#inarius deserved better

[diablo-that-first-spark]

Ding Dong! Hell's Bitch is Dead!

Cupcakes, I finally finished playing Diablo 4! I am safe from spoilers, halleluya! Lilith is dead, and my god, I was so happy to do it. That self-righteous, manipulative, monstrous bitch just had to die.

Despite how I started the game fearing I would hate literally everything about it (considering how it looked like a D2 clone, and also fuck grimdark in general), I actually came away with a lot more positive than negative experiences, and I shall await the future expansion(s?). I will not replay it 8 times, like I have done so with D3 (mostly because grimdark takes a massive toll on me), but D4 is in a much MUCH more appreciated position than D2. Of course it is not perfect, there are certain things I absolutely hate about it. They did Inarius so goddamn dirty, it makes me angry. Maybe later I will do some blogposts, if I have the time/energy/actually worthwhile stuff to say.

But overall, it is a solid story with solid arcs that avoids most of the pitfalls of the """""""""""professional writing""""""""""" of today (please keep striking, dear writers, the world is so much better off without you ruining everything <3 ). Estuar has a genuinely great design and if they added just a LITTLE bit of a color, and NOT put the horse after 30+ hours of gameplay, I would have no complaints about this world, despite the usual grimdark crap.

I can recommend the game to anyone even remotely curious about it. Maybe read up on general lore a bit before you do, so you catch even more references and appreciate them along the way. :)

As for me, I'm going back to That First Spark and Then There Were Five! Stick around for those, cupcakes ;)

2023.09.18.

[so-no-feint]

the tragedy of lilith and inarius’ union, followed by his nearly unending torture and her bitterness only for inarius to become so twisted he ends up killing is own son… like oh my god she deserved better!! I could fix her!!! (she would kill me instantly, but is that not beautiful?)

[creoterative]

Sooooo...

It's just as I thought. The more you play, the better it gets. I got the hang of it now, but to be honest, I was stupid for picking veteran difficulty right away. I dunno how many times Marlon met his maker now because I was either too slow or picked the wrong button.

Buuut now I got a cool idea for new drawings!

I'll draw Marlon as the demon hunter and then draw him as the Rogue, both pictures will feature either Lilith or Diablo.

Do I like to see my favorite characters suffer? A little bit. Maybe.

But to be honest, I got a screenshot of the scene where Marlon has to ask Inarius for safe passage over that black lake and Inarius is a dick to him, so Marlon is all like "Go fuck yourself" and just leaves.

So I think that deserves a little meme drawing too, not too much pain xD

Exams First though... see you all in July!

[fluff-writing]

I haven't read Book of Prava so I can't see how the lore justifies her actions, but even if you take VoH's explanation Prava gives of "I didn't actually want to kill any of you initially plus it doesn't matter anymore" at face value, Prava still acts dickish and sometimes even downright villainous in the main storyline. To list a few of her offenses:

> Orders Vigo tortured and killed and enables the use of Father's Grace for most of the Cathedral army (which under customs of war would qualify as torture and gratuitous suffering)

> Personally tells you, the player that Rathma deserved to die and Inarius was completely and utterly justified in murde- uh I mean "it's not murder when daddy does it..." And there is 1 in 7 chance you are currently playing Necromancer...

> Sends her forces at Donan's request to Scosglen who do nothing but commit petty hate crimes on civilians, and when something that warrants their help (read: Astaroth) shows up, they just get outta here and are never mentioned again.

> Just straight up orders everyone in Caldeum killed and it is even implied Knights at Kor Valar were repeatedly taught every single person in Caldeum is demon-posessed.

> Tells Donan that she's glad his son died to his face

Based on all this, it was probably originally planned for her to become a villain at some point but as we know that didn't happen. So, how does current lore justify or at least explain Prava's jerkishness/villainy when the expansion insists she's the reasonable one in her faith?

I've been mulling this ask around for a minute now, and it's just making me tired and killing my motivation. Here you go.

Prava is a villain, and a morally grey character. She's Inarius's right hand, and the head of the Cathedral of Light, both of which have been pretty consistently presented as a villainous force. She's a fanatic who believes her God's word is complete truth. She also believes wholeheartedly that she is doing the right thing.

It's incredible what a human is capable of when they think it is correct and just.

Yeah, she's going through a character arc in her book. Prava was an extremely sheltered young woman who had been indoctrinated by fucking Inarius for most of her life. The guy who always hated humanity, and would've detonated the planet if he still could. Yeah, her views are going to be pretty harsh. They're supposed to be. You're not supposed to agree with her. The Cathedral is a mad angel's murder-cult posing as absolute good (and, unfortunately, is a better option than a lot of other things going on around Sanctuary). You might have an ally in her, if your goals align, and right now she's not interested in making more enemies so she's playing nice.

The difference between her and Urivar is that she's beginning to realize that there's more to the world than what she was taught, and more to humanity. She's making an attempt to learn and change, now that her god is dead and the army that she made was slaughtered around her. Urivar is burning people alive because they're weak, Prava is beginning to gather people together so that they can be strong together (sounds like some other mother we know.)

You're allowed to not like her.

I like her because she is flawed, and she has the potential to change her ways. You keep saying that the redemption arc fell flat, and I'm going to tell you that the redemption arc hasn't happened yet. It just started.

This is Diablo we're talking about though, so brace yourself for some inevitable disappointment.

Speaking of disappointment, I don't believe at all that it was planned for Prava to become a main villain that we fight, but I do think it's possible that Inarius was, at one point. DIV's development was weird as hell, with an entire prototype getting thrown out, and you can feel how clunky the resulting story is. Yeah the cinematic where Lilith kills him is incredible, but it really, really should have been a human that took him out for good.

It makes sense that the right hand of what could have been a main antagonist would do and say some despicable things.

[ladyinthebluebox]

...so i finished Diablo IV.

WHAT THE DAMNED FUCK IS THIS FUCKING ENDIIING?! HELLO BLIZZARD?! FUCKIN' ANSWER MEE?? MY DEAREST DAUGHTER TRAVELING OUT THERE WITH ACCURSED STONE IN HER POCKET AND ONLY A DIABOLICAL HELLHOUND AT HER SIDE?!

FUCK THIS. MY GIRL DESERVED BETTER THAN THAT.

well... at least Inarius got what was coming for him. i'll take comfort in that.

[chimerabytes]

ok. so im changing my diablo s/i to be a necromancer. And im gonna name them Inari. for two reasons

1- the Inarius set rocks so fucking hard. Heavy Metal Death Priest on your doorstep asking if they can borrow some sugar

2- partially inspired + named after the kami of foxes. Because I love foxes, meep meep!

Inari has always had a love of the strange, the unusual and the grotesque. They're incredibly proficient with death, and often keep forlorn dead spirits as company. Their parents believed Inari to be cursed and cast them out of home, where they then proceeded to seek out the teachings of master Necromancers for aid. Inari lived with their grandmother during this, finding solace in her comfort as she accepted them for who they were, and accepting their talents. Eventually Inari began travelling around throughout Sanctuary to offer their services for consoling families of dearly departed and deceased, as well as cleanse spirits believed to be evil.

Some particularly benevolent spirits have taken to Inari's kindness so well that they decided to travel with the Necromancer as ghostly companions.

Unfortunately... Inari began offering their services just as undead began rising throughout the world. As a result, Inari was often seen as an omen of death rather than a bringer of light and comfort. Such is the scorn that plagues Necromancers. Inari makes no quick motive to dispel these concerns, finding the thought tiring.

Inari likes to keep exotic pets, and has taken up gardening as well. They dabble in many artistic hobbies, being an enjoyer of music and many other arts. They consider their works patronage in remembrance of the dead. Because, somebody has to remember all of them. Especially those who deserved to walk the waking world just a little bit longer.

Throughout their adventure and learning to accept the responsibilities and burden of being a Nephalem, Inari met Imperius. Imperius originally scorned them, hateful of their abilities and believing the Necromancer to be demonspawn. Even after the completion of Act 5 with Inari saving Westmarch with the help of Tyrael and the Horadrim, it takes an excessively long time for Imperius to warm up to them.

But its very clear that his sharp demeanor was nothing more than a façade to hide his true thoughts. As the course of Act 5 runs its duration, Imperius softens considerably. Of course, he does not say anything outright at first. But he opens to Inari and their unique talents, slowly beginning to think their life pursuits are quite noble, and treating Inari with remarkably better attitude.

Inari is often found lounging in Caldeum's great libraries, including all of Zoltun Kulle's forbidden archives. Inari made a deal with Kulle for allowing them access to his swathes of knowledge in return for finding Kanai's Cube for him. (Inari definitely got the better end of the bargain. Kulle is surprisingly generous after coming back not once, but twice. He did owe them a large favor anyway.)

Over time, angels and demons alike come to respect them and admire Inari. They treat even the cruellest of beings with kindness, wanting to give others what they want back, even if they give way more than they take.

... I know this got really long but I'm just thinking about them way too much at the moment