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bet-on-me-13 · 1 year ago

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The Structure of the Infinite Realms

This is an updated version of This old prompt I did a while back.

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So! The Infinite Realms are not just limited to the Afterlife. In fact, the Afterlife is just a single section of the Realms, and Each Realm is ruled over by their own Kingdom with their own Godly Rulers.

Lets give an Overview of a few of the Realms:

The Far Frozen: The Far Frozen is a Realm inhabited by Yeti's, who are Pacifists by nature. Their sole focus is to develop their medical practices so they can help as many people as possible. They are rules over by the Ice God, Frostbite, a kind and just King who uses his eons of experience to help those in need. The Far Frozen are well liked by all Kingdoms in the Infinite Realms, and have very few enemies.

The Medieval Isles: The Medieval Isles are a very recent addition to the Infinite Realms, and resembles the Earth Sterotype of a Fantasy Land. It is inhabited by many different races, from Elves to Dwarves to Humans. It was previously Ruled Over by a Draconic God known as the Tyrant King Aragon, before he was overthrown by his sister, the Kind Queen Dorathea with the help of a Sir Phantom. It does not have many Enemies among the Realms, but the Fae Wilds to seem to resent that some Elves live there as opposed to their original homeland.

Olympus: Olympus is the Realm of the Greek Gods, home to all the Gods who exist in the World and used to exist. It is ruled over by Zeus. It used to be a pretty major Political Powerhouse in the Realms, but after Ares went Rouge and killed most of their Top Gods, they lost a lot of Power.

Themyscira: After the Amazon's split off from the rest of Greece, they formed their own Kingdom with Hippolyta as the Godess Queen. It exists simultaneously in both the Realms and Earth. This Kingdom is well respected, but not as old or as large as some of the others. It has about the same Political Power as Olympus currently does, if not a little less.

The Nordic Lands: This is a Realm inhabited by the Norse Gods and all their peoples. It is not ruled over by a single Race of Gods, and is split into many different Warring Factions. One is the Aesir, Ruled over by King Odin. Another is the Vanir, formerly ruled over by Njord, but now ruled by his son Frey. There are also the Lands for the Fire and Ice Giants, and so on. They hold a good amount of Political Power in the Infinite Realms, but tend to stay Neutral in most cases.

New Genesis: This is the home of the New Gods, a race of Gods who is far younger than the others. They are ruled over by High Father, one of the surviving Old Gods, and the father of many of the New Gods. They are a fairly old and powerful Kingdom in the Realms, holding much Political Power.

Apokolips: This is a Realm filled with almost exclusively Demon's. It is ruled over by the God of Evil, Darkseid, and his Court of Minor Gods. It is an Extremely Agressive and even hostile Kingdom in the Realms, but holds itself back from attacking it's fellow Godly Kingdoms in fear of Retribution. They rarely interact with the other Kingdoms or discuss political matters in Meetings, but they are still a Kingdom not to be trifled with.

The Fae Wilds: This is the Realm that is the homeland of all Faeries and such creatures, like Elves and Gnomes. It is ruled over by the Fae Gods, Oberon and Titania, who use their cunning to obtain a good standing among the other Realms and maintain a good amount of Political Power.

The Spirit Lands: This is the Realm inhabited by mostly Nature Spirits, such as Nymphs and Fire Sprites. These lands are ruled over by 4 Elemental Kings, among which are Vortex and Undergrowth. These Lands are a sort of Middle Point in terms of Political Power, not too much but not too little. Although their image has been damaged by the Impulsive personalities of a few of their Rulers.

The Miracle Lands (Miraculous Ladybug): This is a Realm inhabited by a race of Gods that represent Conceptual Ideas, known as Kwami's. They are ruled over by the King and Queen of their Lands, Tikki and Plagg, the concepts of Creation and Destruction. The Miracle Lands are one of the oldest and most powerful of the Kingdoms of the Infinite Realms, and hold some of the most Political Power in the Infinite Realms.

The Ghost Zone/The After: This was what I really made this post to do. To explain my Headcanon for how the Ghost Zone worked in the grand scheme of things, the rest was just context.

The Ghost Zone is the collective Afterlife of all the other Realms, with Major Regions of the Realms dedicated to the different Kingdoms that hold a claim to the Afterlife.

There are Large Regions of the Realms dedicated to containing the Afterlives of the Godly Realms, like the Underworld for Olympus, or Valhalla/Vanaheim/Hel for the Nordic Lands. (The Norse actually have a shocking amount of Territory in the Ghost Zone, many joke that it's because Odin and Pariah Dark liked eachother due to how similar they looked.)

Each of the Regions is ruled over by that Pantheon's own God of the Dead/Death.

Hades rules the Underworld, and commands the different sections like the Fields of Asphodel, the Fields of Punishment, Elysium, and even Tartarus to some degree.

Plagg rules the Miraculous After (the Kwami's are not very creative with names). This is an Afterlife exclusive to the Holders of the Miraculous, as well as those who use Miracle Magic without having a Miraculous, like the Guardians. Also just the followers of the Kwami's (they have a small following)

The Norse have many Rulers for their many Afterlives. Hel rules over Hel, Freya rules over Vanaheim, Odin rules over Valhalla, and even Rán has her own tiny section for drowned souls. Plus a few more small sections.

The Acropolis is the Personal Afterlife for the Amazonians, and only answers to the Queendom of Themyscira. Pandora was chosen as the new Goddess of Afterlife when this was decided, and Acsended to Minor Godhood.

And there are many more, too many to list.

All the Rulers of the Afterlives defer to the Ruler of the Ghost Zone, who holds the most Power among the Gods of Death, as basically their Landlord. That used to be Pariah Dark, but after he went insane and had to be sealed away, the Ghost Zone fell mostly to Anarchy.

While the Afterlives managed to maintain stability due to having their own Rulers, the large regions between the Afterlives did not, and Rouge Spirts began to stake their claims to small plots of Land called Haunts. The most common among these were Ghosts, but there were some Fae, Spirits, and some smaller Gods (for some reason, some of the Kings of the Spirit Lands liked to use this Area as a playground to do whatever they wanted with no consequences).

It took Millennia, but eventually Pariah Dark was released from his Prison and then Usurped by a Young Godling named Phantom. Phantom then proceeded to bring the Realms under control, maintaining a few of the newer customs thay had appeared in the wake of Pariah's Imprisoning like Claiming Haunts, but otherwise ending the Era of Anarchy in the Realms.

The Ghost Zone is the Oldest, and most Powerful of the Kingdoms of the Infinite Realms. It holds Extreme Political Power, and has the favor of many different Realms. It's hard to not have that when you are an integral part of the Balance of the Godly World.

Thoughts?

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magical-regical · 6 months ago

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Ok so I've been playing 'Sword of Convallaria' for a few days now and honestly, I'm absolutely hooked.

More yapping below the cut, some spoilers abt the Spiral of Destinies. Although I haven't reached any endings yet so it's mostly speculation from my part.

It's interesting how this game seems to have two 'main stories'. Like,

The tutorial makes it feel like 'The Fool's Journey' is the main story since you're collecting Tarot cards for...something (the explanation kind of went in one ear, out the other). Some timey wimey space timey stuff. But I swear the actual main story happens in 'Spiral of Destinies' I mean look at this screen,

Does this not scream 'ANIME'

The fool's journey seems to give you some backstory for the characters you encounter in spiral of destinies but the actual story with your MC in it is in spiral of destinies. And can I say, I absolutely adore the story they're cooking in spiral of destinies.

It has different routes with different endings depending on which faction you side with which drives home the 'your choices affect the future' aspect of the game. You manage your mercenary group on a week by week basis which gives it a resource management aspect and there's an event at the start of each week before it lets you go to do your own thing and given the setting of the story it really gave the sense of 'oh god what now'.

They do such a good job crafting the atmosphere of 'everyone's trying their best but we all know war is about to break out' because the town itself looks so cheery with the bright colors but then you start reading your quest descriptions (because doing certain quests increases your affinities towards different factions) and the letters you get at the start of each week and you're like 'oh man things really aren't doing so well'.

On one hand we have The Union and Iria playing the blame game while The Papal States seem to be 'indifferent' or 'neutral' abt the whole thing (sus), possibly waiting for a good moment to strike. Then there's the whole thing with Darklight, what's up with them huh? Just your local cult doing cult things? It makes me more and more curious about who exactly caused the Waverun incident. Then there's the Vylders who seem to be caught in the cross fire.

And the fact that Convallaria, your city, is in the middle of it all. It's literally almost smack dab in the intersection of the three factions (which is why you can choose to side with either The Union, Iria, or the Papal States) and it's your job to make sure your little mercenary group can protect your little town in the middle of these three super powers who are frothing at the mouth, ready to rip each others throats out. Along the way you meet people from all three factions which kind of gives you insight on all three perspectives and it's really hard to pinpoint who exactly is 'in the right'. I love it. I haven't played a game that didn't have one obvious 'this way to good ending' sign in a hot minute.

As of writing this, I just finished 'Potential Threat' where the split happens and I ended up going down the Iria route because I pulled Dantalian early and he's been carrying me through the game so I thought it'd be a disservice to not side with him on my first run through.

Also I don't trust Lutfi. I don't know why. He sounds like a politician. Like his little speech at the tavern where he's like, 'all of this is Dantalion's fault so we should overthrow him so I can be a better leader!' and how he immediately calls the Swords of Convallaria his 'friends' feels just a little bit sus. Even more so if you've played chapter 2 in the fool's journey.

I'm excited to see where the story goes and I'm interested to see if there is (or is going to be) a 'save everyone' route because the way things are looking now, no matter who you side with, you will end up hurting people on the opposing side.

#I know Dantalion's name is Dantalion but I like calling him 'Dantalian' for some reason #sword of convallaria

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morsrattus · 5 months ago

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The Gods of Pent: The First Herd - Erissa

Erissa, the Healer, the Singer of Peace, the Healing Horse

The Cult of Erissa (HARMONY HARMONY LIFE)

Erissa is the beloved daughter of Yu-Kargzant, who is welcome everywhere. She is the kindest and most compassionate of all beings, and has never harmed another. When she sings, all stop to listen and forget their quarrels, and the only things she has ever fought are Pain, Disease and Chaos. She is one of the Lightbringers, the only god who could descend into the Underworld without price and hope to return safely, for even Death would not touch her in malice. Few gods are as beloved, though her priesthood in Pent remains small due to the difficulty of following its strictures.

Mythos and History

Erissa is the daughter of Yu-Kargzant, born from his light alone. She has no mother but the world itself, for it was the joy of all living things that bore her. Before her father's death, she traveled the world but did not become involved in the politics of gods. Where she passed, she sang of peace, and she treated the wounds of any who approached her. Her hope was that by being a light of joy and peace, she might end all hatred, and she refused to take sides or act in conflicts. She did not yet understand the true nature of peace.

When Death entered the world and Erissa's brother was slain, she wept terribly. When her father tore himself apart in grief, her pain was such that she nearly joined him. When dread Malia emerged from the Underworld with the secrets of Death and Disease, her pain was greater than anyone else could bear. But it was then she realized: she could not do nothing. She could not be neutral in all things, for this would end peace as surely as if she fought.

And so Erissa painted herself with the colors of light and darkness, with the colors of earth and air and water, to make herself welcome everywhere. She chose to act, naming her enemies: Pain, that people suffer and cry out. Disease, that tears bodies from within. Chaos, which unmakes that which is. Death could not be denied, but it need not be terrible. It was Pain and Disease and Chaos which made it so. And to prove it, Erissa swore to end the Pain that was killing the world: her father's death and the loss of the sun.

Erissa traveled widely then, aiding all who opposed Chaos. She healed the wounds of her brother, Kargzant, and ensured he was ready to defend the people. She calmed the frenzy and anger of the Four Winds, that they could see what must be done. She healed the bickering between the candidates for khan, that people might make peace with each other. When West King Wind descended into the Underworld, he asked Erissa to join him, for without her, they would never hope to return.

Erissa agreed. In the darkness below, she was faced with many dangers, and she never wavered in her decision. She refused to fight even the Great Enemy, Zorak Zoran, for he would be needed to stop Chaos. She healed the wounds of West King Wind that he suffered in the Freezing Hells, to show that winter would end. She sang to the warring factions of the Voralan Wars, making peace to earn the trust and faith of the mushroom demons, that they might lead the Lightbringers down into the Darkness Hells. She kept Ash Man from despair, for he had seen the death of all things, but Erissa soothed his pains and his madness when no other could.

And in the end, it was enough. Erissa found victory by remaining true to herself and her decision. She would act - but she would not harm others. Nothing could bring her to do so, and so she earned and kept the secret of resurrection. The world was healed and restored. Great is Erissa, the kindest of goddesses!

Nature of the Cult

Erissa's cult is highly restrictive, demanding a height of purity that rivals that of the Pure Horses, even exceeding it in some cases. The cult forswears all magic that might harm others, forbids the use of any weapon, and even forbids the eating of meat, which comes from the killing of animals. To join is, in a sense, a luxury, for a tribe that can support a cult of Erissa is one that is doing well enough to have sufficient vegetarian food. The cult serve as healers, offering their services to all without regard to reward or favor. The Law of Yu-Kargzant requires that they be gifted in recompense for their work, but that is the Law - the cult itself asks for nothing. Failure to offer them gifts is punished by shaming and atonement, while providing lavish gifts relative to one's wealth earns great acclaim.

Depiction

Erissa's Rider aspect is shown as a tall, thin woman in white. She has golden eyes and white hair, and her skin is painted in many colors. Her Mount aspect is a dappled gray mare, painted with many-colored Harmony runes along her haunches. Erissa never bears any weapon and typically is shown holding her arms wide in a gesture of peace or blessing.

Runes

Erissa is the master of the Harmony Rune and has strong ties to the Life Rune. She gave up her Fire Rune to better make peace with all things and no longer bears it, though she is still daughter of the Sun himself. Her magic is exclusively benevolent and can never be used to directly harm others. :HARMONY: Erissa has incredibly broad power over the Harmony Rune's healing power, though she has less command over its aspects of societal harmony and unity. Initiates have been known to use the Harmony Rune to, among other things, restore strength and vigor, close wounds, treat disease, drive out disease spirits, command healing spirits, calm rage, end berserk frenzies, create prosthetics, comfort others, show good faith to strangers, treat psychological pain or torment, comfort the dying, heal burns or poison, or grant restful sleep. Those strong in the Harmony Rune tend to be calm, merciful, and impartial. :LIFE: Erissa's command of Life is more chaste than that of more fertility-focused gods, using it to treat the body and health rather than cause new growth. Initiates have been known to use it to, among other things, heal fatigue, restore strengths, cure or drive out diseases, mend cuts or injuries, regrow lost body parts, stop bleeding, ease pregnancy, or reduce pain. Those strong in the Life Rune tend to be generous, kind, and self-sacrificing.

Opposed Runes

Erissa is opposed to the runes of Chaos, Disorder and Death.

Particular Likes and Dislikes

Erissa is the Khatun of Mercy and the Mistress of Healing, beloved by all people. She hates no one. She holds a particular love in her heart for her father, and her lover is the East Sting Wind, whom she seeks to bring peace and harmony to despite his nature. She names no god as her enemy, save for the gods of Chaos. She may not like the warfare and death spread by North War Wind and his fellows, but she offers her healing to them regardless, hoping to convince them of the ways of peace. Zorak Zoran has not forgiven her for her mercy towards him, however, and bears a deep disdain for her.

Cult Organization

The worship of Erissa is primarily focused around monasteries. Her cult largely operates out of the monasteries of other gods, particularly those of Yu-Kargzant, Kargzant and West King Wind, though they maintain a small number of Erissa-focused monasteries as well. Every monastery to Yu-Kargzant contains a shrine to his daughter, Erissa, at least. Few tribes can manage a large cult of their own, and most have only a small shrine to Erissa.

All who join the Cult of Erissa are sworn to heal anyone that comes to them, regardless of who they are. They are forbidden to marry and must divorce any spouse they have, so that they do not favor anyone over anyone else. They may remain within their tribe, but it is understood that their first loyalty is to the monastery they train at. The monasteries do not honor any central authority, however, and all of them are considered to be equal to each other, with each High Priest or Priestess equal in rank.

Priests

The priests of Erissa are known as the Erden, meaning the Jewels, or simply as Healers. They are required to aid anyone who is in need of healing or medical care, and are forbidden from causing harm to any living being. Most would never even dream of trying to harm them, and it is extremely illegal to do so, punishable by being cast out from one's tribe at the least. There are a number of gradations within the cult determining what jewel represents a given Erden based on their skills, and when an Erden permanently retires to a monastery, they are given a new name to reflect their perfection of peace. Rank matters largely during emergencies and triage situations, with the exception of the High Priests, known as the Erden Kings and Queens, who have absolute authority over their monasteries and all who train at them. Often the monastic names of Erdens are inherited from a past incarnation, though rank is not. Erdens are permitted to travel where they like and are welcome in any tribe, even the enemies of their own.

Center of Power and Holy Places

The monasterie of Pent are the most important places to the cult, particularly those of Yu-Kargzant or those wholly dedicated to Erissa. They serve as hospitals and places of healing, as well as the organizational centers of the cult. Beyond this, the holy places of Erissa are sites marking the end of hostilities or at which great acts of healing were performed. Often, these places are home to wells of pure water and fields of wild flowers, and it is considered to be extremely unlucky to fight or draw blood at these places. They are often used as sites of neutral meeting, and tribes rarely fight over control of them, as to fight for control would go against the holy nature of Erissa.

Initiates

Initiates of Erissa must possess [i]both[/i] of the Harmony and Life Runes, with Harmony at 1W or higher. Initiates are shown the God Time as Erissa knew it, before Pain, Disease and Chaos entered the world, and are made to suffer the pain of the first death and the joy of the first resurrection. Initiates swear to never do violence to another living being, to never eat the flesh of an animal, and to aid all people in need within the bounds of their ability to do so. Many wealthier initiates also take oaths to not wear fur or leather, but this is not required. Wool is, however, favored among the cult as a material for clothing. Initiates who break their oath of non-violence have all of Erissa's magical power removed from them.

Under Pentan law, initiates of the cult of Erissa are protected from all harm, as are those in their care. The penalty for violating the lives of Erissa's healers is exile at the least, and many Pentans would die to defend a healer from harm in the first place. However, they also are not often trusted with political secrets due to their strict stance of healing anyone who asks for aid. Initiates are not rendered impure by contact with the blood and other bodily fluids of those whom they are healing until after they finish.

Holy Days

Monasteries with an Erissa cult presence celebrate her every Wild Day. These weekly minor ceremonies are intended to teach everyone of the omnipresent power of mercy. The Wild Day of Life Week in a season is a particularly holy day, and initiates will make every effort to head to a monastery to attend the festivals of that week and take part in the ritual healing ceremonies. The most holy day of Erissa, however, is the Freeze Day of Fate Week in the Sacred Time, which marks the day on which Erissa resurrected West King Wind and gave her power of life to Yu-Kargzant, allowing them to emerge from the Underworld. This is the Resurrection Day, which is preceded by two weeks of ritual and ceremonial celebration, and it is the day on which it is easiest for the cult to resurrect the dead.

Sacrifices

Erissa is honored in the worship of Yu-Kargzant and the Lightbringer gods, but only with gifts of wealth, crops and tools. She accepts no gift of flesh, and instead is offered clarified butter, flowers, healing herbs and honey.

Subcults

Erissa has many subcults, and most monasteries maintain at least one subcult honoring a particular hero whose deeds protected it or led to its foundation. Others are widespread, and in the unique case of Arroyan, so widespread that it has ceased to be what might be considered a subcult.

Arroyan (HARMONY) Arroyan is the son of Erissa and East Sting Wind, the twin brother of the Wolf Healer, Asana. His father's warrior nature made it difficult for him to use healing magic, but he was determined to become a mighty healer anyway. His skill with medicine and his knowledge made him a target of the forces of Chaos, and he was forced to seek refuge with the Aldryami, the Tree People, who taught him the secrets of healing plants. He mastered the art of stitching wounds and setting bones, how to treat poison and ease pain without magic, and throughout the Darkness, he worked to ensure that the world was safe while his mother's magic waned in the Underworld. The worship of Arroyan is, in theory, a subcult of Erissa. However, the study of his methods is required of all initiates before they are permitted to learn healing magic, and it has effectively become so intertwined with the mainline cult that no one specifically worships Arroyan, but instead incorporate his worship into their worship of Erissa.

Herd of Mercy (HARMONY) The Herd of Mercy is a term referring to the many children of Erissa, adopted or born, who took a stand against Malia and the forces of disease. They are a collection of related subcults rather than a single one, as each monastery maintains a somewhat different list of the Herd's membership. Each member maintains a court of nehalings, lesser healing spirits which wield mastery over a specific kind of injury or a specific disease and may be summoned to help treat them. Followers of the Herd of Mercy, regardless of which specific members they name, may use their Harmony Rune to summon nehalings and to more easily treat the specific cluster of injuries or diseases that their subcult's chief goddess has mastered.

Cheon Heartsinger (HARMONY) Cheon was an adopted daughter of Erissa, a goddess whose family was slain by Chaos. She dedicated herself to bringing the enemies of Chaos together, to ending their feuds and battles so that they might protect the world entire. Her songs were so beautiful they could melt any heart, and none could fight in her presence, save to defend her. Followers of Cheon Heartsinger may use their Harmony Rune to sing beautiful songs, to magically enforce peace between enemies (except Chaos), or to show people a shared foe.

Devotees

Devotees, as normal, must renounce any magic that does not arise from Erissa, and may belong to only one subcult (except Arroyan). They must have a Harmony or Life Rune at 11W or higher.

Common Erissa Feats

Khatun of Mercy (HARMONY) When Erissa was crowned the Khatun of Mercy, she traveled all across the land, never resting. She could stay in no dwelling or tent longer than it took her to heal and treat its inhabitants and to purify herself after. She would travel far and wide, and any she met, man or beast, who was sick or injured, she would treat. No creature would harm her, no stranger would raise a weapon against her, for all could see her infinite mercy. The sole exception is Chaos, whose forces still sought her end.

Natyrsa Chaos Foe (HARMONY) Erissa could not remain neutral against Chaos when she saw the evil of the destroyer, Kajabor. She painted herself for war and called herself Natyrsa, the Foe of Chaos. She purified herself and took a stand, for she saw that Chaos was not of the world, and so was not of Life. She walked among the warriors and healed their minds and souls of the pain and fear and madness inflicted by Chaos. She exorcised the spirits of Chaos and the taint of Chaos' magic. She healed those who fought Chaos and became wounded, allowing them to continue fighting. When the battle was over, her purity was thoroughly ended, and she required a great cleansing, but she ensured that no warrior against Chaos was left tainted or corrupted.

Resurrection (HARMONY) Erissa knows the secret of Life beyond Death, of how to restore the dead to the world. She purifies herself and performs medicine upon the body, repairing it and healing its wounds and ills so that the soul has a place to return to. Then she descends into the Underworld, where she must seek out the soul before it arrives at the Place of Judgment, where it will be sent on to its proper place. If she is fast enough, she may speak to the soul of the dead, which she must persuade to return to the world of Life. Then, should the soul agree, she takes it home, replacing it in its body and restoring the person to life. It is an exhausting process that can only be done in a state of purity, which ends when Erissa returns from the Underworld, whether she succeeds or fails.

Divine Retribution

Erissa does not inflict punishments upon her followers for breaking their vows. Instead, she merely withdraws her support, removing her magical power from them - including the ability to resist disease or be treated by healing magic. This is close to a curse, for Erissa's mercy is part of what grants healing efficacy, but does not remove knowledge or non-magical ability to treat wounds. However, any initiate of Erissa that kills a living being is marked by the act. They not only lose all of their magic, but will attract the spirits sent by other gods to punish oathbreakers and the wicked. These spirits will generally attack when they see the mark staining the oathbreaker, cursing them with bad luck at the very least.

Lesser Gods of Healing

Erissa commands all of the spirits and gods of healing, for she is the greatest of their number and commands such respect that no spirit would gainsay her. Even sorcerous beings of healing bend knee to her, unlike most gods.

Nehalings

The Nehalings are the minor gods of healing. They appear as visible but insubstantial human figures, sometimes mounted on horses and sometimes not. Each possesses the ability to treat a single, often highly specific kind of pain, wound or disease. They are unable to affect anything else, so a Nehaling that is summoned to heal a snakebite will have no power to heal a broken leg or cure a cold.

#glorantha #gloranthaposting #secret history of the horse sun #pent #rpg #questworlds #heroquest

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blasphemousclaw · 2 years ago

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hope you don’t mind if I dump some thoughts here…

I’m team “Marika and Radagon were always the same being,” because Radagon being Marika’s counterpart HAS to be the dark secret he was keeping while he was married to Rennala… Miriel sets up the question “why would Marika choose a mere champion as Elden Lord,” and then we later find the answer to this question in-game when we investigate the statue, showing Radagon is Marika… the answer to the question as set up by the story was that Radagon was never just a mere champion; he was a part of Marika the whole time!

Anyway idk how exactly Marika/Radagon’s dual self came to be, but I love the theory that they represent the alchemical concept of the rebis, which was thought to be the end product of the perfection of the human body and soul… feels like a fitting theme for the vessel of a god who started out as a mortal:

“After one has gone through the stages of putrefaction and purification, separating opposing qualities, those qualities are united once more in what is sometimes described as the divine hermaphrodite, a reconciliation of spirit and matter, a being of both male and female qualities as indicated by the male and female head within a single body.” (via Wikipedia)

This description also reminds me a lot of the Golden Order’s quest to neutralize all opposing factions by bringing them all into its fold, though they contradicted each other in the past (also described in the fundamentalist laws of Causality and Regression), which makes me think that this reference to alchemy is intentional!

Radagon and Marika are interesting though, since they don’t seem to be a perfect union of body and soul at all… they both clearly have different wills and personalities that clash together… perhaps the gods’ idea of perfection isn’t so perfect after all?

Marika and Radagon

Seriously, what's up with those two?

Would love to here your reasoning, theories, or other ideas in the tags!

#elden ring #radagon #marika #anyway i voted for ‘its weird’ lol

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honourablejester · 4 years ago

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Some homebrew D&D deities of various domains and alignments, while I’m in a random worldbuilding mood. A bit of a realisation of some of the ideas from my Ideas for Deities post, and one continuation from my Faction: Iron Carillon post:

OREM, THIEF GOD OF THE BOUNDARY

Alignment: True Neutral

Domains: Grave, Trickery, Twilight

Symbol: A Hooded Lantern

A gentle shadow padding silently through the twilight, his hooded lantern held aloft, Orem is the thief god of the grave, the boundary and the night. Believed to have once been a mortal man, he is the guardian of lost souls, all those who die alone or in dark places, the dim light of his lantern guiding them to their rest. He is the messenger between the lands of the living and the dead, and may be implored to carry messages past the bounds. He is the god of thieves, watching over all who find their comfort and their livelihood in the shadows. He is the gentle warden of the outcast and abandoned, granting shelter and comfort to any who pray in desperation. Orem is the god of the in-between, the guardian of all that is lost or fallen through the cracks of the world, and all who seek them.

ELAIA SIVETH, THE LADY OF FIRST AND LAST RESPITE

Alignment: Neutral Good

Domains: Life, Grave

Symbol: Two Conjoined Faces, One Grey, One Silver

The dual goddess of life and death, Elaia Siveth presents one of her two faces to everyone who suffers or teeters in the brink of death. Those who long for healing pray for her silver face, Elaia the Lifegiver, for life and strength and recovery. Those in agony or despair, desperate for escape, may plead for her grey aspect instead, Siveth the Gentle, for the cool safety and sanctity of the grave. Elaia Siveth is the Dual Goddess of Mercy, the Lady of First and Last Respite. She has no care for names or histories or creeds, only for the easing of suffering. Across nations and races, she is worshiped by healers, midwives, funerary officials, exorcists, slaves, and all who in their distress have need of either of her aspects.

WEYLOUN, THE BELL-FOUNDER, THE FORGE GOD

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Domains: Forge, Trickery, Knowledge, Tempest

Symbol: An Iron Bell

The Forge God, Weyloun walked the world in mortal form during the early days of civilisation, teaching the arts of metalwork and the forge. In this form, he was captured by demons and taken to the Abyss to be a slave there, bound in mortal form, and forced to forge weapons for demons in their private wars. He invented a new craft to free himself, the art of bell-founding, and forged a mighty artefact there: the Bell of Sundering, which can break any bond or seal. Freed of his shackles and restored to godly form, he tore free the Abyss, and ever since has set himself against demons, against slavery, and against the proliferation of deadly weapons such as those he was once forced to forge. He is the god of smiths, of spies, of bell-founders, and all who fight against slavery or evil.

OROMASDES, LORD OF WISDOM

Alignment: Lawful Good

Domains: Arcana, Knowledge, Light

Symbol: Holy Fire

The Holy Fire, the Light of Truth, the All-Seeing. One of the first and oldest gods, Oromasdes is the god of the sun, of light, of magic, of truth, and of judgement. His is the all-seeing eye, the font of knowledge, the burning fire of inspiration. He favours the magics of divination and truth-seeking, and the cleansing fires of judgement and renewal. Those who seek knowledge, truth, or the wisdom to make good judgements pray to him. He is the god of diviners, watchmen, researchers and intelligence agents, and also the god of judges, sages and scholars. Oromasdes is not opposed to lies or trickery in the pursuit of noble goals, but self-delusion and the destruction or denial of knowledge are the greatest of faults in his eyes.

DEIMA, THE TWILIGHT LADY, THE LAST INNKEEPER

Alignment: True Neutral

Domains: Nature, Life, Trickery, Twilight

Symbol: A Wooden Door Carved With A Crescent Moon

A mysterious goddess, Deima is believed to have once been a gentle fey beloved of the gods of the woods and the wilds. As mortal civilisation encroached more and more onto the wilderness, other gods and fey took to arms against it. Deima chose another path. She is the goddess and proprietress of the Inn of the Moon, a mythical little inn found only at liminal places: crossroads, fords, the boundaries of protected woods. Any may enter, and all will be treated to a bounty of good food and good cheer, but it is said that only those who have the best interests of the natural world at heart may ever leave. As gentle as she is, Deima is the goddess and guardian of the boundary between tamed land and wilderness. Should you seek … unorthodox means to solve violent problems, Deima is your goddess of choice.

NALASHTAR, THE POISONED PROPHETESS

Alignment: Chaotic Evil (well Neutral-Leaning-Evil, really)

Domains: Death, Trickery, Tempest, Light, Life

Symbol: Two Hands Cupping A Green Flame

“Only in chaos is there truth. Only in extremis do we see who we really are.” Nalashtar is the goddess of chaos, disease, disaster and hope. Once a mortal woman, from a homeland decimated by plague, Nalashtar survived the ravages of her fever where thousands of others perished. In the burning embrace of her disease, she found an inner truth that she desperately wished to spread to any who would listen. The same inner light that enabled her to endure past all endurance once, later enabled her to ascend to godhood, the better to the spread her truth. Chaos is the seed of strength. Death is the seed of life. Break the laws. Topple the towers. Poison the cups. And in the chaos afterwards, see what lights still have strength to survive.

#d&d #homebrew #worldbuilding #deities #mythology

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sepublic · 4 years ago

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Barrel’s Warhammer!

YYYYOOOOOO SASHA!!!!

She really is the epitome, the pinnacle, of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss! I love Sasha, she’s such an utter mess, morally ambiguous and then downright terrible in so many ways, and genuinely unhinged in just as many! She’s a freaking riot and SUCH an amazing character, y’all!

In general, I adore how Toads are handled in this show! Yeah, they’re big and brutish and used as thugs… But the show still clearly portrays them as people, and some of them are terrible like Bog, but others are just trying to live their lives, like Percy and Braddock! And how they’re all clearly working with this ascribed role as Andrias’ enforcers and iron fist across Amphibia, how they’re encouraged to be cruel brutes… But they’re still people and they’re still oppressed, which is why Grime is leading his rebellion! Good for him, good for THEM!

Also… GRIMMITY?!?! Beatrix?! Grime LORE! I like how Beatrix and Grime have blind eyes on opposite sides, and Sasha roasting Bufo by naturally connecting his name to Buffoon, WONDERFUL! Aldo’s also a legendary, killer design, he reminds me of VLD Zarkon, old and decrepit and fanged and clearly has seen a LOT of stuff, a real warrior of his time… Honestly, getting a look into the Toads and THEIR complicated role in this story, as the ‘bad guys’ but not really, there’s more to them; It’s such a fit to Sasha’s character, and I LOVE how she’s such an utter brute for someone who normally seems accustomed to using honey over vinegar to attract flies (to feed her Toads)! She’s nuts, she’s great.

I love the explanation for the eye symbol, I love Sasha really getting to appreciate Percy and Braddock, and for a moment I thought she really was learning her lesson… When she gave them an out, I thought maybe she took what happened with Anne to heart, but now…! Maybe this is what she’s always done; Made empty promises. God, I love this little arc for her character, how she wants to be a good friend, but she keeps valuing power and control over all else…

AND HER RAGE! HER JEALOUSY! At Anne and Marcy being with each other, leaving her out, Sasha’s mind jumping to all of the worst conclusions, and how THAT anger is what unlocks her gem power, not heroism or anything else! Sasha’s such a complex and messed-up character but you can’t help but root for her, she really IS a Problematic Fave! God, with how she’s going to meet Anne in a volcano, and the whole “Sasha is Anakin and Anne is Obi-Wan” just WRITES itself, with Sasha angrily accusing Anne of turning Marcy against her, Anne retorting that Sasha did that herself, etc.!

God Sasha’s such a complicated mess and ball of unresolved emotions and contradictions, denial that’s insisting everything’s fine when it’s really not… She’s a manipulator who prefers to be hands-off, yet is also somehow the raw brute with unthinking, unyielding strength! She’s utterly terrifying, no wonder all of the Toads are in awe of her ferocity and power!

Also, I like how Barrel’s Warhammer was included; At first I wondered WHY the Narwhal Worm would guard the weapon used by the Toad who fought it, but as we can clearly see… Barrel must’ve conked it out BADLY with his Warhammer, knocking it out, and the hammer has been stuck since! And once more, the hammer has been slammed into the worm… And in general, I love seeing the Toads just ROOT around Sasha and Grime, I love seeing villainous characters get to go feral and unhinged as you root for them, as THEY rise up and fight against all odds as the underdogs!

Percy and Braddock and the gag with the kawaii poses was great, but it’s also sad to see them go! They’re definitely a wake-up call for Sasha and I like it, I wonder if you could parallel them, one-by-one, to Anne and Marcy respectively? Perhaps Anne and Marcy were initially not taken seriously by Sasha at first, but ultimately she DID grow to care for them and not just as ‘tools’, who knows? With Anne and Percy and Braddock, I think Sasha’s going to have to reconsider things… And GRIME, how he just sort of accepts that, yeah, you gotta lose people to achieve a goal! I could see him being a bad influence to Sasha, unintentionally- Like her, he means well, they’re really great parallels to one another!

Like, Sasha and Grime are both brutes, power-hungry, and wanting control, but Sasha prefers subtlety and manipulation, appeals to both her and others’ emotions, while Grime prefers to be raw and unthinking strength, he’s a seasoned veteran from combat, while Sasha is likely a rich kid, young and learning… They’re such a dynamic duo with a lot to teach one another! Maybe Grime sees himself in Sasha; Himself when HE was a kid… Maybe when he was a gladiator, he had friends but left them behind to be promoted to Captain? I wonder if Beatrix has anything to say on this, too…

Could Beatrix provide insight to Grimmity? Did Grime leave her behind in a sense…? Does SASHA have a sibling, and that leads to her weird power complex, as another parallel to Grime! Either way it’s sweet, I adore the dynamic of two horrible people who are good friends and bad, enabling influences to each other… Being problematic faves, you can’t help but cringe at their mistakes but also cheer as they win as underdogs and turn the tables on their enemies! I like how Sasha is still supportive of Grime and vice-versa, Grime’s guiding this kid, but Sasha’s fully supporting Grime as the de-facto leader and backing him up, not trying to seize control!

I think it really parallels Anne, how she just wanted to get back home… But somewhere along the way, she realizes how much she loves and enjoys this, and values her friend! And maybe it could lead to Sasha not wanting to head back home after all, especially if there’s nothing there for her; Which could play into her keeping all of her gem powers as she opposes Andrias openly, while Anne has some of her power because again, she’s more neutral, and then Marcy has none because she’s fully bought into the Newt King’s schtick!

Also, it’s funny that Sasha is no doubt feeling betrayed, like her trust has been jeopardized by Anne and Marcy, considering she did the same to Anne in Reunion! Lying to her about what she intended to do with the Frogs… It’s wonderfully hypocritical and this kid does NOT want self-awareness, she’ll toy with it for a bit, but then immediately backpedal! Get better and well Sasha, for everyone’s sake… The confrontation and paranoia as she loses her friends and only has Grime, who means well but isn’t so great himself, is also nice!

Honestly, there’s even a parallel to the idea of Sasha meaning well, only to be ruined by her own toxicity… And Grime wanting a better life for Toads in his revolution, but still allowing a hierarchy to exist by the end of the day, instead of abolishing it for all! They both have good ideas and initiative, but it’s ruined by Sasha and Grime not backing down on certain things and not listening to others, being SO sure they’re right… Very compelling stuff. Now I’m starting to wonder if Sasha will be open to Anne about her suspicions, if they WILL get along for the Third Temple…

…Or if she’ll try to manipulate and fool her again, thinking that SHE’s been betrayed herself! And maybe Sasha will realize her faults in the battle of Newtopia, only for it to be too late, Anne has been too betrayed, Sasha has only herself (and, well, Andrias) to blame! In the meantime, as Sasha no doubt embraces her role as a rebel, but also unknowingly as a hero against Andrias and his master… I can see her tapping more into her gem powers and actually using them as part of her rage, hence the shots we see from the Third Temple! She’s going to be terrifying, y’all, and even more of a match for Yunnan at this point… And Anne, poor Anne’s going to be caught between TWO toxic friends!

Both mean well, but both have other bad points… And it just means Anne’s gonna have to forge her own path, make her own decisions and group and faction, be her own person and take initiative once more! But it’s also gonna be lonely and could contribute to more trust issues along the way… And maybe she’ll think she can only trust herself, only do things on her own, and how this might pair badly with her selfless martyr-complex. We’ll have to wait and see, though… We’ll have to wait and see.

#amphibia #amphibia sasha #sasha waybright #amphibia grime #captain grime #amphibia percy #amphibia braddock #analysis #speculation

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littlefang666 · 3 years ago

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Laric: She/her. Muscled grey tabby with white highlights and teal blue eyes. Mother of Mitten and her 5 siblings (Mitten, Mary Jane, Sandy, Rawmen, Caden, and Rubin). The first alter i consciously spoke to, who came to me in the form of a blind ghost. Eventually gained her sight back and stayed in heaven's army, training her kids and factions to kill demons and prevent the apocalypse. Is a lacking a bit in empathy but holds compassion and positive morals after a while of working on how she views reality. Sided with God's will to bring harm to me back in middle and highschool, but now is a firm guardian of her tribe of alters in headspace.

Mary Jane: She/her. A silver tabby looking very close to her mother with more white highlights on her face. Heterochromia with one bright green eye, and one teal blue. Lean and tall build for more of a trickery and agility approach when training for battle. A bit more distant and nihilistic than the others, and is very blunt as opposed to how shy and timid she used to be. Friendly but difficult to approach, and tends to be less social.

Sandy: She/her. A light sandy blonde, muscled cat with green eyes and dark marks scarring her ears, face, legs, tail and flank. Butch-femme girl, likes to get dirty and rough but enjoys feeling like a fancy princess. Sided most with Laric out of all 6 siblings during the fallout of heaven, but stands firmly with Mitten now. Likes to sing.

Rawmen: He/him. Light tan cat with faded, thin stripes and even lighter highlights blended between. Fattest of all of the group and is proud to be so, is the goofiest and most playful. Has always been torn on what decision he should make in all the fighting, and never thought he should be a soldier. Likes drums and wants to be in a band one day.

Caden: He/him. Faded brown tabby cat with lighter highlights and amber eyes. Small comparatively to the rest of his family but well built for manouvering on a battlefield. Used to compete for most kills and now enjoys pretending to play music in headspace. Wants to learn electric guitar one day

Rubin: He/him. Darker brown tabby cat with lighter highlights and green and amber eyes. Biggest of his family and most muscled. Most aggressive out of all and struggles with toxic masculinity. Has quieted and calmed down at the prospect of playing in a band with his siblings.

Mae: She/her. White wolf dog/husky with bright blue eyes and dark marks scarring her face and flank and a brown nose. Ominous and serious vibe from the start, god-coded. Appeared to me in a dream. Full name is Maya Arctic Eclipse, each name given to her by a different soul who cared for her, goes by acronym for short. Is now very accepting of all headmates but took a long time to accept recovery.

Kobe: She/her. White shepherd mutt with faded blue eyes and a bright brown nose, big pointed ears. Friendly and motherly spirit of a deceased pet of a family friend. Married to Barren in headspace, and was seen as a pack leader to the spirit group for years before her retirement at the fall of heaven.

Barren: He/him. Aged german shepherd dog. Stoic and fatherly figure of a pet my cousin had that passed away. Protector and guardian of the group and pack leader. One of the strongest guards our group ever had and always respected, though felt God's plan was correct for me but didn't fight Mitten as much as the others. He felt she would make a choice most fitting to us all. He is relieved and proud of her and our history now.

Huffy: He/him. Large black newfoundland dog. Lawful neutral part demon who used to guard the group while sometimes abusing it for his own gain. Dated Mitten for a bit before a bad break up, and he continues to cause problems when around. Though he spends most of his time away from everyone due to inability to control himself, he is heavily respected and not trusted much. Most understand he needs time and space for recovery and are happy to leave him to it.

Delilah: She/her. White husky with black coat and faded light blue eyes. Introject of Smile Dog creepypasta character. Used to be evil but changed paths to follow our group and seek recovery, before disappearing for a long time. Was found in the distant less visited lands with huffy and the wolves.

Lyra: She/her. Twin to Delilah except eyes are green, and is a bit smaller. A happier, kinder alternative to her sister. She often was blended or forgotten about but when she was referenced she was bright and positive.

#alter intro #alter list #my family #descriptions #Laric #mary jane #sandy #rawmen #caden #rubin #barren #kobe #mae #lyra #delilah #huffy #osdd #actually osdd #actually traumatized

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yizukikhons · 10 months ago

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I keep reblogging this at 2am because that's when the new ideas hit me I'm sorry @wolfsrainrules

Tim thought that his biggest opposition would be John. It was foolish perhaps to think that, but John is the one who was intimately entwined in the Underground, grew up knowing it's Rules as Gospel and lived by it's creed religiously. He forgot that John, as wealthy and successful as he was, was working class. He knew the feeling of being exploited. Expected to kill and die at the hands of people with more influence than himself, and how those sacred Rules never seemed to apply to those who had more power. Tim shares his plans for improving the Underworld and he's immediately on board. (If the systems Tim wants to implement had existed, Iosef would not have been able to accost him and his dog without consequences. John would've been able to get out-truly out-to be with Helen without bringing the Tarasov's into power, or making his marker with Santino. It keeps him up at night for days after Tim shares those plans)

Bruce nearly bursts into tears when Tim finally tells him. He's learning to live with this bloodier world, but to have Tim come to him and say 'I want to change it' with the same look in his eyes that he has whenever he talks of Gotham...it's both terrifying and exhilarating (His son is just like him. Oh God he's never been so proud or terrified in his life). He immediately sits down and starts setting up plans. They talk well into the night-even skipping patrol-talking about what outcomes they want and what kind of retaliation they can expect.

Jason is supportive. He looks up to Tim when it comes to the Underworld, and he's not so divorced from his vigilante roots to think that the system isn't broken. A Crime Alley kid through and through, he is also all too familiar with people exploiting systems to their advantage. It's Damian who is the most opposed. Unlike John or Jason, he is Underworld nobility. Born and bred to think that he is superior, and that it is his right to have others die in his name. Living with his father and siblings has deprogrammed a lot of that, but much like Tim he grew up thinking that this was the ONLY way that things could be, and he's still too young to fully grasp that his worldview isn't right. I like the idea of Tim having targets on his back for trying to change things. His attempts to change the Underworld has people both in and out of Gotham paying attention to him. Cobblepot thinks he's crazy. Living with Bruce is obviously turning him into an *ugh* idealist. It's also the most interesting thing to happen in decades (that kerfluffle with the Baba Yaga does not count. The Table is corrupt, what else is new?) Tim's ideas are even ones he (mostly) approves of! Go on little Bat! He won't stand in your way! (He can turn this to his advantage he's sure)

I feel like this story will eventually end with Tim becoming the head of the Gotham Underworld, sort of incorporating the prompt where he becomes the owner of the Gotham Continental. Gotham becomes it's own, strange world in the Underworld. A city with rules that leave many outsiders scratching their heads, but with results that no one can deny. Gotham becomes the best location for neutral grounds, for outside parties to come an negotiate at. They're subjected to strange codes of conduct, but the civility between disparate factions is undeniable. And if people try to start something, thinking that Tim's morals make him weak? They quickly find that Gotham is also not a place easily escaped. The city turns against them, clamping it's jaws around them like a steel trap. Even if they do make it out, any power they had will be in ruins by the time they get home. Tim makes it very clear that if he kills you? That's his MERCY. The Son of the Drake isn't weak for not killing, and that there are fates in the Underworld worse than death.

Stares off into the distance:

So.

Apparently my brain is just going to run along with various crossovers. Today, I bring you the thought of a John Wick fusion au (actually five differnet ones) with Batman/DC. (Again: a reminder that all my DC/Batman knowledge is fandom based)

@north-peach hellllppppp

Couple of thoughts for this.

The First: Janet Drake is one of the underworld's best. She's fantastic at manipulation and killing. She could walk herself out of a situation covered in blood, and convince people who saw it all happen that she never touched the body.

Tim grows up at her knee. He learns for the very best. And Janet teaches him everything she can- because despite the job and the crazy hours, and the travel, she loves her son. She wants to give him every opportunity to make it out alive from anything. Unharmed and not in trouble if possible, but alive most of all.

John Wick is a ghost story to the underworld. Tim has always been curious about people who could cause such a stir as his mother or John Wick might. When he meets him, he decides that man is Friend Shaped despite every sign saying Do Not. Despite every horror story saying it's a bad plan. (Much as he will later look at a story in a city of a cryptid said to be a manifestation of a city, a demon, a physical representation of all those who have died unavenged and decide the same)

More than that- John has ZERO idea how to handle Tim. He's a k i d. John's not gonna kill him for just...showing up all the time. It's not like he interferes or causes problems. In fact, he helps sometimes. Provides info, or a direction, a place to crash-

Tim confuses John.

Tim is also the very first to congratulate him, when he manages to get out of the underworld for Helen and mean it. To not even question the 'impossibility' of the Baba Yaga deciding he was done. John didn't bother to ask how Tim knew he'd left and why before the news actually broke out.

Tim watching John get out, go for it and SUCCEED is what gives him the courage to confess to his mother that he wanted to spend some time outside of the underworld, watching the curious case of Batman and Gotham. And Janet loves her son. So she arranges for it to be so.

They both know who Bruce Wayne is. Janet had figured it out before even Tim. She makes him promise that, if he needs her, he will call her, and lets him hunker in Gotham while he does what he wishes. She makes some trips back to Gotham, of course, but not so many that enemies can figure out there's someone important to her there. Janet is THE Femme Fatale. She has plenty of people who would go after her boy. And she's not having that.

Tim doesn't actually PLAN to get involved in vigilante life. At all. He's underworld born and bred. He's a survivor, manipulative, and can be a level of cunning and cold and ambitious that always makes his mother so so proud. He's not a do-right kind of person. He's not someone who does things for people outside of "me and mine" without a reason. Or if it goes against his moral code.

Except Jason Todd becomes one of "Me and Mine". He's a friend. A nosy vigilante who sees that his friend is alone and sets off his instincts as dangerous yes, but also as 'not a civilian' in a conventional sense. He's not a street rat, but he's not...normal either. And Tim? Tim, once he decides this Robin is his Robin, well he can't very well leave him undefended doing this ALONE can he? Though he understands by working with Robin, he cant use the tried and true methods of murder, as it could get pinned to Robin or Batman and he can't have that. If he wants to fly with Jason, he needs to fly by his rules. So a new vigilante is born that runs the streets with Robin. A little more vicious but in a cold and precise manner. Exacting. He doesn't let Jason go after his mother without doing the information gathering, and stops his death by Joker.

For a time, Tim finds himself pulled into the Wayne family, and he...thrives with them. He's happy. He learns under them. Expands his skillset, and still sent out to learn from people around the world. He is NOT fool enough to turn that away- his mother would somehow KNOW wherever she was if he turned down that kind of opportunity and he did not want to imagine the disappointment and response. NO THANK YOU.

When the underworld is kicked like a hornets' nest by John Wick coming back into the fold, Tim is...curious. He's kept an eye on John and Helen, if not stayed in direct and constant contact with them. He hadn't expected John to step foot back into the underworld.

And then his mother sends word to him, calls him back to the Continental, warns that the underworld is getting REALLY kicked up as a result. Tim...needs to go. He cannot imagine NOT answering his mother.

He arranges things on the Gotham end. Says temporary goodbyes and gets to the NY branch asap. Beats his mother there.

Makes it just in time to see John Wick pull a gun on Continental Grounds and shoot a newly crowned seat at the Table and is caught up in the chaos.

His family are going to end UP in the chaos themselves, because they will not cannot leave Tim in it alone. The connections Tim has are MUCH a surprise, he's done very well in hiding exactly what he used to do, and WHY he has a contact and hand in everything, and can ALWAYS get his family what they need. The Second: Tim Drake still grows up at Janet's knee. He learns it all. Thrives in it all. He ends up NOT going down the road of hitman or assassin or any number of things he could have done. Instead Tim Drake chooses to be a Information Broker that claims Gotham eventually, and by means of getting taken in by Bruce, the Wayne Manor and grounds around it become neutral grounds much like the Continental, if you want Tim's services to remain open to you. If you pull the underworld onto the ground...well. Just because Tim goes by Bruce's rules, and just because he PREFERS the route of nonviolence does not in any way mean he would not kill to protect it. To prove a point. To make a statement. To allow one to get away with it is to allow danger to his family and he WILL NOT, no matter that they all are perfectly capable of defending themselves. The Underworld is entirely different than their villains. To not kill the offender is to open themselves to weakness and targets. So Tim WILL.

Gotham is not Wayne Manor. The City is fair game to the underworld. Wayne Manor is NOT.

The Third:

Janet raises her boy at her knee still. Tim chooses the route of Doctor instead. He sets up in Gotham, and decides he likes the foolish vigilantes enough to step in when it's needed and save their lives. He becomes known to the Batfam as a Doc that will not ask questions, but is absolutely one of the most capable people they've seen. If Leslie isn't available, or not close enough, they go to Tim, if Tim doesn't find them, because he certainly seems to know when they need it.

The Batfam does sometimes find him having dealt with Some Things underworld involved so they are WORRIED about their idiot, despite the fact that Tim can and will Wreck everyone that causes problems in his area. He has also shown up stripping off blood covered scrub tops or whatever cause hes coming in hot from another healing thing, and they all wonder and worry and just- it's fine. Everything is fine.

They worry anyway.

Despite the fact that Tim has friends seemingly everywhere, from all walks of life, favors all over, and connections to seemingly everything as a result of his work. (He has absolutely been offered favors as payment, hits, assassinations and all sorts of things. He never turns them away. Janet taught him better. Instead he has markers and logs, books and written promises all stacked away. He remembers them all of course, but better to have written proof somewhere, something official. The Continental holds it for him.

The Fourth:

Gotham HAS a Continental Hotel due to all of its.....everything. Janet Drake runs it. Tim knows EVERYONE and everything, and has absolutely run the counter often. Bruce doesn't know what it is. Ra's absolutely does. Tim is the next to take over the branch and EVERYONE knows it.

He ends up occasionally, when people step on his morals, providing information to the Bat.

Jason managed to find his way inside by accident, and may or may not get himself heavily involved in the underworld even BEFORE the Red Hood thing.

The Fifth:

Same concept as 4 except BRUCE WAYNE runs the Continental and the ripples of everything therein.

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balillee · 4 years ago

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The Implications of Dream’s Vault - Who is Dream Threatened by and Why?

/rp

On the stream on the 20th, we were finally given confirmation that Dream does, in fact, have a house. Sort of. I mean, if you consider that thing to be a house more than it is a trophy room, then sure, he had a sleepover.

But, now that the boogeyman’s in the clink, let’s talk shit.

There were various spaces in the museum for items of sentimental and functional significance that specifically relate to ten different characters. I listed them all in a post before for reference, but in brief, those ten characters were inclusive of Tommy, Tubbo, Techno, Ghostbur, Ranboo, Purpled, Punz, Sapnap, BBH and Sam. There were spaces in the vault for their pets, their personal belongings, and even for Skeppy - as dark as that is. I’ll go over why he needed those items specifically to hold power over this exact group of ten people.

Now, I’ll admit that it’s unlikely that these are the only ten people that can seriously do damage to Dream’s authority. However, I believe that these ten were represented specifically because they’re the most immediately threatening, either that or they’re the only ones that Dream’s ego allows him to see as a threat, or as a tool.

- Tommy- Tommy is kind of obvious. In the vault, there was a shrine to the discs, a pen for Henry and there was a spot for a piece of bedrock (it’s unclear whether or not the bedrock was for Tommy or for Techno, as they both had a piece. Or Drista, but she’s a deity, so who knows.) Tommy is the only thing that Dream is attached to, and it’s painfully obvious, hence why Tommy was able to use his own death as leverage to take Dream down. If Dream can keep things as significant to Tommy such as Henry and the discs away from him, he can eternally perpetuate their game of cat and mouse. Dream was a villain that Tommy became the catalyst for, and it’s why Dream appreciates him so much. He won’t kill Tommy, but he’ll teeter him over the edge by dangling things above his head for fun.

- Tubbo- Tubbo is also kind of obvious. In the vault, there was a post designed for Squeeks, Tubbo’s pet fox. It was made plainly clear that Dream places no value in Tubbo, but Tubbo does have some influence that he needs to take into account. Especially before Doomsday, Tubbo had systemic power and he had the final call on all things in relation to L’Manberg, and he had a large part in the actions of the Butcher Army. That, and if Tubbo was threatened with the loss of Squeeks, Dream, who views Tommy as some valiant knight, will swoop in to help him. Tubbo might not be fun to Dream, but he’s a tool to get to Tommy, and he was the final say in L’Manberg.

- Techno- There are multiple reasons to want Techno under your thumb. In the vault, there was a spot for the axe of peace, a pen for Carl, and a spot for either Techno or Tommy’s piece of bedrock. Techno, despite what he’ll have you believe, holds a lot of systemic power. He backs people into a corner with his threats, which he’ll go through with in a heartbeat, and he’s forced people to accept his warped anarchist ideology multiple times through fear-tactics. That, and, alone, he still holds a lot of power anyway. He’s by far the best combatant on the server, he is stacked to hell, has stacks of wither skulls, and could probably level the entire server. If Techno ever didn’t agree to Dream’s plans, not only could he wave the favour around for him, but he could also threaten Carl and keep his axe of peace from him.

- Ghostbur- This one’s an odd one, I’ll admit, but there are a couple of reasons why Ghostbur could have been a threat. In the vault, there was a spot for friend (whether or not the friend that was in the vault was the real one is unclear, as another version of friend was still present in the button room.) Everybody loves Ghostbur, it’s obvious. He’s Caspar the Friendly Ghost, with his aptly-named friendly blue sheep! He takes away your sadness with his blue, and he’ll keep you company. And that’s Dream’s issue. We already know that Dream tried to kill Ghostbur around the time of the Beach Party when he was told to go wander in the snow. So why? If Ghostbur was threatened, people would be pissed. Let’s say that Dream frames Techno for killing friend, or kidnapping him, or whatever. Ghostbur would be incredibly unhappy - he’d forget it, but others wouldn’t. People would go after Techno, and there’d be full-scale conflicts because of a ditsy ghost and his sheep. By creating conflicts, Dream can whittle down the crowd a little, and he can watch people grow weak. That’s where Dream comes in and asserts his power.

- Ranboo- Ranboo, while a little more obvious than others, is definitely an interesting addition to the list. In the vault, there was a space for Ranboo’s cat, enderchest. Why Dream chose enderchest specifically, when Ranboo probably has the most pets out of anyone on the server (most of which are just kinda named after him), I don’t really know. I only started watching his streams kind of recently, so I don’t know if enderchest was his first pet, or if that was Jonald. I’d have to check. Dream has very obviously been manipulating Ranboo for a short while now. I mean, ever since he and Tommy burnt down George’s house, he probably figured that Ranboo’s good for something. Dream exiled Tommy in retaliation because he took the first possible chance to punish Tommy to such an extreme extent, and he had other plans for Ranboo (because there was no way he couldn’t have known that Ranboo was involved.) But knowing that Ranboo has chronic memory loss? Even better. It ensures that even Ranboo doesn’t remember, and when the truth comes to light about him having betrayed everyone, he’ll be completely isolated, and that’s when Ranboo folds. If Ranboo suddenly is able to remember, however, Dream can still keep Ranboo under his thumb if he has enderchest. If enderchest gets threatened, Ranboo, again, will fold, especially since he’s very susceptible to peer pressure. But lets say that Ranboo was never controlled by Dream, and that Ranboo was just trying to fill in the gaps. Let’s say that TruthBoo was just a manifestation of catastrophisation. Well, he still knows what Ranboo’s capable of. He’s a pretty good fighter, probably one of the better ones on the server I’d imagine, and he’s stacked. Dream could likely do with a combative powerhouse like Ranboo, especially one with as many connections as him.

- Purpled- This one is definitely the wildcard of the bunch, but there is a definite reason why Dream would have need of someone like Purpled. In the vault, there was a space for DogChamp, Purpled’s pet dog. Purpled, if you’ve been paying attention, doesn’t really get into conflict, and he’s a definite neutral faction to the point that he’s barely around. But, it’s not like he won’t show up ever. If he wants to hang around, he will. Purpled’s a decent combatant, and it’s likely that Dream could have used DogChamp to get him on his side if ever there was a conflict - plus, even if Purpled was weaker than others in terms of items, it’s not like Dream couldn’t gear him up, either.

- Punz- I mentioned this before in a separate post about the double-agent Punz theory, but Dream specifically didn’t have a spot for Bumpkin - something the two of them planned to fight over - he had a spot in the vault for Punz’ shulker box. So not only can Punz be swayed with money, Punz can also be swayed by one of the most powerful items on the server - not only is the shulker box a one of a kind, it’s also something personal to Punz, and it likely holds items of functional worth too. Punz decides where he stands based on what he can get out of it, and by taking the Punzo Shulker, Punz can get something back if he works with Dream.

- Sapnap- Sapnap is Dream’s friend, and usually sided with him during conflict because of their continued friendship. So why were there spots for Beckerson and Mars, Sapnap’s fish? Sapnap is more of a rogue than George is, in my opinion. Sapnap has sided against Dream before, literally in the server’s very first war, so while Sapnap values their friendship he’s not opposed to fighting Dream. Dream nearly revealed to Sapnap during the Spirit speech that he didn’t care about him, and it was the start of where Sapnap started to doubt his relation to Dream. Sapnap’s not an active player in the story, but by god is he a powerful one. If Sapnap is on Dream’s side, then Dream’s got his lackey, and he’s still got respect and power. And if Sapnap doesn’t agree, well what happens to Beckerson? If Sapnap knew that Dream was dangling Beckerson above his head the whole time, he’d have opposed him from the start, but he’d be completely trapped. Sapnap now fully sides with people like Tommy who, instead of taking from him and using him, will reconcile and work together instead. It was a harsh truth for Sapnap to face, but a necessary one. Sapnap’s not tied to Dream anymore.

- BBH- BBH is also an interesting one, and this one’s definitely the darkest. In the vault there was a two-by-one cell designed for Skeppy, BBH’s best friend. Not only would BBH do anything for Skeppy, their life forces are canonically tied together. BBH is effectively immortal, and only loses a life when Skeppy does. If Dream has Skeppy, then he’s more than able to whittle away BBH with ease and eliminate him entirely if he doesn’t do his bidding. Kind of like a three strikes and you’re out system. Not only that, but BBH is definitely one of the most powerful players on the server. He’s the leader of the Badlands, the server’s most powerful militia. They have the combative and systemic power, they have the ambition, they have the people, and they have the land. If Dream controls BBH, Dream controls the Badlands.

- Sam- There was a space in the vault for Fran, Sam’s dog, and there’s a very, very good reason for this. Sam is the self-proclaimed most stacked man on the server, he’s the head authority on the prison, he has ties to the Dream SMP and Snowchester, he’s a member of the Badlands, he’s cracked at the craft and he’s a technological genius. Sam once almost waged a war because Ponk killed a fake Fran, that’s how much he cares. If Dream controls Sam, Dream has full freedom to put anyone he wants in the prison if they dare threaten his authority. He could even put Sam in there, if he felt that Sam was too much of a threat. Sam’s probably one of the most important people on this list simply because of the influence and power that he has alone, and he’s not even the leader of anything.

So there we go - here’s the proof you need that Dream is a fucking nutcase.

#dream smp #dsmp #dream smp canon #dream smp lore #dream smp theory #dsmp canon #dsmp lore #dsmp theory #dsmp prison #dream smp prison #dsmp finale #dream smp finale #dsmp spoilers #dream smp spoilers

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nicklloydnow · 3 years ago

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“In this debate, parties were blamed for encouraging a form of herd mentality in politics. George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, likened parties to “an Inquisition, where Men are under such a Discipline in carrying on the common Cause, as leaves no Liberty of private Opinion.” More fundamental was the concern that parties exacerbated division and turned neighbors into enemies. As Joseph Addison wrote in the Spectator, “I am sometimes afraid that I discover the seeds of civil war in these our divisions.” What made things worse was that partisanship often seemed random. “There is a sort of Witchcraft in Party, and in Party Cries, strangely wild and irresistible,” wrote Thomas Gordon, co-author of Cato’s Letters. “One Name charms and composes; another Name, not better nor worse, fires and alarms.”

Most astute political commentators, however, realized that parties were not going away. They were a price worth paying for parliamentary politics and ultimately a sacrifice for political freedom. A state without parties was a state without liberty, as Montesquieu put it in his history of the Roman republic. A government without parties is an absolute government, since rulers without opposition are autocrats. Opposition, to be effective in a parliamentary system or in any system with an assembly, must be organized.

(…)

Rapin argued that the two parties in Britain, the Whigs and Tories, represented the two pillars of the mixed and balanced constitution – parliament on the one hand, and monarchy on the other – and that both parties were necessary for the equilibrium between them. They were likewise necessary for balance in the religious sphere, which was as important as secular matters in public life at the time. The Tories favored the Church of England, the Whigs toleration for Protestant Dissenters, and the only way to achieve a sustainable equilibrium between the two extreme positions was competition and mutual checking and balancing between the parties. These parties would alternate in government and take turns to hold each other to account when out of power.

The Scottish Enlightenment thinker David Hume (1711-76), who read Rapin at an early age, wrote at length about party in general and in its British guise in a series of essays published as Essays, Moral and Political in different instalments starting in 1741. Hume believed that parties – or “factions,” terms he used interchangeably – based on “principles” were particularly pernicious and unaccountable. Religious principles had the potential of making people fanatical and ready to both proselytize and persecute dissidents. Because they were more transparent and less extreme, parties based on “interests,” meaning different economic interests, were more tolerable. His early essays on party, “Of Parties in General” and “Of the Parties of Great Britain” (both 1741) treated the phenomenon as inevitable since the British parliamentary system produced to Court and Country parties, or parties of government and opposition.

In later writings, Hume suggested that party politics could be necessary and possibly salutary for political societies. In “Of a Coalition of Parties” (1758), Hume opened by arguing that it may be neither possible nor desirable to abolish parties. This essay was an apologia for his own History of England (1754-61). In this earlier work, Hume had written that “while [the Court and Country parties] oft threaten the total dissolution of the government, [they] are the real causes of its permanent life and vigour.”

(…)

In the pages of the Craftsman, Bolingbroke justified the existence of an oppositional “Country party.” In Bolingbroke’s formulation, it would function as a constitutional party, and he argued that the government of the day (Walpole’s Whigs) had betrayed the core principles of the constitution by corrupting parliament and making the legislature dependent on the executive. In A Dissertation upon Parties (1733-4), Bolingbroke separated the political landscape into three camps: 1) enemies of the government but friends of the constitution, referring to his own Country party; 2) enemies of both, meaning the Jacobites; and 3) friends of the government but enemies of the constitution, that is, the Court Whigs. Only the first category was a legitimate party, whereas the other two were factions, according to Bolingbroke. To save the nation, he argued, the enemies of the constitution had to be opposed, and opposition must be systematic and concerted.

Burke, a Whig later in the century, was not favorable towards Bolingbroke’s Country Tory politics and even less so towards his Deistic and anti-clerical religious writings. Burke continued, however, to distinguish between party and faction in even more forceful terms than Bolingbroke, as he sought to justify his party connection, the Rockingham Whigs, in the 1760s and onwards. To defeat what he viewed as the Court cabal and the abuse of the royal prerogative in the reign of George III, Burke believed that party connection was essential to restore Britain’s mixed and balanced constitution. “When bad men combine, the good must associate,” Burke wrote in Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770), “else they will fall, one by one.” Politics was not about having a clean conscience but about making a difference, and party was a necessary instrument that could unite power and principle. As he famously defined party: “Party is a body of men united, for promoting by their joint endeavours the national interest, upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed.” At the heart of this definition is a distinction between party and faction. Parties for Burke are devoted to promoting an understanding of the national interest, and they are united by principle, and not exclusively by interest, although that can be a supporting principle.

The core of Burke’s party was made up of major Whig aristocratic families such as Cavendish and Devonshire. In the Present Discontents, however, Burke stated that he was “no friend to aristocracy,” in the sense at least in which that word is usually understood, that is to say, as “austere and insolent domination.” What the Whig aristocrats possessed was property, rank, and quality which gave them a degree of independence, and this enabled them to stand up to both the Court and the populace. In this sense, Burke’s conception of party was indeed aristocratic, but it was not aristocracy for its own benefit but for the sake of the whole, and part of his defence of Britain’s mixed and balanced constitution.

The British party debate left an ambivalent legacy among early American political actors and thinkers. The most famous discussion of party and faction in the early American republic is found in James Madison’s Tenth Federalist. In this canonical essay, Madison argued that differences and “mutual animosities” could not be extinguished in free governments. He further agreed with Hume that parties of interest were generally more peaceful and governable than parties united and actuated by passion. His solution to party violence resembled Hume’s argument from “Of a Perfect Commonwealth” (1752): the effects of faction can be better controlled in larger states and federations than in city states. Thanks to the greater size and the scope of the United States, the impact of each faction would be mitigated.

A less philosophical but comparably historically significant party argument surfaced in the 1790s. After Madison and Alexander Hamilton had co-operated as Publius in the Federalist Papers, they became rivals as the early American republic split into two political parties: Republicans and Federalists. Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation in 1793 led to a sharp disagreement between the two on the question of executive power in the constitutional order. In short, Madison associated with his old friend and fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State, to oppose Treasury Secretary Hamilton’s centralizing ambitions. In this political environment, a party argument emerged which had more in common with Bolingbroke, and to an extent Burke, than it did with Hume. This was the idea of partisan opposition. The ideal for Jefferson and other opponents of the Federalists was national unity. However, because of what they perceived as the corruption of Federalists such as Hamilton, an opposition party in the shape of the Republican Party was necessary to defeat the enemies within. Jefferson believed that the Hamiltonians and the Federalists were monarchists, and he viewed the 1790s as an ideological battle between liberty and tyranny. In this struggle, partisanship became a necessary evil.

Many eighteenth-century thinkers contended that constitutional party politics were sometimes necessary to save liberty from authoritarianism and corruption. Indeed, party politics itself was a sign of liberty, since it enabled isolated individuals to participate, and thus gave life and vigor to politics. Such politics could generate “harmonious discord” and be as close an approximation of the common good as the imperfections and diversity of human society permit. But for this to materialize, the political debate must retain a degree of civility. Admittedly, most eighteenth-century partisans fell as short as we moderns in this regard. This is the reason why Hume sought to persuade partisans “not to contend, as if they were fighting pro aris & focis,” literally for altars and hearths, or for God and country.

For Hume, it was also crucial that parties were “constitutional.” According to him, “[t]he only dangerous parties are such as entertain opposite views with regard to the essentials of government,” be it the succession to the throne as in the case of the Jacobites, or “the more considerable privileges belonging to the several members of the constitution,” as with the great parties of the seventeenth century. On such questions there should be no compromise or accommodation since that type of party strife could turn into armed conflict. Eighteenth-century politics retained a civil-war edge on both sides of the Atlantic. Recent events, and indeed the nature of party politics itself, have shown that this is a history and a debate we forget at our peril.”

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lyricalchrysanthemum · 1 year ago

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Shin Megami Tensei games have an alignment system law neutral and chaos routes like 75% of the time BUT it’s not like good neutral evil. What alignment in SMT means usually is:

Law - Absolute order under God’s rule.

Chaos - Absolute freedom and anarchy.

Neutral - What it says on the tin. Under the context of SMT1, this means humanity rejecting higher authority all together and choosing to find power in mankind. Which is what it would mean here.

Thinking.

Hypothetically.

Because Sinnoh heavily relies on Cynthia, Volo, Cyrus, and the Sinnoh trio’s relationship to Arceus and the other gods. Cynthia Volo and Cyrus represent something like that in their own relationships and what they believe is best for the greater humanity.

Cynthia believes the world should put their trust in Arceus, believing it to be the ultimate guide for what’s right with the world. She does not oppose Arceus, and believes it’s rightful rule as the creator. It knows best. She would represent law.

Volo believes Arceus is a pathetic excuse for a god, who fails its children every which way. It should not have a right to judge who’s right and who’s wrong. Instead he will reject gods, destroy them, and grant people freedom from its watchful eyes with Giratina. He would represent chaos.

Cyrus believes he should be made into a god. Overthrowing Arceus but not rejecting the concepts of gods regardless. It’s not that gods as a concept are bad. He just believes the highest power is foolish and doesn’t deserve its worship. Instead of Arceus, he will be a god. He would represent one of the neutral factions.

Often in SMT games there’s more than one neutral party. And the Sinnoh trio would be the second neutral party, choosing to find strength in humanity and themselves rather than the gods. Believing that, through what they know of their time in the future, humanity will be alright. Becoming like gods as a result in the end.

I HAVE to get weirder with Sinnoh I have to

#pokemashe #volo #cynthia rutherford #cyrus theron #dawn lyre #lucas aquila #barry cygnus #ITS THE OVERALL SMT INFLUENCE COMING IN AGAIN WITH A STEEL CHAIR

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siarven · 5 years ago

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👁️ Cireon: Goddess of Manipulation & Chaos (Ellariel profiles 4/4)

she/her | neutral evil | Pair-partner to Mikaën | Natah; Ascended

1. seems and acts insane on the first, second and third glance ... but she really isn’t.

2. casuistry

(n.) deceptive or excessively subtle reasoning

3. All that blood looks good on you. It really brings out your eyes.

Cireon, like Mikaën, is a Sixth Generation Ellariel – the first Generation after the Split; the first Generation that was born into their faction alignment.

Ellariel are non-human, non-physical entities that create themselves from (some) of the (usually similar) memories of deceased earlier generation Ellariel.

Cireon pulled herself together from a collection of memories originating mostly from the 4th and 5th Generation... to be specific: Cireon is fuelled by an infinite rage and need for revenge because, at her very core, she was created from the most painful memories of Ellariel who’d died as a direct result of humanity’s abuse of the First Pact between them and humans--the pact the Ellariel subsequently broke. The pact that fuelled their decision to Split into Nanaël and Natah so that every human would be bound by two opposing Ellariel instead of just one.

Cireon’s rage and need for revenge at humans and at the Split and at the consequences of the Broken Pact are her core.

She’s extremely good at deceiving herself and others into believing that this isn’t the case, but, well, Ellariel are only vaguely human-passing in both shape and being. Combined with her powers, she’s someone who essentially knows exactly what to do and who to influence to get what she wants, who uses chaos to her advantage as the only one who’s in constant control of the situation. And all she wants are 2 things: to regain the level of power past Ellariel had (= leading to her Ascension), and her need for revenge (=which then lead to her causing the past Apocalypse, and subsequently being sealed away by the other Ellariel).

And then there is also Mikaën. Sweet, gentle Mikaën, who fell for her so easily... who she fell for as well, even if she will never admit it to anyone, including herself. Who still turned his back on her, even if they both knew that she was right. Whom she scorns for his “weakness”; who wasn’t grateful for the power boost he got when her Ascension pulled him up as well, to maintain the Balance of the pair-partner system.

And as much as she despises Mikaën, maybe, deep, deep down, she still cares?

Ben is the first child Mikaën has Bonded in centuries because he did not want to provide Cireon with a tool as powerful as a human child. Until he caved into Amber’s request to save Ben. Unfortunately for Ben and Mik and basically everyone else, Cireon does indeed have Plans. And contingencies; and contingencies for the contingencies. :)

In a really unsurprising turn of events, Cireon is indeed the main antagonist of both Dream’s Shadow and its sequels! Unfortunately for everyone (since Ellariel can shapeshift to a degree) she usually doesn’t look so obviously evil :D

Dream’s Shadow: WIP Page | WIP Powerpoint | Ellariel Profiles

Ellariel are vaguely humanoid basically immortal entities with certain shape-shifting abilities from a non-physical realm adjacent to the physical realm. They are directly connected to the Essence, which both sustains and gives them the basis of their (magical) abilities. Ellariel can’t influence the physical world directly by themselves, so they bond humans who can then channel the Essence, using them as a conduit. Every human is bonded to two Ellariel, who are in turn Bonded to each other: one of the Natah order (destruction) and one of the Nanaël order (creation).

Mikaën and Cireon are lesser Gods when compared to Eiwara and Shama’an, the original (ascended) Gods of Aelaris. Thus, any Ellariel is either Nanaël or Natah, and either Chaos or Order.

♡ You can find out more about them and the worldbuilding on the WIP page! ♡

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thenaiads · 3 years ago

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youtube

[Summary]

1000 years after the Great Chaos War, Heaven and Hell decide to come to peace, vowing not to let blood stain this peace again, despite the legendary prophecy of the Doomsday still there. The God of Chaos, a hybrid of both worlds, played an important role in the great war as well as in the prophecy, locking all his power and memories into a nameless little angel, leaving behind all power, living peacefully with the name Dream after so many wars and torments. He made friends, lived with Sapnap and George, spread his wings in the vast sky, and finally got what he wanted. To celebrate the Day of Peace, Heaven and Hell will hold a tournament that will allow both sides to join to exchange and eliminate hatred, Technoblade – a high-ranking angel who has renounced his title and power in order to control the violent part that always messes up in his head, along with Philza – one of the few elderly angels who has ever seen the prophecy, goes to the hidden part of Heaven to discuss the League of Champions tournament, even though the two have been hidden, they still have a certain role to play in this big event. It all started when a small accident happened with Dream Team that caused them to be teleported to this area, Dream managed to escape but accidentally punctured the shield protecting the area in front of Techno and Philza, causing himself to fall in dangerous because only hybrids can break this shield. Fortunately, Wilbur and Eret, two high-ranking angels with mysterious identities related to keeping the prophecy and relations with Hell, were promptly resolved. Everything went as planned, Dream Team teamed up with three other devil's names Badboyhalo, Skeppy and Antfrost and took the lead in the tournament, along with a surprise appearance and duel between Techno and Dream, all almost completely normal. But that's when the golden trophy activated, its powerful blessing revealed Dream's identity even though he had no memories about it. Another high-ranking angel appeared wanting to remove the threat, but was prevented by Wilbur, finally making the decision to burn his wings and banish Dream to the human world, forever unrecognized. The human world at that time had fallen into the mud of sin, experienced so much loss, witnessed so much turmoil, the things that Dream tried to keep hidden gradually broke apart. Technoblade opposes the tyranny of Heaven, has agreed to help Dream reach the Void - a mysterious space that is neutral between both factions. With the help of friends, the plan almost succeeds, but seeing them in danger, Dream breaks the limit, accepting to let the God part come out of the cage, awakening the sleeping past. That's when Heaven realized Hell was right. That prophecy could not be broken, it is inevitable.

#Dream SMP #dreamwastaken #technoblade #dream team #badboyhalo #fan video #rivalsduo #AU!DreamSMP #emerald duo

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jennystahl · 4 years ago

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Background + Relationships for Mia & Olive 🔫

sorry this got really long because i’m deranged but anyway here you go =_=

— BACKGROUND

Where were they born? What was their childhood like?

She was born in Empire Bay! She was raised by her aunt (father’s sister) and uncle as opposed to either of her parents because her father was cheating on his wife with her (then single) mother to produce her. She had a good childhood; she was rich of course, but aside from the material and being raised well she was kind of a lonely kid and had a distinct sense of abandonment issues because of her status in life :/ Which is probably why she was so wild as a teenager but y’know

What’s their family like?

A mess! At least in regards to her. There’s her dad, a rich as fuck magnate who died on the Titanic and left her a lesser but still large inheritance; her three siblings (two older, one younger) on her father’s side, who she actually got on pretty well with; her mother, who never had anything to do with her; and her three (all younger) siblings on her mother’s side, who she became close to in the late 30s. From there we have Juliet, the daughter of one of the brothers on her mom’s side, who Olive lavishes as an aunt smh... she has a number of other nieces and nephews but they don’t matter. I’m sure they do to her but not to me.

What factions or organizations are they a part of? What ranks and titles do they hold?

Nothing really! She’s associated with the Salieris and lends money but beyond that she’s just a socialite.

How do they fit into their “story”?

Well! Back in 1926 she ran off to Lost Heaven with a man she met, determined to marry him because she was young and dumb. Turns out this guy was not so nice and Olive regretted this shit immediately… but she was too stubborn and proud to ask her family for help. It all came to a head in a really heated argument in late 1927 and she ended up shooting him with his own gun. It was an accident and a surprise to both of them but shit happens. Turns out he was a Morello soldato and Olive (by searching the house) found out all about the shady shit he was doing and some MESSED up stuff she could’ve turned in to police… instead she found out about the Salieris and went to THEM, saying that she had valuable information so long as they promised to protect her…=_= So they “protected” her and nowadays she’s a part of the family in earnest because she 1.) is funny and they all like her 2.) can be a good distraction on runs, depending 3.) works as a money lender in the family. Also there’s all the stuff with her and Paulie but y’all know that already. The Salieris are more of a family to her than her real one is tbh

Where do they currently live? What’s their place like?

She lives in Oakwood in a nice townhome! It’s really stupidly expensively furnished, especially with nautical decorations.

How do they eventually die?

In “canon”, where Paulie d*es, she ends back up in Empire Bay so that she doesn’t have to get fucked over when Tommy is ratting on the Salieris. She probably ends up dying married to some random she doesn’t love or more likely alone :/ probably from idk liver failure from drinking. In the superior AU and true canon where her and Paulie continue living in LH and he opens his pizzeria, she probably just dies of old age :^)

— RELATIONSHIPS

Do they have any friends? Would they consider anyone to be their best friend?

She’s friends with everyone (mostly) in the Salieris, and depending on the timeline either Julia (Mona :)) or Charles (Sam’s OC :>) is a good pal. She would probably consider either Julia, Charles, Sarah, or Carlo her best friend tbh?? Sorry I got addicted to the Olive + Carlo friendship and I can’t stop thinking about them :/

The gag is though that she wouldn’t consider Paulie her “best friend” but she talks to him like...the most out of anybody and probably unwittingly tells him more shit too because he’s always driving her home. After they get together though it’s :^) you know

What’s their love life like? Do they have any kids?

You all know all about this I don’t wanna make this shit too long bc I will not shut up about them... her and Paulie get together in 1934 and in the AU get ~married~ in the early 40s. No kids!

Who do they look up to? Who do they trust?

She’s very easily trusting so she trusts all her friends of course. She really looks up to Salieri himself because he helped her out when she was in trouble, and so when he starts going crazy it really sucks for her :( She ofc looks up greatly to her aunt and uncle too because they took her in.

Who do they hate? Do they have any enemies?

She doesn’t really hate anyone tbh. By association she “hates” the Morellos but she couldn’t be bothered really.

Do they have any pets?

Nah she doesn’t really like animals, but she would get a bird if she could :( Maybe someday her and Paulie get some :)

Are they good with kids? Animals?

Kids yes, animals no. Animals just don’t really like her for some reason :/ she thinks they’re dirty so whatever. As for kids, she’s definitely a wine aunt figure; would never have her own but she likes playing with them and buying them gifts.

— BACKGROUND

answered here!

— RELATIONSHIPS

Do they have any friends? Would they consider anyone to be their best friend?

Her childhood friend group was Vito, Lucia, and Joe! Lucia is definitely her best friend, they stuck together when Mia came to America and Lucia helped her out in school. They’re also the only ones who stay in touch after high school because she’s the only one her mom liked.

What’s their friend group like? What role do they play in it?

During their early teen years she was the one who tried to talk them out of dumb stuff because she has older sister disease and always feels like she HAS to be responsible and prevent disaster. But between the ages of like...15-18 she’s just off the rails. Started dating Joe and truly released her inhibitions and shoplifts with the best of them <3

What’s their love life like? Do they have any kids?

God well...she dated Joe between the ages of 15 and 18 and then broke up with him before graduation because her mom made her and forced her into Real Life. She probably dated a few guys casually before 1951 when she starts dating him again :// We have no AU for Mafia II really at least not for Joe so...he literally just disappears (AKA the ending of the game grrr) and she ?? I’m not sure yet how she reacts or what happens with her after that honestly. But she would not have kids no, she’s done enough parenting in her life.

Who do they look up to? Who do they trust?

She trusts her friends and used to look up to her mom but the older she gets the more she kinda resents the roles her mom forced her into.

Who do they hate? Do they have any enemies?

She’s petty and hates a lot of people for whatever reasons :/ But no actual enemies except the smalltime Irish gang that extorted her mom that she is now extorting loool

Do they have any pets?

Nah, she’s too busy and her apartment sucks

Are they good with kids? Animals?

She had to help out with her siblings her whole life so theoretically she’s good with kids, but honestly she’s just awkward with them now that she’s an adult. As for animals she’s neutral; she likes dogs but she won’t be getting one any time soon.

#smork emoji #oc: olive #oc: artemisia #vitosscaletta #asks

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argumate · 5 years ago

Note

Many of the less disingenuous allegations of cancel culture are about reckless over-interpretation and blowing tiny incidents out of proportion (e.g. David Shor, Emmanuel Cafferty) - but to ascertain whether something qualifies, you have to have an opinion on the correct interpretation and the proportional reaction! There's no neutral abstract moral position, it's value-determination all the way down!

Jonathan Chait had an article on this topic and I found the part on the Cotton editorial incident interesting:

What made this explanation so strange and obviously jury-rigged is that nothing like this standard has ever prevailed at the Times op-ed page before. The Times publishes overstated, contemptuous, and even factually questionable columns routinely. Nor does the paper normally treat minor factual quibbles as grounds to withdraw publication.

Cotton’s column broke open a longer-standing debate over whether the Times should run conservative columns. Numerous progressive critics, both inside the paper and out, either frontally oppose inviting any conservatives to contribute, or else hold those columnists to a standard of accuracy and cogency far higher than they hold more ideologically congenial writers, whose factual and logical errors draw little controversy.

Before his removal, Bennet argued that Times readers benefit from exposure to right-wing argument. An additional, unstated rationale is that publishing some conservatives on the op-ed pages gives readers (who often fail to distinguish between news and opinion) more confidence in the fairness of the Times’ reporting. The questions of changing the ideological tenor of the news and opinion sections are linked: Many critics have called for dispensing with the goal of reportorial objectivity and eliminating or dramatically scaling back its right-leaning columns.

here the perennial question of whether or not to publish right-wing columns is framed purely in terms of its benefits to readers, but there’s a deeper and far more pressing unstated rationale that I’m surprised he didn’t mention: the position of the New York Times as an elite institution and not merely a partisan outlet for one political faction.

as much as Americans have always harrumphed about "the liberal media” -- and the New York Times is obviously no Fox News, and nor does it want to be -- elite opinion obviously crosses party lines: Republicans have held the presidency for twelve of the past twenty years, the military industrial complex is a bipartisan affair, and Wall Street and corporate America actively pursue their interests by shaping both parties.

the New York Times doesn’t want to be a Democratic Party rag, and it certainly doesn’t want to be an ultra-woke college newspaper, it wants to be the paper of record for the nation! it doesn’t just want to be a player in the battle, it wants to be the battlefield! and in order to be the authoritative voice of the nation it has to be a place where any elite voice could conceivably be heard; if it closes itself off entirely to one side of politics (or even more, is Joe Biden woke enough to be featured? where does it end?) then the elite will make other arrangements, and the New York Times will suffer for it.

that doesn’t mean that printing the Cotton column as is was the right thing to do, or that they handled the response very well, but it just struck me as yet another example of people treating “cancel culture” like it’s an abstract force of nature rather than a political tactic that’s used because it gets results.

newspapers in particular walk a difficult line due to their pretence of impartiality and remove from the debate (god forbid a newspaper ever have to report on themselves, they hate that!) but similar incentives apply to universities and other organisations, and the departments within them; beneath every abstract debate over safety and freedom are people whose careers will rise or fall with the outcome, and it’s weird that we still often treat cancelling like a rhetorical affectation instead of a power struggle.

#Anonymous

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