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[sneeg-snag]

The hero’s journey and Shilo, an in depth analysis.

HI GUYSSS I was tasked with outlining how a character of my choice followed the twelve step process of the hero's journey. Due to the fact I am chronically obsessed with JRWI, I decided to pick Shilo as A) he is a very well rounded character who has very interesting dynamics and follows the journey quite closely and B) His story is “ended” (and I also remember most of it LMAO). 

Black is anything I turned in for my assignment and is a bit more barebones as it was supposed to be a minimum of 300 words and I wrote… 900… and red is all of my added and more in depth analysis of Shilo’s journey for those who have actually Watched The Show and understand what I mean when I say “The character of Edward Twilight is a formidable and powerful villain against the main characters''. also thank u @codecicle for egging me on i probably maybe wouldnt have gone as in depth if u hadnt asked for it <3. Lastly, THERE ARE SO MANY SUCKENING SPOILERS IN HERE I DO NOT HOLD BACK PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!

Without further adu… ENJOY!!!

For my character that follows the hero's journey, I picked Shilo Bathory from the ttrpg podcast Just Roll With It. Some context to the character and the story, he is a character in a game the players of Just Roll With It play called Vampire: the Masquerade (think Dungeons and Dragons but with a different ruleset and Vampire themed), where he is one of the three main characters. It is a comedy drama podcast, with some things being on the sillier side while still retaining a story. He is a vampire prince who was locked in his mothers castle from birth Rapunzel style, and we start the story when he is itching to get out. (Had to give some people a like. Overview cause you will a) always find me promoing jrwi and b) there is like. So much going on all at once in this damn podcast) 

1.Call to adventure: Shilo, sick of being trapped in his room, searches outside and finds several papers in his mothers study detailing how one person was being tracked and followed in the streets of Los Angeles. He decides he wants to escape said entrapment and searches for a way to escape. Shilo is an interesting figure when it comes to the call for adventure, because rather than being called by an outside force like many other stories (ex, Rapunzel is egged on by the appearance of Flynn Rider or Rolan Deep being called back by his parents funeral) Shilo makes his own call. He is the one who breaks into his mothers study and he is the one to decide to go. This is influenced by a lot of things- like how it is the start of a VTM campaign and Bizly cannot just sit and wait for forever, but it also opens the question of would Charlie have made one if Bizly did not already take action? 

2. Refusal: Shilo notably skips this step, mostly ready to jump into the adventure due to his nativity and belief he will be safe as he is the prince of his vampire clan. However this can be interpreted as his mother blocking him from leaving and even restricting him by magical means from even speaking about the documents he found. Referencing back to the last step, it's very interesting how the refusal manifests as someone else rather than Shilos own inner turmoil. It is like the characters that would normally play in these two steps -his mother and himself- switch, creating a more interesting story when it is himself who has chosen to leave and the juxtaposition later that causes when he enters LA. 

3. Supernatural aid: Shilo himself, as a vampire can be interpreted as his own supernatural aid, however notable at this point he is overtaken by a supernatural anger at being treated like a child. His player rolls very well for the stealthy and supernatural actions he takes to push past any obstacles facing him getting to Los Angeles. The seer at the door can also be interpreted as said supernatural aid, as she tells Shilo how to go through the door and is sort of the classic “old person helping the young protagonist” type. I think she will 100% be more important later and possibly assume this role in Shilo and possibly Emiezl's life due to her being there when the twins were born and being the overseer of Salem (Pepper) but in the current season we have now, she is simply a guard to the door. 

4. Stepping through the threshold: Shilo physically and mentally steps through the threshold in his story. He finds his way through The Darkened Door, a physical door that can take him wherever he wishes. The physical one comes to Los Angeles, which is a complete turnaround for Shilo from his quiet castle room. The lights are bright, the city is busy, and the people are mean. Shilo throughout the story remarks on this and how he is very much a fish out of water. I personally love his “LA sucks” phrase because to him, it really does and plays off comedically on how he was the one to want to visit LA and get out of his castle doors. Of all places to go, it was LA, the complete juxtaposition of the Umber castle. ESPECIALLY since he can’t even dress like a normal human and must dress like a gaudy victorian vampire. (a trait I REALLY wish was brought up more. Granted who knows maybe people think it's just someone doing a late night cosplay (clown walk /ref))

5. Belly of the whale: Shilos first belly of the whale conflict is when he realizes he is not 24/7 protected and regarded as infallible royalty in the city of LA when he tries to enter a club that seems to be a hideout for vampire society and proceedingly gets arrested. He is taken from his group and quickly placed in jail where he will later get bailed out after repeating how cops are heroes to him. This one was hard for me to choose what Shilos “first” trial was. Originally I was going to go with his altercation with Emeziels (his?) father, due to the fact he erases his memory without an afterthought and that emphasizes the whole lesson of “consequences” later on. However, I really do think Shilos first moment of being in deep- in the “belly of the whale” was the aforementioned club altercation and his subsequent jail time. He is no longer this kid who can bat his eyes at the primogens or his mom when he gets caught out of his room, and is now a functioning member of society that must abide by both vampire and human laws. It’s a moment of “oh”, although this is kind of overshadowed by the fact Shilo is like “yay police ride!! They're the good guys!” and later sets in when they are not on his side and when he speaks to Soda. 

6. Road of trials: This is where most of the events of the podcast take place. Shilo and his group have many trials, through the story, including but not limited to getting into a huge vampire party, finding information on the main villain he meets at said party, finding out his mother has died due to vampire hunters that are now hot on his trail, all while avoiding the consequences of his own actions. Okay this one's kinda self explanatory. I trust yall to get it and I really don't wanna go in depth because i'm LAZY. I really considered mentioning things like the unseen one but I wanted to make it seem like a much more cohesive plot to my classmates than what the suckening really is (cause looking back good lord is it all over the damn place bro)

7. Meeting with the goddess: The character(s) I would consider the traditional “goddess” in Shilo’s story is the group known as The Midnight Circle. They are a group of female witches that help Shlio and his companions on gaining knowledge on both how to deface and bring down the main villain of the story and their curse as vampires. They can only succeed however, by working through their own personal doubts and gripes with their curses and helping each other. Shilo succeeds with flying colors, and he gives up his eye (mechanically, in the game, his insight and perception bonuses) in favor of knowledge of the main villains and his own mothers origin. This one is also kinda self explanatory. Though I am kind of sad that the midnight circle is like. The only figures who could be considered the goddess in this story. You could technically argue that both The Midnight Circle AND the Unseen One could be the typical “goddess” figure, but I digress.

8. The temptress: The temptress character on the flipside is actually quite a stray from the regular idea of a sultry maiden in this story. Some might say it can even be skipped, but I'd like to interpret it as the main villain. Early on in the story, the main villain had Shilo “drink his blood” several times unknowingly, leading to a game mechanic called a “blood bond” where the drinker is entranced by the vampire whos blood they drank and on higher levels (eg. the more blood they drink) has to obey their beck and call. In some of the final episodes of the story he makes Shilo a victim to his wills, leading Shilo to accidentally give up all the proof they have to defame him to said villain. It’s quite a huge roadblock in the final parts of said story, and the players must find a way around it. You can tell I really wanted to get this point across and went all out explaining the blood bond LMAO. I really do feel like for Shilo, Edward is the temptress in a less-orthodox way of a woman who the protagonist might lust after, and instead is this force that physically calls Shilo and interrupts his plans. On Tumblr, people have pointed out how because Shilo is very aro/ aroace coded, this very well can be interpreted as a sexual assault metaphor. Unknowingly drinking Edwards blood, several times, the fact he was undressed and redressed in matching clothes as Edward, the way Grizzly describes the music (that we cannot hear, only the players) Condi put on as “romantic” only fulfills this. Hell, Nathan Hanover himself said Edwards original music was supposed to have a chorus of moans. Imagine that playing over the scene where Shilo wakes up? I could very much go on about Shilo being treated narratively “like a girl” and how that affects his story and progression but this thing is already so long and id want to find and quote the tumblr posts this idea spawned from because it's important to me people actually get credit <3. Overall though, Edward Twilight ABSOLUTELY fits the temptress role in Shilos story, especially in the scene where he calls on Shilo while Shilo has the evidence of his wrongdoings and all Shilo can do is just. Follow along. 

9. Atonement with the father: This is actually one of the few steps Shilo skips, as he does not really have a father figure and this step falls more on his companion through the story, Arthur, who’s entire arc revolves around his past family and father. <- I actually LIED here. Shilo DOES have an atonement with the father- and that is with Deacon! I didn't want to introduce this new character and have to explain who this new guy was to the story on step nine LMAO. However, Shilo doesn't have an “atonement” with Deacon, and in fact after Edward takes all the proof of him breaking the masquerade from Shilo, Deacon does not believe him. It’s a very sad moment, and really plays into Deacon and Shilo’s relationship and dynamic through the whole story. Shilo believed Deacon was a person to go to for safety and protection, someone who would believe him though and through, and instead Deacon is fallible. He attacks Shilos friends after Club Crepuscule is blown up, he does not answer any of Shilos messages after he calls a billion times, he brings him straight to Edward after Shilo is hurt, and he does not believe what Shilo says about Edward. He shows again and again how he really only does things for his own gain, and honestly, I think if Shilo wasn’t the prince he would have left him to die many times. A vampire cop is still a cop y'know. 

He also has a strange fucking voice/person?? In his room??? I feel like we don't talk about this enough hello????

10. Apotheosis: Teehee. Apotheosis. This stage happens when Shilo’s previous actions throughout the road of trials comes to bite him, and consequences are on the horizon. An old man Shilo has accidentally let into the world and knowledge of vampire society is kidnapped and left up to be food for the main villains “end all be all” game (a hunger games style arena). Shilo does his best to save this old man, but in the end fails, and realizes how his actions have consequences in a very heartbreaking moment. I do think Shilo actually has TWO apotheosis, but I thought for word count and explanation I’d only mention Ben. The second (and honestly my and probably many others) first thought was when Shilo loses his innocence trait when making Edward Twilight “ugly” in front of all vampire society. Both of these events play into different traits and lessons Shilo has been learning through the course of The Suckening. Ben represents the fact he does have consequences to his actions and what he does matters in the grand scheme of things, not only to him but to others. His loss of innocence is about how he is no longer a child who is protected by his mother in the castle, and instead is someone who has the power to do what he wants when he wants. These two apotheosis also play into each other. Without the realization of consequences Ben brings Shilo, he could easily fall into being a manipulative creature without much humanity or care for those around him just like Edward and the other vampires of vampire society. Without the loss of the innocence trait and bringing down Edward Twilight, he could shrink into himself and become an anxious defeated child, whose mother is dead and who is a slave to the whims of someone much more powerful than him. It creates a very interesting end to this chapter of Shilo's life, and with the promise of a second season, creates suspense for where this new version of him is going to go. 

11. Ultimate boon: Playing off the last step, Shilo realizes how he isnt a small child protected by the castle walls anymore, and does have consequences to the actions he takes, especially on those he cares about. I forgot what the ultimate boon thing was. Give me a second. OH okay for more context the ultimate boon is the accomplishment of the goal the protagonist set out to do. Shilo’s “main goals” move a lot through the story. At first, it’s escaping the castle to find who his mother is tracking. Then its getting used to LA. Then it's taking down Edward Twilight and finding a good replacement, which morphs into becoming a good leader himself. At the end of The Suckening, a couple of Shilos goals are not met yet, and Charlie and Bizly actually speak in the QNA how originally the Suckening was supposed to be on a much bigger scale than LA, so we can imagine in the next installment we will possibly see Shilo’s goals of a good ruler being met, or they will shift as he grows into himself outside the castle walls. 

12. The return: Shilo, after finally defacing the main villain, Shilo is picked up by one of their companions' helicopter, and flown away from the other companion, watching as said other companion is burnt to a crisp by the rising sun. This ones really simple, as Shilo does not “return” to his home. Instead he is picked up by Real Taylor Lautner, and the story ends. 

13. Crossing of return threshold: This is where Shilo’s story truly breaks from the hero's journey, as his story is cut short and left open ended. There is a whisper of season two in the works (although it seems very far away), and hopefully we will see Shilo return to his broken castle home, a changed person without his mother and new knowledge of the outside world. I really do hope we get to see him return, as it is a very interesting dynamic and as mentioned earlier, the trio was supposed to take on all of Vampire Society rather than just Edward, so I really do hope we are not cut off from Shilo’s heroes arc too early and maybe we simply restart back to the road of trials when we get season two. 

Shilo is a very interesting character, who one may argue isn't even a hero. He follows some of the steps of the hero's journey, but also subverts some of the traditional steps with his beginning and ending. He is a very complicated and interesting character, and this analysis is also here to show how the JRWI boys follow said hero's journey in one way or another. Not to sound like a cringey youtuber but if you have more thoughts/things to add PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME!!!! I would love to speak about this more (not just to myself lmao) and there are a lot of points I missed (LIKE SHILO RIPPING OUT THAT ONE GUYS THROAT BEING A TURNING POINT IM SO MAD I COULDNT FIT THAT IN). Overall, I love The Suckening, and I think how Shilo is handled and played as a character is very intriguing! And also I might need to get tested for autism.