had every single day for the past twenty years.

It was quiet. Too quiet. And too cold.

And was that... sobbing?

Fear clenched its cold unforgiving grip around his heart and Snotlout almost forgot to breath as his confused and hesitant gaze trailed upwards to where he knew one specific room to be.

It was soft, but he definitely heard it. And he knew it was coming from up there.

It was with a sense of foreboding that he walked up the stairs, praying to the Gods that whatever fear that was gnawing at the back of his mind turned out to be false, that it wasn't even deep, foreign crying that he heard.

Climbing the stairs as quietly as he could, he never noticed just how long it took to get to the upper most floor. Reaching Hiccup's room seemed almost painfully endless and yet much too quick at the same time.

Snotlout did not feel ready when he reached the opening and could clearly identify the noises he heard as a grown man weeping softly.

Yet he had to see. He had to know for sure.

He steeled his frightened heart and made the final climb.

"Oh son." Snotlout heard Stoick speak before he had even gotten up to Hiccup's room and to him was revealed a large man kneeling on a stone slab, hunched over with something deathly pale clutched to his chest.

Or rather... someone.

Snotlout froze in place as he stared, his grip on the breakfast he was to share with Hiccup this morning slipping from his grasp to fall almost soundlessly to the wooden floor. He easily recognized the limp figure in the Chief's arms to be his heir, who was not responding to his father's cries. The Jorgenson boy felt himself growing cold on the inside.

"Oh Hiccup... Please, son, don't do this to me. Wake up." Stoick, usually an impenetrable wall of stoicism, was begging his only child to finally open his eyes. He was the only one who could speak, who could move, while Snotlout stood there frozen. Unable to even announce his presence.

Toothless was here too, he vaguely noticed. He was blending perfectly with the shadows of this barely lit room. He sat in the corner, facing away from them, unmoving, silent. It barely seemed like he was even breathing himself.

"Chief?"

Snotlout didn't know where the courage to speak up came from, he hadn't even felt his lips move or heard sound leave his vocals, but Stoick's broken gaze met his scared one and they confirmed what he had feared.

Silently, without a single goodbye, in the middle of the night, Hiccup had passed away.

47 notes · View notes