#idk what it was but scylla really got me acting up

[funky-sea-cryptid]

something that fucks me up about "scylla" is how eurylochus probably interpreted the "light up six torches" request. he's just admitted that he's fucked up - he's so sorry he opened that goddamn wind bag!!! this is all his fault - and odysseus looks up and tells him to light up six torches.

the relief he must have felt. odysseus still trusts him to do things. odysseus still trusts him. he's his second in command still! it'll be alright. this is forgiveness, or at least the start of it. surely they'll have a conversation and eurylochus will tell him it'll never happen again, he'll trust odysseus more he promises, he swears.

and then it's to sacrifice some men (and potentially him!) to scylla.

[skylarkva]

Day After Thoughts on the Vengeance Saga

I was super hyped for the Vengeance Saga, as I am with every saga release, but after sitting with it and digesting a bit, I think Epic act 2 overall is having a pacing issue. (This is going to be super long)

Like here's the thing: the Thunder Saga? Perfection, absolutely nailed it. And then we get into the wisdom Saga, which — although I thoroughly enjoyed it— had something about it that felt off. Now with the vengeance saga I'm realizing that act 2 just doesn't feel long enough.

I loved God Games, but it felt like Athena won the gods over too easily. Hearing the snippets got me hyped, and then in context of the song, I realized those snippets being the whole verse for each god felt too quick. Most of the wisdom saga is paced alright, at least for me, but that last song has been hyped up since the planning stages, and it's a really important moment! A little more back and forth with the gods would have shown just how much getting Ody free meant to Athena.

Now I'm not just saying this because Wangui's vocals are heavenly— we desperately needed more Calypso. It makes me sad because I know Jorge had another song with Odysseus and Calypso that he cut, and I think it would have added so much had it stayed in to the final album. Ody has been trapped with her for seven years, and we see him hit his limit in Love in Paradise, but for the audience that limit is hit immediately. We aren't given enough time to really see Odysseus get desperate, Calypso not understand his needs and wants, and her trying and failing to win over a faithful married man. Because the thing is, now we get to Not Sorry for Loving You, and Calypso is absolutely broken over losing Odysseus. Why? Did she fall in love with him at first sight, or did they talk and she fell deeper in love with him the longer he was there, all while he tried to push her away? That "let me speak" moment stands out to me because of this too. Without the context of seeing those seven years, I'd assumed all Odysseus did was let Calypso speak, because what else can he do with a goddess? So is that the case and she's just being controlling here, or did she truly feel like Odysseus hadn't listened to her during their time together. Idk. It doesn't feel earned and it does a disservice to her character. Plus more Wangui wouldn't hurt. Oh the Calypso saga we could've had...

Then we get Dangerous which, I don't have many notes that song hurt me and then was funky. I love Hermes, moving on.

Charybdis felt underwhelming to me, I feel like it ended too soon. Which could very well be the point, I had just gotten hyped off of the snippets and felt the final battle wasn't as impactful as I'd been expecting it to be. The ending destroyed me though, Jorge did an amazing job there, knew exactly how to stomp on my heart.

Get in the Water was the other song besides Scylla that I had been waiting the entire musical to get to, and I think it was executed almost perfectly, I really have no notes there either.

Six Hundred Strike....oh Six Hundred Strike. It was epic, it was chilling....but the first half just does not fit into the rest of the show musically. I'm mostly talking about once the six hundred men chant starts up. I love Aeolus' theme being used as an instrument, like I actually adore it so much, but those dang drums... For me it shoots straight past "this is a boss fight so this is a video game reference" into "this is Poseidon's boss theme for the Epic fighting game". That part of the song is the first time I've really said to myself "I can't see this on stage". Especially considering where Get in the Water ends musically, this just feels really jarring to me. I actually don't have any problem with Odysseus stabbing Poseidon. This isn't a mortal vs a god anymore, this is a monster vs a god, and a monster that god created at that. I think to make it feel less overpowered though, it could've been fixed with Poseidon saying "alright, fine" instead of "alright, please" to get Ody to stop. Then it would've been less that he was begging and more that he was annoyed and just wanted to be rid of him and never deal with him again. Same with his line delivery of "after everything you've done, how will you sleep at night?". I almost would've liked to hear him laughing there, like in disbelief, or in a mocking tone, only for Odysseus to shut him up with "next to my wife". The wing bag jetpack is also too funny for me to take seriously so I'm gonna ignore that for my own personal head canon.

I love epic and I hope the Ithaca Saga sticks the landing. I'm just dumping my thoughts after last night lmao

[badgirlcovenrep]

Raylla, Samhain and the union of life and death

If you haven't seen my post on Scylla and Morrigan click here, it'll make more sense:

As I was doing my research on the Morrigan and looking around random books I have on mythology, I couldn't help but notice that not only does Scylla relate to Morrigan, but Raelle actually shares many similarities to the Dagda.

(He has been described as being fat and comical before but if I'm correct, it's believed that was actually added in there by the Christians as a way to minimize and poke fun at pagan religions, so, for this post, we'll be talking about the traditional depictions of him from norse communities)

The Dagda is described in Norse mythology as a "Good God" and the protector of the nordic people. He was son of Danu, the mother goddess, and Elatha, who was the king of the Fomorians, the same people with whom he'd actually be at war for most his life after he, himself, became king of the Tuath Dè Danann, or "people of Danu".

This, to me, already draws parallels to the fact Raelle is half civilian, yet she fights civilians in the name of the witch army, in some way choosing (or really being given no choice but) to side with her mother's people and defend them over anything else, just like Dagda after becoming king. Eventually, and only with the help of Morrigan, Dagda brings waste upon the Fomorians and peace to his people during the battle of Magh Tuiredh.

Another parallel that came up a lot were Dagda's magical weapons. As a god, he represented fertility, plentifulness, magic and the seasons, as well as being the literal God of Life, and linked to healing magic. The coire ansic was his cauldron that never ran empty, a representation of plentifulness. Then there was his harp, uaithne that commanded the seasons, as well as led men into battle.

And lastly, the one that I think correlates to Raelle the most, the lorg mór, a mighty staff that could "take nine souls with one end, and bring them all back to life with the other", which, idk, reminds me of our good old Mother Mycelium?

I mean, it's been stablished she can just as easily kill a room of people and bring them back to life so I think it checks out.

But what really got me obsessed with these parallels has to be how much Dagda and his goddess of death wife remind me of Raylla. It has to be on purpose by this point.

The union of Dagda and Morrigan is, from the very beginning, a metaphor for the relationship between life and death. Dagda, being so full of light, and seen as the protector of life, doesn't seem like he'd have much in common with the Morrigan, a goddess assimilated to death and destruction. At least if you look at them at first glance.

Their meeting supposedly happened by the bank of a river, and Dagda was instantly enamored as he saw Morrigan singing and washing herself in the water.

According to myth, it was love at first sight, and they were both as fascinated with the other as can be. This meeting is what originated Samhain, and their reunion itself is believed to thin the veil every year on that same day, bringing the taken souls back to the land of the living as a sort of celebration from their union. The marriage itself points to how ancient norse people saw the correlation of life and death, where one only exists with the other.

Dagda and Morrigan actually end up having a lot in common if you think about it, both being warriors and protectors of their people.

The Morrigan is a very complex deity, some say she takes pleasure in the carnage of war and that she is a cruel goddess, only interested in death, but what is most believed is that she acts as a sort of Washer for the Fords, warning warriors that their deaths are near and overseeing battle. She is linked with pain and grief, but also with reinvention and in some ways, forgiveness. Meanwhile Dagda has been related to fertility, happiness and healing, yet he is also ruthless in battle, and known to crush his enemies without mercy.

They're like the same sides on two very different coins, but they complete each other in an union that is believed to bring forth peace to the new year with Samhain.

This transcript from the Cath Maige Tuired (the book that describes all this stuff in Irish mythology) tells their first meeting, honestly, and it just says everything

I mean, are you gonna tell me I'm wrong? It's literally Raylla!

The Goddess of death who is also a protector of the soldiers. The one that reinvents and rebirths herself out of darkness all in the name of love. The queen of everything dark, scary and painful. The one who they call queen of terror, but who actually comes to comfort damned souls.

And the fixer, bringer of better times, (literally brought people back from dead before) and probably the reason Scylla hasn't burned the whole world at this point (we all know she could). The one that fights for the innocent, even if it means losing her own life, the one who's got so much light when the world does so much to extinguish it.

They're opposites but they still fell in love, because believe it or not, life and death are not enemies, as we've been told. They're lovers, allowing themselves to end and begin and end again, over and over, in the name of the other. And when they truly, actually, collide as physical things in this world, they'll win a thousand wars, be born a hundred times over and still find their way back to each other.

These two are star crossed lovers with the power of fucking gods of life and death. Their love will bring this war to an end and I will not hear a word otherwise.

[megatraven]

Got an Astoria question for you! 😌

From each route, what is your favourite part? Like out of each of their seasons including the Lost Kisses ones 👀💛

>;3cccc

For Alex, my favorite part of their route is 1000% the proposal, but that's not in the actual route itself so idk if it counts lmao. If it doesn't, then my favorite part is forever going to be that scene in AFK Season 2 where MC tells them that she didn't want to get in their way and Alex stops Everything to tell her that she's never in their way, that she is their way. That scene is everything to me. The reassurance in the face of doubt and danger. The fear and the heartache and the love, the knowing that they each need to be better for the other. (MC needing to communicate better with them. Alex needing to make sure that she knows she can come to them at any time for any reason.) It's just. Such an incredibly important scene.

For Medusa, my favorite part.... I think I have to go with that scene in AFK Season 3, when Medusa has been avoiding MC/keeping her out of the know and MC confronts her when it all boils over after Medusa misses their appointment with the wedding planner. Where Scylla and Eryn side with MC and reassure her that Medusa will make the right choice. And where MC goes home (to her own apartment) to find Medusa sitting in the dark, thinking she really didn't know MC anymore. They make up afterwards and work to re-establish their broken boundaries and stuff and it was just so. AUGH SO GOOD!!!! The drama, the hurt..... the apologies, not just a simple "I'm sorry I did this" but an apology through their actions and fully open communication. They make it through such a big relationship issue and it brings them closer together and they come out stronger than ever before!!!!

For Cerberus, My favorite part is 100% in ALK Season 2, when MC and Cerberus are having an argument and Cerberus summons his aura when he's sitting across the office from MC... and his aura immediately seeks MC out and gives her little aura kissies <3 Cerberus calls them back for bothering her but MC is like "They only did it because they're an extension of you and you love me" or whatever she says and she also says that she loves his dogs and it's just. So. CUTE!!!!! Even in their argument they just love each other so much. AND!!! Following said argument, Cerberus apologizes and immediately is like "I'm so sorry for calling you stupid, no one should EVER say that to you" and MC goes on to talk about how she does value herself and it's not up to anyone else to say how she values herself. Just. a very very good conversation.

(I'm starting to see a pattern in my favorites,,,, conflict resolution my beloved)

For Hydra, there's the scene in AFK Season 2 where MC gets fired and lowkey blows up at Hydra and gives up and just. Leaves. And then she meets Ladon and I always make her scream out her frustration. And then Ladon brings her to the bar (and texts Hydra at some point so he knows where she is) and then all the monsters in Eryn's bar treat MC to drinks. And she's like totally drunk by the time Hydra comes to her, and she's embarrassed of how she's acted so she doesn't really know what to say or do, and they just sit there for awhile in silence. And Hydra doesn't leave her alone for one second, and he helps her get home when she's had too much to drink and she kind of cuddles into him. It's a moment where she's in a lot of pain but Hydra stays with her through it all, and just wants her to rest and be okay. The love shines through <3

For Astraeus, it's 100% that scene in AFK Season 1 with the Alex confrontation. But in regards to scenes that actually, you know, have Astraeus..... my favorite is that scene where MC rushes to the rooftop of HERA and like throws off her shoes and rips out her hair tie and she's shouting with all of her being for Astraeus, and he comes, even when he's being actively poisoned by Earth's atmosphere. The way he immediately accepts her and whisks her away the moment she asks him to, and the unbridled joy he feels, and the aching sadness that she ever had to feel so hurt. But at the same time he sees and recognizes her power. Not to mention that KISS they share. Not to mention the scene shortly after where Selene and Helios tell MC that they're there for her, to support her and be with her because they love her, too... So so so so good. (Though I will say this scene MIGHT be tied for my fave with that scene at the end of ALK Season 2 where MC sees her mom again and she's like "Maybe I should have just let the gods replace me with Hera" bc that is Heartbreaking.)

For Hades, there's that scene in AFK Season 3 where Hades is being all self-sacrificing in a misguided attempt to protect MC and keep her safe from the other gods, and in doing so he hurts her by renouncing her as his fiancée. And when MC confronts him about it when he's in his little jail cell, he's so cold towards her that it absolutely breaks her heart and she rips off her engagement ring and throws it at him. The emotions in it are so raw and I really do understand both sides of the situation but Hades is hurting MC so much more than she would be hurting otherwise. THAT SCENE in contrast to the following scene (iirc, it's been a hot minute since I read S3) where he breaks out of his cell and talks with her for a moment and he's so gentle with her and it's so OBVIOUS that he loves her so damn much..... and then he makes her pass out and disappears and it's just. So. Painful. But so, so good.... I love it.

For Chimera, I think my favorite scene has to be in AFK Season 2 when MC and Alex meet with Prime at the Boarback and Alex has to dip out for a second so Prime is like poking and prodding at MC with mean things about Chimera and MC like SNAPS and she starts going off on Prime and Prime starts to say something and MC is like "I wasn't done talking" and she keeps going just absolutely fueled by adrenaline and the need to defend her guy <3 It's SUCH a good scene and it lives in my head rent-free. It's also really funny because she storms out of the bar after that and just leaves Alex behind without saying anything LMAO

[child-of-peace]

I’ve watched the Raylla scene at 31:50 of S1E03 so many times and I can’t for the life of me figure out why Scylla downplays what happened to her parents.

“When the military tried to arrest my parents, the whole thing went south, and they were both killed.”

The phrasing is interesting because it almost removes the horror of what the military did. The use of the word ‘tried’ makes it seem like they weren’t as powerful or intimidating of a force as they most likely were, and the former part of the statement makes it seem like the military went there solely with the intention of arresting her parents. Not to mention “the whole thing went south” implies it was an accident. As for the latter part, she uses the passive voice which removes agency from the military police who actively killed her parents. A very different recount than the one she gives Anacostia in S1E10.

“I was 16. We were drifting west that spring, across the cession, undetected. We were good at that. Until we weren’t. … We got new names. I was starting school. [Military police] were waiting at our home. My parents surrendered themselves, but they killed them anyways, to prove a point. I was hiding in the garage. I did nothing. Now, I fight in their honour.”

This version of the story is longer and in far more depth. It really allows you to feel Scylla’s pain and the self-hatred at her own inaction. She uses the active voice to talk about the military killing her parents. She humanises her family and mentions how her parents surrendered. They would have accepted arrest. And she uses the 3rd person plural, showing her family as a unit. Implying that they always acted together, you didn’t get one without the others. Until you did. This is a completely different story. The same event told in two different ways.

Which begs the question why? Why does Scylla tell Raelle what happened like this?

If her goal was to radicalise Raelle and pull her away from the military and closer to the Spree, then surely it would have made more sense to tell the story the way she told it to Anacostia. All I can come up with is that maybe she didn’t want Raelle getting suspicious of her having joined the army, so she makes it seem like it had been an accident or that the military weren’t entirely to blame, but that would make more sense if she hadn’t followed it up with “That was when I decided to enlist. Try to beat them at their own game, maybe get some measure of justice for my parents.” Because that follow-up completely undermines the point of that.

Idk, if anyone can answer this for me, please do!

[jameshcricket-blog]

Your Father Would Be Proud by Michael Giacchino

On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss by David R. Holsinger

Locke’d Out Again by Michael Giacchino

Macbeth by Jed Kurzel

The Way by Zack Hemsey 

Histoire Sans Nom by Ludovixo Einaudi

The Threat of War by Alexandre Desplat

Goodbye by Apparat

It’s Not Forever by Javier Navarette

Mr. Reese by Ramin Djawadi

My Mother’s Funeral by Fernando Velázquez

Trigger Warnings: Death, Suicide.

I went for a soundtrack for the journey through hell? Even though I have not...been around.....a lot....for this event and probably won’t be able to write anything for them for it because I’m how do you say...trash. But I would like to think or will probably head canon that James went down there for the reason that he has been all over the world and wouldn’t miss an opportunity to be in Hell. He can add it to the list with all the countries he’s ventured to you know. 

Anyways, let’s all laugh as I try to give an explanation to these choices in songs. I believe the only one that has words in it is the one from Breaking Bad, Goodbye, but I kept to all score/soundtracks because that’s usually what Jiminy listens to and it was fun to try and find stuff that would fit into his walk. BEWARE: This got out of hand because I know I won’t be able to partake in the challenges or anything so I just dump a lot of ideas into this to try and compensate. 

Another warning: I don’t know music. I don’t know anything. Whatever I say here is, lbh, ramblings. So, like I said, let’s all laugh as I try to figure out instruments and how to describe music with words. 

1. Your Father Would be Proud: Start with an ender aye. So this is the song that plays in Rogue One when (Spoiler Warning, kids it’s on Netflix pls watch Star Wars and love yourselves) Jynn and Cassian go out on the beach to hug it out and wait for death. But for me I thought it was a nice tune for James to go walking into the forest with and then venture down the stairs. Towards the end when the brass comes in it gets really full in sound with the trumpet (??) letting loose for a second, that’s him making it down to the bottom and looking around like, “Oh wow.” And like the very end is probably him looking around like, this is so dope, but the sadness and the impending doom at the endend when the Death Star finally ends everything is it being like, yeah, this is HELL, so good luck on your journey you idiot. It gets kinda big and I like that because even if Hell isn’t all that in CGI, I think he would still feel an overwhelming force from the scenery of it because his muse is a cricket and to him, everything is HUGE, so I put that into Jame by him knowing he’s just a spec in the vastness of the universe, so yeah, looking around Hell is kinda a big deal for him. 

2. On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss: This song would be playing after he decided which path to take. And it’s kind of grand in the beginning and then it gets small again for a while, and then ooooooOOO it starts getting bigger. And then get them drums in there, and it slows down and seems to finish with that only to get quiet again, like a soft hum, until that melody starts again, and the lil triangle, until it ends. T h a t is what I imagine the first part to be like for him. Ebbing and flowing with his awe until he finally calms down enough to continue on his walk. The big parts are probably him seeing those who live in that area, seeing the kinds of scenes Hell puts forth, and then finally chilling out enough to continue on his walk. 

3. Locke’d Out Again: I was so sold on Lost when I saw the first season. I thought it was so good, and then I never watched any of the other seasons. So. Rip me. But this song still sticks out to me when I think about that show. And what’s even better, I could add it to this playlist. It’s so beautiful with all the instruments going back and forth and then the piano takes over everything and my god. This, my friends, is where James’s background comes out to play. This is when someone would come out onto the path he chose to greet him and it would be a reunion of the sad variety. I don’t want to go into detail because his past is still a secret! Stay tuned to find out! If any of you are even reading this far, lmao I doubt, but anyways. The song went with John Locke’s discovery that he could walk again, and it would fit into James seeing that person and reaching out tentatively towards them only to find them as a solid entity in front of him once more. Tears and hugs and all that mushy stuff would take place. But the thing that sold me on this song for this part of Hell was the ending. The last few seconds that make such a sweet/sad/moving song end on a sinister note. Because Hell pulled the carpet out from under James and lets him fall on his ass as he meets the first challenge. 

4. MacBeth: This song is slow and gives me such desolate vibes. There’s that pitched sound that comes and goes and idk the name of it, but I love it in this piece with the low string coming in later to give it a partner. The first challenge would be set to this because the first challenge would be Death. That person(s????) from the scene before would die in front of him. And that part would be silent from any music because it would probably have to happen several times over until Jiminy finally gave into Hell and realized that he can’t save them and therefore lets them die, but the part afterwards. When he’s probably just holding their body and just sitting trying to recover. That’s when this song would play. Putting more emphasis on the effect that had on him. Don’t wanna get spoilery, not that anyone is still reading, but. 

5. The Way: The Way kind of reminds me of the Inception soundtrack with the piano playing that one note, but it also has a darker thing going on which is what I wanted for the next part. The Judgement Door would come and go and James would be in the dark, walking along until he got to the muddy bit, but this would accompany the little montage of him walking in the dark, trying to light a light only for the wind to whisk it away, and then having to move forwards. He isn’t excited about this adventure anymore. After the first challenge he’s sad and regrets his choices in coming down the stairs, but knows he can’t go back. This song will probably get him to the Marshes. It starts doing that clapping bit indicating something is coming. And that would be wrong. Because something is waiting for him. His second Challenge. The second part of the song gets kinda fighty to me, so we would but the monster of Scylla here, as he tried to get into a boat and she just won’t let him and tries to drown him, too. I don’t?? Know if that’s viable, but I needed a monster who he was able to speak too because that’s all he has really. His voice. So in the midst of him trying to fight her at one point, when she’s probs got the upper hand on him, he would say something that would make her stop. Leading us to...

6.  Histoire Sans Nom: Gosh, what a song. It’s got so much to it, I really enjoyed it. I put it on the playlist because it would be a good background to the tail end of Jiminy and Scylla’s conversation. He would listen to her woes, give her advice, and she would hopefully allow him safe passage. Again, idk if that’s an option here, but for the sake of Jiminy’s lack of knowledge in fighting I’m going to hope it is. This song would be the end to her sad story she tells him and Jiminy’s advice to her, and then the departure. The tone is kinda sad to fit with the sad things going on, Scylla’s story and the continuation of James’s journey on the Marshes. The end dies off so that’s him waving to her and watching as she gets back into the water near the boats to continue her life as a monster in Hell because that’s all she’s got left to do. Which would be sad for him to see that he couldn’t change her mind at all. This, I think, would be his third challenge. Seeing someone he thought he had helped, that he had put effort into listening to their problems, only to find out that he hadn’t even helped them at all. This is his Sorrows. Because that’s the worst thing in the world to him. So the ending to this song would be him floating in the boat for a long ass time crying and crying until he fell asleep. Only to wake up in the middle of the water. Surround on all sides by it.The song would end on him falling asleep. When he wakes up he wouldn’t be fine, per say, but it would take him a while to get passed Scylla. 

7. The Threat of War: Starts of kinda slow, but it has that background tick to it, which I thought would be a good representation of him rowing the boat, over and over like the ticking sound across the water. Like The Way it would act for the boat montage across the water. Stopping every so often because he’s WEAK and doesn’t exercise, though he might start after this tbh, and looking down at the souls under the water. And when it gets kinda spooooky with a more...idk how to describe it but when the strings start making things feel rushed and like you gotta get outta there, probably at like 2:30, he would start running into the other boats with the Gluttonous souls. And when it gets kinda panicky that’s James trying to get out of the way of a war between two boats that are threatening to crash his. But manages to get out of there and moves on to land not soon after. It will also play into trying to get through the monsters at the end of the Mashes.

8. Goodbye: This has a heartbeat type thing going through it at the beginning. I figured after getting out of the marshes there would be no music for a while until he through The Wall (???somehow) and into the City of Dis. So the heart beat part is to his own, getting louder and louder. And then the I don’t even know what it is but like western-y guitar coming in every so often would be like in the Western movies when the hero comes into the town and looks around like. Where is everybody? And this would just be following him around as he walked throughout the city. There are words in this song because I also wanted to play on the fact that he isn’t alone here. He was never alone on his path really, but here he can’t seem to find anyone, but they’re there. And the words are there to show that. Even though he can’t find them right now, they’re there. The song ends when he sees someone, indicating he is no longer ‘alone’, on top of a building and watches them jump off. It scares the lights out of him, but when he closes his eyes against it, waiting for the impact sound to happen, it never comes. So he opens his eyes and walks up to the top of the roof where several other people are. There he inquires what the FUCK is going on as one of them jumps and he couldn’t run to the edge in time to pull them back and there isn’t a body down below. One of the people tells him that’s the way outta this place. To jump. One by one they all leave, and then, after a lot of pacing and a lot of talking himself up, he does too. 

9. It’s Not Forever: Mmm, the Suicide Forest. This song is just him walking through it. Just another James H. Cricket montage. 

10. Mr. Reese: I guess I must divulge some secrecy, /shift eyes/, not that I expect anyone to get this far, so lmao hi if you are, but THIS SONG. I love Person of Interest you guys, fml. This song is so beautiful. And I wanted to include it when James got here because the song would be when he heard the voice of an old friend there. Another therapist he went to school with. They were good mates, studied together, talked to one another all the time when they got out of uni. Then, one day he woke up to the news that he had committed suicide. AND LIKE THIS WOULD BE, I’m treating this like a movie and don’t care, WHEN IT WENT INTO FLASH BACK MODE OF THEIR LIVES TOGETHER. And him just kinda breaking a bit as he hears him talking again. But then peacing out real quick when other voices reach out and try to get him to join them.

10. My Mother’s Funeral: The End. This is a lil bit of music for his last little walk through the forest, and makes eyes with gift shop where I think the sudden drop off fits. James is like really weirded out by it but super charmed, too. I laughed so much when I read the post and Calcifer’s Family runs the joint. That is ADORABLE. So Jiminy would hang out here. Buy himself a regular shirt and other stuff because?? Fuck it dude this is HELL’S GIFT SHOP he’ll never get a chance like this again. And he has plenty of memories of his adventures around the world, so he’s literally set. He’s walking outta there with two bags on each hand. 

The End. 

[drautcs-blog]

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

TAGGED BY: Took this from my ancient Hanzo blog because it was invaluable for getting a lot of ideas down on paper. I tagged myself, fight me.

━━ FULL NAME: Titus Drautos ( also known as General Glauca ) ━━ GENDER & SEXUALITY: Male / Demiromantic / Pansexual ━━ ETHNICITY & SPECIES: Cavaughnian, Human.  ━━ BIRTHPLACE & BIRTHDATE: “Scylla”, Cavaugh Region, Lucis ( Before being assimilated into the Niflheim Empire ). He was never given a canon DoB, but I’ve taken to January 1st since he displays the typical traits of a Capricorn male considerably well. ━ GUILTY PLEASURES: There aren’t many activities that Titus would be particularly embarrassed about to be honest. He is private about how he spends his time anyway, regardless of if it’s something others would consider embarrassing. Titus is a pretty mild dude-- Glauca moonlighting aside. He’s fond of exotic cars, fishing, and fencing. If he cares enough to share his hobbies, he isn’t really concerned with how it’s interpreted. 

━ PHOBIAS: I can honestly say that I am hard-pressed to find something that Titus fears in a capacity significant enough to warrant being called a phobia. I suppose dæmons make him uncomfortable, yes, and he would prefer not to be around them, but not enough to actively fear them. I guess something more worthwhile is pointing out the fact that Titus has no fear of death. He doesn’t hope for death, nor would he commit suicide unless it kept someone significant alive, but he will walk into dire situations ( with as much planning as possible still. He would be remiss to throw his life away for glory or fruitless passion. ) without hesitation if the benefit of victory outweighed the cost of failure. Titus understands that it is unlikely that he will grow old enough to lament his age, considering the mantle that he’s taken up.

Otherwise like any other person, he avoids uncomfortable social situations, he feels guilt, and works through stress.

━ WHAT THEY WOULD BE FAMOUS / INFAMOUS FOR: Drautos had already been infamous as General Glauca for at least 12 years since killing Sylva Nox Fleuret, the late queen of Tenebrae, and having a fairly close shot at assassinating Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum and King Regis Lucis Caelum ( whom he succeeded in murdering on his subsequent attempt. ). That alone ( to say nothing of his accomplishments as a formidable Niflheim tactician and his prowess as a master swordsman, known for cutting massive swaths into the opposition from the front-lines ) has cemented his name in Lucian infamy for as long as the tale of Insomnia's downfall is told. 

After the events of Kingsglaive, it is possible he will be known as turncoat when his true identity as Titus Drautos becomes common knowledge and therefore regarded as the lowest of the low to those still unshakably loyal to the Crown.

━ WHAT HAVE THEY / WOULD THEY HAVE GOTTEN ARRESTED FOR: So we’re going to start this list off strong with two counts of regicide. No, but the laundry list of Glauca antics aside, Titus did his best to stay out of situations that would attract negative scrutiny of any kind. As a teenager ( around ages 14-17, the three years following the Niflheim siege of his village ), however, he did have significant issues of excessive aggression that luckily only resulted in having to be reprimanded by his superiors.

After the events of Insomnia, I could imagine Titus eventually being arrested by Crown loyalists for the assassination of Regis. Even after the long night ends. If he isn’t outright killed/transformed into a daemon, I can also picture Titus in a situation where he is arrested for acting against Chancellor Izunia.

━ A SHAPE YOU SHIP THEM WITH: I still don’t understand what this question means??? Would the shape of a kukri count? Because boy does he love them with all his heart. His heart is practically bursting at the seams at the prospect of being reunited with them. Too soon, I know.  I dunno, does angst count as a shape?

━ CHARACTER MOST LIKELY TO MURDER THEM: I mean-- as it just so happens to turn out, his subordinate Nyx Ulric is heavily implied to have murdered him pretty hard at the end of Kingsglaive ( with a kukri to either the heart or the lung ). Besides the most obvious answer being Lucii-powered Nyx, I would surmise that Cor the Immortal would have been an actual problem to handle as Glauca. He is regarded as one of the greatest living swordsmen in Lucis--bar none. I’ve had a few discussions about this, and I’ve already got this minor headcanon that Titus played an active hand ( not direct, mind you. Maybe by suggestion somehow in the proper ears, or presented as demands from the Empire ) in encouraging Cor to be reassigned on the day of the treaty-signing in order to avoid having to fight him in a direct confrontation. Cor is the one person-- over the magic wielding king of Lucis and Crownsguard Clarus Amicitia combined-- that Titus was not certain enough in defeating in a timely manner to take a chance in fighting during the events of Insomnia’s downfall.

Aside from those two, I’m pretty sure a lot of people would be gunning for his head post-Insomnia. Prince Noctis, Ravus Nox Fleuret, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Iris Amicitia, and Gladiolus Amicitia would especially be justified in wanting wrathful retribution for his actions. 

━ FAVORITE BOOK GENRE: Epic Poetry, is the go-to when Titus has actual free time to read ( Which is pretty damned rare, let me tell you. Between having to wrangle snot-nosed recruits, seeing to drills, paperwork, mobilizing the Glaives on behalf of his Grace, and staying updated with his ‘second job’ he doesn’t have much leisure time.  ) however it isn’t uncommon for him to be found pouring over treatise regarding military science, economics, or philosophy. He doesn’t actively seek out narrative-driven prose for his own enjoyment, but he doesn’t explicitly dislike it. He would take the time to read them if it was a gift or something.  

━ LEAST FAVORITE BOOK CLICHE: One-dimensional representations of the dichotomy between good and evil. It’s childish and has been beaten to death in most fiction. In his eyes, good and bad do not exist in a black and white vacuum. The intentions of actions may be tinged in varying shades of altruism and egoism. Stories that paint conflicts as simply being between good and bad tend to bore him to tears. 

━ TALENTS AND / OR POWERS: Titus is a highly proficient swordsman, as seen when he manages to succinctly dispose of both the King and a member of his elite Crownsguard singlehandedly. He is highly knowledgeable in multiple forms of swordsmanship ( with experience in iaido, kendo, and sabre fencing )  although his forte resides within the use of both the bastard sword ( the iconic weapon of choice as General Glauca and honed by way of Kunst des Fechtens ) and the shortsword ( the weapon of choice while masquerading in uniform as the Glaive captain. ).

His skill is further amplified by the Magitek armor Titus is able to summon at will, which multiplies his formidable strength beyond superhuman levels ( at one point, granting him the ability to eat the force of a speeding car (about 128 k joules of kinetic energy) and toss it to the wayside. ) while providing propulsion which allows him to perform massive leaps as well as allowing him to slow the descent of a massive fall.

I suppose another skill that bears mentioning is Titus’ dangerous talent for detail observation and pattern recognition, which goes hand in hand with his ability to think tactically. This observance extends not only to his surroundings, but to people and their interpersonal relationships; Titus is extremely good at reading others if given enough time to do so and has little hesitation in using said information ( including grief ) to manipulate people and situations into working in favor of his end-goals.

━ WHY SOMEONE MIGHT LOVE THEM: Idk why someone would do that to themselves but alright. He’s a walking neon sign flashing ‘bad idea’. Despite all his flaws as a person, Titus has no trace of the concept of quit in his body. If he decides to genuinely pursue a cause, he has every intention of following through until the end as a matter of honor. 

Titus also has a bit of a fatherly streak, in that he is willing to take souls in need of guidance under his wing if they are willing to receive help and improve. He takes his role as mentor to younger glaive members fairly seriously and makes corrections in a rather straight-forward manner. I guess he abides by the ‘tough love’ regimen of mentorship. 

As far as romantic love, Titus is surprisingly charismatic in a non-professional setting, almost to the point of seeming laid back-- or as laid back as his reticence would allow, however getting to that point takes a significant amount of time because of his penchant for keeping others at arm’s length. And in the event that he does have genuine romantic feelings, chances are that he will not verbalize any of those feelings until he’s either a) on his death bed, or b) put in a position where there is no confusion about whether his feelings are reciprocated ( ie: obvious mutual flirting, or he didn’t make the first move. ). Titus has an acute dislike for discussing his own feelings and he’s mastered the art of putting a cork on his personal desires to avoid rocking the boat.

━ WHY SOMEONE MIGHT HATE THEM: Well.

If the rest of what I’ve written so far hasn’t sold you juuust yet.

If we’re going to start on his personality, honestly Drautos isn’t really unpleasant when it comes to face-to-face conversation unless he’s obviously displeased. He does, however have a tendency to be fairly blunt and unambiguous in conversations that don’t pertain to him personally ( his feelings/ talking about himself in general. In situations centered around particularly personal questions, he straight up avoids the question or talks his way out of having to give an in-depth answer. Titus dislikes having to talk about himself. ).In that regard, he’s take-no-nonsense and will speak freely.  Because of this, it’s possible that he comes off as unfriendly and aloof to those unaccustomed to straight-talk and unfamiliar with him personally. 

In regards to morality-- Titus is a good liar. He’s a really good liar in the sense that he rarely tells lies, if that makes sense?? His untruths come in the form of omitted information, and neglecting to share secrets rather than outright telling someone a lie. And situations requiring him to lie outright are usually few and far in between ( if he and his accomplices have been playing their roles without issue ). This is more or less how he continues to operate undetected under the crown for so long. He avoids having to spin an elaborate web of lies so that they are unlikely to backfire on him. Of course that would be a massive source of contention if it ever gets found out.

TL;DR: Watch Kingsglaive. Most of the things he does to those who trusted him is bullshit.

━ HOW THEY CHANGE: Throughout Kingsglaive, Titus doesn’t change fundamentally. Sure, there’s the big reveal in the final quarter of the movie that he was a massive traitor, but every action Titus takes plays some role in furthering his cause and right up until Nyx stabbed him, he had no regrets for why he did the things he’s done. I do have character arcs planned for my portrayal and headcanon regarding his past and the future, but those are all essentially canon-divergent because we don’t hear shit from Titus after like the first 5 minutes of Final Fantasy XV ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

━ WHY YOU LOVE THEM: I adore Titus for a myriad of reasons, despite the fact that he could have been handled way better from a development/writing standpoint by SE, but my absolute favorite thing about him is the fact that he is a collection of contradictions: he is is simultaneously loyal and disloyal; he is both truthful and a deceiver; he is both selfish and selfless. He is a well-intentioned anti-villain who sells out his king for the sake of his people and anyone that knows me, knows that generally I am a slut for exploring the philosophical duality of morally ambiguous characters like Titus. Also, I’m not going to lie, he’s got a pretty cool uniform and a cool face, so who am I to not instantly want to poke around and see what makes him tick?

TAGGING: @glaiv @cafveinated @amiiciitia @codeprint @regalialover @wareign @valorguard @arvious & whoever else wants to swoop in from the dashboard. Put me in your tagged by.