#it's a neutral trait and furthermore one that saved their life

[the-insouciant-scientist]

I want to gently clarify something real quick: Harper's memory loss and status as a system isn't a tragedy. (I can't promise how concise I'll be here but I just. Want to talk a bit about this while my mind's on it)

There are already so many stories out there that are downright awful regarding systems and amnesia, focusing almost solely on narratives of "oh wouldn't this be fucked up? Wouldn't this be awful? Wouldn't it hurt?" and I just. I'll be honest, kinda hate that! Sure, it can be rough to live with sometimes (speaking from experience) but it's not the massive, terrible burden that so many stories say. That's why I put so much effort into writing Harper as I do. They're honest about the annoyances and lost paperwork, sure, but... they're happy. Doing their best from day to day, with a small group of others nearby that care enough to hold the memories that are too much to bear.

With all they've gone through, they wouldn't be the same kind, thoughtful person if they weren't a system. They wouldn't exist as themself at all, actually. It would just be Isabelle, driven to violence by guilt and rage and fear, with the knowledge that no one had ever cared enough to protect her when she needed it most. But that's not what happened. She didn't have anyone outside of herself who was there for her, no, but her system formed to fill that void and she was Loved. And that love passed on to Harper when they formed too. They've experienced trauma, yes. They've known tragedy and pain intimately. But their system and memory loss aren't any of those things. It's the reason they were able to survive them, and come out the other side still singing. It's not a tragedy. It's hope.

[umbran6]

Hogwarts Houses for the Heroes of Olympus, Apollo, and Meg.

I’ve seen a lot of people do this, so I thought I should do this and explain as to why I wanted them there. Spoilers are abound through Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo as I explain my reasoning. 

Percy Jackson: Hufflepuff. Look, I know a lot of people place him in Gryffindor. That’s a reasonable outcome one can reach, considering his feats could be considered immensely brave. However, Percy has often participated in his quests out of a sense of loyalty towards those he loves, whether it’s his mom (The Lightning Thief), Camp Half-Blood (The Sea of Monsters), Annabeth (Both The Titan’s Curse and Battle of The Labyrinth), and in The Last Olympian, all of them. What really pins him in place is when he willingly fallis to Tartarus alongside Annabeth by the ending of The Mark of Athena, which is a remarkable yet insane feat of both love and loyalty. He also has a work ethic, which is revealed during The Tower of Nero. Rather than just go straight to New Rome and live a happy life, he went to a hellish military school just so he could graduate from there with a high school diploma. If that’s not a work ethic, I don’t know what is. Loyalty and work ethic are key Hufflepuff traits, and Percy has shown all of them. 

Annabeth Chase: Slytherin. Annabeth has often shown a lot of intelligence, but also a lot of resourcefulness and cunning during her time in the series. She literally tricked both Arachne and Nyx in what were impossible situations, and her goals are extremely ambitious, with her wanting to become an architect so she could build something that could last a thousand years. She also has a lot of Ravenclaw traits, to the point she repeated Odysseus and listened to the Sirens so she could learn what she desired the most. However, that was only once, and most often she used the knowledge she was given in resourceful and cunning ways, such as during the Last Olympian where she used the statues from Daedalus as a way to defend Manhattan. Needless to say, in my opinion she is a Slytherin first and Ravenclaw second. 

Jason Grace: It’s quite tricky, considering we don’t get to see any key defining traits, but I have decided to put him in Gryffindor. Jason’s shown plenty of bravery, fighting Giants and Titans during his quest, but he also has honor and chivalry, which he shows during Blood of Olympus, and later on, The Burning Maze. Specifically, in the scene where he makes a deal with Kymopoleia, promising to make shrines not only to her, but to all of the hundreds of minor gods of Greek Mythology. As we later see during The Burning Maze, Jason was completely willing to honor such a deal, working on the shrines even while he was living the closest thing to a normal life one could achieve as a demigod. And of course, we can’t ignore the fact that he was brave to fight Caligula just so his friends could escape. 

Piper Mclean: Slytherin. This is because during most of the time we’ve seen her, Piper fights dirty. She doesn’t stab a monster in the dagger, but charmspeaks the monster and stabs him in the back while he’s distracted. When claiming the position as Cabin Counselor in the Aphrodite Cabin during The Lost Hero from Drew, Piper uses the rules against her to get the position, rather than straight-up fighting her at the very beginning. Furthermore, rather than fight Khione upfront during the House of Hades, she bides her time and stalls the goddess until she can find a way to win. Though she has some traits that could go along with the other Houses, Slytherin tends to stand out the best. The only way she isn’t Slytherin in terms of traits is that she lacks ambition — we never see her have a higher goal beyond the quest, or any plans for what she’s going to do after everything’s done. Overall, she’s Slytherin through her actions, not her words, ironically. 

Frank Zhang: Gryffindor. This is because Frank performs a lot of actions that are by any standard, brave, and often selfless and self-sacrificial. Specifically, a lot of the sacrifices he performs throughout the series. In Son of Neptune, he was willing to be the distraction against the Laestrygonians so that Percy and Hazel could start their escape plan. He was literally willing to burn his own life force (his stick) so that Thanatos could break free despite the very large risk it posed to him. He even stood in the way of a Giant, pushing him all the way to the Canadian border. And as we learn in The Tyrant’s Tomb, he was willing to repeat his sacrifice if it meant Caligula and Commodus were killed.  Frank is a Gryffindor through and through, though he does have some minor Ravenclaw traits such as his use of tactics against his opponents, way of making plans, or recalling ancient Roman history. 

Hazel Levesque: Once again, this was another difficult one. Mainly because Hazel is split right down to the middle between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. On one hand, she was so loyal to her mother that despite the fact that the lady got them into this mess, Hazel willingly sacrificed Elysium so her mom wasn’t punished. On the other hand, she was also willing to sacrifice herself so Alcyoneus couldn’t rise again despite the fact that it would lead to her and her mom’s death. Finally, I decided she deserved to go to Gryffindor, because of the fact that she willingly went towards the quest to rescue Thanatos in The Son of Neptune despite the fact that it was very likely that the god of Death would take her back to the Underworld. That takes immense amounts of bravery, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but she’s also putting herself at immense risk of being dragged down to the Underworld. 

There are some Slytherin traits, such as when she made a plan to trick Sciron during the House of Hades, or the plan to trap Nike. However, Hazel’s a lot more defined by her bravery and empathy, which are more Gryffindor traits. If she had more ambition, a big goal after the quest it could be understood, but overall her Gryffindor traits are more prominent. For example, let’s compare how she got to Praetor and Octavian got to Praetor, and later on, Pontifex Maximus. Octavian often used a lot of word-twisting and dirty tactics to get his position, and only got there because Reyna left her post so she could help Jason. In comparison, the legion willingly raised her on a shield and collectively voted her into the position due to her bravery during the fight against Tarquin in The Tyrant’s Tomb. 

Leo Valdez: There have been arguments over where he should go. All of them want him in one house or the other, but the most convincing ones were either having him in Slytherin, or in Ravenclaw. And I can definitely agree with both — Leo has shown immense amounts of intelligence and cunning throughout the series.  He’s also intelligent in the sense that he created the Argo II, multiple weapons, the Holographic Scrolls, and even Buford. 

However, after looking through his actions, I found that he leans more towards Slytherin. Although his façade of cheerfulness and humor was used to disguise trauma, he also used said humor to make himself appealing towards bullies so they didn’t beat him up. He often used his cunning to morph himself to social situations such as his façade as a jokester to look less threatening in comparison to others. 

During the times we see him fight, he’s also the one to not only play it smart, but also using tactics and dirty tricks, rather than focusing on swordplay or his own fire powers. The only time we see him go ham with his pyrokinesis is when he’s fighting Khione during The Lost Hero. Furthermore, in The Mark of Athena, rather than straight-up fight the nymphs and Narcissus to get the celestial bronze he needed to make repairs, he uses himself as a distraction and has Hazel manipulate the bronze in a place where she can’t be seen, which is a plan that needs a lot of manipulation of the opposing parties.

What finally acted as the nail in the coffin for me was his plan to defeat Gaea during Blood of Olympus. It involved a lot of manipulation of both enemies and allies, and in the ended it succeeded so brilliantly that everybody got what they wanted, with none of them being aware of the plan until Frank and Hazel explained it, and they were the very few people in the know regarding Leo’s sacrifice. Developing such a plan takes immense amounts of cunning and ambition, which are both Slytherin traits. Although he may be chaotic, mischievous, and annoying, Leo is the guy you don’t realize is a Slytherin until it’s too late.

Nico di Angelo: The thing about a guy who was pretty much a loner throughout most of his time in the series is that it’s hard to tell what values he has. Ergo, we should look at his actions rather than his own words. Nico, although mainly dominated by his naïveté during his younger years, has shown himself to be extremely brave. For example, there was him openly defying his father by saving Percy from his imprisonment, and later actively convincing Hades to stop his vow of neutrality and fight alongside the Olympians in The Last Olympian. Finally, there’s his excursion to Tartarus and later his willingness to transport the Athena Parthenos during Blood of Olympus. Nico willingly went there to see if the Doors of Death were over there, and later transported the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood even if it meant he would fade into the shadows forever. All feats are insanely brave, and therefore I argue that he should go to Gryffindor. 

Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano: Hufflepuff. Most of Reyna’s actions aren’t inspired by bravery, honor, or chivalry, though from a certain point of view they are brave. Reyna often performs most of her actions out of loyalty for those she cares about, almost in a Percy-ish kind of way. Her interrogation and cold nature towards Percy in Son of Neptune? Suspicion that he would be a threat to Camp Jupiter. She metaphorically fought against Octavian’s power advances because she knew his own ambitions wouldn’t help New Rome. Willingness to cooperate with the Greeks before the Eidolons screwed up everything? She believed that it was best for New Rome. Willingness to brave the Mare Nostrum all by herself? Both her loyalty to Jason and that she believed that waging war against Camp Half-Blood was not the best for the legion. Her loyalty and ethic just make her a shoe-in for Hufflepuff. 

Apollo/Lester Papadopoulos: Oh boy, he’s kind of at an in-between when it comes what house he should be in. If we were talking about him pre-Lesterfication, I would honestly say Hufflepuff, but he takes a good chunk of those traits and turned them into a darker way. He defeated Python because the snake monster had chased his mother off of Delphi. He alongside Artemis murdered Niobe’s kids because the goddess insulted Leto by saying she was better than her. When Asclepius is murdered by Zeus, he retaliates by murdering the Cyclopes who made the weapons. And finally, he punishes those who broke their vows He shows loyalty, but in a lot of darker ways that we don’t expect. He’s got Hufflepuff morals, but they’re in a darker, more warped way than we expect. 

If we’re looking at him post-Lesterfication, I would still say Hufflepuff, but now he does it in a brighter way and is also more Gryffindor. He was more willing to sacrifice himself if it meant saving those he cared about, such as when he willingly tried to kill himself during The Burning Maze if it meant Caligula would stop holding his friends hostage. He was also willing to commit more honorable gestures such as bringing Jason’s body to New Rome during The Tyrant’s Tomb. He was even willing to own up to his mistakes right in front of a god who had every right to hate him if it meant Meg and Reyna could be spared. He’s still a Hufflepuff, but he’s a more idealistic and less warped version of the values he had before he became Lester. 

Meg: In a way, she’s pretty much like Apollo. She’s a Hufflepuff, but in all the wrong ways at first. We see this in The Dark Prophecy when its clear that during that time, she was more loyal to Nero of all people rather than her fellow campers, to the point of accepting Nero’s gaslighting if it meant she could see the positive view of him. However, she’s also loyal to Apollo and her father, which we see in The Burning Maze because the main reason she guns for Caligula is because she often compares him to The Beast aspect of Nero, the person who killed her dad. She in the end is also willing to accept and finish her father’s legacy, planting the seeds that eventually become the Meliai. Tower of Nero is when she gains the will to stand up to Nero after support from Apollo and her friends, and is later on seen taking care of the other children Nero abused. In the end, she’s a Hufflepuff despite the fact that she may not look like it. 

Now, before you guys getting up in arms about there being no Ravenclaws, in my opinion the house is a lot more knowledge-focused, whether its discovering more knowledge, but also using it in a more academic and experimental way. Considering we don’t see this attitude or its corresponding values too much during the stories that we see since they’re more save-the-world mission focused. While Slytherin does have an intelligence-centric value such as cunning, its more focused on using such intelligence to manipulate and trick others, while Ravenclaw uses such intelligence in the discovery for knowledge. 

[theworldbrewery]

background: empty nester

skill proficiencies: insight, perception, one additional proficiency of your choice

tool proficiencies: herbalism kit, one type of gaming set

equipment: a set of common clothes, fishing tackle, a flask, a mess kit, and a scrapbook containing your most precious family memories. 

Feature: Mid-Life Crisis

You’re finally embracing spontaneity after the repetition of daily life. You have the admiration of other ordinary folk who also yearn for the carefree life of an adventurer. Furthermore, you’re inclined to make some reckless decisions, like buying a boat or adopting a python, but your resolve never wavers in the face of doing something you’ve never done before. You have advantage on attacks with weapons you are not proficient in as your enthusiasm gives you an edge.

Hobby: Every empty nester needs a way to pass the time now that the kids are out of the house. What did you pick up? (roll 1d6)

Bowling league

Car(t) maintenance

Essential oil MLM scam

Community theatre

Model town assembly

Gym membership

Suggested Characteristics: You know you’re not cut out for the adventuring life, but you’ll be damned if you let it stop you. You just don’t have formal training, but you’re a go-getter, or at least game to try something new.

Personality Traits (d8)

Look, I’m fun! This adventuring thing has nothing to do with my sense of malaise in my daily life! I can totally handle a sword!

Back in my day, there weren’t any adventurers to rescue your village if it was besieged by a dragon. Townspeople these days are so entitled.

You know, this whole problem could just be solved if we went out and talked this evil necromancy scheme over at brunch. Who wants a Bloody Mary?

It’s one +1 sword, Maracnar, how much could it cost? A thousand platinum?

I just got divorced, I’m not looking for a relationship, but maybe me and that bartender could get into some trouble together...

I don’t have a favorite child, of course not...well, one is a famous lawyer and engaged, and the other is still at wizard university and hasn’t been on a date in months...but I don’t have a favorite, don’t be silly.

Live, Laugh, Love, I’m so #blessed to have a family that loves me so much, but I’m happy to leave them at home for months at a time.

This adventure is just like that spring break I spent on the Sword Coast, man, that was one wild week, I was doing shots off a---is that a mindflayer?

Ideals (d6)

Purpose. My kids were my life’s work. Now that they’re grown, I need a new reason to get up in the morning. (Lawful)

Fun. You have to lead a stable lifestyle when you’re a parent. But after raising children, it’s time to raise hell. (Chaotic)

Love. Maybe it’s a little saccharine, but taking care of each other is what life is all about. (Good)

Discord. Life is a PTA bake sale. Cutthroat and competitive. And if I’m going down, I’m taking everyone with me. (Evil)

Fulfillment. We all have goals when we’re young, before life gets in the way. Maybe now is the time to finally live our dreams. (Neutral)

Experience. It’s a big world out there, and I want to see it all. (Any)

Bond (d6)

My divorce was ugly, but I’m still secretly in love with my former spouse.

I married young and I was never happy as a parent, and the guilt is killing me.

I love my children more than life itself. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them.

My irresponsible spending drove my family into debt. I ran out on them and changed my name to become an adventurer.

My spouse and children have a much longer lifespan than I do; I don’t want them to watch me grow old.

I know I am just a trophy for my successful partner. I would be a worthless nobody without them.

Flaw (d6)

I get all my news from unreliable sources, and repeat what I hear as God’s honest truth.

I’m addicted to the rush I get from spilling gossip; I can’t keep a secret to save my life.

I don’t believe in magical healing. Don’t you know necromancy magic causes zombification?

I’m obsessed with whether or not I show signs of aging and go to great lengths to maintain a youthful appearance.

I led a charmed life, and struggle to adjust to the rough living of an adventurer.

I insist on being spoken to with respect, whether or not I’ve earned it, and won’t listen to you otherwise.

Inspired by @andtheremustbetowers and @returnsandreturns.

If you like what we do, consider supporting us on Ko-Fi!

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Theories (17S). Third Theory - Shikama’s punishment, and the reason behind the corpse (Long Theory)

Hello everyone, it’s been few days since I’ve updated, I’ve been a little busy along studies coming over but nevertheless, let’s keep going with these theories, I hope you guys are doing alright!

This theory is special, it isn’t centered on what it’s mostly known or rather, it is the doubt of veracity towards Shikama Doji’s statements.

Before starting, I must say that there’s this lingering feeling that Shikama is actually lying about having a son but rather, he’s seeking something entirely out of such thing, therefore, let’s talk about it.

P.S: Theories exclude ships and remain within a neutral view.

To begin with, something that has been causing quite the surprise is to see Shikama Doji stating his life was ruined or rather was affected due to others along the cost of his “son”.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 94

Back in chapter 94, Shikama stated he’d create a dark sun; due to how he was blamed and he lost his child due to certain incident that is left unknown for the meantime; but, within this, there’s something that doesn’t make sense, what do I mean?

It is well known that Kagami Takaya takes inspiration of religion in order to bring forward this story, furthermore, it cannot be denied that Shikama Doji or Sika Madu takes inspiration of the devil, the fallen angel Lucifer; the angel that was punished for trying to be superior to God; of course such statement might differ depending on the religion. 

But then, how can I state that Shikama is inspired by such figure?

Back then, at the beginning it felt that most things were fantasy until they mentioned the name of an angel, said angel was Michael and it wasn’t mentioned once but twice; the first one being Ferid Bathory and the second being the Hyakuya Sect:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 85

This only lead to the fact that some names within the Bible or other religious texts might come in, but then again, how can I state Shikama is heavily based on Lucifer?

It is known that the name Lucifer has different meanings such as: “Morning star”, “Light Bringer”, “Bringer of Dawn”, etc. And one of the biggest details the manga has given as an insight of this is displayed within this panel:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 57

In chapter 57, Kureto Hiragi faced Tenri Hiragi until he achieved victory, but, before Tenri died, he told Kureto that “a cursed god” would appear to him; after such thing was stated, Tenri died, Kureto said: “father?” to check if he was alive or not, but something rather fascinating is the fact that there was a light before the appearance of such cursed god; something similar to what the real name stands “morning star”.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 57

Within Tenri’s corpse, his shadow slowly allowed to make Shikama appear after being using Tenri as his host until he could wait and eventually lead to the events of Shinoa’s possession.

But then, does this mean this is the only proof?

Actually, the second proof within this is according some passages which were focused on how Lucifer, before falling from heaven, he was able to walk down through rivers of fire, anywhere to impart wisdom to humanity; but among this, it is well known that Lucifer was one of God’s most beautiful creation and that’s something Shikama does share with said inspiration:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 57

Within the LNs, after Shinoa got Shikama Doji back, she was finally able to remember who he was along the fact she stated he/she was beautiful; furthermore:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 57

Shikama Doji stated that God’s personality was more twisted than him, implying he does have knowledge of God.

To even expand this, back in the World Resurrection LNs, specially in Vol. 2; Guren had a conversation with Rigr Stafford; Rigr stated that the First Progenitor was a being that played the role of a God; he decided which empires would come and fall along religions, ideas, etc.

Ironically, within this, it is often heard that the devil or formerly Lucifer, became prideful and arrogant which pretty much matches Shikama’s personality.

It could be said that Shikama Doji is heavily based on Lucifer or rather, there’s a chance that might be his real name at the very end. 

Now, focusing again to the main point of the theory, Shikama mentions he broke a taboo:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 81

But what exactly was his taboo? Was it that he had a child or he betrayed God’s will?

While it is mostly seen in the manga that he mentions and is wishful to have Mikaela’s soul; there’s a huge issue that dismisses Shikama’s real intentions, what do I mean?

If many might recall, at the beginning of the LNs of Vampire Mikaela, the story dwells or rather states that it’s about revenge, revenge towards God. And so far, the one carrying such revenge is Shikama instead of Mikaela; therefore, what does this have to do with Shikama’s real intentions?

For this, let’s recall some events from the current story:

Back then, Shikama started to perform experiments until he found Ashera Tepes; him being the first human that became a vampire after drinking Yu’s blood in the Dark Ages of Greece, it seemed that he was seeking something within kids and of course, such thing was stated by Noya:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 85

Indeed, Shikama seeked to find a kidt that could become Mikaela but all the vampires failed; but why?

It is well known that most of the vampires were sired by Shikama with the sole exception of Ashera; it is unknown if the other demons also drank Yu’s blood or the First’s; but within this, there’s something revealing, what could it be?

Correct. Within this, Shikama was seeking to find beings that held down certain traits until he stopped and seeked to reach the Land of the Rising Sun; but only one of the Vampire Progenitors kept with this and that was Rigr Stafford.

Rigr Stafford found two subjects that held down the Michaela trait, those being Ferid Bathory and Mikaela Shindo; but among this, Ferid found another one on his own, which was Crowley Eusford.

But, between those three, only one held two traits which was Mika, he kept the Seraph trait and the Michaela trait from the very moment he was born and Rigr only made sure he was the perfect result of what he seeked.

But then, now that the past was brought, why does Shikama need Mika’s soul if he’s his supposed son?

The reason is that he is lying. Shikama doesn’t want to recover his son, but rather, he wants to recover his real power, what he was once long ago, but, is there a proof to this?

There is actually proof towards this; and the proof relies within Ashera, Krul and Rigr.

Therefore, let’s proceed:

1. Krul Tepes

Despite that she hasn’t talked that much in relation of the First, she has never seen the First Progenitor as a father, but as a monster or someone who took her happiness away:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 49

At that time, Krul Tepes was begging the First to not take her brother away, to not take Ashera and make him a demon, but, within this, there was something interesting; what could it be?

Correct. The fear Ashera once felt or rather, the fearful presence the First gave towards them was so different, it was as if Ashera didn’t recall how the First was truly:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 49

Ashera didn’t doubt the First nor had fear towards him, it was as if he knew everything he’d do would lead to a better future which has been quite the opposite.

Along this, after the First possessed Shinoa and after the events of his sealing along Mika’s death as a vampire; Krul didn’t want to go where the First was but Ashera told her it would be fine; but among this, it wouldn’t take long until he appeared again and one of the things that has been displayed by her is this:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 98

Krul displayed despair and fear of what it was about to come, same thing could be seen in the latest chapter:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 99

It means she’s very aware of the nature of the First Progenitor, not the fact that she met him back when he was just slowly taking steps of his own goals but rather, she’s aware about his real nature and power to the point he’d endanger the whole world to its collapse.

2. Ashera Tepes

While it’s true that Ashera was fearful of him but grateful due to him giving him the freedom to save his sister, after he became a demon, he lost his memories about everything, and when the battle between him and the First came and Yu headed off to his rescue, there was rather something interesting that he mentioned:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 74

Ashera states he has the power to mesmerize others along the level of danger he gives; this only gives an idea of what Shikama has always been, a real monster, but then, chapter 98 and 99 come into scene since it’s pretty much how the Black Demons gather and follow up the First’s original plan, but why?

This is due to the fact that the First might have brainwash them or rather mesmerize them to the point they’re obeying him without doubting his words; they’re still believing the stories about a greater future along his child

3. Rigr Stafford

As for Rigr, there really isn’t much to say since he’s pretty much opposed to the ideals of the FIrst; he’s even aware about something:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 84

The First Progenitor never awoke completely, as time passed when he was possessing Shinoa, his awakening became louder to the point all the Progenitors of the World felt his presence, but for Rigr, that was the ideal spot on which he could restrain him, keep him at bay and capture him for whoever knows what purposes.

Therefore, what could it be said about Shikama’s intentions?

His intentions aren’t focused on merely making the world better towards what he views “better” but rather, everything he’s doing, the fact he developed artifitial life, the fact he created artifitial seraphs or rather he was capable of developing the technique for that only implies a rebellion; a massive rebellion but for that, he needs more strength than what he currently has; but if that were the case, then what’d happen with the corpse, what is the corpse to him?

There’s a possibility said corpse wasn’t actually his son but rather his former body; but how can I state such thing when his powers are towards what his former body looked like?

Shikama Doji is well known for being a liar, he might promise everything, but it must be within his interests that the other party must accept, which is a deal; Shikama Doji once stated that thanks to the sins of x beings, they converted him into an inmortal that would wander around forever, this alone reflects that his current appearance might have not been the same, but rather, the one that was the corpse

And this lead us to the biggest question, what was his punishment besides wandering forever on Earth?

Correct. What he was or rather, the almighty power he once had was sparced, removed or taken from him. He lost all what he once had except his wings; all the divinity he once had was removed from him entirely which ended up giving him a body that would suffer the strains of the sun.

The fact he started seeking boys with traits was just the beginning but the real purpose for this wasn’t something vague or simple, but rather, he aimed to finally recover what he lost via them, he aimed to find a human that could harbor both traits in a natural way which is why this leads us to the present, this would explain why he’d need Mika’s soul since his body or rather his physical is long gone but his soul, his soul keeps all the information he once had, all what he was once...only to fill in the void he once lost.

NOTE: I must say this is a theory mostly based on doubts that linger within my head, of course, I hope you get to enjoy the theory, by this it doesn’t mean it’ll happen but it’s a possibility nevertheless.

What do you think?

Let me know!

gif belongs to clair-audients

[notaheronoravillain]

Headcanon for Manwë and his happiness?

-@outofangband

Okay, I will be specific about this topic but here is the summary and conclusion : Basically the Solace and no conflict must be ensured for Manwe to be happy and furthermore, his reputation should be good. If those things are ensured, he is A+okay, cal, reserved and happy in my HC. The detailed version is under there and I devided this since it is very long.

**When you read this, please consider that I am a ‘true neutral’ alignment by some faith of mine and I really try my best not to act upon my emotions in real life but I think I already failed at that when I was writing this. But well I really want you to know that I don’t hate Manwe at all since he is just a character and can’t do no harm to me at all.**

(CW:This thing contains my own lifelong experiences and trauma as an INT- person, when you read ‘the comparison between Manwe and Melkor’, there it is. Please pass it if you are triggered but I can’t explain this properly in short message but : they just tell INT- people to shut up and care for their feelings but they don’t do the same for them. Just demanding them to do so but not giving them in return.) < - Also with a biased view on MBTI stereotypes.

First, I want you to know of my HC for Manwe’s personality to talk about this. Personality takes a big part of the definition of one’s ‘happiness’, so I really needed to tell you this.

I really think Manwe is a stereo typical INFJ so that means he has a big tendency to seek solace and peace. Those people tend to be reaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllly sensitive around there environment surrounding them and I can really tell this since one of my closest friend is an INFJ himself. So, basically he needs solace and peace to be reseved self. Since introverts are said to be ‘tend not to express their thoughts or feelings outwardly’ and most INFJ people tend to wear mask very very skillfully not much people will notice if he is shaken or not, but he himself knows that so he will try hard not to lose himself so he will try hard to keep calm, which can mean, he will ‘moderate’ inhabitants of Valinor.

INFJ traits to wear mast masterfully makes him look like an innocent, calm, kind and fair ruler but in fact, those things are mask after all. Mask can resemble one’s true self for some parts and that can be intended but anyways, I don’t think he is the ‘good’ person to be a king because we all know what he did to Feanor. Even if he couldn’t get an idea to solve the problem, it was his responsibility to make things right not just oversee that and cry over Feanor threatening Fingolfin . < Yes, that is the moment what I thought  Manwe tried really hard to gain his good image over all people and he was afraid of his mask being slipped off. After the first kinslaying, Namo cursed the Noldor who had fled to Endor and I think if Manwe was really the good, kind king as he claimed to be, the curse may have been subtler than it should be.

So, secondly, this is why I think he grew up to be like this in my HC : Since the beginning of the time, his older brother, Melkor made a mass every single time he was with his kin and Manwe, the future king needed to clam down those angered by Melkor (Although I don’t think Melkor is evil and he is just a doomed idealist and just an outcast with a big horn effect on his reputation) so he became really sick and tired of his responsibility by the time when Melkor fell down the both of the lamps and Varda, who really does everything to block in Melkor’s way (I love her so much and you know this) keeps on and do Manwe’s work instead of him and that makes her the most revered of the Valar. The mighty Queen, who is able to do everything for her people. Who chose to be the shield against the threat. Yes, Manwe is the King but I think Valinor is a society with constitutional monarchy. The King is the symbol of Eru’s blessing all over Aman, the true ruler is his consort. And I think that can explain why those people in that world calls for Varda more than Manwe. He may be a good advocate for Eru’s will since he is made to be so but the ‘good’ in Tolkien’s world is just an ideal and I think it is not suitable for the politics. (And sadly, politics needs some necessary evil and I think Varda was really good at sugar-coating that with the Dogma. Which Melkor failed miserably due to his Horn effect of his reputation) By this, he can still take his mantle, and do nothing to trouble himself and his name, the blessed and perfect. If someone does nothing, nothing changes and it is peaceful. They can manage to keep their own good reputation as it always was. So I think that was why Manwe tended not to move by himself if compared to Varda and Melkor. His older brother needed move on just to be a king of his own right so he had to fight the world so he will have a big notoriety over his name and since that one is his bro and they resemble each other in their essence it will be much wiser to be like this. If he makes a move and fails to get a nice result, it will ruin his name because of this and this proved to be somewhat right by the Silmarilli-incident.

For more specific about the comparison between the brothers, I think Melkor, who is an INTP in my HC has realllllly bad social interaction with others since they don't mind what other's feel about their words and tend to speak the 'facts' (*but really, feelings never change all those facts I'm not sorry about this as an INTP_INTJ person and those angered ones never care about the feelings of people who told them the facts which annoys me to hell) And as many younger siblings watch them grow as an outcast because of this, the younger ones tend to have a really good social image. They never do that and 'care' for other's feelings so they all called as the 'good' ones. Some may say that can be a part of the leadership but to be a leader it needs much more than that and also, if someone is a thinker they really tend to think over other’s mechanism over feelings (and if they don’t they are not going to survive at the cold, hard reality. I ensure you this since I am that person.) they know that things by head even if they don’t really understand ‘why the hell are those people are angry over my actions’ but ‘to keep myself in better state, I will just shut up and pretend to understand you.’ (but seriously, those angry reactions makes them confused but no one ever cares for them and just tell they are bad and respect others feeling but they NEVER respect them after all and also their actions are likely to merely hurt just temporary ‘feelings’ not cause some big catastrophe over others’ life but yes the others tend to give them a big PTSD because of this and blame them not to respect them.) <That means, yes Melkor may learn the feelings to survive and if you really need to be a ruler you need to be a good strategist youself even if you have some other ones. So I think Melkor was a more of a suitable king who makes a much better politician and in my HC Varda is the best of these things. (+Also I always thing if Melkor was not brainy one himself, he wouldn’t even manage to survive. He really need to be cunning as hell and is really likely to be a good intellect. Otherwise, he won’t be able to manage all those things even if he have other people -including Mairon and Langon- helping him< For Manwe, he has more supporters than his bro and he has Varda, Yavanna and Aule on his side.) <<He really need to be cunning as hell and is really a good intellect in canon.These thing can be summarized like this : if you have a older sibling who is a thinker and an outcast you learn to have a good social image by not replicate the other one and that maybe considered as a part of the leadership but the leadership is not only defined by that and you need to think very hard to be a good king. (Yes I know that tendency to use feelings over the thinking is never about the intelligence but you will need more of a thinking ability to rule over since the politics are not the game of the good wills but more like the game of the desire and power. Basically the SILM is written by the elves and if there are people, there is politics without doubt. Also religion is likely to linked to the kingship in the old days so those to can’t be separated from each other.)

+I think Manwe somewhat resembles Enlil from Sumerian mythology and that means, Melkor really reminds me of Enki (not as pervy as Enki in my HC but still) and if you know the story of the mythology, you will understand why I told so. Stern rulers really needs lots of unfaltering devotion from his people and that really need a nice image and grand authority over them. Manwe is undoubtedly the sacred and his authority is ensured by Eru himself so it is likely to be easy to maintain if there are just Ainur in Aman, but with elves that was not easy at all. I think Manwe never had expected the challenge after he got his brother under himself and he must be frightened to face the situations so he really wanted to avoid it. I think the biggest reason why Feanor and the Noldor left Aman was this. If he is the King, no matter how he is shocked and can’t think how to make things alright he NEED to be calm and strong as the ruler. There is no consideration for this because that is how the responsibility of the kings work. Noldor can be frustrated of his reaction and they may think he can’t save them from Melkor and the threat of darkness. So some of them chose to find freedom and journeyed through the grinding ice : No one can protect them in Aman and that is the same in Endor, but at least there is a freedom in Endor not like in Aman.

Yes, in conclusion, Manwe will be Happy after all these conflicts are over since there is nothing wrong in Aman but I think that is too fragile to maintain. 

[tev-the-random]

A Miraculous Sorting

(I’m writing this under the Christmas tree’s lights, because they take a lot less power than my room’s actual lights, and if I’m going to throw an all-nighter today, I want the electricity bill to be as cheap as possible.)

 You know something I really love? Pulling a Sorting Hat at random times. You’ll see me making a sandwich and rambling to myself as to why Rivaille Ackerman is a Hufflepuff. You’ll see me doing the dishes and quietly wondering why Mabel Pines is a Gryffindor. You’ll see me taking a shower and just arguing with myself about whether Ciel Phantomhive is a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin.

 The fact is: I love Harry Potter with all my soul and I’ll take any opportunity I get to sort random characters into Hogwarts Houses.

 So I thought to myself: hey, why not make a post about it? Mixing my most recent Thing-I-Won’t-Shut-Up-About-For-a-Few-Monthstm (Miraculous Ladybug) and my unexplainable need to analyse characters and put them in Hogwarts? Sounds cool to me. And that’s why you’re reading this. Also, I’m bored.

 Anyway, let’s get to it!

 Warning: be aware of Spoilers! If you haven’t finished Season 3, I’m afraid you’ll find a buzzling nest of spoilers here, so do be careful!

 Warning 2: Sorting is a very sensitive thing and can be interpreted in many ways. This is how I interpret it. Feel free to disagree, I’d love to discuss different opinions!

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug – Ravenclaw

 This was an easy one. Despite her clumsiness and social awkwardness – which make her look a lot more air-headed than she actually is –, Marinette is a perfect match for Ravenclaw!

 First of all, we’ve been signed over and over again in the show to how she’s quick-witted, resourceful and strategic, and has got incredible problem-solving skills – even if she’s terrible at managing her time. Practically every episode shows us how quick she is to come up with plans to defeat the villains and how she always makes most of what she has – the Lucky Charm may be the most ridiculous object in the world, she’ll always manage to make a use of it.

 Not only as Ladybug, but also in her normal daily life, Marinette seems to be able to strategize and negotiate very well. Take as a few examples: how she manages to hide with Adrien using various strategies (Gorizilla); how she talks to Roland and convinces him to come visit Tom in his birthday (Bakerix); how she hides and runs away with Kagami and Adrien using various diversions (Heart Hunter/Loveater); how she pulls her – in my opinion – most brilliant and convoluted plan to retrieve Tikki and Plagg and keep her identity hidden (Kwami Buster). I mean, we get distracted by her silly shenanigans every now and again, but this girl has some pretty smart moves!

 She also operates the team work most of the time, directing when and where to use her fellow heroes’ powers. Not to mention she’s the one to choose who gets to have which miraculous, and she mostly seems to get it right – in this house, we do not talk about the stupidity that went down with Aspik, thank you very much.

 Furthermore, Marinette is just plain intelligent. She jammed the Wi-Fi signal using a microwave in Lady WiFi; she engineered her own diary-protection device in Darkblade; she made a home-made projector in The Mime; she neutralizes evil perfume with a chemical explosion in Princess Fragrance; she makes a freaking propeller in Glaciator. She was also mentioned in Ladybug (this name doesn’t get confusing at all) to always get good grades.

 As the series goes, Ladybug gets to become a much wiser person. She seems to learn from most of the problems the akumatized victims go through, as well as from her own mistakes – let aside all the Adrien stuff. Yeah.

 Last but not least, Marinette is exceptionally creative. I don’t think I need to exemplify this, do I? I mean… If you haven’t noticed how artistically inclined she is and how she is constantly praised for her creativity as a designer and as a superhero – again, think of the Lucky Charms –, I doubt we’re watching the same show.

 Not necessarily a Ravenclaw trait, but I’ll add it as a bonus: Marinette handles so many responsibilities at the same time, what a multitasker! She is an independent fashion designer, she does small fashion services – as seen in The Mime, for example –, she is a designer for both Kitty Section and (apparently) Jagged Stone, she babysits Manon and Chris, she helps her parents at the bakery, she studies – again, it’s said that she has good grades, so even if she spends a lot of time saving Paris, she also doesn’t lay off at school –, she makes time to keep her friendships together and she has all her responsibilities as Ladybug, and now as a Guardian. This is all some new level of bullshit a 15 year old human being shouldn’t have to deal with. I’m seriously amazed it took her three full seasons to have a breakdown.

Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir – Hufflepuff

 Ok, this was a bit more difficult. I was seriously torn between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, but, after some deep thinking, I believe Hufflepuff is where Adrien belongs!

 Firstly, we’ve seen numerous times how inclusive Adrien is. He was, since day one, willing to give everybody a chance at friendship. This Nino boy I literally just met? My best friend. This Ladybug girl who fell from the sky out of nowhere? I’ll trust her with my life. This girl who hates me because of Chloé? I’ll give her my umbrella and she’s just a friend – Goddamnit Adrien. This Kagami girl I just fenced with and who almost killed me? Friend material right there.

 What makes Adrien’s inclusiveness most clear to me, however, is Lila. Despite everything she does, despite all her constant lying, despite her getting people he loves in trouble, he’s still willing to be her friend. We see in episodes like Chameleon, Oni-chan and Ladybug that he’s always willing to give Lila a second chance, to help her out when she needs it, to extend her the hand of friendship and to let her learn with it, because even if he knows she is a jerk, he still wants include her. Is that a bit of a stupid move at this point? Yes, it is. But we appreciate your try, Adrien.

 Another Hufflepuff trait that this boy has is patience. I mean, he lives with Gabriel Agreste, the cold critical father who shows affection – or any presence, really – only once every few months; he lives with Plagg, the demanding, pestering kwami who’s determined to not give two craps about doing his job; he’s childhood friends with Chloé “the arrogant and annoying and other things I can’t say out loud” Bourgeois; he’s trying to keep good terms with Felix, who’s competing for “most despicable brat of the year”; and he’s “friends” with Lila. All of this can only be handled by an enormously patient person.

 Despite that, Adrien is still somewhat just and fair. This can be seen in Despair Bear, as he says he’ll stop being friends with Chloé if she doesn’t start acting nicer. He also claims he won’t be friends with Lila anymore if she doesn’t get Marinette out of the trouble she caused. It’s also important to note episodes like Riposte, where Adrien’s determined to get a rematch with Kagami due to his believe that her loss was not fair.

 The thing that defines Adrien the most and that made me decide for Hufflepuff in the end, however, is his loyalty. Despite everything to ever come his way, he’s extremely loyal.

 Firstly, he’s loyal to Chloé, his childhood friend and, for the longest time, his only friend. We can see in the second part of the Origins episode that he won’t tell on Chloé’s behaviour because he “can’t throw her under the bus”. He instantly goes back to being her friend after the events of Despair Bear and seems to be the only one to get sad for her almost leaving Paris in Malediktator.

 The person Chat’s the most loyal to is undoubtedly Ladybug. We can see it in multiple instances, as he sacrifices himself in order to protect her in several episodes, stays by her side no matter what and, despite his own desire to know who Ladybug is, doesn’t actually actively try to find her identity (Chat Blanc aside) because that’s what she decided. Even if Chat Noir is constantly portrayed as her mere sidekick and gets the least attention of the duo, he doesn’t show jealousy. He trusts her.

 I’ll refrain from making the “Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders” joke.

Alya Césaire/Rena Rouge – Gryffindor

 Oh dear… I feel like this one almost reached a Hatstall! It was so hard! Her extreme curiosity and fascination with the world around her made me think of her as a Ravenclaw, while her ambition to get the best information for her blog and connection to the Fox Miraculous – the fox being an animal strongly connected to cunningness – seriously made me think about putting her in Slytherin. But again, after deep thinking, I do think Alya fits incredibly well in Gryffindor!

 Let’s start with the fact that Alya is an icon of bravery. She is daring and determined to the point where she is reckless. She is always ready to jump right into action, no matter how dangerous the situation is. If she can either get interesting footage and information or be of any help at all, she will be there, often putting herself in danger in the process. She rarely ever gets intimidated, nonetheless, showing that she has very strong nerve. This can be seen throughout various episodes, ever since Stoneheart and all the way to Feast!

 It’s safe to say that Alya has also got a sense of nobility, in a certain way. As seen in episodes like Stormy Weather, Sapotis, and Timetagger, this girl’s got a way with kids and is always willing to protect them. Rena Rouge also shows willingness to help save Paris no matter what, as seen in Sapotis and Syren, for example.

 I don’t know if this can be considered nobility as well, but I’ll just leave it here that Alya “Wingwoman” Césaire is a very determined best friend and will do about anything to set Marinette with the boy she loves. I can’t even exemplify this, because this happens way too clearly in almost every episode, folks.

 Well… Say what, I’m still confused about this. Alya confuses me. Does anyone have any comment to help me out with this one, please?

Nino Lahiffe/Carapace – Hufflepuff

 Ok, I won’t lie: part of this decision is because Nino’s just got too much of that bro vibe for me to imagine him anywhere else. But hear me up, I’ll tell you why he is an amazing Hufflepuff!

 First of all, Nino’s absolutely loyal. He’s loyal to Alya; always willing to protect her with his life – that’s how he got his miraculous, after all! –, but they still act as very good partners, friends and couple, and he recognizes she is strong on her own, too. He’s ready to help her out with her “wingmanning” – I’ll exemplify with Puppeteer 2.0 – and with her Ladybug investigations – as seen in Lady WiFi. They even parkour together in Miraculer! (Sorry, I just need more DJ-WiFi in my life)

 He’s also loyal to Adrien. We’ve seen it in several episodes: how he wants to make his friend happy and let him be free from his very strict household – good examples would be The Bubbler and Party Crasher –, showing that he is fair to his friend. It’s also important to mention episodes like Simon Says where, after the akuma attack happens, Nino’s first instinct is be to make sure Adrien is alright.

 Nino’s also shown himself to be quite loyal to Ladybug, as he never faltered to follow her instructions, even after he gets the Turtle Miraculous.

 His friendship with Adrien and Alya overall shows he’s also very inclusive. I mean, Adrien is friends with Chloé, the most hated girl of all school, but Nino just straight up offers to be his new best friend anyway. And although Alya keeps dragging him around to her messes, as soon as they start to talk and notice they have a lot in common, he falls in love with her (Animan).

 Nino is a hard worker as well. He is seen DJ-ing almost every party that showed up so far, and he showed himself as extremely dedicated to his movie project in Horrificator.

 As a generally laid back guy, Nino can be seen as someone very patient. It is quite difficult to tick him off, therefore it’s rare to see him mad or lashing out at someone. One might say he’s too relaxed at times…

Kagami Tsurugi/Ryuko – Slytherin

 Ok, first of all: I love Kagami. And I love Slytherin. So if anyone wants to shit on any of them, you’ll have to go through me first! Wands ready, buddy, I’m a duellist and I’m ready to fight!

 Kagami was another difficult one, but mostly because we rarely get to see anything from her personality, given how stoic and reserved she is at the beginning – besides, she’s a newer side character, so obviously she didn’t get to have that much screen time yet. But with what little we’re given, I’ve managed to figure she’d do nicely in Slytherin!

 Let’s start pointing out how ambitious Kagami is: during her first appearance in Riposte, she is determined to get to enter the most prestigious fencing school in Paris, and doesn’t even falter upon the challenge of defeating their most talented student; while episodes like Oni-chan show that she’s ambitious to get Adrien (and finish Lila, but that’s all of us). Her acts as Ryuko also goes to show this, as she’s clearly not willing to back down and is always willing to fight and win.

 However, she is not unfair, as seen again in Riposte, as she accepts her loss to Adrien was fair – it wasn’t, really –, even if it meant not getting what she wanted.

 Although Kagami doesn’t seem to be entirely selfish, she’s one to look after herself (the two are easily mistaken, hence this is seen as a Slytherin “bad trait”). We see it in Desperada, when she ditches fencing class to be able go out with Adrien; in Ikari Gozen, when she disobeys her mother in order to finally make friends; in Loveater, when she comments she doesn’t want to hurt Marinette, but would not give up on Adrien either.

 Ikari Gozen also shows that Kagami is level-headed, a natural leader, and rather cunning, given not only her strategies to deceive her mother in order to play the friendship game, but also her behaviour during the game and as Ryuko. This episode, along with Riposte and Frozer, for example, demonstrates that she strives to be the best at what she does.

 We see it in Animaetro how she doesn’t let herself be intimidated.

Kagami is decided, as seen in Frozer, Desperada and Loveater. She doesn’t hesitate.

Luka Couffaine/Viperion – Hufflepuff

 Oh, you thought I was going to finish this without sorting my snake boy?

 Easy one. Very easy. Once you put aside the thought of Snake = Slytherin and Blue = Ravenclaw, it gets quite visible how Luka is the perfect Hufflepuff!

 First of: he’s an extremely just person. One of the main themes of the episode Silencer is how he demands justice for his band and friends.

 Luka has also shown himself to be immeasurably selfless. This is seen in basically all of the episodes he has an appearance on, but I’ll name Captain Hardrock (he gives his  guitar pick to Marinette upon seeing that she likes it + stays behind to help her escape The Liberty), Desperada (he puts himself in harm’s way to help Ladybug and Adrien escape + he lets Adrien borrow his guitar without a flinch), Felix (literally everything he says in this episode), Miracle Queen (he sacrifices himself to the evil wasps) and Loveater (the scene where he drops his bicycle and his beloved guitar to comfort Marinette is some symbolic selfless beautiful shit and I’m about to cry).

 In the same theme, he is notably kind. He’s never a hostile person – safe for Silencer, but that was a special occasion – and always seems to greet everyone with a smile and – when he finds them – kind words. I’ll exemplify using Adrien: despite knowing pretty well that Marinette is in love with the model boy, Luka was never once bitter towards him, treats him like any other friend (watch Desperada, Frozer and even Chat Blanc. Watch closely) and even states that he’ll be happy for them if they end up together (Felix).

 I’ll also mention how supportive of a brother he is (Reflekdoll is our main example, though I need more Couffaine Siblings’ interaction, please) and how he gives Marinette a bicycle ride to the Grand Paris Hotel (Loveater) to help her; he didn’t need to do that at all.

 We can see that what he wants the most is for Marinette to be happy, even if it’s not with him. He’s there to support the people he loves no matter what and respects their wants and needs. Take some notes, Chat Noir (ok, kidding. I love you, Chat. But do take notes).

 Luka is the definition of patience. I mean… Let’s talk about Desperada, where, right after he confessed his heart to Marinette, she just ignores him and straight out treats him like trash to favour Adrien (I’m not blaming Mari, tho; I know she’s a confused little bean and didn’t mean any harm). What does he do? He shrugs it off with a smile and keeps his cool unfaltering. Furthermore, he never seems to expect anything from Marinette after that declaration.

 Plus, when he’s chosen to receive the Snake Miraculous, one of the things he does best is to watch patiently for the opponent’s moves to know the best strategy to take.

 Plus plus, he lives in a houseboat with Juleka, the Anxious Horror Loving Sister, and Anarka, the Chaotic Havoc Mum. I love the Couffaines, but living in The Liberty must be a nightmare sometimes.

 Another point to take in consideration would be how Luka is a hard-worker. Despite him being pretty chill and laid-back, we often see Luka composing and/or practicing for Kitty Section. Not only that, but we also see in Loveater he has a job as a delivery boy through Paris. On a bicycle.

 To wrap this up, I’ll say that Luka is pretty empathic. Just take his whole “reading people and translating them/their feelings into a song” thing we see in Captain Hardrock, Frozer and Loveater. I rest my case.

 *

 Phew, we’re done!

You headcanon these in different houses? I’d love to discuss it!

[indulgentia]

█   ＢＡＳＩＣ   ＩＮＦＯ :

Nᴀᴍᴇ:   Jin Ling  ( 金凌 )  --  Jin RuLan  ( 金如兰 )

Wᴇᴀᴩᴏɴ:  Suihua  ( 岁华 )  --  sword. It formerly belonged to his father, Jin Zixuan, and was the only item left to him by his parents. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Fairy  ( 仙子 - Xiānzǐ ) spiritual dog that tracks down and attacks evil spirits.

Aɢᴇ:  15 years old

Bɪʀᴛʜ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ:  November 21  ( Sagittarius )

Bɪʀᴛʜᴩʟᴀᴄᴇ:  Linyi, Shandong province, China

Sᴩᴇᴄɪᴇꜱ:  Human  /  Magic user

Gᴇɴᴅᴇʀ:  Cisgender Male

Oʀɪᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:  Demisexual  /  Demiromantic

Oᴄᴄᴜᴩᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:   Immortal cultivator  ( Junior rank )  /  Exorcist

Aʟʟᴇɢɪᴀɴᴄᴇ:  Lanling Jin Sect  ( Sect Leader )

Aʟɪɢɴᴍᴇɴᴛ:  Neutral Good

MBTI ᴛyᴩᴇ:  ESTP  ( Entrepreneur ) ⠀ ⠀

█   ＰＨＹＳＩＣＡＬ   ＴＲＡＩＴＳ :

Eyᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀ:  Obsidian with hints of gold

Hᴀɪʀ ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀ:  Dark brown

Hᴇɪɢʜᴛ:  172 cm  (5′8′′)

Bᴏᴅy ʙᴜɪ��ᴅ:  Athletic skinny

Nᴏᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ᴩʜyꜱɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛꜱ:  His features are described as delicate yet sharp.  He wears the peony-adorned robes of the Lanling Jin Sect, and a vermilion mark between his brows. ⠀

█   ＡＢＩＬＩＴＩＥＳ :

Uꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ:  He can perform several different types of spells with expertise and considerable high speed. He may also need books, notes and/or instruments to use more advanced sorcery, such as a Clarity Bell and Deity-Binding Nets.

Sᴡᴏʀᴅꜱᴍᴀɴꜱʜɪᴩ:  Jin Ling was skilled with his sword, teaching Lan Sizhui the techniques of the Lanling Jin Sect when they night-hunted together.

Aʀᴄʜᴇʀy:  Jin Ling used a bow and arrow during his night-hunt on Dafan Mountain.

Bᴀꜱɪᴄ ᴄᴏᴍʙᴀᴛ ꜱᴋɪʟʟꜱ:  Although he usually relies on his magical powers and his weapons ( including Fairy ) to get his work done, he is considerably skilled the hand-to-hand combat, mostly a result of the training as future sect leader. ⠀

█   ＢＲＩＥＦ   ＢＩＯ :

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Jin Ling was born to Jiang Yanli and Jin ZiXuan, the only legitimate son of the leader of the Lanling Jin Sect, Jin GuangShan and the nephew of both Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng. He divided his childhood between the Lanling Jin Sect and the Yunmeng Jiang Sect. His maternal uncle Jiang Cheng was harsh and frequently scolded his nephew for his temper, while his paternal uncle Jin Guangyao took a gentler approach.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Jin Ling was bullied for his status as an orphan. One day, he threw a tantrum so fierce that Jin Guangyao pretended to be scared and left, presumably so that he would calm down on his own. The next day, Jin Ling heard the bark of a dog outside his door. He opened the door to find Jin Guangyao kneeling with a puppy in his arms, a spiritual dog who would grow up to be very protective of Jin Ling. Jin Ling was a prideful and short-tempered junior, to the extent that his uncle Jiang Cheng claimed he had the temper of a "young mistress." As a result, he often had difficulty getting along with his peers. Wei Wuxian described him as having learned "all of his uncle and father’s faults, but none of his mother’s strengths." 

⠀⠀⠀⠀ However, beneath his haughty and angry demeanor, Jin Ling was acutely sensitive to the fact that he was an orphan. He loathed Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning for killing his father, yet slowly began to warm to Wei Wuxian after his aid in the Stone Castles, Yi City, and the Second Siege of the Burial Mounds, to the extent that he sought Wei Wuxian out after he left Lotus Pier, demonstrating his large capacity for forgiveness, one of the traits he did manage to inherit from his mother. Furthermore, After Wen Ning saved his life along with Jiang Cheng's, Jin Ling released his long-lasting resentment, reflecting that he did not know who to hate anymore. He likewise refused to believe that Jin Guangyao's kindness and good intentions were all a lie. 

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Jin Ling also had a strong desire to prove himself to his Uncle Jiang Cheng's strict demands that he capture a monster, to the extent that he recklessly endangered his life multiple times.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Like his uncle Jin Guangyao, Jin Ling was also quite clever and adept at noticing people's thoughts and desires. He was able to manipulate Jiang Cheng with rumors of Wen Ning to to free Wei Wuxian, as he presumed him to be his uncle Mo Xuanyu, and at the Guanyin Temple, correctly perceived that Jiang Cheng had more to confess to Wei Wuxian.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ After inheriting the position of sect leader, Jin Ling displayed a great deal of maturity and self-sacrifice. He was cautious not to involve Jiang Cheng in many disputes, lest he be considered a target by conniving cultivators. He insisted on caring for the common people and continued his friendships with the other juniors, including Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and Ouyang Zizhen.

[phoebehalliwell]

don't you think that the leads lost their charm in later seasons? prue was actually very annoying bc of her 'imma superwitch i'll save everyone yadayadayada'. piper's development was great, but costume department made her look boring bc of wearing almost the same clothes. phoebe.. no offence, but no, although she's my fave. paige was a bit better, but i needed more facts. and leo, my poor guy, you were promising. what's your opinion? thank you 😘

i know the popular belief in the show was “they left s3 open ended so they could figure out whether or not they were firing shannen or alyssa” but let’s be real,,, s3 had a strong focus on phoebe, especially in regards to her love interest, and that was strongly implied in the s3 finale to continue to be an ongoing thing, whereas prue wouldn’t get a li to stick around from more than like two episode. i strongly believe that the writers knew they were killing off prue and because of this they put her character on the back burner, giving piper an offensive power and phoebe a complex li, and only really bringing prue to the forefront for “death takes a halliwell”. 

i really like piper’s development, i know some people argue that she sorta does s4 than stops but i think her growing as a sister and a mother wer both very strong plotlines (that being said almost every single “i want a life without magic” kick sucked but hey you can’t win em all). but in this you’ve actually hit on one of my key beefs with the show which is MAKE PIPER HOT. they were all running around like phoebe’s so sexy paige is so sexy, piper’s a mom like?????? they consistently played piper as the dowdy unimpressive one like pardon?? have you seen hmc????? now, my lil conspiracy theory was this was actually strongly driven by the fact that piper was first a) a married woman and b) a mother, and because of that, she shouldn’t be stuntin on em hoes, but this isn’t the 1950s yknow like if prue could range from neutral tones and practical cardigans to classic 90s crop tops there is simply no reason piper couldn’t as well.

phoebe............ oh phoebe what did they do to you? all i have to say is once brad kern took over phoebe tanked. her relationship with cole being her driving factor for like two seasons, then the desperate need for a child for the next two, it was like some horrible sexist caricature of what phoebe once was. i really do think alyssa tried to salvage phoebe and really keep her spirit alive when the writed simply proceeded to yeet her from one love interest to another, but the actresses themselves complained that they were all very far removed from the writing + creative processes as a whole, even as producers (it bc brad kern hates women!!)

paige’s development on the show was... fine, i guess, but its nothing compared to what they didn’t show us. punk rock alcoholic paige who witnesses her parents death, lands herself in uc berkely, cleans up her act, become a successful if not scatterbrained social worker And Then finds a long lost family?? yeah we barely got any of that. we got some growth in like,, responsiblity + opening up to family, but the fact that her pendulum tended to swing so violently from full-time witch to grand purpose outside of magic just felt like they never really had a true vision of who paige was at her core.

and then, of course, leo. ...... he was uhh.. y’know like what’s leo’s signature personality trait? what’s at his core? kind? because they definitely lost sight of that in the later seasons. loves piper? in almost every alternate timeline they were like divorce (which is another thing i have beef with). the thing with leo is he was either a deus ex machina or filler. we never truly got to see him shine out on his own as all of his plotlines were almost always tied to his relationship with piper. furthermore, i think he had a big case personality by plot, in which he would be come unnecessarily rude and/or unhinged in the later seasons, and i thought the original vision of a loving + supportive and genuinely kind man at his core was so severely betrayed by a certain showrunner who only knew how to move his plots forward through relationship drama.....................

[dailycharacteroption]

Conversion Corner: Mass Effect Races part 1

Asari and Volus

 By popular request, we’re going to tackle the major races of the Mass Effect series today. Despite controversy about the technical and narrative decisions about the series, it remains an iconic part of science fiction RPG history, so we’ll take a look at homebrewing the races from the game into the setting.

Note that while ME does have it’s own form of “magic” in the form of biotics, it is entirely science and tech-based in nature, revolving around a living body’s ability to adapt to the presence of “Element Zero” in their body’s system, allowing them to use their nervous systems to, with the help of amplifiers, generate the titular “mass effect” that forms the basis of many technologies in the universe, resulting in telekinesis, energy blasts, and so on.

I could go on about how tired the trope of one “perfect discovery” making everything in a sci-fi setting possible is, but instead I’ll simply just substitute actual magic in these write-ups, since its analogous enough.

 Asari

One of the founding members of the Citadel council, the Asari race is known for its elegance, diplomatic wisdom, and aptitude for mystic power.

Literally created to fulfil the “beautiful space woman” trope, the asari are acutally a monogendered race that reproduce by parthenogenesis. They are, however, capable of engaging in intimate encounters, but their true method of reproduction involves synchronizing their nervous system with that of another, even other species. In this way, one asari can use another sapient being as a “father template”, randomizing the genes of one set of their genetic material before using it to fertilize the other.

Beyond this, asari don’t have the same concept of gender roles and identity as other races, though they do tend to personally favor feminine, masculine, or gender-neutral pronouns on an individual basis. As an alternative, they tend to favor pronouns based on status, occupation, or their current life cycle status (being maiden, matron, and matriarch).

Asari physiology gives them a humanoid appearance that is mostly human-analogous, save for their blue-heavy skin tones which range from purple to the odd teal, and their somewhat flexible cartilage ridges and rests on their scalp. As mentioned previously, they are capable of synchronizing their nervous system with others, and while this is used as a means of reproduction, it can also be used to share information and memories between participants, making for clear communication across language barriers or helping to process complex information, though the process can be quite intense. Additionally, their eyes are adapted to see into the low end of the ultraviolet spectrum.

Asari society takes a very long view thanks to their long lifespans, and are content to let minor setbacks happen knowing that they can still influence things in the long run. Typically, their decisions are made with general consensus, with the words of older and wiser members of the species having the greatest weight, and tend to value a stance of centrism, for better or worse.

They are also very aware that many species see attractive aspects in them, and utilize this. However, it would be foolish to impose ideas of meekness onto the asari, as even an exotic dancer is a force to be reckoned with, their dances often being a martial art in disguise, akin to human capoeira.

Interestingly, asari consider it a minor social taboo for asari to use each other as the “father” in reproduction, both due to it being considered wasteful to not add something new into the species culturally, but also due to a rare genetic defect present only in a fraction of asari purebloods causing all telepathic joining with them to be lethal to their partners, overwhelming their minds and causing blood vessels to burst in the brain. Given how addictive and even rejuvenating this seems to be to the individual with this defect, we can probably infer that prior to the development of space travel, such individuals were mortal analogues to succubi, literal sexual predators that kill their mates. (The fact that the creators of the franchise named the defect: Ardat-Yakshi, after two figures in human mythology associated with such things really hits the nail on the head)

Regardless of whether they are warriors or scholars, or both considering their long lifespans and tendency to become leader figures with age, the asari remain the ever-patient crux of galactic civilization in the franchise’s universe.

 +2 Wis, +2 Cha, -2 Con

Hp 4

Size and Type: Asari are Medium humanoids of the asari subtype

Racial Traits:

Asari Senses: Asari have darkvision 60 ft.

Magical Aptitude: Asari take to magic like a fish to water. As a swift action, an asari can increase their effective caster level by 1 for one turn, bolstering a spell they cast that turn. They can do this a number of times per day equal to their Wisdom bonus.

Melding: As a full-round action, an asari can establish a telepathic link to an adjacent willing creature. This link functions similarly to telepathic bond, but lasts for as long as both participants keep concentrating on the bond and adjacent.

Social Acumen: Asari gain a +2 to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive

 At the opposite end of intimate relations with other races, we have the Volus.

Hailing from a world with a high-pressure atmosphere heavy in ammonia, the volus people find the oxygen and nitrogen-rich worlds populated by many other races to be toxic and dangerously low-pressure. As such, outside of their homeworld and specialized atmosphere chambers, the volus must wear thick atmospheric suits at all times.

Devoted to economic pursuits, volus may seem overly pacifistic to most other races, since they are not especially agile or strong, and don’t share the romantic view of war that other races have. Nevertheless, while they may rely on their alliance with the turians to do most of their fighting, they can still contribute, boasting powerful mages and powerful weapons of war, including powered armor capable of more than making up for their lack of aptitude. Regardless, if they have the options, they’d rather duke it out with foes in the social arena, and conflicts between a volus and anyone else eventually evolve into bargains and deals, at least if the volus has anything to say about it.

Unlike a certain other disappointing reveal in Mass Effect, we have yet to see what the volus look like outside of their protective gear, but we can infer that they are a short and stout race with two eyes. It is difficult to guess their physiology beyond that, as a certain percentage of their suit’s volume must be devoted to maintaining the proper internal atmosphere and pressure, not to mention dealing with food intake and waste processing.

Volus culture revolves primarily around trade and business, but it is not callous in those pursuits. According to their beliefs, one cannot own a person, and they so strongly believe this that while Volus do have two names, they do not have family names, since in their eyes, such things are tantamount to a parent or even ancestors laying claim to their children and decendants. Furthermore, their sacred relic, the Book of Plenix, teaches that in times of war or great strife, charity and the forgiving of debts are the key to survival.

+2 Wis,+2 Cha -4 Dex

Hp 2

Size and Type: Volus are small humanoids of the volus subtype

Racial Traits:

Business Acumen: Volus gain a +2 to Culture, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive when those skills are used as part of trade and business.

Environmental Needs: Volus require an ammonia-heavy atmosphere to survive, and treat standard oxygen-rich atmosphere as highly toxic (DC 20 Fortitude save every round, progresses along Con poison track. Cure 1 save after returning to the proper atmosphere, at which point progression stops, but the progression does not disappear and must be recovered from normally).

Heavy: Volus gain a +2 to KAC against bull rush and reposition attempts

Sluggish: Volus have a land speed of 20 ft

[aqualianbird]

So, I am having a relatively stressful episode at work, I have enough alcohol in my blood to make me feel chatty, and there isn’t nearly as much Saint Seiya talk on my dash as I’d need so here it goes :

Let’s talk about ... well, Seiya

It’s dificult for me to comprehend exactly how many fans of Pegasus Seiya there are around. Often it seems like he is the most hated and the most loved character in the fandom simultaneously. No, seriously, I don’t think even characters that were designed to be hated like Tatsumi or Kasa got as much (and for the latter even Shun said the dude was going way too far)

For my part I plead guilty to the first one; my sympathy for the Pegasus knight only lasted a dozen of episodes. I often joked to my sister how the reason I never watched the anime a second time (despite a habbit of feeding on re-runs of favourite shows instead of new ones) was entirely because I couldn’t stand the idea of watching so many frames of Seiya again.

Nevertheless, I always made it a point never to completely exclude completely him for any headcanoning or writing I made around the universe, especially if it touched Athena and the 5 main bronzes - few are the sound reasons to exclude him from the universe that was nammed after him.

I never say much or write much about him because, despite my irritation with the character, I never wanted to reduce him to being The Clown, or make him the bottom of all sorts of jokes.I may be wierd but even if he is a fictional character I wasn’t going to treat him unfairly ... In general we could say I could never picture him in a way that would make him more appealing to my eyes, as a writer or a fan.

So here in this saturday midnight let me first speak ill of Seiya, and then speak way less ill of him (and if you survive to the end you will find out it really is related to my work, that’s what got me thinking)

The many facettes of Pegasus Seiya and how they made me grow as a writer

(Since this is getting long I figured it needed a title)

If I want to speak ill of Seiya first it is because I am a big fan of riddles. In general I just like to understand the logical connections between everything (you have no idea how satisfied I was the day I found out the anime colours of the gold saints’ hair were chosen to contrast with the overwhelming yellows of their armours. Really it’s just like watching those videos were everything fits perfectly into everything). And I think I did figure out why the “Seiya hate”.

Furthermore, with the exemple of Seiya I started understanding many advice given to beginers about character-building and protagonists. I also hope this first part will illustrate how I always tried to “see the good” in Seiya.

I always thought he was a admirable character - in theory. I believe this is a shared feeling, nobody would dare say Seiya is a poor character absolutely useless to the dynamics of the series.  

(Ok I’m idealising a little. but the least one could say is that the content he generates is usually quite neutral)

Everything he does is heoric : he never gives up, he leads, he defeats enemies 300x bigger than himself, he helps those in need ... Seiya is really good, almost perfect in everyway except for his mischievious side, and worthy of all the praise he gets within the universe - in theory.

But oh god how annoying he was in practice

I wonder how many people reading this have never rolled their eyes during one of those typical “Seiya comes to save the day” moments.

So why ? Why is he annoying so many people ? Or, at least, why is he not inspiring as much as other characters of this series do ? I think I found the solution to that riddle (and I know it to be true for at least me and my sibilings)

Personally, I can easily name the moments Seiya irritated me the most. Disrigarding this one scene in a filler where Seiya makes a sexsit comment, it was in the scenes where he appeared at the last moment to save the day and everybody was cheerfully calling him name. Or how he was always the only one to be able to defeat the “big bosses”. All these scenes irritated me in how they were written to make him look as the big hero and protagonist of the show.

Which, you know. He actually is.

The story relates his steps - check

Does heroic stuff : self-sacrifice, never gives up even if the situations look desperate - check

Is indispensable to the plot : he defeats the big bosses, so yes - check

So why ?

Tying to put more words on this, the following sentence formed into my mind : “It is faked protagonism”.

With hindsight I am affraid Seiya’s character suffered a lot from the fillers of the anime in the same way Saori’s roles in fillers left the wrong impression of “damselle in distress” and Shun as “the crybaby always needing his brother to save him”. The fillers repeated ad nauseum the same formula : “enemy attacks - the bronzes go to fight them - Seiya gets hit on the head a lot - Let’s make him hit on the head three times more to show it has nothing to do with the last enemy they fought - He still miraculously avoids head trauma and defeats everyone and is the only one getting carried in triumph”. As a result, his heroic trait was completely banalizing and we were left us thinking “Does he ever do anything new ?”

Talking to my sibilings and seeing the trends on Tumblr the past years, I believe this feeling has been refrazed a lot as “We want to see x characters instead of Seiya”.

This is the point in this analysis where the wannabe writer in me starts putting her two cents. How come even minor characters seem to be more appealing than Seiya ?

I always did get what kind of traits Kuru wanted to give him. In theory. But in practice, they never seem to manage getting past the screen. Leaving out the glamour the Gold Saints’ name offer, if we compare Seiya to the other Bronzes, even taking only manga canon events one could say he suddenly appears quite pale as a character.

For instance, in the course of the series, Shyiru begins undergoing major character developpment from day one; he who had great pride looses his battle against Seiya.

In the later arcs, he sacrifices his eyesight to save his friends in this beautiful scene, which ensues in another character developpment moment where he learns to fight blind, goes to the big 12 temples battle blind. He is the first to kill a Gold Saint -actually he is the only one to have killed 2 gold saints in this battle- and we are very often reminded he is sacrificing a happy life with Shunrei everytime he goes on mission to save the world.

In a similar way, it is easy to be reminded how Ikki is battling his past everyday, how Hyoga is struggling to build a future everyday, and we could all appreciate Shun’s amazing strength in for instance the battle against Pisces or the beautiful scene of his sacrifice in Hades

Next to this, Seiya just seems to be “beaten around”, an idiot who tags along without bringing much into the group aprat from yelling “Saorii-saaaaaan” untill the osts dry up causing him to rise up and defeat the big boss on the cue of pegasus fantasy. And yet, he still receives all the glory in the narative and is at the center of attention.

The general impression me and my sibilings got was “He is the protagonist just because the series is named after him.” The naration and the fillers seem to have built a house of cards around his punch, which is definitively what irritated me and my sibilings and I am theoretising most of the fandom as well.

Now in his defence, his comedic trait and good contact with people does not have much room in end-of-the-world battles against gods that only address to humans talking down to them, and as mentioned the fillers did not do him any favours. The plot of his lost sister is quite forgotten after the first arc, and unlike other characters it does not seems like he picks up any other defining traits during the course of the series. (Personally, the ultimate strie that just made me loose all patience is the shipping with Saori that Toei has going on)

Which is where I realised : this is probably what everybody means when talking of “insuficient of character developpment”

We often see the words “character develeppment” in critiques or writing tips. Everybody stresses how important for your story it is. But it is only recently, paired with the exemple of Seiya that I have truly realised what this means.

I read somewhere that “If your protagonist becomes perfect, if he is not longer evolving, then he stops being a protagonist”. I think with Seiya I could sense the results of keeping a protagonist that is not longer evolving in the story.

One could also argue he is not sacrificing as much as the others. Like sure, he is ready to sacrifice his life every time, but it also never seems that his life is in any real danger - he only ever ends up in the hospital after the big guy is defeated. He never seems to suffer any consquences of his injuries during the battles - has the narative ever implied he could not throw his punches as well as usual because of his injuries ? He mostly attacks, falls down, can’t move for a few minutes and then gets up again. It is more a narrative of “If you don’t succeed, try harder and harder untill you do”.

Which helped me put in practice another writing advice : do not let your main characters excape the consequences of their actions.

It does not mean everything has to be realistic (of course they can loose way more blood that humanly possible and still survive because it visually increases the dramatic effect). I come to realise it means that if you give too much free passes, the stakes will not feel as high, and your plots will bear much less tension than they potentially could.

Going back to Seiya as much as his actions are heroic in theory, they do not feel heroic to most people watching it probably because his "never giving up and keep punching” attitude does not have consequences. They have as much effect as him getting out the trash : it sure is unpleasant, it smells baad, the trash starts leaking, it’s disgusting, you hears noises inside the trash disposal and nobody wants to know what would thrive in this smelly and juicy environement, but in the end it will be over in a second. You just throw away the bag, maybe you got a bit of trash juice on your shoes but it will easily be washed away by water.

Taking the same problem from a different angle offers the opportunity to look into giving traits to your character :

We can all agree that “never give up and keep punching” was intended to be Seiya’s main trait of character. It seems, however, it did not result to be as memorable or as inspiring as planned. Which reminded me of this other piece of advice :

“If you give your character a trait you consider his most defining characteristic, but never challenge it at any point, this trait is going to have as much effect as a mole on their cheek” - it is now loud and clear to me.

With the exemple of Seiya, I would add variety in the challenges is important, because repetition decreses tension, and less tention also means less investment in one’s story (or the story involving one particular character).

And if repeated to much, it becomes annoyance towards one’s character.

Calling myself out - Time to work on liking Seiya

Now this has gotten so much longer and personal than I ever expected, but after speaking so bad of Seiya I really do not want to leave out the part where I speak good of him. Especially when it involves my favourite kind of riddles with Saint Seiya characters : fill the gaps.

As mentioned before, it was always quite clear what traits Kurumada wanted to give the Pegasus Saint. Let’s start with the most obvious ones:

Mischievious side, implying as well that :

Has a sense of humour

Quite good with people or at least with kids

Rebel/independent side (flashback of Saori ridding Jabu, the begining of the anime)

Never gives up

Is a good leader / is capable of bringing people toghether / of rallying people to his cause

The last ones on the list are quite easy to forget about him, because of the “lack of challenge” discussed earlier (nobody would have ever forgotten about his leader skills if let’s say he had prevented Hyoga from turing over completely to Poseidon to stay with Isaak). In that spirit, I recently came across an idea that would make those two traits more “challenging” and give a more human dimention to his character.

Now the fact he was since always a bit of a rebel has an influence on his leader capacities, as being an independent mind he stands out and will not depend much external factors to go in a direction. But this alone does not make such an unchallenged leader as Seiya.

Now this is where my current employment helped this reflexion :  I work customer service, more precisely a position involving processing and solving issues.

The very first advice I was given during training was “Always sound confident. Even if you understand jack about what the customer is talking about, just sound confident. Make believe that you know your shit even if you are just about to google a crash course on the subject. Because if they even think for a second that you don’t know they will eat you“.

And let me tell you how accurate this advice is. I became the favourite of this Italian lady who always had problems with her printer because I read to her in a very confident voice an article I was reading on the spot after punching out her question in google.

It is not easy, and it really pumps your adrenaline, but it is true : if you sound confident people are going to follow your lead and believe in what you say. Even if you yourself have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

Now today, I was thinking how this could be the secret behind “The Miracle of Seiya”; maybe this is why Seiya is very good at being a leader, and even more, why he is very good at being a leader in the apocalypse fighter army of Athena.

He reassures everybody and gives them hope by making them believe he has 100% confidence in a given situation and that everything is under control, much like I became a printer and Wifi expert in the eyes of that Italian lady even though I actually dread those motherfuckers.

That would totally explain this bit at the Cancer temple too, this scene we all make a little fun of, where is is all “Don’t say that Shiryu ! We must think that we have still 9 hours to save Saori !” and moments later he seems to be ignoring his own advice saying “that’s not a lot” (Could be also something lost in translation tho)

And with this sort of influence on other people, he finally becomes a crucial character to the story, as he becomes the glue to the team without which it is possible the other bronzes would not have been as solid of a team, maybe even disbanding as the challenges they faced seemed often hopeless.

And with that I think I am ready to write something involving Seiya someday ...

[ambiidexter]

On Peter’s magical abilities

This isn’t really a headcanon, mostly canon facts with a bit of my conclusions, but it’s essential for my portrayal, so I’ll put this one into the headcanon category. Here comes a long-ass essay on Peter Pettigrew’s magical and intellectual abilities, accompanied by every single objection I’ve ever witnessed during the years of being in Harry Potter fandom.

There is a lot of misconceptions about Peter Pettigrew that very few people are willing to dispel, because he’s just such a hated character, right?

The two Big Ones TM are: Peter’s reasons for betrayal (that will be covered in my next “essay”) and Peter’s magical skills. He is widely considered to be one of the weakest wizards in the whole Harry Potter series, if not THE weakest one. I hereby proclaim it bullshit. More under the cut.

1)  First thing’s first, Peter was one of the three youngest Animagi ever. At the age of 15 he pulled off a feat that not many adult wizards were able to do. Along with the registered Animagi and Rita Skeeter, there were 11 known Animagi in the 20th century total.

“But he needed help from James and Sirius, and was the last one to become an Animagus.”

McGonagall needed tutoring from Dumbledore to become an Animagus. Not from 15-year-old students, she got help from the most powerful wizard alive. Anyone here has enough balls to call McGonagall a weak witch? Yeah, didn’t think so.

Next, Peter being the last one. Before you embark on a serious enterprise, you study the materials and plan the steps. It was common knowledge that the process of becoming an Animagus was extremely dangerous. It could result in agony, it could result in irreversible mutilation or even death. If there is one thing that everyone remembers about Peter, it’s how easily scared he was.  Knowing all this, he ought to have lagged and postponed it as much as possible, until enough peer pressure had built up to finally make him go for it. Furthermore, the standard time for performing the tasks necessary for the first transformation is one month. No matter how talented or skilled you are, it’s one month of carrying a mandrake leaf in your mouth and repeating the incantation at every dawn and dusk. As soon as that term comes to an end, you have to wait for the first electric storm. Electric storms aren’t known for being exactly punctual. They depend on a million things. Taking into account that Peter did all that shit not at the same time with James and Sirius, he could’ve waited for his electric storm for ages, after James and Sirius had already completed the ritual.

“But in the flashback he couldn’t list the traits of a werewolf despite having spent a lot of time next to one, and he tried to crib his friends’ test answers. How talentless does one have to be for that?”

To be quite frank, I really hate when Peter gets compared to Neville, but remember Neville? It was very clear that Neville had anxiety. He’d forget things, lose his rememberall, make a fool of himself in front of the teachers and was overall clumsy. Then, in a critical situation, he showed himself as a talented wizard, and the fandom welcomed that change. Neville overcame his anxiety once he grew up and learned to deal with his inner demons, and voila, turned out he actually had talent in him, it just hadn’t surfaced before! Yes, the reason for Neville’s anxiety gets named and the reason for Peter’s doesn’t (which is food for thought in another headcanon), but does it really matter if they clearly had the same problem, and that’s what serves as the main reason for comparison of these characters? Anxious people tend to do much better once they are out of school, and here we move on to the next topic.

2) Peter was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

“But the Marauders always had him in tow, so of course they made him join.”

The Order of the Phoenix was a near-military organization, its members fought in a war. It wasn’t a “participation award” kind of club. They couldn’t afford accepting inept wizards to make them feel better. They needed members who knew how to put up a fight, skilled, powerful members. Dumbledore was the head of the organization for fuck’s sake, and he was a better judge of people’s abilities than, say, Sirius.

3) When confronted by Black in the street, Peter neutralized Sirius faster than Sirius could neutralize him, framed Sirius for treason and mass murder, faked his own death and escaped. He came up with all of this in mere seconds, under immense pressure. This plan was so good it had worked for 13 years.

With his wand behind his back, Peter wrecked a square and turned 12 people into mince with a single spell, Confringo. Now, this is a dueling spell, normally used in dueling competitions. Not real life fights where wizards might aim to kill each other. There are several mentions of using Confringo in life-or-death battles, and the most known are: Harry destroying the flying motorcycle's side-car during the Battle of the Seven Potters and Hermione Granger trying to kill Nagini. A side-car is not a big deal, and Nagini lived on to the final chapters of the book. Evidence suggests that Confringo doesn’t normally have effects as devastating as when it was used by Peter. One spell, 12 victims and huge collateral damage.

“But he just said the incantation and pointed a wand, that’s easy.”

If that’s easy, why does most of the plot of Harry Potter books revolve around young wizards sweating away for seven years to learn to control and apply their powers when casting spells? Why aren’t they simply given lists of spells to memorize and graduate in a year? Why do inexperienced wizards end up accidentally killing themselves with the destructive magic they fail to control? See Crabbe burning himself to death with Fiendfyre. Why are other wizards in the story considered to be powerful for just shouting spells and pointing wands?

“But McGonagall said Peter was hopeless at dueling, and wasn’t in the rest of Marauders’ league talent-wise. And Sirius called Peter a talentless pathetic thing.”

First, see (1). Second, a character’s bias does not equal narrative truth. Rowling’s books are essentially detective stories that follow the laws of the genre. McGonagall’s and Rosmerta’s words (that fat little boy who worshipped James and Sirius) were supposed to lead us away from any assumptions about Peter other than him being a harmless, logical victim of Black’s crime. So that in the end we get shocked. The Ministry sent DEMENTORS and Hit Wizard Squads (equivalent of muggle S.W.A.T.)  after Sirius. All of this because they thought that Sirius had done what Pettigrew had actually done. We get this picture of Sirius as a terrifying dark wizard, but as soon as the culprit turns out to be Peter, he’s suddenly weak? But the killer seemed so nice and people told stories about him saving puppies! But Peter seemed so weak and people told stories about him being academically unsuccessful!

The Prisoner of Azkaban, chapter 10:

Fudge: “Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I — I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming.”

Now replace “Black” with “Pettigrew”.

3)  Peter is able to cast Avada Kedavra (with a wand that wasn’t his own, which makes it harder to perform magic AND he didn’t even win the wand’s allegiance).

What does it prove, other than Peter being a filthy murderer once again?

The Goblet of Fire , chapter 14:

Crouch Jr as Alastor Moody:“Avada Kedavra’s a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it — you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I’d get so much as a nosebleed.”

Crouch was insane, his words aren’t reliable.

Despite being a crazy Death Eater, Crouch Jr shares the title of the most effective DADA professor in Harry Potter history, along with Remus Lupin. I also doubt his mental issues prevented him from adequately estimating the features of Avada Kedavra.

4) Peter overpowered a Ministry employee Bertha Jorkins, helped Crouch overpower Moody who was known as the greatest auror of his time, and brewed the very first Polyjuice potion for Crouch.

“Voldemort calls Peter stupid and inept all the time and praises Crouch. Crouch must’ve overpowered Moody alone, and Peter was just a bonus.”

Voldemort is notoriously sadistic. He enjoys causing pain in all forms, mental and physical. He relishes people’s pain. He is also one of the best Legilimens users out there. Having such a rich history with Peter, Voldemort knows his every weak spot, every single one. Not only does he use Cruciatus on Peter liberally, he prods the old wounds, namely inferiority complex. And still, even Voldemort can’t refrain from admitting that Peter tends to have “moments of brilliance”. Peter was the one who found Voldemort when everyone else (the allegedly way more powerful and intelligent Death Eaters) had failed. Peter was the one who conjured a rudimentary body for Voldemort, and brought him back fully with the use of ancient magic even Voldemort doubted would work.

“Big deal, throwing a bone, a drop of blood, and a hand into a potion.”

Big deal, being good at potions? Ask the people who had Snape for teacher. Once again, Voldemort himself deemed the task to be complicated.  Anyone here wants to question Voldemort’s competence in magic? Magic is about inherent ability first and foremost, not the set of steps to complete. Otherwise there would be no such things as muggles and squibs.

“Peter just followed Voldemort’s instructions for that potion.”

And all wizards in the story followed instructions of their teachers at some point. Are they all weak? Peter (or anybody, really) clearly had no reason to be interested in THAT potion until he found Voldemort in his incorporeal state, so why would he learn how to make it beforehand? Harry had Snape’s textbook to help him excel at potions in his sixth year, but does that nullify his power overall? Also, everyone forgets that Peter DID graduate Hogwarts. That requires passing N.E.W.T. levels.

5) Other things: Peter took part in creating the incredibly intricate Marauder’s map. He can cast non-verbal spells (N.E.W.T.-level advanced Transfiguration spell Incarcerous on Harry, stunning Ron and Crookshanks (with another wizard’s wand), levitation of Harry), which are also considered advanced magic that requires outstanding abilities.

Peter Pettigrew is a lot of things, but a weak wizard he isn’t.

[inhumansforever]

Inhuman of The Day

August 1st - Maximus

Maximus Boltagon, the younger son of the former Inhuman king, Agon, and Queen Rynda.  Maximus is the younger brother of Black Bolt had been second in line of succession to the throne of Old Attilan.  Like his brother, Maximus was subjected to the mutagenic properties of the Terrigen Mists while he was still in his mother’s womb.  Rynda’s Inhuman gift entailed the ability to filter substances exposed to her and she used this power to expose her unborn baby to a purified version of the Terrigen disabused of any ancillary particles.  Furthermore, she had the Terrigen concentrate around the developing brain of the fetus.  Rynda and Agon did this in the hopes that it would bestow their son with incredible mental abilities.  

The results of this endowed Maximus with genius level intellect and psychic powers that allowed him to control and manipulate the will of others.  It additionally appears to have effected his cognitive process in ways that are difficult to describe; it may have left Maximus prone to episodes of psychosis and/or may have offered him the ability to perceive time and space in an elevated, extra-linear fashion.  

Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Maximus kept his psychic abilities a secret, allowing his fellow Inhumans to believe Terrigenesis had merely augmented his intellect and nothing else.  

Terrigenesis had no effect on Maximus’ physical form.  Initially, his parents believed that his enhanced intellect was the full extent of his powers.  Maximus kept his psychic abilities a secret and few suspected that he possessed the ability to manipulate the wills of others.  Maximus was something of a cruel, cunning, and ambitious youngster… traits that became more and more pronounced as he grew older.  Maximus’ antisocial features were likely accentuated by the guidance and messages relayed to him by his parents.   Agon and Rynda had exposed their children to ultras-purified Terrigen in-utero in the hopes that doing so would bring about the creation of superior beings.  They imparted this information on their younger son, leading him to feel superior (as well as somewhat contemptuous toward those he perceived as beneath his superiority).  

As a result, Maximus saw himself as better than others and had little  compunction over using his psychic powers to manipulate those around him and promote his own self-interests.

Maximus was a cruel, cunning, and ambitious youngster… traits that became more and more pronounced as he grew older.  Maximus felt himself better than others and he had no compunction over using his psychic powers to manipulate those around him and promote his own self-interests.  

Maximus maintained a particular animosity toward his older Brother, Blackgarr.  The boys’ parents expressed concern over Black Bolt’s destructive powers and Maximus came to believe that he should be the true heir to the throne and that his older brother was unworthy of being first in line of succession.  

With the potentially devastating nature of Black Bolt’s sonic powers, he had to maintain supreme discipline so to not utter a single sound.  And Maximus would constantly goad his brother, trying to provoke Black Bolt into breaking his discipline and in so doing prove his unworthiness to be king.  These attempts were all in vane, a matter that only acted to compound Maximus’ frustration and disdain toward his brother.

There was an additional component to Maximus’ efforts to break his brother’ discipline and provoke him into using his powers.  Maximus’ parents believed that he possessed a higher level to his mental gifts.  They believed that he and his brother were linked and that Maximus needed to be exposed to Black Bolt’s power as a means of unlocking this higher level.  

As part of a scheme to ultimately become the ruler of Attilan, Maximus entered into a secret pact with a group of Kree assassins who disguised themselves as peace emissaries from the Imperial Throne-world of Hala.  Black Bolt discovered his brother’s plot and intervened.  So to stop the assassins from attacking Attilan, Black Bolt uttered a slight sound, causing a massive sonic boom.  The  concussive energy from the blast struck Maximus, severely effecting him.  Tragically, Maximus was extracting his mental control over the Kree pilot controlling the spacecraft.  As such, the pilot of the ship lost control and it crashed into the royal retreat, killing the brothers’ parents.  

It remains somewhat unclear how exactly Maximus was impacted by the exposure to his brother’s powers.  On the surface, it appeared as though the concussive force of being so close to the sonic boom resulted in neurological injury.  It appeared as though this injury impaired Maximus’ capacity for effective impulse control and left him prone to wild delusions and disorganized thinking.  These symptom earned him the moniker, ‘Maximus the Mad.’   Yet the apparent injury did not impair Maximus’s impressive intellect, nor did it curb his ambitious scheming.  

More recently, it was revealed that exposure to Black Bolt’s power did not result in neurological damage, but instead unlocked a higher order to his psychic abilities (as his father had predicted).  Maximus gained the ability to perceive time on an extra-linear level, experiencing his past, presence and distant future all at once, each moment superimposed upon the other.  This heightened level of perception comes to Maximus in waves; at times it afforded him keen insight that greatly aides his intellect; at other times, the visions are overwhelming which has added to his appearance to others as being psychologically ill.  

Maximus was treated by a doctor on Attilan who prescribed him psychotropic medication.  In truth, this medication was actual a placebo that were effective only to the extent that Maximus believed they were working.  At the time, Maximus’ mental difficulties appeared to be wrapped up ion his feelings of guilt over the death of his parents.  Convincing himself that his parents’ death was the fault of his brother offered him clarity and a sense of being at ease.  He suppressed his knowledge of his own complicity in the accident that killed his parents.  Yet the suppression didn’t always work and his feelings of guilt would bubble up to the surface; and this would cause him to become angry, confused and at times incoherent.  

Maximus somehow managed to avoid punishment over his treachery in conspiring with The Kree and he would eventually embark on countless schemes and plots to overthrow his brother and take the crown for himself.  One such endeavor entailed experimentation on the cloned slave caste known as the Alpha Primitives.  Using his mental powers, Maximus coerced three of these Alpha Primitives in entering into the chamber of Terrigenesis.  Exposure to the Terrigen Mists caused the trio to deteriorate and reform a powerful being of raw psychic energy called ‘The Trikon.’    

This Trikon was sent to destroy Black Bolt and his precession.  Black Bolt was unwilling to uses his sonic powers on the monster, knowing that doing so would devastate the surrounding city.  With no other option and all of Attilan at risk, Black Bolt and the other members of The Royal Family were forced to flee the city.  With his adversaries in exile and the Trikon still at his command, Maximus was victorious and assumed the throne as the new emperor of Attilan.  

Yet Maximus proved to be an unpopular king among his people.  Concerned over the calls for the return of Black Bolt, Maximus sent agents to search out his brother so to destroy him.  Maximus also began work on his ‘Atmo-Gun,’ a device that was designed to send a toxin into the atmosphere that would kill all human life on earth.  The Inhumans lived in fear of being discovered by the humans and Maximus believed that extinguishing this threat would finally win him his people’s favor.  

Seeking out his brother ended up being a costly mistake for Maximus.  Black Bolt returned to Attilan accompanied by The Fantastic Four.   Maximus’ schemes were foiled and, following a tremendous battle, Black Bolt took back the crown.  Maximus triggered his Atmo-Gun, but his calculations were flawed and the device did not work.  Spiteful and enraged, Maximus activated a powerful negative zone force field that temporarily isolated Attilan from the outside world.  

The negative zone force field was ultimately deactivated and somehow Maximus managed to flee from Attilan accompanied by his most dedicated minions, relocating to the South American country of Costa Salvador.   Maximus encountered The Incredible Hulk while in South America and tricked the jade behemoth into aiding in his schemes.  Maximus developed a ‘hypno-gun’ that he used to augment his powers of mental manipulation.  The Hulk was eventually able to see through Maximus’ coercion and Maximus was defeated by the combined efforts of Black Bolt and The Hulk.  

Recaptured, Maximus was sentence to solitary confinement on Attilan, placed in a specialized telepathy-neutralizing prison.  Gorgon felt that Maximus’ imprisonment was far too cruel and released him, a kind gesture that proved disastrous.  Modifying his former design for the Hypno-Gun, Maximus created a Hypno-Device which enhanced his powers ten fold, allowing him to control the will of all of Attilan.  Black Bolt was finally able to break free of this Hypno-Device, but doing so ended up devastating a sizable portion of Attilan. 

Some time later, Maximus joined the renegade sect of scientists known as ‘The Enclave.’  The Enclave succeeded in capturing Black Bolt’s fiancé, Medusa.  Maximus also loved Medusa and objected to The Enclaves decision to execute her.  In order to save Medusa, Maximus caused a weapon he was working on to overload and explode.  The Enclave was defeated, yet the explosion left Maximus in a death-like comatose state.  Black Bolt retrieved his brother’s body and had it placed in a specialized stasis chamber within the catacombs of Attilan. 

Following Attilan’s relocation to the Blue Area of The Moon, Maximus finally regained consciousness.  A great deal of psychic energy had built up in Maximus during his coma and he used this energy to force his consciousness into his brother’s body while trapping Black Bolt’s consciousness in Maximus’ body which remained in stasis.  Inhabiting his brother’s body, Maximus ruled Attilan for several months until his schemes were detected and undone by the intervention of The Avengers.  Returned to his rightful body, Maximus was moved to a regular prison cell. 

On several more occasions Maximus used his powers of manipulation to escape his cell and cause trouble only to be defeated time and again.  When Ronan The Accuser took control of Attilan, Maximus attempted to rally the Alpha Primitives into an army to repel the Kree occupying forces.  Ronan was easily able to suppress this army and, as punishment, Ronan used his universal weapon to banish Maximus to The Negative Zone. 

While trapped in The Negative Zone, Maximus became involved in the Annihilation War waged by Annihilus who was seeking to destroy all matter.  Maximus was ultimately able to return to Attilan.  Following two more unsuccessful coups, Maximus was once more imprisoned.  

The mystical sect of Inhuman monks known as ‘The Pacifiers’ placed a mental spell over Maximus, shackling his manipulative powers so to prevent yet another escape.  During the Silent War event, Maximus coerced young Luna to use her own powers to undo this spell.   Once freed, Maximus utilized The Inhumans’ war with he United States Government as a means to once more attain rulership over Attilan.  

This rule lasted until the Secret Invasion event where it was revealed that Super Skrull sleeper agents had infiltrated Attilan.  The citizens rallied behind Queen Medusa in her war against the Skrulls and it resulted in Maximus’ conceding the throne to her leadership.  Maximus served as Medusa’s aid until Black Bolt returned from The Fault and once more became the king of the Inhumans. Some time thereafter Maximus was once again imprisoned.  He was freed by his nephew Ahura and Ahura’s fellow classmates among the Future Foundation (who hoped Maximus would aid them in defeating Doctor Doom).   Maximus actually ended up assisting The FF and was since allowed to live freely on Attilan despite his past crimes.  

It was around this time that Maximus was taken into Black Bolt’s confidence in regards of Black Bolt’s dealings with The Illuminati.   Black Bolt elicited Maximus’ aid in defending against Thanos as well as the threat posed by The Builders.

Maximus assisted Black Bolt in creating the Terrigen Bomb, a device that dispersed the Terrigen Mists into the atmosphere of earth, thus causing all latent Inhumans to transform by way of Terrigenesis.  He also aided the other members of The Illuminati in attempting to fend off the cascading encroachments by alternative realities.  Maximus fell in with an offshoot of The Illuminati called ‘The Cabal,’ which sought to destroy the encroaching alternate realities in a much more violent and destructive fashion.  

At some point after Maximus had joined The Cabal, he turned on Black Bolt and used Black Bolt’s dismay over the approaching end of the world to gain a mental hold over his brother.  Once Maximus had this control over his brother’s will he kept him in this state for weeks while galavanting around New York City.  The Inhuman security officers, Auran and Nur, were dispatched to track Black Bolt down and they finally caught up with Maximus.  Maximus used Black Bolt to kill Auran and escape, but Nur tracked them further and he was finally able to distract Maximus long enough for Black Bolt to break free of the mental control.  Black Bolt seemingly killed Maximus, disintegrating his hands with a whisper and casting him off the side of a cliff. 

Somehow Maximus managed to survive and his hands were in some shape or form regenerated.  He rejoined the Cabal in further dealings with the encroaching alternate realities.  When all appeared lost, The Cabal fled in a specialized craft that could move through realities.  Hurdling through the void, the craft finally came upon Battleworld, the patchwork reality that Dr. Doom had summoned together with the remains of various realities.  The Cabal sought to conquer Battleworld, but were soon discovered by Doom who now possessed godlike powers.  Stephan Strange sent the Cabal to places unknown before Doom could destroy them.  Maximus later showed up as ‘The Prophet’ leading an army of disbelievers who questioned Doom’s godhood.  

Maximus and his forces were destroyed, but the distraction he provided ultimately helped Reed Richards to make his way to the chamber where the Molecule Man kept Battleworld together.   With the Molecule Man’s assistance, Richards was able to reconstitute the 616 universe (an act the effectively resurrected Maximus and many others and returned them all to their former places on earth).

Maximus’ status and whereabout following the Secret Wars event had been unknown.  He recently resurfaced in the pages of Uncanny Inhumans, sought out by Triton.  Triton felt that Tony Stark’s invasion of New Attilan and the abduction of the new Inhuman, Ulysses, had not been properly dealt with by Queen Medusa.  Triton saw it as essential to the Inhumans’ future wellbeing that Stark be properly punished; and thus put forward a more overt deterrent to anyone who might seek to harm New Attilan.  Triton asked Maximus’ assistance.  Maximus agreed and shortly thereafter Stark Tower was destroyed in a massive explosion.

Maximus then tricked Lash and his Tribe of Lor into attacking a Stark Facility, ultimately leading to a full scale conflict between The Inhumans and Iron Man.  In the midst of the ensuing chaos, Maximus freed his fellow Inhuman renegades, The Unspoken and Lineage.

Soon the after, during the X-Men/Inhuman War, Maximus decided to refine a process for creating synthetic Terrigen that would bring about an end of the conflict with The Mutants.  He learned of the ancient recipe for creating artificial Terrigen from a distant relative that Lineage was able to manifest with his powers and then set off on a madcap adventure to collect the various ingredients needed to facilitate the process.  Yet Maximus became distracted near the end when he met the Inhuman technopath, Kludge, and rather than building a machine to create synthetic terrigen, the two instead built an enormous robotic battle suit.  The suit was destroyed by an enraged Unspoken (whom Maximus had earlier betrayed).  In the end, it turns out that the whole matter was simply a lark that Maximus had engaged upon to assuage his boredom.

Maximus was captured by The Inhumans of New Attilan and Queen Medusa determined that they had endured Maximus’ constant scheming and treachery for far too long.  He was charged with a life sentence in a cosmic penitentiary far off in another galaxy.  Furthermore, his name would be struck from the history of his people and he would become an ‘unspoken.’

Yet Maximus still had a trick under his sleeve.  He was able to exert his mental control over his brother, Black Bolt, and hatched a scheme to have his brother take his place in this cosmic prison.  Utilizing his mental abilities and a pair of image inducers, Maximus took Black Bolt’s place and had Black Bolt (appearing to be Maximus) sent off to this mysterious prison (a tale told in the pages of the Black Bolt solo series).  

Shortly there after, Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr) came to New Attilan offering his services in helping the Inhumans discover a new source of Terrigen and thus offer a future to their doomed people.  Still in the guise of Black Bolt, Maximus opted to join the other in venturing to the planet Hala as part of this adventure to discover the secret of Terrigen.  

It wasn’t long before Medusa discovered that Maximus had replaced her one time husband.  Maximus dropped his charade and disengaged his image inducer.  Unfortunately, the nature of the cosmic prison where Black Bolt had been incarcerated, coupled with the matter being stricken from Inhuman history made it impossible to simply retrieve Black Bolt and have Maximus rightfully jailed in his place.  It was ultimately decided that the team would continue in their mission to secure a new source of Terrigen.  Knowing the Maximus possessed an intricate understanding of Terrigen, Medusa decided to keep Maximus with the team in the case that he would prove helpful; insisting that he stay in the proximity of the new Inhuman known as Swain (whose own empathy-affecting powers had the impact of canceling out Maximus’s ability for psychic manipulation).  

The team’s journey ultimately brought them to the World Farm, the home of the cosmic deities known as The Progenitors.  These beings had manipulated the evolution of The Kree in the same fashion as the Kree had created The Inhumans… utilizing the powerful mutagenic substance known as Primagen.  Primagen is an ultra-purified mutagen through which Terrigen is derived.  Exposure to Primagen has the effect of temporarily super-boosting the powers of any Inhuman who comes into contact with it.  

The team was able to acquire a sample of the Primagen, but in so doing provoked the wraith of The Progenitors.  Desperate for a solution to their peril, Medusa allowed Maximus to touch the Primagen hoping that the extreme augmentation of his powers and intellect might facilitate a plan to save themselves and defend Earth from the Progenitors.  Exposure to the Primagen did indeed boost Maximus’ abilities.  It allowed him enhanced clarity so that he could see and understand the entirety of a five thousand year lifespan.  

Maximus’ present and future selves were able to communicate with one another and the elder Maximus showed his younger self a future wherein the Inhumans and all life on Earth was ravaged and destroyed by The Progenitors.   With his newly heightened intellect, Maximus was able to utilize Marvel Boy’s technology to get the team back to earth ahead of The perusing Progenitors. 

In their initial skirmish with these beings, Maximus realized that they were creatures of pure, mechanical logic.  As such they possessed a distinct vulnerability to the illogical aspects of emotion.  In tandem with the Inhuman known as Reader, Maximus devised a plan to engage the Progenitors on a created astral plain where emotion was more powerful analytical logic.  

It seemed a bizarre almost nonsensical strategy, but there was no time to argue the matter and Medusa was ultimately sent into this plain and her feelings of love, compassion and self sacrifice succeeded in overwhelming the mechanical Progenitors’ ability to process and comprehend the experience.  In turn, The Progenitors as a whole decided that earth should be avoided, that any benefit that could be derived from conquering it wasn’t worth the effort required to do so.  Hence the fate the elder Maximus had experienced was avoided and earth was saved.  

Since then, it has appeared that Maximus’ augmented powers has faded and he returned to his former self.  More recently, Maximus appeared to have perished in battle against the Kree and the mysterious being known as Vox.  Although this is not the first time that Maximus has been believed dead and it is very likely that he will return in the not too distant future.  The guy is something of a bad penny… he always shows back up.  

[myriadcfmuses]

Jotaro Kujo

Appearance

Jotaro is a tall, attractive, and well-built man, even as a teenager. He has dark hair that constantly blends with his hat, a strong jaw, bold eyebrows, and green eyes. He bears a mild resemblance to his great-great-grandfather, Jonathan Joestar, and his grandfather, Joseph Joestar when he was young.

Jotaro's wears a modifies trenchcoat-length gakuran/tsume-eri with a tall, stiff collar, pierced on the left with a golden chain. Underneath, he wears a fitted, sleeveless shirt and a pair of slim-fitting pants of very short, sharp flares held up by two thin belts, often differently colored, patterned in a row of alternately colored tessellated triangles (reflecting Caesar/Joseph's headband).

Jotaro's iconic cap is adorned near the center with a golden button and, on its left, a rectangular golden plate with a design of a flattened hand. It is torn at the back, appearing to merge with his hair.

Personality:

Jotaro is introduced as a rough delinquent, but he has a gentle heart, and is loyal to those he likes. He is highly perceptive, intelligent and quick-witted while keeping a perpetually cool, slightly neutral or disinterested attitude.

Jotaro's most noticeable trait is his seemingly aloof nature. He is a quiet individual, often satisfied with expressing himself in short phrases.

Jotaro is an extremely cool individual, able to keep his composure in even the direst situations.

Jotaro is both fierce and gentle. These traits can be seen in how he spares Noriaki Kakyoin instead of killing him outright, even putting his own life on the line just to save the young man from DIO's deadly slavery. Despite refusing to show it explicitly, Jotaro loves his mother and respects his grandfather Joseph.

Jotaro's impetus for going to Egypt is Holy's life being put in danger by DIO's Stand, and he flew into an uncharacteristic rage when the vampire desecrated the corpse of his grandfather, before apologizing to Joseph's spirit (who had previously warned Jotaro not to succumb to anger).

During his journey to Egypt, Jotaro attached himself to his companions, and through several small gestures expressed his friendship towards them. Signs of him loosening up were also shown where he occasionally (but not often) smiles.

Jotaro also has a soft spot for children and is noticeably more tolerant and protective toward them.

Jotaro hates people who hurt women or children in a fight, even if the woman or child in question is evil, and will be especially violent toward them. However, Jotaro doesn't show mercy to evil women and will if need be severely beat them. Furthermore, nagging girls chasing him (both at his school and throughout his journey) annoy Jotaro, who ignores or rudely drives them away, particularly when they begin to fuss or bicker.

Moreover, Jotaro is blunt and foul-mouthed, having no problem being insolent towards his mother or any other authority figure. The teenager favors witty one-liners, often ridiculing whoever is the target of his quips and offering absurd reasons for his feats. Whether Jotaro does take himself seriously or is just having fun when using his one-liners is left unanswered. Nonetheless, Jotaro has shown a modicum of respect to the occasional enemy Stand User.

Jotaro is interested in a large range of subjects, such as sumo or the TV series Columbo, from which he claims to have acquired his deductive skills. Several hobbies indicate that he has an intellectual side, which would result in him becoming a marine biologist. Ironically, Jotaro is one of the few who can appreciate Calcutta's atmosphere, which shocks Joseph.

Jotaro also has a quirky, particular fashion taste and attachment to his clothes, from refusing to cut off parts of his pants when the school nurse asked him to, to buying clothes to replace the ones that were destroyed after a fight with exact replicas. He also has an attachment to his hat.

Jotaro has a habit of muttering "What a pain..." to himself to express annoyance towards the ordeals and other events that happen close to him, to the point it has become one of his catchphrases.

Abilities:

Stand:

Star Platinum

One of the strongest Stands in the series, Star Platinum possesses superhuman senses, strength, stamina, accuracy and speed. Like other physically-powerful (or Close-Range) Stands, Star Platinum suffers from a narrow range of activity; active only within a 2-3 meter from Jotaro.

The Tarot card The Star, after which it is named, symbolizes hope, above all.

Mastery

Jotaro is extremely proficient at using his Stand, which is facilitated by how powerful it is in the first place. The student is capable of exploiting the basic abilities of a Stand to channel Star Platinum inside his body for better protection or only conjure a part of it for stealth. He is also imaginative in using its physical prowess, using it to punch through obstacles at its most basic, but also stretch it for extra range, lift heavy objects, or more ridiculous ideas like using Star Platinum's lungs to neutralize Justice.

Since he lacks the stamina, Jotaro only stops time with parsimony. He mainly uses it for defense, using the extra time to defend an ally or avoid attacks, and has only occasionally used timestop for offense.

Personal

Intelligence:

Jotaro is an adept tactician, using a mix of straightforward brute force and unexpected tricks to prevail. Thanks to Star Platinum's tremendous strength in all regards, Jotaro can either force his way out of any tough situation or use unexpected feats of strength such as tunneling his way toward an enemy or using his lung capacity to neutralize a fog Stand. Jotaro has occasionally used the environment to his advantage.

Jotaro is a good trickster although not on the level of Joseph. He is an accomplished bluffer, and uses the enemy's own vigilance against the formidable Star Platinum to psych them out.

Knowledge:

It is implied that Jotaro has accumulated a considerable amount of varied knowledge.

Strength:

While not nearing the levels of superhuman strength possessed by his Stand, Jotaro himself is still notably strong, and has been for along time; even when de-aged he was able to deliver a painful punch against a full-grown man.

Toughness:

Jotaro is naturally confident and intolerant to suggestions that he should defer in any way, backed up by his own strength as well as that of his Stand.

Bluffing:

Jotaro has an impressive ability to bluff, as seen by his refusal to look at his cards when playing poker with D'Arby the Elder, and having confidence to rely on Joseph to pick up on his signal by announcing his pitch against D'Arby the Younger.

Secret Technique:

The Joestar family's "Secret Technique", running away is usually utilized as a last resort.

[theworldbrewery]

background: executioner

skill proficiencies: intimidation, medicine

tool proficiencies: one type of gaming set, executioner’s kit (see below)

languages: any language affiliated with a religious doctrine

equipment: a set of executioner’s clothing including a hood, executioner’s kit, 5 sticks of incense, and a pouch containing 15 gp.

Feature: A Necessary Service

You are perceived as one profoundly influenced by death itself, having one foot on either side of the eternal veil. Ordinary folk keep their distance, afraid of contamination both physical and spiritual.

Nevertheless, people always have need of an executioner’s skills. You are able to find work as a healer, apothecary, or doctor in times of need. Furthermore, there is a demand for the blood or body parts of an executed criminal among superstitious types, mages, and so on. You are easily able to find places where such trade occurs, and you can sell such artifacts at a high premium in a black market with little difficulty.

Means of Work: You are specially trained in a particular type of execution (roll a d6):

Beheading

Hanging

Drawing and Quartering

Drowning

Burning

Poison/lethal injection

Suggested Characteristics: executioners are educated and hard workers, taking pride in a difficult, unprestigious job. You may know enough about medicine for a side gig as a doctor, a spiritualist, or a contract mercenary, but in your primary work, it’s a pretty lonesome gig.

Personality Traits (d8)

I use black humor to deal with my grim lifestyle.

I practice my execution techniques when I’m angry.

I hide my vocation to make a good impression on others.

I have a nihilistic attitude, believing that nothing really matters in the end.

I have a soft spot for children, and perform magic tricks for their amusement.

I am overenthusiastic when it comes to social interaction because I don’t often get the chance.

I have more empathy for the criminals I kill than for the ordinary folk who shun me.

I am stoic in public, but alone or among friends I let out my pent-up emotions in one fell swoop.

Ideals (d6)

Duty. Executing criminals is an important duty, and it is an honor to perform it. (Lawful)

Solitude. I enjoy the privacy this career affords me, even if the work is distasteful. (Chaotic)

Mercy. Those I execute live miserable lives. The kindest thing I can give them is a painless death. (Good)

Vengeance. In the faces of the condemned I see those who have wronged me, and I relish the chance to finish them off. (Evil)

Opportunity. If people want to go around having each other executed, I may as well profit from it. (Neutral)

Family. I do this work because my parents taught me, and there’s no shame in that. (Any)

Bonds (d6)

I must save a life for every one I take, to keep the scales balanced.

I resent my parents for passing this career on to me, and I would like nothing more than to be rid of it.

I falsified the death of a condemned person, and I live in fear that my lie will come to light.

The love of my life refused to marry me because of the stain of death on my hands.

I dream about those I have killed, constantly wondering if their deaths were just.

I believe my work is a holy quest to cleanse the world of evildoers.

Flaws (d6)

I market the blood and body parts of people I have executed as cure-alls and charms, despite knowing it’s snake oil.

I take killing very seriously, and hesitate to slay those who haven’t faced a court.

I steal from ordinary folk, calling it justice for the mistreatment I receive at their hands.

I am superstitious and will pay good money for anything that promises to protect me from spiritual decay.

I believe in the justice of the law, even when it goes against all reason.

I am cavalier about death, including those of myself and my allies; all is dust in the wind.

Executioner’s Kit

artisan’s tools, 10gp, 9 lbs

These special tools include the items needed to pursue a craft or trade. Proficiency with a set of artisan's tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make using the tools in your craft. Each type of artisan's tools requires a separate proficiency.

Proficiency with the executioner’s kit represents your ability to understand the body and the ways to quickly and efficiently (or slowly and methodically) end a life. 

Components: Executioner’s kit includes a sharpening stone, a book of anatomy, vials for blood of executed criminals, and torture implements.

History. Your work has given you extensive knowledge of famous executions and crimes punishable by death.

Medicine. Your skills give you additional insight when evaluating cause of death, the severity of a wound, and chances of survival.

Insight. You have additional knowledge when determining if someone speaks truth or lies under the pressures of torture or interrogation.

Spot Undead. Your knowledge of anatomy and vital signs gives you an instinct for identifying the undead. For the purposes of noticing undeath, your passive Investigation and Perception is 20.

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Theories (17S). Ninth Theory - Mahiru’s plan

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great day, I hope you managed to spend time with your loved ones, remember to stay safe!

This theory will explain the rather crazy plan of Mahiru’s agenda. While I’m aware she’s the least loved character by the fandom, it cannot be denied her plan finally has striked down or halted Shikama Doji.

Let’s proceed to discuss such plan.

P.S: Theories exclude ships and remain within a neutral view

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsZRq9BPb3A

As many might be aware, Mahiru Hiragi has been designing a plan to counter the First Progenitor ever since she got tired of having her life controlled by the Hiragi Family and the First Progenitor; her wings were cut down since she was a genious, one of a kind within the Hiragi Family which only made Tenri hold Shinoa as a hostage, which is something Tenri reveals to Kureto in the LNs of the Catastrophe.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 98

But what exactly has been Mahiru’s plan? What has she been fighting for?

It is finally known that, after she met Guren and was eventually separated from him, she had to endure experiments; but within this, Mahiru’s demanor or attitude turned rather cold until Shinoa was born:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose Catastrophe at 16  - Chapter 18

Shinoa became her happiness but at the same time, the one that would pick Tenri in order to cut the wings of a genious. But then, what was her plan all along?

Her first plan or rather original plan was to betray the Hiragi Family by working together with Rigr Stafford, but of course, what she’d never take in consideration was that her fate would be sealed or set in stone ever since she was born. And thus, the plan began; at first it might seem she was the one behind the experiments but it was Rigr Stafford who began the experiments with young kids; such thing is stated in the World Resurrection LNs:

In the 2nd Volume of the Resurrection; Rigr has conversation with Guren on which he tells him he isn’t sure if his own men or group were working under the First or him; despite everything he proceeded with his own agenda.

Of course, within this, Mahiru eventually got herself involved with the Hyakuya Sect:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose Catastrophe at 16 - Chapter 30

Back in those times, Mahiru was observing the progress of the experiments of the Hyakuya Sect, of course, that didn’t mean she enjoyed seeing kids being experimented upon which was the case with Yu; she saw how he was constantly experimented upon until she told him he should find a reason to live no matter what since he had a right to live.

But what was the purpose of her monitoring the experiments the Hyakuya Sect were performing? Was it only to feed her ego? Was it because she enjoyed them?

Mahiru was aiming to use Rigr’s strategies and plan in order to take them with her and make them work since she was aware that Rigr would eventually dance within the palm of the First Progenitor, and for that, it is most known that the only one being capable of not being an influence from the First was Guren Ichinose, which is something stated by Rigr in the 2nd Vol. World Resurrection at 19 LNs.

It could be said that the original plan of Rigr was to use the old experiments of the First while boosting them with the Seraph of the End project in order to defeat him with a more powerful being; but given how he ended up losing it in the battle against him:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 84

It is promptly to say that Mahiru might have seen an outcome within Rigr/Saito. 

Returning to the chronological order, in order to achieve victory, she needed allies, she was aware if she told Guren and Guren’s friend about everything, the common outcome would be a crazy idea, but furthermore, Shinoa’s life would have been endangered; what do I mean? Is that even possible when everyone in the story and the readers see her as a selfish monster?

First of all, Mahiru needed backup from the least expected zone, and that is with the Queen of Vampires, Krul Tepes:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose Catastrophe at 16 - Chapter 33

But the question goes, why the Queen?

For this, it is clear that Rigr Stafford suggested her the idea mostly because he rejected on turning her into a vampire; therfore, his suggestion went as to ask the Queen Krul Tepes to turn her into one since the plan they had in mind, in order to work, was to execute the First’s in order to remove the sight of the First Progenitor on them; which is why Mahiru Hiragi relied on the transformation of the 3rd Progenitor Krul Tepes; along the knowledge she got from Rigr in order to make the Queen interested:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 98

 These events followed suit to a private deal between the Queen and Mahiru, on which they agreed that there would be a demon within their plan, the birth of a new one related towards test subjects of the Hyakuya Sect:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 94

Such statement of their deal is visible when Krul says: “Just like my deal with Mahiru said, the demon transformation has already begun!”

Among this, Mahiru would eventually reveal the whereabouts of Ashera Tepes in her own time

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 62

In said panel, Krul states that Mahiru upheld her part of their bargain, meaning that when the deal between them was sealed, one of the parts of said bargain would be the whereabouts of her brother

Within the deal, such events would lead to her eventual transformation as a vampire:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose Catastrophe at 16 - Chapter 37

Now, returning to the question about why Mahiru had no choices, this is due to one reason:

The reason comes after the battle she had with Kureto Hiragi in the Catastrophe LNs. After Kureto lost against her, he dialed Tenri Hiragi to inform him about the events going with Mahiru to which Tenri retorts that Kureto would never catch up with Mahiru since he had knowledge of the events due to a deal. Said deal was that if she fulfilled her part, Tenri wouldn’t experiment on Shinoa any further.

Which of course lead to the events of the end of the Catastrophe LN. While those events being the most disturbing ones and one of the reasons the fandom gets triggered, it is to say that tributes were required for the Apocalypse to fall down on Earth.

Now, after the events of the Catastrophe, did Mahiru aim to torment Guren as a floating ghost?

No, they needed to have patience, and one of their missions was to get or rather pick two boys who were enlisted by Rigr Stafford, said boys were of course Yuichiro Hyakuya and Mikaela Hyakuya. But within this, someone came to the plan without the knowledge of the Queen Krul Tepes and that character is Ferid Bathory no less, which would lead to the transformation of Mikaela Hyakuya as a vampire; since it is to be known that Ferid Bathory is quite aware of those who possess the Michaela trait which is still unknown on how he tracked Crowley Eusford in the LNs:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 5

Eventually, the plans into motion would take place after they prepared Yuichiro Hyakuya in order to tame his Seraph powers along with the bond of his demon and the reunion between him and Mikaela Hyakuya.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 65

Of course, at that time, they were aware Shikama Doji would start making his moves towards Shinoa which would eventually take place in Shibuya and within this, the late transformation of Guren into the most powerful demon would take place in order to face down the First Progenitor and eventually lead to the awakening of the Demon Mikaela which are the events of the latest chapters from the manga story.

But now, why does Mahiru is so eager to make everything work? Is it due to her selfishness?

No.  One of the reasons of her biggest plan is to protect Shinoa and remove the curse that she has carried in all her life, but within this, she also supports Guren’s plan which is to bring back all humanity along the end of the First Progenitor since he alone is the one who can take him down which is stated by Rigr Stafford; due to the fact that Rigr altered the Ichinose Family using his DNA in order to make his scion that would reject the power of the First, that wouldn’t be able to listen to the commands of the First hence why with the latest chapter, they aim to trap the demon Mikaela in order to awaken the key to face down the First and expell it from the World they live.

Said key relies within Yu, Mikaela and Asuramaru:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 79

The first Key being Yuichiro labeled as the Sun God Aten which name means or is reference to the Archangel Michael.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 85

The second key being Asuramaru labeled as the Sword of Michael but for that, they need to find a way to break the control of the First and lastly:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 98

And of course, the last member to this is Mikaela, the one and only one harboring the Seraph trait and the Michaela trait within him which would give the 3 of them the chance to face down the First Progenitor and banish him forever but then, the controvercy.

Why does Mikaela have to be a demon and why does that even count as saving?

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 99

The First Progenitor’s goal is not to save Mikaela but rather use him by his own goals, and by that, he needs to devour his soul in order to awaken completely with all his real powers and might he once had before he took the current form he has.

Along this, the final goal or plan within Mahiru and Guren’s agenda is to resurrect humanity which was doomed by the First.

While I understand this is one of the most umpleasant thing within the fandom; the story takes in a destroyed world, it takes in an era on which a being with powers close to almighty, close to God, was able to change history and humanity to his own goals and ends.

And for that, for the one that needed to taint his hands with experiments was Rigr Stafford, Mahiru Hiragi that partook in them with the creation of cursed gears along different drugs capable to help the wielders and drugs capable to restrain the First Progenitor to held him or bound him at a certain point which is finally being visible in the story and lastly, give the key to bring back all humanity that perished after the 25th.

In Guren’s case, he is the anti-hero, he is the one that was capable of withstanding the First, he was the scion he needed to face down the First Progenitor admist Guren’s will, he was at the end the guy that was required to trigger down many events but within this, despite all the pain he had to carry on, he needs to fight.

The war is far from over, and just as one of my favorite anti-heroes states. 

“Humanity shall win”

What do you think?

Let me know!

P.S: Theories exclude ships and remain within a neutral view. The theory itself focuses on what the plan has been all about to the current chapter. 

[meditatemoremedicateless]

The Spirits of Arcadia Bay (Before the Storm Theorycrafting)

Credit to @geekremix and @holyfuckabear for interpretations on a lot of this material. I’ll try to find the original videos that helped me put this together, but it has been a few years, so it will likely be a bit patchwork. Also a shout-out to @geekremixalot for her video yesterday that helped me frame this piece.

So, here’s the big one. It’s time to talk about the magical nature of Arcadia Bay.

Following an old set of videos by Mari from Geek Remix, I long ago concluded that not only was Max Caulfield magical, but Arcadia Bay itself was too. This presented itself in a few ways:

-        The presence of ‘spirit animals’ and animals representing the dead, such as Samuel’s squirrels, Chloe’s blue jay/butterfly, and Rachel/Max’s doe.

-        The fact that the storm results from supernatural processes.

-        The ‘eco-disasters’ of Life is Strange: the snow without clouds, the unscheduled eclipse, the sudden deaths of birds and whales, the two moons.

-        The eldritch nature of Blackwell Academy, such as rooms that are larger on the inside than the outside (Jefferson’s), doors to nowhere, its recurrence in Max’s nightmare, and the fact that Max’s powers appeared there.

-        The lighthouse’s anthropomorphic nature, with Max stating several times during ‘Look’ opportunities that ‘You can never escape the lighthouse here.’ In addition, the light house is part of all of Max’s visions of the storm, is her goal in two phases of her nightmare (the maze of men and the Chloe memory sequence), and is included as part of Chloe’s lucid dreams/visions in the form of her shirt. Admittedly, that is what she was wearing the day her father died, so it fits either way, but even that feels… more than incidental. Lastly, the Max that is left behind with Chloe after Max rewinds before the Vortex Club party tells Chloe that they have to get to the light house, which she has no reason to assume as safe considering her flash-forward showed her dying at the light house.

-        Mirrors in Arcadia Bay occasionally do not reflect objects in the room with Max. This notably includes the blue jay, who is often read to represent Chloe as a spirit animal / familiar. Mirrors are symbolically viewed as both reflecting the truth in a ‘pure’ way, because pre-modern mirrors were silver-backed, and silver was viewed as a ‘pure’ metal. Assuming the truth is displayed in mirrors (such as Chloe’s birthday appearing in the Nightmare as the correct digi-code) means that the world Max perceives is on some level illusionary, or not fully connected to the physical reality experienced by other people (more on this further down).

-        Arcadia Bay is referred to a town ‘outside of time’ in Episode 3, fitting appropriately with Life is Strange’s themes of ‘things stay the same even as they change.’ However, the fact that so many people notice something . . . peculiar about Arcadia Bay points to the idea that all this weirdness is not experienced by Max alone, even if she is specifically attuned to it.

That’s all well and good, but even if Arcadia Bay is magical, none of that tells us why it is magical or whether or not it is consciously interfering in the world (such as granting Max her powers to grant an objective), or if she simply tapped into magic that was incidentally present. Furthermore, its actions seem to be contradictory – granting Max powers to save Chloe and then killing the town in response? Why bring the storm in the first place if the power was granted as wish fulfillment? If the intention was to bring the storm, why create the Two Whales Nightmare of everyone begging for their lives, why permit Max to take the week back at all?

On one hand, Arcadia Bay granted Max the power to protect Chloe, guided her to Rachel’s body, and brought her to the light house. On the other hand, it summoned a storm to kill thousands of people, tortured Max as her reality fragmented, and potentially did something similar to Nathan and Kate (they both enter a tortured phase in which they draw very similar images after being drugged by Jefferson). It seems to me that Arcadia Bay is of two minds. Literally.

I propose that Arcadia Bay, as well as the surrounding area, is inherently magical, but contains competing forces. This is inspired somewhat by the dichotomous way in which the two seemingly supernatural protagonists, Rachel and Max, are described by Samuel, as well as the motif of light/dark contrast, or chiaroscuro.

Rachel is described as ‘light and dark, positive and negative, like a battery.’ While this certainly seems to be an apt description of her nuanced character, containing very polarized traits and no clear, singular identity, it may also identify her as someone connected to both forces. To further push her characterization into the realm of the supernatural, Rachel seems frequently described as someone different to everyone, someone who suited the needs of people around her, as she was Evan’s model, Daniel’s muse, Chloe’s angel, Jefferson’s subject, Nathan’s friend and victim. It thus seems appropriate that she would fit the needs of competing forces in Arcadia Bay, not as a neutral party, but as a bipolar one.

Max is described as connected to Arcadia Bay ‘through time and tide.’ The reference to her time powers is clear, but her connection to the tide, to the ocean, has never really been followed up on in meta work that I have seen before. I am continuing in my belief that Samuel is the most reliable narrator of Life is Strange, and thus take both of these elements to be significant – Max is connected to time, but she is also connected to the ocean. Perhaps more clearly, she is connected to the waterspout in Episode 5. In this sense, ‘time’ and ‘tide’ are not two unified forces to which Max is connected, but rather two outcomes of one choice (to save Chloe). Max may bend time to her whim, but so too does she provoke the storm – she can’t have one without the other, but they have deeply different interests.

So, as much of a reach as that is, I think it is important to take the next step. Why are the interests of these two forces so competing? While one force expends all its effort into saving Max and Chloe and keeping them together, the other wants to save Arcadia Bay. While the first clearly presents itself as altruistic, bending to Max’s desires, the second is quite cruel, forcing Max to listen to her friends beg for their lives, making her live out her fears embodied by the men in her life, tying her down and making her watch her insecurities and fears play out in all their permutations. Even more, the second seems to only grow increasingly desperate and erratic over time, its careful replay of the scene in Jefferson’s class eventually breaking down into a broken walkway filled with horrors.

In line with a recent theory by Stacy from Geek Remix, I propose that the first force, the one solely focused on the protection of Max and Chloe, is Rachel Amber. There are few entities I can imagine with the motivation to preserve Chloe (with Max as her guardian) over the whole of Arcadia Bay, firstly, and few people who so desperately resent Arcadia Bay as Rachel does. While we know her desire to escape the Bay is a consistent character trait for Rachel, she also would understandably want to destroy the Bay, the site of her every betrayal: the betrayal of her father against his family, the betrayal of Nathan as her friend, and the betrayal of Jefferson as her mentor and lover.

Now, even if Rachel had the motivation to guide and protect Max and Chloe, how would she, as a notably dead person, manage to do this? How could she give Max powers, show her visions, and conjure the storm? Even if she manifested as a deer after death, that is completely different from in scale and scope than what I’m proposing.

Quite simply, I’m proposing that Rachel Amber is a spirit, deity, or similar being with power over Arcadia Bay, specifically manifested in a connection to or control over the wind. In fact, this is such an old theory that I’m not sure where I find the old videos and materials for it. While I believe it originally was born both out of the wind gylphs in the lighthouse easter egg as well as the ways in which Max and Chloe reference the feeling of her presence in their journey, this theory has been given a lot more credit from the final scene of Before the Storm Episode 1. When the White Tree catches fire, Rachel screams a strangely bird-like, piercing scream, and the winds suddenly surge from behind her when this happens. It happens twice in succession, actually. (Not to mention that she’s literally playing the conjurer of the tempest in Tempest, but whatever.)

As a spirit, Rachel maintained her connection to Arcadia Bay following her death, in ways likely only perceivable to Max, who obtained power from her/Arcadia Bay. This includes manifesting as a deer, (maybe) manipulating graffiti to give Max instructions, acting as a palpable presence to Max who can ‘feel her’, bringing Max’s visions, and conjuring up her vengeance against the Bay. This eldritch plane that she exists on, interfering with the material world but not perceivable to it, I refer to as the ‘Dark Room’, and is also perceivable to certain other characters in brief episodes – Nathan’s aggression in class towards an unseen figure, frantic scrawling, and frightening drawings of faces/skulls similar to Kate’s own work from the weekend preceding Life is Strange are all possible indicators of the Dark Room’s presence in ways separate from Max’s supernatural perceptions.

Credit to @holyfuckabear for much of this interpretation of the Dark Room, as well as parts of Nathan’s student file relating to its possible existence.

Why is Rachel a spirit? While does the Dark Room exist? These are things I am not sure of, and am especially hesitant to engage in due to the ‘mystical native’ trope that seems to underlie Life is Strange. Instead of diving further into speculation as to the origins of these, I’ll instead talk a little bit about the nature of the other force, the one working in opposition to Rachel/The Storm.

So, what do we know about the second force’s motivations beyond a desire to do whatever it takes to push Max into rewinding the week and letting Chloe die so that the town might live? While at the time I didn’t really think of it from this angle, the fact that it manifested itself as Max herself, as a form of guilty conscience and insecurity, tells us two things. One, it can get inside Max’s mind, but within that context is not fully omniscient (it had little response to Max and Chloe shutting it down, after all). Secondly, it can assume whatever form it likes, but its impersonation isn’t perfect. As a third, separate detail, it was aware of the consequence of the storm – that nobody would escape, and that this could all be prevented by a choice Max had to make in which Chloe was a sacrifice. That is to say, it had intimate knowledge of Max’s mind, past, and future, as well as a grasp of the underlying mechanics of the storm.

My old, old theory about this power was that it, and the Dark Max in the nightmare was Sean Prescott, tapping into the Dark Room to access all of this knowledge. However, while I’m not ruling the Prescotts out by any means, it’s worth noting that the capabilities and boundaries of the Nightmare don’t stray far from Chloe’s lucid dream/vision in Before the Storm Episode 1, which appears to be brought/controlled by the Raven. You can click Here for my interpretation of the Raven and its possible role within the story.

Whoever or whatever the Raven is, or whatever this power may be, the important part here is that Max seems to be manipulated by two diametrically opposed forces within Arcadia Bay, whose intentions are ultimately summarized in the final choice of the game: Sacrifice Chloe or Sacrifice Arcadia Bay. I have summarized these two as ‘tide’, the storm, Rachel Amber, in favor of Sacrifice Arcadia Bay, and ‘time’, the force that needs Max to rewind, to save the town, to Sacrifice Chloe. And yes, perhaps the Raven, or the power behind the Raven itself.

With that in mind, let’s address the list of supernatural details from above and see how they fit into this view of the two forces.

-        The mystical animals in the game can be individually accounted for as symbols of Max’s future choice (such as the blue jay, encouraging her to sacrifice Chloe), guides for Max and Chloe’s protection (the deer, keeping them safe through the week), and the vehicle/messenger of people’s powers (butterfly/raven) on behalf of both interests.

-        Rachel has the motivation and likely the power to cause the storm.

-        As Rachel pries control of Arcadia Bay away from other forces, she may be disrupting its natural order, causing the snowfall. The sudden death of the birds and whales also points to a disruption of nature (with devastating consequences), which could be linked to the destruction of the White tree, the creation of Pan Estates on sacred land, or Max’s manipulation of time. The two moons may represent the two realities chosen by two forces, with one fading away as Chloe seals her own death (by heading to the junkyard). Also, the moon may be a symbol of time as well as symbolically and physically connected to the tide, but that feels like a big reach.

-        Because so much of the Nightmare focuses on the school, and the Lighthouse is continuously shown as safety for Max and Chloe, I would locate these as the two most eldritch spots in Arcadia Bay, potentially locations of power to each respective force – the Lighthouse for Rachel/the storm, and the school for the raven/the town. Both warp reality and create palpable presences where they are most concentrated. Note that Max’s powers appeared inside the school in a way that benefits Rachel (potentially more linked to the other site of power), but that her powers seem to have been delivered to her via the butterfly, as opposed to spontaneously produced.

-        Mirrors do not reflect the Dark Room, helping distinguish it from the material plane. I believe Max’s camera would follow a similar principle, although that is largely inspired by the similarities in the physics of light involved in how lenses and mirrors work and not something I have much material proof of.

-        Arcadia Bay is magical and exists and is formed by the whims of figures separate from human linearity. Unlike time that flows like a river, time in Arcadia Bay seems more like the time, pushing forward and backward, but not quite progressing.

And that’s kind of… it. While I have gone quite a bit deeper in my own work by filling in the blanks, such as trying to answer what the origins of Rachel’s connection to Arcadia Bay is, why it is magical, why the Dark Room exists, etc, this is what we have to work with when it comes to stuff that appears directly related to the magical nature of Arcadia Bay. While there are many, many more theories, such as precognizant Alyssa, shapeshifting Mark Jefferson, Many Maxes, and so on, these are the details that seemed more relevant to touch on.

If you have any more theories on the supernatural elements of Arcadia Bay, or details that I seem to have missed, hit me up. I absolutely love reading far, far too into this game.