#how hubris is ultimately tempered by time

[sandwiches-and-stuff]

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

~~ from “Ozymandias,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

hey reblog this with a piece of your favorite poem, please

[applestorms]

the winners & losers of death note

after repeatedly trying and failing to write this death note essay i'm just gonna go for it:

the fundamental flaw of L, whether you see this as a flaw/discrepancy in his character or the writing surrounding him itself, is the fact that by the time of his death, he has no clear win state. let me explain... by first talking extensively about light aljdsflksd.

MAJOR spoiler warning after this point. 3-ish (very long) sections.

1. light's goals: kira & utopian ideals (ft. fem!light)

i discussed this a bit in my tags on this post talking about how light's core character traits would translate over to a female version of himself, but to elaborate/summarize my thoughts further: i believe that light's fundamental flaw/weakness comes down to his desire to be Seen, to be recognized & validated by the people around him. i often see/hear people describing light's ultimate flaw as "ego," and while that's definitely a part of it, i think this is perhaps a more nuanced/neutral way of understanding it.

as has been pointed out before, light's goal of becoming the "god of the new world," isn't really an idea he immediately comes up with but rather is more of a retroactive justification that he clings to for the rest of the series after the initial rush of guilt he feels for murdering two people without thinking. this is perhaps even more obvious in the manga, as while episode 1 of the anime ends with light's claim to godhood, in the manga it takes him a lot longer to build up to that conclusion and really develop the full extent of his hubris. (EDIT: he totally says this in ch1 of the manga too, i just forgot. the point about it being retroactive justification still stands, though.) even so, i think post-death note light takes to this justification so easily for a reason: again, his desire to be seen.

before the death note, light takes a very understandable if somewhat flawed/juvenile approach to this sating this desire, specifically in how he aims to excel in every single system he is presented with, whether that be academics, sports/physicality (not just tennis, but physical attractiveness/neatness/cleanliness), and social interactions. it's that last category that i think is the most notable here, as light wants to succeed socially on multiple levels: on a personal scale, he aims to be pleasing and charming and polite to everyone he speaks to, for the sake of manipulating them, sure, but also so that he can extend that victory past personal relationships and into something Greater, into the Image of Light Yagami as the studious, respectable son. it isn't just enough for him to do well, he needs the reputation to go along with it, and the recognition and respect that comes with it.

this is part of the reason why the lind l. tailor moment is such a beautiful part of the writing of death note, as it is a moment where L simultaneously fucks light over massively, pinpointing his location and sending a squad his way in an instant, but also a moment where L gives light exactly what he wants: recognition. L doesn't just establish himself as a rival to take seriously w/ this move, he also reveals kira's existence to the world, that the deaths are the actions of a single person consciously and carefully acting and not just some divine power. he see's light's humanity, the potential cracks in his ego and temper, the overwhelming humanity of his ideals, efficiently using such traits to get kira to reveal himself in the first place.

i tend to take a lot of light's explanations of his actions to ryuk with a grain of salt as i think he is a lot less skilled at planning than he lets on, with his real skill being his in-the-moment acting & reactions, but i'm inclined to believe him when he tells ryuk in ch1 that

as a justification for not writing more specific deaths and therefore hiding his existence for longer. keep in mind, kira is established on the internet long before L enters the picture & the lind l. tailor incident-- light is utilizing the death note to push himself into the spotlight of the entire globe, not just the limited social sphere he grew up with.

(sidenote1: i think you can also definitely read into this on a more internal level of why light would want to be recognized so badly in the first place, considering how busy soichiro yagami most likely is and what their relationship looks like throughout the series. i don't think there's any evidence that he's actively neglectful necessarily, if anything light is described as being pretty spoiled & soichiro cares about him when he's around, but it still feels notable to me how empty his life is pre-death note. you can just Feel the silence as he goes through the motions in the first episode, barely talking to anyone as he ghosts his way through life. he might be succeeding in everything system he approaches technically, but that sure as hell doesn't make him happy. whether or not the death note makes him happy is a whole nother question...)

ANYWAYS. this is all to say that light's ideals give him a pretty clear win state, both in terms of what he actually, physically wants in terms of world domination/godhood, but also emotionally when it comes to what truly satisfies him. on a meta level, kira gives light really good motivation-- for the sake of his ideals, for the sake of trying to create his vision of a utopian society, for the sake of being Seen, he needs to keep writing names and out-thinking anyone who tries to stop him. on an internal level, it just starts getting complicated when the one who Sees him best is the one who fully dedicated to stopping him.

speaking of which.

2. L's goals: no real win state?

the lind l. tailor moment is such a fantastic instance in the story because it really works both ways in setting up the rivalry/mutual satisfaction that L and light grant each other. i've already described what light gets out of it, and simultaneous terror and delight that he gets out of it, but this is mostly an L post so let's talk about his side of things.

to my understanding, if what light fundamentally wants is to be Seen, what L fundamentally wants is to Win. ok, yeah, the way he says it is that he "hates losing," but same difference.

the problem with this desire is that in order for L to win or lose, he needs circumstances under which those options are the two main choices in the first place-- he needs a game, someone to test himself against, a challenge(r). when lind l. tailor dies and L proves kira's meager human existence to the world he practically sounds like he's cumming his pants, so i think we can assume kira stands as a particularly alluring challenge for him.

this also explains why L gets so depressed and frustrated with light over the course of the yotsuba arc. not only is light somehow out-foxing him by creating a circumstance under which he can claim not to be kira and actually be correct insofar as his memories are concerned, light has also set the game so that he's stepped off the board entirely, trusting his planning and his own non-death note influenced psyche and denouncing his role as a player entirely. in a way you could read this as light utilizing the one strength he has over L to his advantage: not just his awareness of the supernatural, as people often say, but the fact that kira has goals outside of winning, which can't really be said for L (or at least not without some additional extrapolation/interpretations of his inner psyche).

this is why my main claim here is that L doesn't really have a clear win state. for kira, winning consists of a few clear, distinct things: a utopian world, free from crime, under the reign of kira, where light has the control & worship of a god. for L, winning is a lot less distinct: really just. not letting light do all that. as this other post points out, it really isn't that far off to assume that L's motivations might've shifted from his initial state goal of executing kira, particularly as he gets more attached to light on an individual level, even if it's more as a rival than a true friendship. L is a liar and a troll, yes, but he still has "flashes of sentiment," and it makes a lot of sense to me that so many people see L winning as him stealing light away for himself to be locked away for the rest of their lives.

(sidenote2: i believe it was one of the jdramas (?) that actually does portray L winning but specifically at the cost of his own life, which again fits considering everything i just went through. i don't think L is actively suicidal at the idea of no longer having kira as a rival (well. <3< rival, the children yearn for kismesissitude), but. well, see the final section of this essay where i talk more about boredom for more on that.)

ultimately, light and L kind of suffer for the same reason: living for the rivalry, but also because of that never being truly satisfied no matter which way they come out in the end. the tragic yaoi of it all. i guess one of the conclusions here is that you should read this fic time speaks by aSmallMoon333 for a fascinating evolution of the rivalry past the supposed ending point of canon. anywho.

3. L's death: a failure of writing, or character?

hot take (??? genuinely can't tell if this is hot anymore so ig mean this like, partially sarcastically) but L's death is kind of really fucking unsatisfying, especially if you're witnessing it for the first ever time. i remember distinctly reading the manga back in high school and being really caught off guard by it, despite already having been spoiled about it, and while i pinpointed the cause initially being the fact that light doesn't even bother to write down the damn name himself, i think there's a lot more to this than that.

i've been writing about this idea of L not having a clear win state primarily under the approach of character analysis, looking at L's motivations and emotional desires to see how they inform what him winning would look like, but you could very well read this as being a flaw in the writing surrounding him as well.

L's not really a moral character, primarily because that's one of the main ways he's a foil to light-- where light is painfully, excruciatingly human, naive in his ideals, dedicated to them at all costs, L is a lot more apathetic, perhaps not to the same degree as near sometimes comes across (though he has more to him too, even if the anime doesn't really give enough time for that), but still enough to be generally considered a pretty amoral character. L definitely comes across to me as the type of person that understands the world deeply on an intellectual level, but struggles to meaningfully emotionally connect with it. the way he interacts with people is the clearest example of this, again making him a foil to light in that he gives no shits about how people view him and prefers staying hidden as much as possible, creating detailed psychological profiles of the criminals he follows but still misreading details in-the-moment while speaking to people (the autism. the autism), but i think this could very well extend to how he views morals as well, deciding that kira is evil on a logical level because people dying=bad but not really emotionally connecting with that. like,

yeah yeah they're both JUSTICE!! or whatever, but is this really true? not to get into an in-depth discussion on the nature of ethics & morality in my tumblr essay (though i actually wouldn't mind doing that...), but as the series and especially the yotsuba arc goes on, it becomes more and more clear that L's lack of attachment to people extends to his lack of attachment to traditional ethics. time and time again, L does shady shit for the sake of finding kira, whether that be covering the yagami household in a truly absurd number of cameras, recruiting actual criminals to help with the investigation, or chaining some kid to him 24/7 for weeks on end. this is a large part of the reason behind why i question what winning would actually look like for L-- would he be willing to turn kira in, should he get sufficient evidence to put light through the actual justice system? even if he is willing to give that rivalry up, i have a hard time believing he wouldn't want to confirm the death by doing it himself or something. but if that's the case, then why bother waiting? clearly, he's pretty fucking sure that light is kira, and he basically does figure everything out by the end of the yotsuba arc. so, why? is he waiting to prove it to the task force? is he still waiting for light to incriminate himself? but that seems like an awfully stupid thing to still be waiting for. what does L actually want here?

^^^ this last entire paragraph was basically my motivation for writing this, btw. ultimately, i still don't know if i have a conclusion that i'm really satisfied with, here. perhaps it really is just that light isn't the one to pull the trigger in the end, the nerve of a move that bitchy that kinda instinctively icks me out. or maybe ohba just wrote it bad!! idk. final thoughts-wise.........

one satisfying thing: in a way, light wins because he wins over people (namely, the rest of the task force), which tracks. the only reason why he keeps winning post-L death is because of this win, actually, which keeps him going for years despite the fact that he's doing objectively a dogshit job as L, as near so sweetly points out.

one unsatisfying thing: you could read L as losing because ohba doesn't actually have all that extensive of a view of what a good view of justice would look like, particularly in opposition to kira's view. in a way, L kind of just ends up representing a return to the status quo, where the criminals that kira is so desperate to purge are simply dealt with in the usual way & their crimes are a fact of life. perhaps this is asking too much, the rivalry alone is fun enough to watch without having to get too in-depth asking question about ideal global justice systems and the nature of crime & criminals. i genuinely do think a part of my frustration here is just that light was too much of a bitch to kill his main rival by his own hand, despite holding himself to a more respectable Standard in desperate moments prior (e.g. not taking the eyes deal w/ naomi misora). but it's at least an adjacent question, and maybe establishing more clearly what L's true win would've looked like could have made light's eventual victory just a bit more satisfying, instead of feeling like it comes out of nowhere after his extensive planning miraculously works perfectly according to keikaku. it's almost the marvel problem as is... but i digress.

bonus: boredom

in my recent reread/rewatch of the series, i keep getting struck by how much i really like the beginning of death note, like the beginning beginning of the series and when each main character is initially introduced, especially light and ryuk.

i don't think it's too much of a stretch to equate "boredom" with "depression" in this context. long before L is introduced to the series ryuk is the one being presented as light's equal and opposite-- parallels from opposite worlds, mutually disgusted by their own kind and the miserable state the world around them has devolved to. for L this sentiment is a bit less overt, mostly because again, apathy, but the fact that he spends the majority of his time hyperfixated on the worst parts of humanity speaks of something. perhaps i'll have more feelings about this upon rereading the ending, as that's a bit (a lot) fuzzy in my mind, but it's one of the main points i emotionally resonated with the strongest, a point of connection i keep coming back to.

light really is just a kid, at the core of everything. a teenager that did everything he was supposed to and still couldn't make himself happy with it. that's the real tragedy of death note to me, that for all he did to create a better, more ideal world, he never felt all that happy with any of it. not that he would admit that. but what is light yagami's greatest skill if not his denial...

[fumifooms]

Metal Sonic. He was also created to be a weapon but unlike Shadow as a robot he’s not raised with love at all. He has 1 purpose and it’s to kill Sonic, he’s the "superior Sonic", his identity is Sonic his purpose is Sonic killing his original is where his life starts and stops. But even being a robot, he has soo much anger. He’s reckless and does irrational things out of wrath and impatience.

Push him the wrong way and he does a takeover, gets delusional enough — desperate enough that being the ‘superior’ Sonic has failed him, that it may be untrue — to think he’s the original Sonic, and ultimately when Sonic defeats him then again in his last effort he transforms into a huge monster and it’s such a striking visual of just how he has such little sense of self beyond the goal that he thinks will make him worthy of existing and how much he’s willing to self-destruct for it. He finally gets a mouth and he screams. What comes after proving he’s the better Sonic, after crushing him? Then what? What? Even at his highest level of power and social hierarchy and closest to his goal he’s miserable.

Like he hates Sonic he hates him for who he is, for what he represents and for being all that Metal isn’t, but also he wants to be him so so bad. If he could just defeat Sonic, everything in the world will fall into place and everything will be crystal clear, he knows it.

No but truly, the way time and time again he throws himself into death if it means having even a shot of beating Sonic in any way. He’s always like "being a robot makes me superior, organics are pathetic" but in Reflections he wishes he was as weak as one if it made him closer to being Sonic. He’s not Sonic he can never be Sonic and he knows it but he can’t do anything about it and he can’t handle it. He’d rather die to feel like he’s closer to being Sonic than be superior and apart.

Dying would have been the preferable outcome, just for a confirmation he can die the way Sonic does. Something that by all accounts should seem meaningless to a machine, but cognitive dissonance is the only way things make sense anymore. He just wants to go off in fireworks. He craves attention, he craves recognition, he craves an identity and for people to acknowledge it, for it to feel if only a little more real.

He’s tired of failing and failing and failing and failing but it’s his fault if he always fails, it’s his hubris, it’s his temper, it’s the choices he actually makes. Or is it his fault? Can we blame him for failing, can we blame him for not being able to best Sonic, the undefeated, the cosmic hero? Or was he just born without the power to best Sonic? Was he just made too weak, his body not strong enough and his program too unwise and dysfunctional. By all accounts if there was a healing arc for him it should be about accepting his limitations, but how crushing it is to even consider that he truly could have been born Not Enough for what was literally his reason to live. Being Sonic is an impossible goal, of course, but beating him is just as hopeless, but a hope he clings onto nonetheless. What else does he have?

He’s mute he’s so so angry he has literally no way to externalize anything. After all he’s a robot and robots don’t need to talk! Robots only have to fulfill their tasks and that’s it! And Metal has been failing his one task for years and years and forever since his first moment of life.

It drives me crazy how much and how often the symbol of Sonic is weaponized. Sonic, The Hero, the virtuous compassionate saint, the fastest thing alive. Victory seems effortless for him. He simply is, as fast as the wind and a living hurricane. He’s even cocky. He rubs it in. By being such a force of nature that so many misguided villains have to overcome as an obstacle on their own personal journey, he becomes the Great Power to defeat to achieve happiness, our protagonist’s triumph feels like fate and it feels cruel.

It’s him, it’s his story, he always triumphs and whatever failures that means for others they’re theirs to deal with. How can you possibly grow past him when he’s everywhere winning everything and all you know is losing. Did he ever have any shot? Just once. Just once let him prove himself. Sonic is a plague on Metal Sonic’s life. It’s not his fault, it’s never been his fault, but he is, things just are, it’s fate, maybe, and it’s cruel, surely.

Except it’s not inevitable, because several times he gets offered an olive branch and always he agressively refuses it.

He has some degree of free will, we know it, and he does get opportunities, and yet. He has the key but chooses to shackle himself. He cannot be saved he won’t be saved he’ll never let it

It’s the curse of comics needing a status quo that he doesn’t never redemption arcs except Shard I guess, of course, but tragically it also just… Fits Metal’s character so well, it makes perfect sense. He’s the one doing this all to himself, in a way. The circumstances of his creation and his environment molded him to a degree so existentially intense that the right to exist is achievement-based, what else is there for him? Failure is painful, but escaping the mold you were made for can be so much scarier. The pain, at least, is something you know, have learned to handle.

So he gets comic issues and games showing slivers of him, having an identity crisis and suicidal ideation and breakdowns, but that’s it. He’s a robot so his body doesn’t really matter so he can die all the time, and he does! He usually ends up dying in lava and whatnot, pushed foward and never letting go, always clinging onto his purpose with claws and fraying engines, trying to kamikaze enough for the explosion blast to do what he never achieved in life. Even if he wasn’t desensitized to his own death and didn’t have an infinite amount of bodies because of the AI situation, I don’t think he’d act one bit different tbh. He’s reckless because he’s replaceable, but would he feel any less if there weren’t other copies of him, himself a flawed copy?

He always just… Chooses to not grow, because it’s too painful to acknowledge that your life has been a lie and meaningless and you’re wrong about everything. He chooses to go back to his abusive creator, he always stagnates in evil and does it again and again every day and keeps the rage burning because that’s the only thing keeping him going.

It’s the only thing he has, the rage is the only thing that’s actually his. It’s the thing that fuels him whenever he disobeys orders, it fuels every action he initiates. The only thing he has is rage and he has to keep it this way because otherwise it’d be fear instead.

"See me as I am! No longer afraid of anything!"

Metal only you can fix yourself and you won’t, but know that at your funeral I’ll be there and sobbing

Sonic as an unattainable symbol of excellence and love and goodness and strength and power. Sonic as a reminder that you’ll never live up to what you wish you could be. Sonic as the identity reference point to overcome. The Hero to beat to step out of the shadows and become your own person. The hero to defeat to stop being the villain. Losing my mind

It feels like he kicks them while they’re down and it’s just not true, but I think it’s crazy good that they manage to make us feel it from the villain’s angle even just from composition sometimes.

[disneydarlin]

The Incredibles: Mr. Incredible —Aesthetic

Robert "Bob" Parr's Character & Personality

Bob, better known by his super name, Mr. Incredible is the forty-year-old husband of Helen. He's also the father of Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. Bob is a classical hero. He's nice, friendly, strong, brave, fatherly, heroic and pleasant. In newsreels, Bob's NSA file says he's easily distracted and unable to prioritize. He grows weary of a world that can't stay saved for more than five minutes. Later, Bob has a streak of hubris and arrogant pride, seeking to relive his glory days at the expense of his family life. He also has a tendency to try to solve the world's problems on his own, refusing and actively dismissing help from anyone, including his wife and best friend. These flaws nearly cost Bob his life and his family's lives. He loves his family, though he doesn't spend much time with them and frequently goes off for some crime fighting. Bob's strong commitment to doing what's right is even displayed when not involved in heroics. He's a calm, collected, and polite man who generally treats women with respect. However, Bob occasionally has an intimidating and ferocious rage. If sufficiently angered, he can be quite fearsome. Bob always tries to reason with his opponents and appeal to their better nature to avoid unnecessary violence. But if a villain can't be reasoned with and poses a threat to innocent lives, he tries to terminate them if their capture isn't an option because of how many lives could be lost if he allows them to live. Yet, Bob always spares an opponent if they have underlying goodness. In the sequel, he has learned to keep his ego somewhat in check. While jealous he wasn't chosen to be the face of the superhero legalization campaign, Bob swallowed his pride and convinced his wife to do it, saying it's for him and their children's sake. Ultimately, he tries his best at being a good dad. However, Bob's aggressive methods caused him to push his kids away. Eventually, he becomes exhausted, acting selfishly and short-tempered. It's only when Bob vents his frustrations and apologizes he finally starts to develop a genuine connection with his children.

[solitvrs]

Random Headcanon questions!

- Given that he's working as a driver for another underground ring/related party, were there cases where he got himself caught up in a huge trouble?

- what do you think could be his weakness?

- Does he ever come to visit his 'family'? How would the reunion be like?

- He's quick-tempered, but if he's made a friend, what kind of person can he be around them?

- How does he spend his day normally?

Have a good day!

Given that he's working as a driver for another underground ring/related party, were there cases where he got himself caught up in a huge trouble? 

Since he’s been hired as a driver for a party related to his days as a fighter for an underground ring, trouble has not eluded Jinwoo. Masquerading as a chauffeur service, the nature of the job hardly requires the reveal of the identity of someone who simply transports goods and people, yet there are certain tasks that have required his direct involvement. He is no stranger to intimidation; his employer primarily targets corporations with deep pockets. Though, that’s not to say they’re shy in disrupting the lives of the common, working class people. Any instances involving Jinwoo in difficult predicaments were more frequent as a young recruit – he’s learned to be less compulsive and offensible, now more calculating and careful. He often wears a mask to disguise who he really is, but has been identified before and has had to “settle” personal vendettas against him, often not entirely coming out unscathed.

What do you think could be his weakness? 

As he ages, varying weaknesses of his phase in and out of the forefront. He learns and he is wise despite the habit of his inconsequential thinking. But ultimately what lines the foundation to his very being is excessive hubris, a quality that he can’t seem to shake or ever quite evolve. Also not to be mistaken for physical vanity; Jinwoo has an overabundance of pride in his abilities, confidence in obtaining the desired outcomes, taking things by force, underestimating the size of his prey. As a result, he leaves himself open for sudden and unexpected failure, death always a viable path and lurking just around the corner.

Does he ever come to visit his 'family'? How would the reunion be like? 

His immediate family consists of exactly two people: a mother and a father. Due to his adoptive mother’s inability to produce children of her own, she had chosen Jinwoo from an orphanage located in the outskirts of Seoul. And bless her –  adoptions in Korea are uncommon and kept secret for fear of being stigmatized. Unfortunately, suspicions were often raised towards the family throughout his childhood and their suburban community was never above gossip. Though Jinwoo to some degree, loves his family, he very rarely visits and only keeps some contact to manage his sense of filial duty. A reunion between the three of them would be steered by his mother, a woman who’d rather live in blissful ignorance than to know what sort of life her son lives, forever viewing him through rose-colored glasses.

He's quick-tempered, but if he's made a friend, what kind of person can he be around them? 

Making friends does not come easily to him; he is abrasive and judgmental. Therefore, the few that he does make are ones with a very specific type of discernment in very specific types of situations. To outsiders, Jinwoo exists within a thick layer of armor; he is untouchable. And to those close to him, the barrier disengages just enough to poke holes through. Once trust and rapport is established, he is fiercely loyal, harmlessly sarcastic (very prone to teasing, sorry in advance), and unexpectedly thoughtful and considerate. He is a borderline sentimentalist and a great drinking buddy. 

How does he spend his day normally?

If not picking up odd jobs or responding to requests, a day in the life looks rather “normal” for Jinwoo. An explorer and a lone wolf, he spends much of his free time wandering the city in search for his next source of comfort and peace: a late night jazz club, an acoustic cafe, an art exhibition presented by a local. These are places where he can slot himself well out of view while nursing a condition that often drums too strongly on his mind. He is a seeker of tranquility despite his inherent nature, possibly a walking contradiction who does his best to maintain the delicate balance between his own order and chaos.

[kitkatt0430]

Here, have some headcanons regarding Eobard Thawne

As one of my favorite villains in the Arrow-verse, I've probably way overthought everything to do with this guy. Thanks to Tom Cavanagh's sinisterly charming portrayal of him in season one of the Flash and Matt Letscher's affably evil portrayal in season two of the Legends, Eobard has some very interesting depth and layers going on. Not to forget a twisty timeline that he set the stage for destroying when he let his obsession with killing the Flash go too far (kicking off the plot of the show in the process).

Also, there's two of him. Minimum.

So first we have the original Eobard Thawne. He created the timeline that kicked off the Flash when he traveled back in time to kill Barry and then murdered Nora Allen instead in a fit of temper when the Flash of the original timeline stopped him. He refashioned himself into Harrison Wells, pushed Eddie Thawne too far in trying to break him up with Iris West, and was erased from the timeline for his actions. The last we see of him is his morph back into his original form before being erased from the timeline entirely. But, as we all know, that's not the last we see of Eobard Thawne.

There are a lot retcons going on where Eobard is concerned. First we have the big retcon - Flashpoint.

Barry goes back to save his mom, realizes the timeline he's created not only isn't the timeline Eobard erased but is actually costing Barry his powers and his friends their happiness, and asks Matt!Eobard to fix it. Which he, quite gleefully, does. Presumably he stops the end-of-season-2 version of Barry from interfering with Nora's murder, which leaves us now with two versions of Eobard. The original Eobard who goes on to die at the end of season one of the Flash, and the flashpoint remnant who goes on to be the leader of the Legion of Doom in season two of Legends. He dies at the hands of the Black Flash (who is then killed in a truly cathartic moment by Frost over on the Flash) and that should be the end of Eobard Thawne, right?

Of course not. He's got the same 'wave hands, escape death' clause that the Master from Doctor Who has. And, honestly, it's more fun when their survival isn't properly explained because that's how headcanons are born. (I have so many headcanons for the Master...)

First, however, there is a bit of an elephant in the room with the idea that the Legends season 2 Eobard isn't the same Eobard who died at the end of season 1 of the Flash. And that's Matt!Eobard's claim on the Legends that he knew and worked with Cisco and Caitlin. It's a bit of a throw away line, though, and I prefer to interpret him as telling a lie to further a manipulation. Because if flashpoint!Eobard had gone on to become Harrison Wells and lived the events of season one of the Flash... Barry would have come back to a season three timeline that was far more changed than the one he did. Forget whatever Savitar was doing behind the scenes; Eobard would have had knowledge of his plan ultimately failing and changed tactics. It makes more sense that flashpoint!Eobard diverged from non-flashpoint!Eobard at that point, giving us two Eobards who ultimately suffered the same fate: erasure from the timeline for their hubris. (The Arrow wiki seems to be using the same, or at least similar, logic and has classed the flashpoint!Eobard as a remnant as well.)

Okay, so now we're back to the point where there were two versions of Eobard Thawne and they're both dead.

Eobard next shows up in the Crisis on Earth-X event and he's taken the appearance of Harrison Wells once more. He claims not to know how he wound up there, but of course Eobard's a lying liar who lies about lying.

(So part of the decision making process here was probably conservation of actors. They've already got Tom Cavanagh there playing the part of Harry, Tom absolutely loves getting chances to reprise his role as Eobard, and that's one less actor they have to pay for a big crossover event.)

Eobard's a little unhinged here, playing the mad doctor for the Earth-X Nazis. How much of that is him being from far enough in the future that the implications against his character for teaming up with Nazis just doesn't matter to him (after all, it's not the first time he's done so) and how much is that is because he's mentally unbalanced from surviving temporal erasure... unclear. He's certainly no longer bothering with the calm facade that Eobard carried off during season one of the Flash. He also makes threats against Cisco specifically, which hint at his growing enmity for the man Eobard once considered to be like a son.

This Eobard has three potential origins.

Origin one is that he's the same Eobard who died at the end of season one of the Flash. He somehow survived by drawing on his connection to the negative speed force at the last millisecond and was reconstituted at random on Earth-X. He then either chose to take the appearance of Harrison Wells again - either because he was able to reassume it due to having previously absorbed the other man's genome or he once again played DNA vampire and killed off Earth-X's Harrison Wells in the process - or he was reconstituted in the form of Harrison Wells from the get-go and was messing with Barry about taking other people's faces.

Origin two is pretty much the same as the first one. He's a remnant that branched off as a sort of emergency back up, similar to Hunter Zolomon's MO, shortly before Eobard plot to return home fell apart. To survive being erased from time, he ran into the Negative Speed Force which eventually dumped him out on the parallel world of Earth-X. And he proceeded to lie his ass off to everyone about why he still looks like Wells.

Origin three is that he's the version of Eobard from Legends season two, who somehow survived the Black Flash erasing him from existence. This one seems highly unlikely since if the negative speed force was a protection from the Black Flash, then he'd have been less freaked out by zombie!Zolomon all season. But it can't be totally ignored because it does generally fit what he says about being erased from existence, somehow showing up alive on Earth-X anyway, and choosing to take the appearance of Harrison Wells specifically because he knew it'd screw with Barry.

At the time, the cross over writers clearly didn't seem to know for sure where this version of Eobard was coming from and it starts what becomes a hallmark of reintroducing Eobard into the plot: copious retcons and handwaving. It also introduces an unfortunate tendency for Eobard's characterization to differ wildly from season to season, abandoning the fairly consistent characterization seen across two different shows (and versions of the character) up until that point.

Regardless of origin, Eobard makes it clear that he's going to be a recurring nuisance and Barry let's him go anyway. Great decision making paradigm there, Barry. Totally not going to bite you on the butt later or anything like that. Nope, you've gotta show you've got the moral high ground, am I right? (so much sarcasm, sorry...)

We see this version of Eobard again in season five of the Flash, now incarcerated in the future and handed a chance to play speed chess against Barry for the prize of Eobard's survival, all with the sweet, sweet revenge twist of using Barry's own daughter as his pawn in all of this. This Eobard is calmer and more put together, but it's heavily implied he was captured by the CCPD before being put in jail. Likely using the power dampening dagger now attached to his prison jumpsuit. What's not clear is what Eobard was doing in the future. When did he arrive and what was he planning?

What's interesting is how attached Eobard becomes to Nora West-Allen. Much like with Cisco and Caitlin before her, Eobard develops a sort of paternal interest in Nora. He pretty clearly manipulates her into learning to utilize the negative speed force, but he does seem genuinely concerned by her well being when he warns Iris of the consequences Nora might face for using the negative speed force. He also tries to help Nora use the negative speed force to avoid being erased from time the same way he did, which he didn't have to do. letting Nora die would hurt Barry, after all, and Eobard is all about hurting Barry.

Now, we do know Eobard was supposed to be part of the red skies crisis event, according to season one of the Flash. The article Eobard was obsessed with describes a fight between the Reverse Flash and the Flash, the latter of which was joined by the Arrow, the Atom, and Hawk-Girl. During the fight, the skies turned red and then both speedsters disappeared in a blinding flash of light, after which the skies returned to normal. Not exactly the big universe-spanning event we did wind up with, but then a front-page summation that seems really interested in the fate of several trucks during the fight is, perhaps, not telling the full story. (Thank goodness for screenshots of that article.) It also seems likely that this was the moment when Eobard, with Barry chasing after him, ran into the past and ended up killing Nora Allen. It proved that the timeline was self-correcting by turning Eobard's screw up into a cyclical paradox and offered him the hope that the future Eobard came from was still intact. That his life as he knew it was still intact.

But Eobard's part in the red skies crisis was cut, offending many a Flash fan during the Crisis on Infinite Earths event that something we'd been promised and were looking forward to since season one got cut. it was a weird decision to make; after all Tom Cavanagh was already there playing Nash and he loves being Eobard. But perhaps they just didn't want to deal with him playing double duty again. Which doesn't excuse not bringing back Matt Letscher to reprise the role as an earlier version of Eobard, especially given how many other actors were brought back for cameos.

Real world aside, in universe Eobard is apparently caught flat footed by the red skies crisis being rescheduled several years early and doesn't survive. Sort of. (Honestly, they should have had Eobard survive in the Speed Force, similar to how movie-verse!Barry apparently did when Arrow-verse!Barry ran into him, but this post is already longer than expected, so...) Because he's genetically Harrison Wells, Eobard manages to survive as part of Nash along with the other versions of Harrison Wells. How exactly that worked was never really clear, but finally gave us some elaboration on Nash's backstory that helped flesh him out. It also showed pretty clearly that Eobard now really hates Cisco. With Barry it's an ego thing, but with Cisco... it's love turned to hate on both sides and honestly it makes Eobard's non-powered fight against Cisco really interesting to watch. Of course, in the end Eobard is kicked out of Nash's mental time share for Harrison Wells and vows to come back more powerful than ever because secretly Eobard wants to be Sith Lord Darth Sideous.

The next time Eobard shows up, he's been reconstituted into a new body by the Speed Force. (Which brings up the question of whether Barry actually did die during the accelerator event in season two and the Speed Force granted him a new body, which could partly explain why Barry was a little weird after Cisco and Iris retrieved him. It's an interesting read of the situation, anyway.) This doesn't really fit with Eobard's claims while being exorcised from Nash like an angry demon, so there was definitely some retconning going on. Regardless, Eobard is so giddy to realize Barry needs him... right up until he learns how much faster Barry is now that the Speed Force is actively playing favorites instead of passively.

This leads into the Reverse Flashpoint, in which Eobard threw negative still force darts at the timeline dartboard to see what stuck. It bites him on the ass, nearly erases him from time... presumably now due to his negative speed force connection in a nonsensical reversal of the explanations for his previous survival despite Eddie's suicide. (I have issues with the Armageddon Arc, go check out the #ArmageddonRevised tags to see more.) Barry depowers Eobard to save his life, both fulfilling Eobard's wishes and also leaving Eobard wishing Barry'd just let him die.

Then, in an interesting decision in symmetry and quite likely making my assumptions about flashpoint!Eobard being a separate remnant from non-flashpoint!Eobard indisputably canon, flashpoint!Eobard returns!!! Matt Letscher gets to reprise Eobard on the Legends once more, stripped of his powers by the time wraiths so that they could re-educate him and make him a guardian of the timeline. Now we've got two versions of Eobard who both get erased from the timeline due to their hubris, are eventually brought back by the Speed Force or her minions, and stripped of their powers. Apparently Eobard just cannot escape his fate no matter which version we're talking about.

But that's just two of the potentially numerous Eobards out there.

When a speedster time travels, whether or not they merge with the version of their self who belongs at that point in the timeline seems completely arbitrary. Down to the whims of the plot and whether or not the speedster in question intends to settle into the timeline and take it over as his own. Which gives us an opening for alternate versions of Eobard to be running around out there in cases where timeline shifts could have created alternate versions of him.

So while we have the canonical remnant of flashpoint!Eobard who will never take on the likeness of Harrison Wells, what other potential time remnant points could exist? Well... lets start by back tracking to Flash season 5 Eobard.

Season 5 Eobard travels from a future where the Cicada dagger wasn't destroyed into a new timeline where it is, thanks to Nora's connection between the two timelines creating a sort of... temporal flux point where Eobard could escape. Since we don't know where Eobard went after the Crisis on Earth-X ended and at what point he chose to run to the future, it's possible that there was another version of Eobard running around out there during the late Spring/early Summer of 2019. This brings the number of potential Eobards up to three.

Then there's season 6's Eobard, a survivor of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Which means that there's a possibility that the Eobard we see during season 7 and 8 isn't the same one from season 6. He could be the Earth!prime Eobard, which means there might be a ghostly Eobard floating around out there with the ability to possess men known as Harrison Wells... of which we know of only one survivor, hanging out in a temporal loop, reliving his life with Tess Morgan.

The number of Eobards is now four. Bet I could find more if I tried. Like over on the Legends, when Eobard summoned an army of remnants, it's possible one (or more) of those remnants survived and found hidey holes where the time wraiths couldn't find him. (With a speedster's ability to jump realities at will, this brings up a hilarious concept of an uninhabited alternate Earth now populated solely by Eobard remnants in hiding.)

Honestly, with all the retconning of Eobard's history between his appearances on the shows, we could easily have a plethora of this guy. Though at least the series writers seem to have settled on admitting there are canonically two of this guy running around. Now if we could just have the Matt and Tom versions of Eobard team up...

As for the question of what Eobard was up to before being incarcerated in season 5? I strongly suspect that the Armageddon arc shines some light on that. It's possible Eobard was looking into the feasibility of rewriting the timeline and was checking out the effects of the Cicada dagger to see if it would offer him protection from the time wraiths. Only, much to Eobard's surprise, the very thing he was investigating allowed normal cops to defeat him. After all, Eobard's obsession with erasing Barry and taking his place as the Flash was what got Eobard stranded in March 2000. That he's still obsessed with that idea by the time the start of season 8 rolled around means it was likely still his obsession in season 5 too.

Though he might have also been seeking to rewrite time so that he could take over Barry's family after Barry's death, leaving Barry's sacrifice to save the multi-verse in place, but adding insult to injury that Barry's loved ones would then unknowingly go on to love Barry's (self-proclaimed) greatest nemesis after his death. After all, Eobard wouldn't want to become the Flash if it meant dying in Barry's place. And we already know Eobard would happily marry Iris if given the chance - seeing her as a prize to be won. He'd have clearly also liked to have usurped Barry's place as a father to the season 4/5 version of Nora West-Allen, if he'd been given the chance to do so.

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: a grain of millet drifting, ch. 1

Relationship: Niè Huáisāng & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Characters: Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Original Characters, Nie Huaisang

Additional Tags: Assassination Attempt(s), Introspection, Regret, Travel, Post-Canon, POV Third Person, POV Wei WuXian

Summary: Wei Wuxian wanders after parting from Lan Wangji, looking to understand the changes in the world since his death, seeking to understand his place in it. He doesn't realize he's being watched. Frankencanon, so this has a liberal mixture of CQL and MDZS.

Notes: See end.

AO3 link

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Wei Wuxian hadn’t lied to Lan Zhan after their brief confrontation with Nie Huaisang in Cloud Recesses, not exactly. 

Knowing why he’d been brought back, whether somehow his old friend had chosen him specifically for his own reasons, or if that had been entirely Mo Xuanyu’s call, wouldn’t change anything.

And part of him didn’t want confirmation of how much Nie Huaisang had meddled with along the way.

So much had been broken, so many people lost, and a part of him wanted to believe the façade that the indolent Nie Huaisang he had known during their days in the Cloud Recesses still existed. 

But once he’d left Lan Zhan and set off on his travels with Little Apple, once he started getting used to being alive again, to having even the tiny wisp of a jindan, barely beyond zhuji, that Mo Xuanyu had gifted him, something he could build on, something other than the gaping hole that had ultimately consumed him, he’d had to face some truths. 

He had no family, no home. He didn’t know if Jiang Cheng would ever want anything to do with him, and he wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. As much as he would always love Lotus Pier, he didn’t know that it had ever really been his home. 

In some ways, his leaving had been inevitable. Despite being head disciple, he’d never been welcome. And the fall of Lotus Pier would forever be his fault, the ghosts of his own doing. He’d never regret protecting Mianmian and Lan Zhan, but he would always regret the massacre that had followed. 

Even if he’d technically been absolved of the death of Jin Zixuan and the bloodbath of Nightless City and shijie’s death, his actions had still led to them. 

Wei Wuxian spent long, sleepless nights under the stars and listening to Little Apple snore outrageously coming to the understanding that he’d left the Burial Mounds with his sanity shredded. The war and continued use of resentful energy without a jindan had only worsened it. He’d raised the dead, the ancestors of their enemy, defiling their bodies to win the war, and he’d earned a dark and deviant reputation in doing so.

After the war, he’d taken to drinking to dull it all, and doing so had destabilized his mind further. He was sensitive about his inability to cultivate, but couldn’t explain why. Surrounded by people who wanted him to do what he could not, he had spiraled. 

Really, by the time he’d saved the Dafan Wen temporarily from their fate and gone back to attempt to live in the Burial Mounds, he’d been hanging by a thread. Wen Qing had bullied him into taking care of himself, for the most part, but he’d spent more days than he could count in the Demon Slaughtering Cave capable of little more than opening his eyes, what little energy he had dedicated to keeping the Seal under control. 

He remembered very little past Jiang Yanli’s death and waking up in the Burial Mounds with the remnants of the Wen who knew death was coming. The seal wanted more, another Nightless City. And he’d known he could absolutely destroy the Jianghu—but that the Seal wanted it gave him enough pause that he knew he needed to destroy it and end it all. 

He’d managed to find a way, but the Siege happened just as he was ready. What little sanity he had left went toward an attempt to hide A-Yuan—maybe the one good thing he had managed. And then, as the aunties and uncles and popo were massacred around him, he could only focus on destroying the seal. 

Dying in the way that he had, ripped to shreds by corpses, had been agonizing, though the benefit of Jiang Cheng stabbing him had meant he’d died faster. He didn’t know if his shidi had meant it to be a kindness, but ultimately it had lessened his suffering before he died. It was likely a better death than anyone else would have given him. 

But Jin Guangyao had been right: even before he’d absconded with the Wen remnants, his actions during the war, his temper and frayed sanity, his rages, his desecration of the dead… All of it had painted a target on him. 

No, he’d painted it on himself with blood. 

Wei Wuxian had come back in a body not tainted by the resentful energy that had burrowed its way into his bones before his death, despite it being his old one free of scars and birth marks, his sanity somehow restored, and was able to see his own self-destruction and how he had made that the only path he could walk through his own trauma-fueled hubris. 

Maybe those years dead had done something to heal whatever damage he had inflicted on his own soul, as well. He remembered nothing of that time, and waking up in a body had been like opening his eyes after a long sleep. He’d known he’d been dead, had known time had passed, though not how much at first. Everything that had occurred leading to his death felt so immediate, particularly shijie’s death and the knowledge he’d left A-Yuan hiding but didn’t know if he’d survived. 

The relief he felt that he had at least saved one person couldn’t be quantified. 

Part of the journey was trying to find where he fit into the world now, but most of it was reflection and coming to terms with the reality that now existed. 

He’d steered away from larger cities, opting to travel smaller roads to villages off the beaten path. Many, it seemed, had problems with restless spirits and the like—the occasional yao, even. He took care of what he could, and drafted letters to Lan Zhan when it was something that required more than he was currently capable of. 

Perhaps that was something he’d learned—to rely on others and not try to fix everything himself. He could probably handle it all, but there were costs of using resentful energy too much, and in this life he didn’t particularly want to pay them. 

So he communicated with the odd hungry ghost, used talismans to take down roaming fierce corpses, and handled the smaller yao that he could handle with the jindan he had, using these night hunts to help develop it further, hoping one day he could retrieve Suibian from Jiang Cheng and be able to wield the blade again—assuming his once-brother would let him have the sword. 

Everything beyond, that would require more spiritual energy than he had or more resentful energy than he was comfortable using, he sent to Lan Zhan so the local cultivation sect could be alerted. He dared not send them a letter himself; people still had strong feelings about the return of the Yiling Patriarch, and it was just as likely he’d be blamed for the problem as anything. 

The rural route he took left him able to travel in anonymity as a rogue cultivator, offering essentially any name but his own. Thanks to the ugly Yiling Patriarch talismans, the common folk didn’t know what he looked like. Most often, he went by Wei Yuandao, reminded of Mianmian’s happiness at seeing him when he did, that there were people in the world who didn’t hate or fear him. The villagers didn’t know him, were grateful for his help, whether in setting a spirit to rest or helping with odd jobs in exchange for a meal and a place to sleep by a hearth. 

Much of the time, though, he slept beneath a blanket of stars. 

One night like that, he heard the sounds of a scuffle and rushed to see what was going on. He expected to need to fight off a bandit, but instead he found a man in Nie colors running through a man dressed head to toe in black, face masked.

As he stood gaping, the Nie disciple bowed to him.

“Wei-gongzi.”

That confirmed a suspicion, and the logic of the situation ran through his mind at the speed of light. The courtesy, the Nie colors, what was clearly a would-be assassin’s body at his feet. Finally, Wei Wuxian sighed. 

“How many assassins?”

The young man smiled.

“Five in as many weeks. You are as smart as Nie-zongzhu said.”

Wei Wuxian snorted at that. 

“Not if I didn’t realize assassins were being sent after me. I’m guessing Nie-xiong knew they’d be hired and sent you to protect me in secret?”

He’d honestly thought he was being left alone by the cultivation world, especially since he wasn’t causing any trouble. How very naïve. 

The man nodded curtly, then bent to rifle through the corpse’s clothing, looking for clues and stripping it of valuables, every bit a Nie. 

“He wanted you to be able to travel without worry.”

Ah, Nie-xiong…

Perhaps Nie Huaisang was used to working from the shadows and had an agenda, or perhaps he truly just wanted Wei Wuxian to be undisturbed. Whatever his reasons for the secrecy, with this that ship had sailed. 

But Wei Wuxian had no idea why Nie Huaisang would bother, not after he threatened him at the Cloud Recesses. Implied threat, but still—he’d expected that would burn a bridge. Not… this. 

“I suppose I’m overdue for a visit to the Unclean Realm,” he said after thinking it over. “You may as well travel with me openly, unless Nie-xiong would prefer you watch over me in secret?”

Despite the protection he’d sent, Wei Wuxian didn’t know if he wanted the Nie clan officially associated with the Yiling Patriarch.

“Sect Leader was not specific about this eventuality. Traveling together openly may deter assassins, though it is easier to catch them off guard if they believe you unprotected.”

Ah, so Nie Huaisang didn’t care. Wei Wuxian waved off the concern. Now that he knew the threat, it was easily dealt with. 

“I can set talisman traps around the campsite. Probably should have done that to begin with.”

But he’d been trying to have faith in the cultivation world, he didn’t say. Once again, misplaced faith and he should’ve known better. 

“At least that way you can get real sleep as we travel to meet with Nie-zongzhu.”

They were a week of travel from the Unclean Realm, and he supposed he’d get answers to questions he hadn’t known he had then. 

He headed back to his campsite, happy to see his Nie protector was following, and set a gourd of water near the fire to heat and pulled out some tea. 

“In the meantime, we can talk about these assassins, eh? We’ll bury the body in the morning.”

It’d been over a decade since he’d last dug a grave, and it wasn’t to bury a body, but he was sure he could manage with the Nie’s help.

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Zhuji is the foundation building stage of cultivation, the stage before forming the jindan/golden core. Basically, Wei Wuxian is saying Mo Xuanyu was barely into the stage of forming a golden core, so it’s barely a wisp, but is still something that has the foundations built for him.

This fic was… unexpected. I wanted to write something for Nie Huaisang’s birthday, kind of a reconciliation between him and Wei Wuxian, and this happened. It will likely be no more than three chapters.

The title is a reference to a translation of a Su Shi poem, “First Ode on the Red Cliffs,” which was written after his first exile (he was exiled twice, both times for his poetry), while he wandered. There are several translations floating around, but I liked the wording of this one.

[casually-inlove]

19 Days Character Archetypes. He Tian

This idea had been dancing around the back of my mind for a little over half a year now. I wanted to compare and contrast 19 Days characters with the list of archetypes proposed in the neo-Jungian research and finally, I got some time to spare. For this post, I am going to talk about He Tian. Before I begin, however, let me clarify a few things. Since the subject is fairly complex, I do not intend to write in detail about the theory itself or the studies mentioned because that is not the purpose of this post. I am only looking to give a quick and basic run-down of the common archetypes shared by the 19 Days characters.

What is an archetype? An archetype is a set of predefined characteristics, a mould. Carl Jung described the archetype as a “fundamental unit of a human mind” or a “primordial image”. Simply put, the archetypes are the recurring and simplified patterns — but also symbols. According to his ideas, these basic symbols exist universally irrespective of epochs, nations, cultures, races, places, etc. Jung believed them to be shared by the so-called collective unconsciousness. However, even before him, the philosophers of old introduced the ideas of pre-existing ideal immaterial forms which shape the material reality. Since the archetypes are fundamentally primordial, they permeate every single sphere of human life. Art, media, movies, day to day interactions — all of them deal in archetypes.

While working on his research, Carl Jung defined the driving impulses of the human psyche. In turn, that data helped him come up with underlying basis for human behaviour. Based on his findings, Jung outlined the so-called primary archetypes. Later his research served as a basis for many other studies and classifications, particularly for The 12 Archetype Model, proposed by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson in “The Hero and the Outlaw”. Naturally, there can be an infinite number of archetypes, each having their subtleties; still, the short lists give the generalized picture. Deconstructing characters to these basic blueprints is a fair game because a character, no matter how complex, is still an abstract entity.

For this series of posts, I am going to rely on the 12 Archetype Model mentioned above. The list goes as follows:

1. The Innocent

2. The Orphan

3. The Hero

4. The Caregiver

5. The Explorer

6. The Rebel

7. The Lover

8. The Creator

9. The Jester

10. The Sage

11. The Magician

12. The Ruler

Having examined this list, I am led to believe that He Tian primarily represents a mixture of The Hero and The Rebel archetypes.

The Hero and The Rebel

Let us start with the most obvious, the Hero. This archetype is closely associated with the ideas of masculinity, and thus it is also referred as the Warrior, the Crusader, etc.

The Hero archetype characteristics

Motto: Where there is a will, there is a way

Core desire: to prove one's worth through courageous acts

Goal: expert mastery in a way that improves the world

Greatest fear: weakness, vulnerability, being a “chicken”

Strategy: to be as strong and competent as possible

Weakness: arrogance, always needing another battle to fight

Talent: competence and courage

These go very much in line with what we know of He Tian. His childhood flashbacks suggest that he indeed intends to be “the strongest”.

The failure to protect the puppy, the harsh words of He Cheng — all of it led him to become fixated on becoming the Hero, the one who swoops down and single-handedly saves the day. It is in the way he stands in to fight She Li for Guanshan or rushes to prevent Jian Yi from getting kidnapped. It is in the way he attempts to resolve the other boy’s problems with debt collectors. It is in the way he deflects the coke can and decides to meet his father for Guanshan's sake.

He Tian yearns to be the strongest because the alternative — being weak and helpless — has already scarred him in the past. Whatever joy he used to have as a child was taken from him, because he was not strong enough to handle things on his own. He entrusted the puppy to his brother and the man betrayed him — or so He Tian was led to believe.

More than that, he wants Guanshan to come to him, whether it’s talking about his complicated past or whether it’s about learning the guitar.

It goes without saying that He Tian is almost eerily good at anything he does — as such he believes he can learn music from scratch in a short time. That speaks volumes about the confidence he has in his capabilities, and yet to an outsider's perspective this might come off as blatant posturing.

Apart from almost baffling self-confidence that he shows, He Tian is also known for his nearly abnormal physical prowess. He managed to hold his ground against several armed adults (which is probably just flawed writing) and way back he even managed to impress Guanshan by effortlessly hopping over the school fence, so it makes one wonder what kind of training he had undergone.

However, the truth is, The Hero is also susceptible to weakness. In his work, Carl Jung has coined the term “The Shadow”, which became a stand-alone archetype in his list. The Shadow stands for our suppressed, ignored or denied traits, in other words, it is everything that we cannot see or refuse to see in ourselves. The concept of this hidden darkness has been since absorbed into a number posterior studies, such as Robert Moore’s and Douglass Gillette’s “King Magician Warrior Lover”, where they introduce triadic paradigms of the archetypes and their corresponding active and passive shadows. Notably, they link the aforementioned archetypes with the concept of “masculinity” and its development throughout adolescence into adulthood.

What is The Shadow to The Hero archetype? When The Hero cannot fulfill their purpose, they surrender to the shadow. The dark side takes their best qualities and transforms them into flaws. The confidence thus turns into arrogance and hubris, courage into foolhardiness, competence into bravado and posturing — or the complete opposite happens. Courage transforms into cowardice, confidence into insecurity, etc.

Whereas He Tian is concerned, before he had developed an emotional attachment to another person (and by doing so gained something to cherish), we could observe some of the definitive shadow patterns in his behaviour. Until he recognized Guanshan as someone to know and to protect, he used to goad the other boy, if not outright assume the position of his superior, demanding obedience and subservience. He Tian also used the snide tone when talking to Guanshan, and he did so in order to establish his power to steer the boy in what he deemed to be the right direction — that is attempting to curb Redhead’s short temper and brashness. And in doing so, he was not shy of subtly threatening the boy or using physical force to make his point.

To be in touch with his masculinity — that is to channel his energy constructively in order to feel strong and needed, — he required to have someone he could play the knight for. Once he could direct his inner impulses properly, his violent tendencies have subsided.

Even so, in his aspiration to be the ultimate good — driven by the hatred for his family background, perhaps — He Tian often opted for doing rash, foolhardy stuff, such as attempting to take on the debt collectors all by himself, for instance. Sure, he would have gotten to “save the day” and be the hero, but that single moment would have cost him his life.

Now, having glanced at the Hero archetype, let us move to the next one, The Rebel. This archetype is characterized by the following:

The Rebel archetype characteristics

Motto: Rules are made to be broken

Core desire: revenge or revolution

Goal: to overturn what is not working

Greatest fear: to be powerless or ineffectual

Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock

Weakness: crossing over to the dark side, crime

Talent: outrageousness, radical freedom

The Rebel is also known as the outlaw, the revolutionary, the wild man, the misfit, or iconoclast.

Indeed, He Tian rebels quite a bit in the manhua. First and foremost, his rebellion is directed at his flesh and blood — Mr He and Cheng.

Not much is known about He Tian’s childhood, yet it is pretty clear that he hadn’t exactly had a happy one. His mother died early on and he was left to grow up practically without parents since Mr He is a textbook absentee father. From what He Tian knows, his brother backstabbed him, an act that keeps plaguing their relationship years after, while his father is labeled as a monster — someone who is ostensibly capable of eliminating people who disobey.

It is also clear as the day that young He Tian is traumatized by whatever dealings his family conducts behind the scenes. At some point, we even witnessed a scene where HT is tossed out of the burning yacht, while his brother is covered in blood and holds a gun. A violent experience such as this inevitably leaves a scar — and actually get to see it. He Tian is shown to experience something closely reminiscent of PTSD, recurring violent nightmares, the fear of the dark, etc.

Back in the present day, we see that He Tian wants to put distance between himself and his family. It manifests in living separately from his kin and cutting the contact to a bare minimum. He makes a point of stating that he is independent, severing the ties he deems to be dysfunctional. Yet the same time He Tian cannot quite let go of his familial bonds. In particular, whenever He Cheng is concerned, the boy sneers and flagrantly shows his impetuousness and disrespect.

In many ways he’s practically stomping his feet, attempting to show that he doesn’t need his brother, yet by doing this he proves the opposite: he still yearns his bitter feelings to be validated by He Cheng — and by his father too, to an extent.

This results in bratty behaviour on his part: He Tian orchestrates property damage at the He mansion, impishly rejects Cheng’s gestures of goodwill, etc.That is the work of the Rebel’s “shadow” counterpart — when the desire to overturn things and break free takes on darker shade and slips into dangerous territory. Resisting and opposing then becomes a way of life, and only through it does the “shadow rebel” feel certain of their self. 

He Tian pushes at the boundaries of what is permitted and socially acceptable to feel in control of the situation. If we examine the way He Tian interacts with others, we will see that the shadow manifests in many other ways. He Tian is compelled to stir and instigate others, using his wit and cunning to make them uncomfortable or confused, and thus easy to manipulate to his amusement.

Speaking of socially acceptable behaviour, Chinese culture places a great emphasis on the respect towards senior family members — and I probably cannot stress this enough — He Cheng lets him get away with this lack of reverence. Deep inside He Tian seeks his brother’s approval and attention, but rejects it when he is given, and in the process he sets out to tear down anything that displeases him.

Establishing a connection with Guanshan let He Tian fulfill his Hero potential and channel his energy in constructive ways, and yet at the same time, it allowed him to tap further into his “Shadow” Rebel tendencies. That is, to it rub in into He Cheng’s face that he’s no longer welcome or needed.

Naturally, as a character, He Tian possesses traits of other archetypes — such as The Lover, for instance — albeit to a lesser extent, so I’m not going to dive deep in here. Let me just mention, that as a Lover, He Tian is compelled to increase his attractiveness to his love interest  — we often see him fishing for compliments and validation on Guanshan’s part, which underscores his inner need to feel needed and wanted, yet also turns into clinginess at times.

With that, this quick rundown of He Tian’s character patterns is complete. All in all, you could say that He Tian is fairly archetypal at his core, and yet it’s the combination of these “trite” features that mark him as an utterly realistic and believable character. It is because we’ve seen these archetypes countless times before that He Tian appears to be true to life.

Lastly, this is going to turn into a series of posts, but right now I cannot say when the next part is going to be up since writing this took me some time. In the meantime, you can read a bit more below ✨. 

 A bit more about He Tian | Support me at Ko-Fi 

[unforth]

List of Differences Between MDZS and CQL/Untamed

I haven’t seen a comprehensive list of differences between the Modao Zushi novel and Chengqingling/The Untamed. Someone in one of my Discord’s asked earlier today, and in reply, myself, Joythea, @floofz, HeadphonesGal, and mustache apologist compiled this list, based on what we remembered. I’ve reproduced that list here with permission of the people involved in the conversation. I’ve tried to include what happens in both the novel AND CQL for each item, but in general, the list was more written as, “here are things that happened in CQL that didn’t happen or happened differently in the novel,” with an eye toward explaining it to someone familiar with the novel but not with the live action adaptation. 

Note that this contains...like...all the spoilers. Also, I am not an expert on either the novel or the live action, though I’m better acquainted with the second. As a group we did our best to make sure this was accurate, but I’ve transcribed and expanded it for posting and I can’t promise I haven’t made mistakes. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG and I will amend it (that’s why I used a read more - so I can make changes without it getting all messed up by reblogs of different versions)!

General Concept/Overarching Differences:

Death, Fierce Corpses, and Puppets: Censorship means that none of the things they hunt in the Untamed are actually dead. Once, they’re even able to explicitly “free” a group of controlled puppets and they revert to being regular people. At times this means certain events are...extremely poorly...explained, such as what happens to Wen Ning, where it’s never explicitly said that he’s dead - it’s instead implied that Wen Ning was on the verge of death and that Wei Wuxian controlled him and was able to save him. However, though it’s never explicit that there are essentially zombies in CQL, it would be difficult to explain events by any other interpretation. Much like with homosexuality, they flirt as close to what the censors will allows as they can and allow a viewer to infer from there.

The Yin Iron: In the novel, there is no Yin Iron. Wen Ruohan’s motivation for his actions is simply more power and is entirely “human.” The Wen don’t do demonic cultivation. Xue Yang doesn’t have a piece of the Yin Iron, and his ancestor didn’t create it (obviously, since it doesn’t exist). In the novel, the “Founder of Demonic Cultivation” is clearly meant to be Wei Wuxian, whereas if the concept of “Modao Zushi” ever came up in the Untamed it would be ambiguous at best who was being referred to, since both Xue Yang’s ancestor and Wen Ruohan could theoretically deserve the title. Since there is no Yin Iron, many of the things ascribed to the Yin Iron obviously don’t happen, nor does it drive the plot in the “past,” nor does it play a part in the death of Xuanwu, nor is it what Wei Wuxian uses to craft the Stygian Tiger Amulet.

While this isn’t explicit, it seems (at least to me) like everyone is a few years older in CQL than they are in the novel. For example, in the novel, the Lectures start when the young cultivators are all 15 - 16 years old. That...doesn’t really fit with how they look in CQL? I personally think they’re more like 17 - 18 in CQL, and then events proceed from there. However, their ages aren’t stated in CQL canon so this is open to interpretation.

Technically, WangXian is subtext in the Untamed, by the slimmest of obfuscations. Seriously, it’s so borderline to being canon that calling it subtext is slightly ridiculous but since it’s never ACTUALLY explicit...I guess that makes it subtext. Also, ya know, there’s porn in the novel.

Characters and Characterizations:

Mo Xuanyu: Mo Xuanyu isn’t gay in the Untamed, unlike in the novel. In the novel, it’s said that Mo Xuanyu falls out of favor with the Jin clan because he’s made inappropriate sexual advances on Jin Guangyao. In the Untamed, the implication is that he made similar advances on Qin Su. In both, it’s also implied these weren’t the real reasons but it’s also never explained what actually did happen. Also, in the novel, he favors wearing thickly caked makeup to obscure his appearance (and subsequently Wei Wuxian does the same) whereas in CQL while makeup is mentioned he’s basically only ever shown or discussed as wearing a mask.

Wei Wuxian/Mo Xuanyu: In the novel, Mo Xuanyu sacrifices himself and Wei Wuxian takes over his body. However, in the Untamed, Wei Wuxian is more...reborn?...whole, in his own appearance (the logistics of this, or if he was ever dead, or where he was if he WAS dead, are never explained). He wears a mask because if he didn’t, everyone would (and ultimately does) recognize him. 

Wei Wuxian: In the novel, doing demonic cultivation clearly twists Wei Wuxian and some of his actions are either accidental but still his fault, or intentional. For example, the torture of Wen Chao is intentional and brutal, and the loss of control of Wen Ning at Qiongqi Path is accidental but still his fault - a result of his hubris and poor decisions. In CQL, a second flute is played at Qiongqi pass and also when Wei Wuxian fights the cultivation clans outside the Nightless City - both of the major times when Wei Wuxian ostensibly loses control. Though Wei Wuxian himself thinks it’s his fault, it’s actually not - the person responsible is Su She - and Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji eventually learn this. However, CQL does still show Wei Wuxian being changed by the resentment. His temper is more volatile and his trust more limited; for example, he loses his temper with A-Yuan at one point, which doesn’t happen in the novel.

Lan Wangji: differences in Lan Wangji’s characterization are a little harder to quantify but in general in CQL he seems more open/expressive/comfortable in his own skin, and less prone to anger. For example, when he steals Wei Wuxian’s first kiss on Phoenix Mountain in the novel, he loses his temper and destroys an entire grove of trees. This...would not be in character for Lan Wangji in CQL (and of course they don’t kiss in CQL). However, putting it in definitive terms is complicated. For another difference, in the novel, Lan Wangji confronts the cultivation clans to protect Wei Wuxian, and thus is given 33 strikes with the discipline whip. In CQL, his actions are more ambivalent in Wei Wuxian’s defense...certainly, he doesn’t stand against everyone else in a pitch to save Wei Wuxian’s life...but he’s still explicit enough for Lan Qiren, who has him beaten 300 times with a stave. (the end result is still “covered in scars,” just different punishments.)

Jiang Yanli: Jiang Yanli’s role is expanded from the novel. She accompanies her brothers to the Lan clan Lectures, and she carries a sword, implying she’s a cultivator, though she never uses it. The back-and-forth related to her engagement to Jin Zixuan is also expanded. Furthermore, she’s with her brothers when they flee Lotus Pier, and at Wen Qing’s outpost when they are in hiding, for at least part of the time. (but not enough of it to be involved in the Golden Core transfer). The overall result is that she feels much less “fridged” in CQL than she did in the novel (or at least, that’s how it felt to me - obviously, some of these bullet points are subjective to varying extents).

Luo “Mianmian” Qingyang: In the novel, she’s a member of an independent cultivation sect and she’s first introduced during the Wen Clan indoctrination. In the Untamed, she’s a Jin clan disciple and she attends the Lan clan Lectures, and is shown to have a good relationship (friendship, not romantic) with Jin Zixuan. She later renounces her membership in the Jin clan when the clans turn against Wei Wuxian after the end of the Sunshot Campaign. 

Wen Ruohan: In the novel, he’s just a badass mo-fo power hungry pain in the ass. In CQL he is a demonic cultivating megalomaniac who uses the Yin Iron to be, like, Comic Book Evil.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning: Unlike in the novel, where Wen Ning is introduced outside of Lotus Pier, and Wen Qing is introduced after Wen Ning needs a place to hide Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, in the Untamed, Wen Qing and Wen Ning attend the Lan clan Lectures. Wen Qing is there under instructions from Wen Ruohan to seek the Yin Iron; he blackmails her by threatening Wen Ning. Furthermore, Wen Ning is unusually susceptible to spiritual influence as a result of an encounter with the Dafan Mountain Goddess/Fairy statue when he’s a child. The statue kills their parents and starts to drain him, but Wen Qing saves him. She’s not able to heal the damage to him, though, and it’s implied this is part of why it’s possible for Wei Wuxian to raise him using demonic cultivation. Wen Qing in particular has a much greater role in CQL, and she has a romantic subplot with Jiang Cheng. She bears a sword, and she’s also shown to do spellwork and influence people using acupuncture needles.

Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen: In the novel, we first meet them at Yi City, when their story is already tragic. In CQL, they are introduced right after the Lan Lectures, and are therefore older.

Xue Yang: As with Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen, he is introduced earlier in CQL than in the novel. In CQL, he also possesses a piece of the Yin Iron that he manages to keep hidden and a secret despite multiple attempts by different parties to obtain it (it’s hinted at times that he’s in cahoots with Wei Wuxian, but this is just a character smear). His ancestor created the Yin Iron, and he’s known to be an expert on demonic cultivation.

Meng Yao/Jin Guangyao: Meng Yao is introduced much earlier in CQL than he is in the novel, as we see him when the Nie cultivators are welcomed to the Lan lectures (and we’re shown upfront and immediately that Lan Xichen treats him more respectfully than most others do). In the novel, we don’t find out much about the evil things he’s done until Wei Wuxian does Empathy on Nie Mingjue’s head; in CQL, more of that is shown “on screen” as it occurs. For example, he’s shown conspiring with Xue Yang in the Unclean Realm, and right after that is when Nie Mingjue catches him slaughtering another officer (which none of the other characters know about). He also saves Nie Mingjue’s life during that scene, painting him as morally ambiguous and complicated from a very early point. We also “see” as it happens the incident in right after the fall of Nightless City, where Nie Mingjue goes to kill Meng Yao and is prevented by Lan Xichen, and there are more explicit indications that he’s manipulating Jin Guangshan and is involved in the plot to turn everyone against Wei Wuxian.

Ouyang Zizhen: Ouyang Zizhen appears only briefly in the novel, during the Yi City arc. In CQL he has a much expanded role and is a pretty much perpetual fourth to Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, and Lan Jingyi (especially post Yi City). He’s present most of the times they meet, and involved in Jin Ling’s confrontation with Wen Ning, and is present at the Second Siege of the Burial Mounds, where he intervenes with his father on behalf of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. And he’s one of the best beans.

Sequence of Events:

In the novel, when Wei Wuxian awakes at Mo Manor, the Lan clan disciples come and they find an evil left arm that kills and possesses people. In CQL, they find a sword that does the same. This leads to changes throughout the plot in what, exactly, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are searching for. In the novel, they pursue the pieces of Nie Mingjue’s body to various sites. In CQL, they instead are led to the same sequence of places by a sword spirit which turns out to be Baxia.

When Mo Xuanyu raises Wei Wuxian in the novel, Wei Wuxian has three curse scars representing three people that need to die: Madam Mo, Mo Ziyuan, and...one of the servants I think? In CQL, Wei Wuxian has a fourth cut that represents a fourth person he must kill: Jin Guangyao.

Because the risen dead don’t exist in the Untamed, the Dafan Mountain Goddess/Fairy statue incident plays out a little different. For example, Wei Wuxian doesn’t figure out what’s happened by observing graves, he figures it out by seeing “spirit grass.” However, the outcomes are essentially the same from a plot point of view.

In CQL, the extended flashback to the lectures starts right after Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian meet (right after Wen Ning is summoned and then flees). I don’t remember exactly how the timeline/intermingling of narratives from different points in times is structured in the novel but I know it’s different. They spend far longer in the “present” before going to the past, and jump back and forth a bit more too.

In CQL, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have an early bonding period during the lectures (the lectures over all get more attention/time than in the novel) when they are drawn into a cave in the backhills that they enter through the cold spring. Within, there’s a guqin and a bunch of rabbits and the...spiritual embodiment?...of Lan Yi, who is introduced as the first female leader of the Lan Clan, a close friend of Baoshen Sanren, and the creator of the Chord Assassination Technique. Lan Yi acquaints them with the existence of the Yin Iron. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji also engage in a symbolic hand-fasting during this scene. In the show, this is where the bunnies come from; Wei Wuxian doesn’t capture them and bring them as “presents” like he does in the novel.

In CQL, between the Lectures and the Sunshot Campaign, Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang do some night hunting together. Among other things, during this time they meet Xue Yang, Xiao Xingchen, and Song Lan, when Xue Yang slaughters the Chang clan. This obviously has major implications for the role and age of these characters in CQL versus in the novel, when none of the three are met until Yi City. This time spent night-hunting is also when the flower spirit mini-side plot takes place, but it doesn’t get much screen time and isn’t as prominent as in the novel, nor is the entire “Wei Wuxian woos her where no one else did” thing a feature of the show. Also, they encounter the Dafan Mountain Goddess at this time.

The Wen Clan attacks Cloud Recesses in the novel because of perceived improprieties, and Lan Wangji is injured while trying to protect the library. Lan Xichen disappears, and Clan Leader Lan is killed. In CQL, Clan Leader Lan is already dead at this point and Lan Xichen is in charge of the clan (while it’s never explicit, it’s implied that the age gap between Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji, and between Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang, is greater in the show than it is in the novel). When Wen Xu attacks, they hide in the cave where Lan Yi appeared to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, but the disciples who aren’t members of the Lan specifically can’t enter, so Wen Xu begins to massacre them. To prevent that, Lan Wangji emerges, and that’s when his leg is broken. (Su She is also prominent in this scene in CQL, but he’s not in the novel.)

During the Indoctrinations, in CQL it’s shown that Wei Wuxian is afraid of dogs after Wen Chao locks him in a dungeon room with one. This also serves as bonding time with Wen Ning, who helps Wei Wuxian with medicine that Wen Qing has provided. This scene doesn’t take place in the novel; in the novel Wei Wuxian’s fear of dogs is almost entirely shown through his interactions with Fairy.

Also during the Indoctrinations in CQL, there’s a lot of friction between Wen Chao and Wen Qing because Wen Qing keeps trying to help the prisoners in small ways. In the novel, Wen Qing hasn’t been introduced at this point in the story.

Wei Wuxian’s Death: In the novel, Wei Wuxian retreats to the Burial Mounds, the clans unite against him, storm the Burial Mounds, and kill him - Jiang Cheng gets credit for the kill, but in actuality, Wei Wuxian's own resentment-controlled undead tear him apart when his magic backfires. (see this comment for more info) In the Untamed, after a battle outside the Nightless City, Wei Wuxian realizes how wrong everything has gone, destroys the Stygian Tiger amulet, and throws himself from the mountain. Despite a “tease” that Jiang Cheng stabbed him, it’s later shown that no, Wei Wuxian’s death was suicide despite Lan Wangji trying to save him and Jiang Cheng deciding not to stab him.

Wen Chao’s Death: While it’s implied in CQL that Wei Wuxian has been tormenting Wen Chao, it’s nowhere near as explicit as in the novel. It’s loosely suggested in CQL that perhaps Wen Chao’s condition when Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji find him is the result of fear and self-neglect - basically that Wei Wuxian’s torment is causing Wen Chao to hallucinate frightening things. Instead of, you know, Wei Wuxian’s torment causing him to eat himself.

In the novel, Wei Wuxian is dead for 13 years. In CQL, he’s dead for 16 years.

Wei Wuxian’s resurrection: In the novel, because Wei Wuxian doesn’t look like himself, he doesn’t realize that Lan Wangji has recognized him because he played WangXian, so he engages in multiple behaviors to try to disgust and drive Lan Wangji away (all of which fail, of course, because Lan Wangji knows the truth). In CQL, because Wei Wuxian looks like himself, when he wakes up without his mask in Cloud Recesses he immediately knows that Lan Wangji has recognized him and there’s no further mystery in that regard (except for how Lan Wangji recognized him while he WAS masked, which is the same in both - because of the song). (Lan Xichen also subsequently recognizes him while he’s masked, at an earlier point than he does in the novel unless I’ve badly misremembered. Which is always possible).

The Yi City arc is quite different between the two. Honestly, I skip the most painful parts of the Yi City arc, including the entire flashback sequences, because I knew they’d fuck me up right good without being worth it, so I’m not able to go into depth here, but. Some examples include:

Because in CQL, Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, and Xue Yang were introduced during the “past” timeline, they’re considerably older than in the novel.

Due to censorship, A-Qing is not a spirit as she is in the novel. Instead, she’s still alive but she’s had her tongue torn out and been blinded by Xue Yang. She ultimately sacrifices her life to help Wei Wuxian et al kill Xue Yang.

In CQL, it’s shown that Xiao Xingchen would leave a sweet on Xue Yang’s pillow every day, and when Xue Yang dies the last gifted sweet falls from his hand.

(if anyone reading this wants to help flesh it out please do chime in because I know it’s incomplete but I Cannot with that bit of the story.)

During the Second Siege of the Burial Mounds, in the novel, after Wei Wuxian paints himself with the lure talismans, he and Lan Wangji are on the verge of being overpowered when the corpses of the Wen clan members that Wei Wuxian saved rise from the blood pool and help protect them. In CQL, the Wen clan members are hung by the Jin clan and left for the birds outside of the Nightless City, so they could never have been in the blood pool, even if such a thing would have made it past censors (which it never would have).

The novel contains pornographic content, including an illicit kiss that Lan Wangji steals from Wei Wuxian during the Phoenix Mountain hunt, and actual sex, with their first time being before the confrontation at Guanyin Temple. 

During the Guanyin temple confrontation, in the novel there’s extensive discussion of Jin Guangyao’s childhood in the brothel, including information about his mother and why he spared Sisi as opposed to all the other prostitutes. Further, it’s explicit that the Guanyin temple has been built on the site where that brothel used to stand and that the coffin Jin Guangyao is digging up is meant to contain his mother’s body. The entire temple is dedicated to her. In CQL a lot of this is simply not explained or left ambiguous.

In the novel, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are married and return to Cloud Recesses. In CQL, they travel together for a time, part ways, and then are reunited. Lan Wangji becomes the Chief Cultivator, replacing Jin Guangyao.

...that’s everything we came up with. Alright, everyone, what’d we miss? :D

[sentryandco]

#1: Crux

For as long as he could remember, Arasen knew he was destined for something important. He had prepared himself for it. He had prayed to the gods that when the time came, he would be worthy of the path that would reveal itself to him.

Then when the horrific visions came of the futures that could be, Arasen was nearly undone by the terrors that visited him every time he closed his eyes. But he didn’t bemoan that the gift of Sight was truly just a curse that no longer allowed him to see beyond the suffering that lay ahead. Instead, he persevered, escaping the precipice of insanity from the sleepiness nights and overwhelming despair. He had to learn that compassion and mercy had no place in his life, for if he was to walk the path that would lead to the salvation of all, he couldn’t afford any distractions that could detract him from his goal. He would fulfill his duty by any means necessary, truthfulness and happiness be damned.

And now, within the bowels of the earth beneath the ancient ruins that held powers capable of granting his ultimate wish, it was here that Arasen saw his destiny. This was where his years of torment and nightmares would end, where the prophecy of the Lost Daughter would be finally fulfilled.

Only, there were two paths that await him.

The first choice was the obvious one. It was what he had been working for, his years of machinations finally bearing fruit. The Lost Daughter had been found, and she had been brought to the altar of the ancients, where her blood and soul would give life to the god that slept. He needed only to nudge the tides of battle in favor of the black irises, so that they would take what is rightfully theirs, and awaken the nameless entity that slumbered beneath the mountain.

It should have been an easy decision. All those years he had labored, deceiving everyone, hardening his heart, and damning his soul, what was it for if not for this moment? 

And yet, it had been a journey of solitude. None else had walked this path with him, only the crushing weight of the foreboding knowledge was his companion.

But somewhere along the way, he saw the Lost Daughter for more than just the ends to his means. Nabi was warm and full of life. She was so eager to share her joy but also too generous in her mercy. Even after finding out about his machinations, she forgave him, and even offered him a second chance. But he should have expected that. The sacrifice had to be worthy of the greatness that awaited.

What surprised him, however, was the flawed and unworthy companions his cousin had around her. Arasen had long come to accept that the rest of the world was tainted. It was because of the imperfections, the hubris and greed in people’s hearts, that allowed for so much suffering to exist in the first place. And that was initially what he saw in everyone that Nabi called her friends and family.

Arasen had no hesitation in lying to them, using them, and manipulating them. He was certain a few of them would have to die, even if by his own hands. So then, why was he fighting by their side now?

Stormchild was easy to figure out, but dangerous to scheme around. A cold-hearted killer, whenever she threatened to take his life, Arasen had no doubt she would carry it through. But she held her hand, and risked much, including her own life, for the sake of his cousin. 

Then there was Saltborn. Quick of temper with a sour disposition, the hyur took a disliking to him immediately. Arasen was certain the Confederate had to die, for he was closest to Nabi, and the strongest obstacle in his way. Arasen had even put a blade to his throat, fully intent on killing him.

But in a twist of fate, Saltborn instead saved Arasen from drowning beneath the tumultuous sea, and even forfeited his chances to kill him outright, when more than a few opportunities were laid at his feet. With much reluctance, the hyur spared the Kharlu, even after fully remembering all the pain that the Xaela had caused him. All because of the slim chance that Arasen could now save Nabi from her fate. Arasen knew full well that he would not be here, if it wasn’t for Saltborn.

Then there was Ghoa. She was most like him, with her honeyed tongue and selfish motivations. And initially, whenever she extended a hand of friendship towards him, Arasen thought it much like his own incentive, to keep everyone close and yet at a distance, to watch them and discern their weaknesses. Enthralling her was an absolute necessity. But Arasen soon realized just how easy it turned out to be. Was it because she loved Batuhan that she assumed the best of him as well? Arasen could not deny that Batu’s fondness for the Mankhad may have softened his own disposition towards her. But that did not stop him from using his blood magic to tug on the woman’s thoughts, turning them to his own favor. 

But to his surprise, when faced with a great need, Ghoa offered something of herself, without any manipulation on his part. A schemer caring for the sake of others. That caught him off guard. But moreso, it reminded him that he too had such good intentions, at the very start of his own journey. So when had things gotten so warped?

It was because of all of them that he was even giving this second choice a thought. 

As Arasen stared up at the colossal darkness that loomed before them all, he reminded himself of the pure idea that began his journey. The prophecy had been about salvation and sacrifice. But what he hadn’t realized until now, was that somewhere within it all, was also a thread of hope. Of an impossible dream that could be realized if one was willing to give all they had for the sake of others.

Arasen touched his chest for the rune that was etched there, a tactile reminder of his childhood promise and his bond. Of his original ideals. To choose the second path would be to break the enchantment upon Ghoa. To return to Batu all that Arasen had taken from him. He would be severing his bonds with all of them. A wash of loneliness returned to him, but with it a sense of contentment. He wasn’t following Chanai and Siban’s designs, he wasn’t being driven by visions of death. The path he chose now was for hope, and a future of happiness, not for himself, but for others.

He would prove himself worthy.

[lettersnorth]

The Tempest

The delicate copper cog slipped from Aislinn’s hand and went skipping across the polished surface of the lab table, colliding with a variety of nuts, screws, wiring and disembodied mammet parts that lay scattered across the table like land masses on a map. There was a small, childish part of her that wanted to sweep the entire project, loose mammet limbs and all, into the waste bin. A recurring thought that always awaited at the end of her rope. I don’t want to discover the cleverest way to go about this, let someone else do it. 

Instead, she stilled. She breathed. Her countenance remained tranquil even if just below the surface was anything but. It could be read in every tensely drawn line of her body, of hands that rarely ceased in their motion now gone unnaturally immobile. It wasn’t the mammet. She knew that. The broken mammet had simply been a project to keep her occupied while she sorted through the real issue. 

Letting go a breath in the quiet of her laboratory, she reached again for the wayward cog and got back to work. These early morning hours were the most peaceful. The carousing of the denizens of Limsa Lominsa’s Mists had died down, those flush with drink and good company having stumbled their way to a bed bells ago. The sun had yet to peek its head over the ocean’s horizon and the only sound, the easy swish of waves washing ashore, drifting in through the windows.  

Aislinn had found the poor mammet, a cheerful dog that was for one reason or another dressed in squire’s attire, in a trash heap down by the docks. It had looked so pitiful there. Forlorn and forgotten. Old habits are hard to break and before she knew it she had pulled the thing from the heap and carried it home. In Ul’dah she had dug things from the trash to fix up by necessity. A way to make a little bit of extra gil. Now it was simply because she could. Surely the mammet puppy had brought someone a bit of joy at some point and now, for want of a few spare parts, it had been abandoned. She always had a soft spot for lost causes. Maybe because she could relate. 

Head bent over her intricate task, the tip of her tongue peeking out between her teeth, she let the work soothe her earlier flaring temper. That had been happening more and more lately. What was wrong with her? She prided herself on being able to remain level-headed and calm no matter the situation. It was a hard won lesson Ul’dah had ground into her and it had served her well. But now…

Momori’s report had landed on Heartwood’s doorstep earlier in the week. And as if the experience in Coerthas hadn’t been enough to convince, at least the trio that had done the work, that Heartwood was in the middle of something deep and off the map, her report certainly would. The device the lalafell called ‘the Helm’ was a gods-damned Allagan artifact. Allag. The Empire that had fallen under the weight of its own hubris and heedlessly pushed the boundaries of aetherochemistry until it nearly tore the world apart. That Allag. 

Aislinn couldn’t deny there were times she daydreamed about the technologically advanced society and how it must have been at its peak. Scientific discovery coming quick, one after another. Breakthrough after breakthrough. All in the name of a utopia where man had learned to harness aether for the good of all. Yes, well. It hadn’t quite worked out that way in the end, had it? Yet another cautionary tale that spoke to the fact that just because a person could do something, doesn’t necessarily mean they should. 

Allagan artifacts, Garleans, sky pirates. All of this was trouble enough. But not enough to shake Aislinn’s formidable concentration. Not enough to cause her to want to sweep an entire mammet to the floor in a fit. No. Contained in Momori’s report was her encounter with the Yellow Jackets of Aleport’s gaol and her subsequent talk with Aiswyda. The evidence of the aetheric snapshot Aislinn had taken of the uncanny look-alike as she bore down on the Highlander, all wind-whipped anger and fists, had given the Yellow Jackets pause. A seed of doubt as to whether they truly held the right woman behind bars. But ultimately it had not been enough to secure the Seawolf’s release. Stubborn bastards. 

Reading over the report in the Company war room, several of those gathered had shifted uncertain glances Aislinn’s way. Momori had never hidden her true purpose in this endeavor. To get the Helm. Neither had Aislinn. To free Aiswyda. So far the two goals had comfortably co-existed and made for a prickly alliance. But if ever they diverged, everyone knew there would be no question which direction Aislinn would go. 

[arkus-rhapsode]

My thoughts of the Church of Seiros, Rhea and the portrayal of their teachings

So this is kinda a companion piece to a previous post I wrote on Edelgard and how FE3H handled perception. And much like that post, this will contain SPOILERS and a bit of rambling.

Now, the reason I felt like writing this is in my Edelgard post, I had stated that I found her a phenomenal character, but I ultimately reject her end goal. Instead preferring Claude’s answer of the church might not be perfect and at the very least it should reveal the true history of Fodlan, but it is preferable to a return to an imperial rule. But that of course leads to the question, do I support the Church of Seiros and its goal?

Now this was a question that I had a hard time answering because unlike the Duma Faithful or the Grimleal or even Naga, its not exactly specified what the “teachings of the goddess” are. With the Duma Faithful, we know that they embrace teachings of militarism and lack of empathy. As for the Grimleal we aren’t given the actual motives, but there is clear emphasis on predestination and considering they worship a destroyer, it can be seen as a form of nihilistic worship.

Then you have someone like Naga, that really humanity put on the pedestal of worship, but doesn’t take an active role of guiding humanity through teachings but rather provided mankind with godly tools like the Falchion. And this speaks to reflect each god’s personality respectively. Duma is a believer in strength of self, Grima is a living apocalypse, and Naga pulls herself away from conflict.

But now we get to the Church of Seiros. We do know the goddess Sothis protected all of Fodlan and had her race of children. So it makes sense that Seiros’s knights feel that need to overlook all of Fodlan or act as a mediating force. But knowing Sothis’s personality and what she did in the past, we don’t really know what her teachings are.

This is further compounded by Seiros herself. As she has spread the teachings of Sothis, but also distorted certain factors of history to benefit her. Its likely she did not receive a revelation from the goddess and more came to the conclusion of using her influence to temper the worst in humanity. Seiros having said that crests were gifts from the goddess and that the 10 Elites were allies of Seiros. This is all false as crests came about due to the Agarthan slaughter of the children of the goddess and using their blood to make crests and bodies to make the heroes relics.

Now we know Seiros and 4 of her priests survived and naturally had crest abilities and Seiros then allied with the first Adrestian Emperor and gave them her crest naturally. So this calls into question why?

Well as previously stated, its to temper the worst in humanity. And that makes sense as the Agrathan hubris nearly destroyed Fodlan and had led to making crests and empowering people like the Ten Elites. So it is very likely with this crest based society, Seiros knew that with the Ten Elite likely having descendants (because their lines are still present to this day) that she decided to lie about crests being from the goddess to convince those who would gain crests to use them for the greater good.

Unfortunately, its likely that involved inflating the egos of those who believed they were chosen by the goddess and thus allowed them to develop more power and reverence. But since those with crests weren’t banning together to form another Ten Elites and trying to ascend to godhood themselves, its likely Seiros didn’t care then. While it wasn’t Seiros/Rhea who said “Hey, Margrave Gautiar, your son doesn’t have a crest, disown him.” She still made an environment where that kind of mentality could happen.

But regardless of the distortion of history and we do see that there are times for this church. It acted as a mediator between Adrestia and Faerghus after the war of the eagle and lion. And in that situation where Loog had thoroughly triumphed against the imperial forces. If Adrestia continued fighting instead of negotiating, its likely that many more would’ve died in vain of reclaiming Faerghus. So having Seiros act as a neutral bastion was beneficial in that time when the empire ruled all of Fodlan. We also see humans who do believe in what the Goddess taught. Lonato and the Western Church are clearly pious people. But they reject Rhea as overseer of the Goddess’s teachings.

And that brings us to Rhea/Seiros herself. Now I had stated that I was okay with the Church of Seiros existing for many of its positive aspects, but I believed the people deserved the true history and that Rhea herself should not be leading the church.

Now like Validar and Jedah, Rhea is a character and thus you get a more solid picture of who they are as well as how their relgion may be reflected through them, instead of the complex vagueness of the practices of a church we don’t fully know. Rhea does assign students to attack bandits and those who turn against the church, but most of time, those like Kostas are actually bad people. But there are people who are mercenaries who Rhea doesn’t seem to persecute or preach that they’re wrong.

So it shows that Rhea has absolute authority in the church, she is not as totalitarian as Jedah However, she is still guilty of human experimentation to revive Sothis and hanging onto Agrathan technology for her own use. Now it seems to be that other members of the church have no idea about this. That Rhea herself was acting without the church knowing.

Which goes to the idea that put forward that the church’s existence is not bad, just the actions of their leadership in their personal time is bad. Because whatever way you wanna slice it, that Rhea didn’t invent the Golems or she didn’t originally come up with the crest making process, she did still selfishly utalize them.

Now, to be fair, while she has ushered in a society that values crests (which could be considered still possible without the church of seiros as both the Adrestian Emperor and the Ten Elites would have crests no matter what), she was not sending armies of golems to enforce this totalitarian regime. So while she’s willing to use the abhorrent tools of the Agrathans, she’s not going using them to the extent of which they would use them.

So that’s why, I believe that the church itself is not a bad presence. Unlike Edelgard, there are people who value teachings of Sothis while still opposing Rhea as the head. And that is something that can be expected because of organized religion. You’ll get teachings that are ultimately good, but you can still get someone at the top who using it for their own agenda. If Rhea was removed and replaced with a devout believer like Catherine or Lonato, who believe more in the teachings of the goddess and not using it for their own gain, I can totally vouch for its existence. And consider that a more palatable reform than declaring war on it to completely remove its influence.

However, it still does lack definition of those teachings. Unlike the Duma Faithful or Grimleal, I understand what their religions are about and I can say those are beliefs systems I wouldn’t want to practice. But it seems very likely that was intentional as Duma and Grima have very basic teachings that you can glean what its like and have a simple acceptation or rejection of their beliefs. So under the assumption that the teachings of Sothis are ultimately ones of love, virtue, acceptance and neutrality, I again stand with Claude’s answer of telling people the true history of Fodlan and letting them have the freedom to choose if they wish to continue following the Church of Seiros.

[casualcatte]

IX. The Hermit — Describe how your muse deals with personal issues.

Oh, if that isn’t a loaded question... but the answers change depending on the circumstance. On matters of business:  Aultena can be very brusque and to-the-point. She focuses on the job, the goal, and the letter of the contract or agreement. A lot of the time, she doesn’t get into the deeper, more personal details of a job because those just tend to complicate things. On matters of the hunt:  Aultena is very forthright and honest unless she feels a very extreme need to lie. To her, lies keep hunting partners in the dark about important things they may need to know (like their partner’s mental state, their fitness to hunt, their ability to focus) and lies distract hunters from the work at hand. Hiding things has no place within her hunting world. Unless you’re the prey. Her temper she keeps under very tight control, since she prefers to be clear-headed and focused on the trail. On matters of friendship: Aultena still tends to be as honest as she can be, unless she feels like it’s information that would hurt a friend. Her temper is on a shorter fuse among friends, especially if she feels they’re being evasive or not as forthcoming as she is. She will fight fiercely for her friends, though, and love them like family.  On matters of love: Aultena will lie to pretty much everyone, including herself. Given her sentiments about the hunt for the Saurotaun and how it will ultimately be her doom, she doesn’t look to get involved with anyone for fear of hurting them or leaving them behind. She doesn’t want to plan a future, only to have it taken away in a moment of hubris -- much like Tristane did to her. Thanks for the ask, Eligos! Major Arcana Ask Meme

[corinthbayrpg]

NAME. Ela Demir AGE & BIRTH DATE. 25 & September 9th, 1994 GENDER & PRONOUNS. Female & She/Her SPECIES. Phoenix OCCUPATION. PhD student FACE CLAIM. Deniz Baysal

BIOGRAPHY

( tw: death ) Sleep has never brought peace. Most nights they come as a whisper, sometimes a hollow ache, and on the rarest of occasions, she is gifted with the chilling imagery of a shield drenched in moonlight just beyond the sculpted planes of a familiar shoulder. They speak another language, but she knows them. Both of them. Buried deep beneath the shadow of her own self-doubt, she understands who they are and why they all must part again.

––– BCE –––

Initially born in 56 BCE as a Greek woman existing under ancient Roman rule of their once independent country, Eleni’s family were predominantly lower class. Her father sought to maintain the Greco-Roman commonplace of enforcing patriarchal standards within his home, unaware that his eldest son quietly dismissed such ideals as outdated and unwarranted. He taught his sister well into the night as the rest slept soundly, instructing her on the ways in which women might become powerful in their own right and how quiet knowledge often outweighed broad displays of power. It inevitably became his influence which prompted Eleni to flee after a number of years, vacating her home for a nomadic life of wandering the Republic rather than facing traditional marriage or becoming a brood mare for children.

Despite the plethora of wisdom bestowed by her eldest sibling, Eleni stumbled in the efforts of her initial implementation. The most prominent being her encounter with a Roman soldier in the midst of stealing from him, foolishly mistaking closed eyelids for hallmarks of sleep and not awaiting the steadying in his breath before moving. Rather than strike her down with his sword or remove an appendage as recompense, the soldier revealed intrigue at her failed attempt and daring gesture in the first place. Soon enough, the pair became lovers and where Eleni no longer experienced belittlement for her gender, she also discovered an encouraging of one another’s rash, chaotic tendencies. Not long after, such hedonism attracted another soul into their midst and the trio became eternally complete. Or so they believed.

Where Eleni had been birthed into this ancient world as a human, her Roman suitor did not hold the same ordinary species. An immortal creature destined to live thousands of lives, he attracted enemies in the same breath that he drew his lovers’ adoration and inevitably all of them would fall to such hubris. An evening in which he cast a fit of madness throughout a village, insistent upon toying with those who could not see beyond the illusions created by him alone. A villager, wracked with grief and vengeance, managed to break free of the mirage and charged at the trickster. It was then that brave Eleni, wisened by time yet made foolish once more in love, intercepted the blow and perished instead for the sake of protecting him. In her final moments she could only recall the Roman soldier’s arms around her weakened frame and the sound of their third’s body collapsing somewhere against the ground nearby.

––– 21st Century –––

In her earliest memories, Ela Demir only ever knew the slums of a small town in Turkey and her place as the second youngest alongside four hungry, rambunctious siblings. Eternally the quietest of their rowdy brood, not to mention the only daughter, it had practically been written in the stars that she would become the forgotten child in comparison to her brothers. However, the last three siblings, Ela included, had been born in rapid succession with only a couple of years separating each one, something she attributes even now to their extremely close relationship. They would escape their destitute home life together, climb trees to the highest branches and run wildly through the streets–– this only came after her brothers practically tore books out from beneath her nose, of course.

At sixteen, Ela’s middle brother Aydin left and practically vanished into the world outside of their impoverished lives with little in the way of a goodbye beyond his promise to send money back to the family. Heart broken at the abandonment of her brother and uncertain as to why his leaving struck her so deliberately, Ela turned all emotion inward and refused to acknowledge him. Letters arrived, wire transfers, occasional funds to their drained household, even a small sum for her own graduation from school and foray into university life. She never accepted his gifts, knowing full well that if her brother obtained any of them by legal or upstanding means, he would have called. He would have explained himself.

Instead of dwelling on the absence of her sibling, Ela threw herself entirely into academia, determined to escape her poverty stricken existence and travel far beyond their miniature town. Yet unlike Aydin, she would do so without selfishness in her heart and become a person worth knowing in her adulthood. Someone whom their parents might be proud of, someone honest. For several years following, Ela was carried through life entirely based on high marks, scholarships, and sponsors who provided room and board. A private university education had been paid entirely through her own fortitude and intellect, followed rapidly by her masters degree in a subject matter she never quite escaped: the history of ancient Greece, particularly just before and during the late Roman Republic.

Corinth Bay in Greece ultimately proved to be her deepest fantasy, rich with extensive history and their local university’s doctoral program drew her in despite other prestigious institutions lingering nearby. Athens was certainly immaculate and bountiful in its own right, but there came a particular attraction about the city of Corinth which she could not properly vocalize. It lingered upon the precipice of familiarity and something else… nostalgia perhaps, though Ela did not comprehend how when she had never visited such a place beyond her textbooks.

Now, a very recent resident of the city that she once loved from afar, Ela has begun to settle into her current position as a teaching assistant for one of the university’s history professors. An attempt to amass more than just a doctoral student’s stipend whilst studying. She keeps a watchful eye over the local museum, both out of awe and in hopes that one day she might be offered an employment position within its walls. This new home of Corinth Bay is quiet and pristine, though she doesn’t quite understand the hushed gossip about the danger of leaving one’s house at night. Or why the history professor’s rambling discussions of the occult are laughable, yet still stir something deep within Ela that she cannot explain: recognition.

PERSONALITY

+ wistful, temperate, brave - graceless, apprehensive, stubborn

PLAYED BY MARTY. PST. She/Her.

[homestuck-session-analysis]

Hello! How would a session between a Lord of Life, Rogue of Rage, Bard of Time, Knight of Doom, Seer of Void, and a Witch of Light go?

Your wish is my command!  Quick thing, though.  You don’t have a Space player, so your session is already doomed to fail.  Other than that, let’s see what you got!

Lord of Life

Personality: There has only been one Lord in Homestuck lore, but Caliborn has a very distinct personality from the other Time players, so it should be simple to see what a Lord is.  Lords tend to be exceedingly demanding and selfish.  They have an extremely grandiose self-image that leads to them believing that they deserve to be heard.  They are very similar to a child having a temper tantrum.  As a Life player, the Lord would demand to be celebrated for their achievements, or possibly demand that their friends be happy or fun to be around.  The Lord needs to learn that the world doesn’t revolve around them.

Abilities: The Lord of Life would be able to bring any person back to life, no matter how far gone they are.  They would also be able to create life.

Session Contribution: If the Lord is loyal to the team then 1. They’re not a Lord, but 2. They would be a huge asset to your team as a healer.Rogue of Rage

Personality: Rogues are very selfless people, as they share a worldview with Robin Hood.  Their strong sense of justice and equality makes them easy to talk to, as they are very respectful.  They are also very spunky and ready to do what’s right!  As a Rage player, they tend to be great listeners, though they are quick to place the blame of someone’s problems onto someone else.  Sometimes, the Rogue puts themself into danger to right a wrong, so make sure they understand that it’s okay that life isn’t always fair.

Abilities: The Rogue of Rage would be able to transfer passion from their opponents to their allies, and transfer frustration and impotence from their allies to their opponents.

Session Contribution: The Rogue will be a powerful motivator, and they would likely solve any issues their friends have.  However, if you aren’t their friend, you might be in trouble. Bard of Time

Personality: Bards tend to be extremely fixated on their aspect to the point of worship, or at least obsession, and they are only happy when they are able to share the wonders of their aspect with others.  They are so fixated with this positive image of their aspect, whatever that image is, that if someone were to break it, their entire life would change.  As a Time player, the Bard would have a warped view of destiny and inevitable fate.  They might view themself as an arbiter of destiny, though they are not one in any sense of the term.  Their break would result when they see someone defy their obvious destiny.

Abilities: Bards tend to be great berserk fighters and aggressive in general, though they may also be able to poison others or other instances that allow them to simply wait for their opponent to die.

Session Contribution: As a Time player, they would be able to initiate the Scratch.  I don’t usually bring that up for Time players, but an interesting fact that arises due to them being a Bard:  You can possibly interpret “allow the destruction of [others through] Time,” to imply that they may allow the other players to get wiped in the Scratch.  Don’t let that happen.Knight of Doom

Personality: Knights are a very insecure lot, typically using their aspect to attempt to create a facade that makes them seem more impressive.  As a Doom player, they would try to appear intimidating and dangerous, like Death incarnate, but in reality, they are depressed and concerned for their friends.  To develop as a person, they must learn to trust others and lower their walls.

Abilities: The Knight of Doom is the wielder of death itself.  They would be very proficient with many different weapons, and ultimately, they may be able to temporarily raise the dead.

Session Contribution: Knights are called to sessions with a shortage of their aspect, so this session will likely have too few people dying, if that makes sense.  The Knight’s job is to make the most of each death to make up for this lack.Seer of Void

Personality: Seers are exceedingly intelligent, bright, and calculating.  They are the people who seem to be wise beyond their years, though they are often afflicted with hubris.  As a Void player, they would be the kind of person who believes in conspiracy theories, or possibly a person who makes a lot of “jokes” that are actually just lies designed to mess with you.  They would likely be rather nosy and they regularly spill the tea, even when it isn’t their tea to spill.

Abilities: They would be able to see the hidden knowledge of the session, especially secrets between players and information unknowable to others.

Session Contribution: This Seer may not be a great planner per se, but they definitely have the potential to be!Witch of Light

Personality: Witches tend to find themselves in societies or situations where they are dissatisfied, which makes them strong revolutionaries and visionaries.  Their rebellious nature causes them to change their aspect in ways inconceivable to others.  As a Light player, this personality manifests as a scientist or a philosopher, someone who works toward the expansion of knowledge.  They may also be a philanthropist or a charity worker, helping the less fortunate succeed!  Witches are only satisfied when their vision is realized, which is not always possible.

Abilities:  The Witch of Light would be able to manipulate people’s knowledge and fortune, though they tend to inform, rather than learn.

Session Contribution:  This player can be very helpful when your session is missing observation classes, and can only serve to augment when it isn’t!

Interpersonal Dynamics

The Witch and the Seer would function very well together, though they might be slightly judgey of one another.  When their goals overlap, they cover each other’s weaknesses.

Your Lord, Rogue, and Bard are not exactly going to be easy to get along with.  That’s really all there is to say about that.

The Seer and the Knight would be fantastic friends.  I dare say there might be a possibility of romance?

Session Overview

Leader: Best leader?  The Knight of Doom.  The person who will probably end up as the leader because they had a hissy fit about it?  The Lord of Life.

Offense: The Knight and the Bard are great offensive players, and the Rogue would be very helpful in a fight.

Planning: The Seer of Void/Witch of Light combo is pretty strong, I think you have a pretty good chance at seeing issues before they happen!

Survival: The Lord of Life makes this a moot point, assuming they don’t suck.  The Knight of Doom implies that very few people are dying, though, so you should be good.

Frog Breeding: You don’t have a Space player.

Loyalty: A lot of these people are not the kind of people you’d bring home to your parents. You best bet is hoping the Rogue is decent.

Overall: You can’t win, because you don’t have a Space player, so you can’t even begin to form a new universe.  However, you can at the very least survive indefinitely.  Have fun for eternity!

]>>Maso

[terraforged]

* 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻

repost ,  don’t  reblog ! TAGGED BY :  i stole it like a thief in the night TAGGING :   just do it

BASICS !

FULL NAME .   wrathion . NICKNAME .   n/a . TITLE(S) .   the black prince . SEX .   male . GENDER .   male . HEIGHT .   5′7″ (5′9″ with heels, which he wears by default) . AGE .   7, though appears to be early 20′s . ZODIAC .   n/a .  SPOKEN LANGUAGES .   titan   (  fluent  ) ,  all racial languages eg orcish, draenei, taura-ahe etc   (  fluent  ) ,  eredun   (  basic  ) ,  draconic   (  conversational  ) ,   honestly bits and pieces of most languages with varying degrees of fluency .

PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS !

HAIR COLOR .   dark brown . EYE COLOR .   glowing crimson; slit pupils . SKIN TONE .   dark . BODY TYPE .   lithe and not at all remarkable in a muscular way. very easy to overlook, which is the point. wrathion isn’t someone who wants to be noticed most of the time, valuing remaining inconspicuous over most anything else. is near always in his humanoid form. his true form, a drake, is slender and leggy as most growing animals tend to be . VOICE .   tends to be loud, enthusiastic, and over the top when speaking. can be quite verbose when he gets himself going, adding hand gestures to accentuate. his v/a is honestly perfect for him . DOMINANT HAND .   ambidextrous . POSTURE .   holds himself tall and proud. doesn’t tend to slouch, even when sitting. if he’s slouching he’s exhausted, his posture tending to remain rigid regardless of anything .   SCARS .   no scars in his humanoid form. his draconic form has a few, though barring anything particularly severe he tends to just shed out damage like that over time so scars don’t much last unless, as said, they’re severe. with this in mind the only notable ones would be a scar of several inches on the shoulder of right wing and body; the scar itself just looks like his scales have grown oddly and out of their usual conformation. The thumb on that wing is also straight up just missing . TATTOOS .   n/a . BIRTHMARKS .   n/a . MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S) .   he's a fucking dragon .

CHILDHOOD !

PLACE OF BIRTH .   created in the badlands, hatched in ravenholdt manor in the alterac mountains . HOMETOWN .   n/a . BIRTH  WEIGHT  /  HEIGHT .   —— FIRST  WORDS .   probably just started ordering everyone around right off the bat . SIBLINGS .   none . PARENTS .   nyxondra x unknown, unknown x unknown, unknown x unknown (chimeric and composed of 3 separate dragons, giving him 3 separate sets of parents) . PARENTAL  INVOLVEMENT .   literally none at all. his parents were dead prior to his hatching, resulting in him having never had any sort of parental input or involvement . CHILDREN .   n/a .

ADULT  LIFE !

OCCUPATION .   leader of the blacktalons . CURRENT RESIDENCE .   n/a, but frequents blackrock and stormwind on a semi regular basis . CLOSE FRIENDS .   lmao? anduin’s his only friend . RELATIONSHIP STATUS .   currently single, ultimately @holyforged if the pair of them ever work their shit out . FINANCIAL STATUS .   ya boi is rich . CRIMINAL RECORD .   freed a war criminal and just... a lot. it’s not good. hes a mess . VICES .   alcohol .

SEX  &  ROMANCE !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION .   homosexual . PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE .   submissive | dominant | switch PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.   submissive | dominant | switch LIBIDO .   moderate-ish . TURN ONS .   ???? who knows . TURN OFFS .   if you smell strongly (be it of heavy perfume or just a lack of hygiene) it’s going to upset his delicate sense of smell, rolling over and taking his bullshit, mindless agreement, idiocy, honestly pretty much anything when it comes from the wrong person lmfao . LOVE LANGUAGE .   debate with him; present yourself as an equal with your own defined views . RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES .   he doesn’t understand anything about interpersonal relationships beyond acting as a leader to his blacktalons, which can make him clumsy and quite thoughtless. he’ll do things that he doesn’t consider an issue and not really realise that yes, a normal person might not actually be ok with what he just did or said. a relationship with him requires a lot of patience from the other party. he’s wildly protective and viciously defensive. possessive though not controlling. sometimes turns up with dead things because that’s how you romance .

MISCELLANEOUS !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG .   long way down (honestly i have a whole ass playlist lmfao) . HOBBIES TO PASS TIME .   literally none. everything he does is geared toward his goals. hobbies just aren’t a thing he has . MENTAL  ILLNESSES .   man, there’s probably quite a lot going on there but I can’t say it’s something i can put a label on as a rule; certainly some degree of ptsd regarding the experimentation upon his egg but beyond that it’s complicated. seems pretty well adjusted though all things considered, so would be considered high functioning regardless of anything. PHYSICAL  ILLNESSES .   none . LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED .   both . FEARS .   corruption, old gods, alexstrasza, red dragons, failing, azeroth dying, becoming like deathwing, the black flight remaining lost, the legion, a loss of control, mind control bs, anything that strips him of his autonomy . SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL .   seems wildly arrogant externally, acting in hubris as reflex. internally gravitates to self-deprecation and uncertainty . VULNERABILITIES .   his inexperience, his lack of understanding of people, overestimation of his own abilities, arrogance, temper, doesn’t cope with sudden deviations to his plans .