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monochrome-dust · 7 years

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9 with Beltza, Erri, and Korone if thats not too much to ask :3c

Oh boy buckle up, friends, it’s a wordy one (even without the bonus question we discussed oops):

9: Their theme

For all three of them, I’ve tried to use the stories they’re based off of to inform their themes (with Erri’s as a bit of cheat as I’ll describe below).

BELTZA

I knew from the beginning that every member of BKBD would be inspired by stories involving corvids, and for Bel, I absolutely knew he was going to be a raven faunus who would have wings, and then those wings would be taken away. Basically he was always going to be a sad raven boy.

Now I’m sure the story I used for him (Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven) has been used thousands of times for OCs, but I think it ended up fitting him really well. Specifically, I drew from the following lines: “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor / Shall be lifted - nevermore,” which can be seen quite literally in the state of his Semblance upon joining Beacon (shadow-based, forms into hands and used mainly for hindering targets).

It’s also in line with this general feeling he has that he’s hit a really low point in his life and he thinks he’s never going to get out of it. But of course he does because I want him to, even though I do have a Bad End for him that I like to think about sometimes (read: a lot). So if I had to give him a sort of theme, it would be “The bird will fly again” because, ironies aside, dammit if no one else is on my side of things at least Bel is going to be happy.

ERRI

I call Erri’s inspiration a bit of a cheat because I’m using The Raven King, a story I have absolutely made up, as his basis. I actually wrote a version of it for a French writing assignment, so one day I’ll post a more polished and relevant iteration. But it’s basically a commentary on how its first tellers felt monarchs should rule and on the social issues they wanted to draw attention to disguised as a children’s story. Of course, over the years numerous versions of the story have sprung up (sometimes the Raven King is an actual raven, other times the king is a person, etc.), but the way Erri tells it (and I’m sure many before him), the theme is “A king will protect their people” and this I would say fits him nicely as well.

He perhaps embodies this sometimes in a more underhanded way than most would like, but it’s clear in the measures he’s taken to protect his family that he will do whatever is necessary to make sure they aren’t hurt, and he extends this to anyone he comes to call his own. He takes them under his wing and says to the world, If you hurt them, you will deal with me. I think some might attribute this to arrogance (the audacity to think that he could threaten them), and maybe he is walking that thin line between arrogant and not. But considering his winning streak in fights and as someone who went against a Wendigo Grimm alone and did a real fuckin’ good number on it, he has a certain confidence in himself for good reason. I think he understands he isn’t all powerful, and he isn’t this way because he thinks he’s above anyone. It’s more of an understanding that, Hey, I’m actually pretty strong and I feel good about that.

Even though he doesn’t necessarily think of himself as a king, or kingly, or even noble, he takes the protection of his own so seriously and it just devastates him when he fails (see anguish at being unable to stop Bel from being poisoned, see anguish at being unable to prevent his kingdom from being taken over which I may have not yet talked about in detail in Royalty AU, see anguish at being unable to protect his followers or to stop Feu’s death in Deity AU).

I think there’s also a downside in that, because he’s already decided to take on the burden of being this “king,” he’s reluctant to express his worries and fears to certain people (especially to Beltza). And it’s not that he thinks there’s anything wrong with expressing these things, it’s just that—he thinks that by only presenting his confidence, what have you, he shows those around him that yes, he is someone they can rely on, yes, he can and will protect them, and he wants to be that for them. And this is interesting to me because when people see Erri, they see this confident, fearless man, but he actually isn’t without his own fears and insecurities. I think that it stresses him out when he doesn’t talk about them for long enough, and every now and then it really gets to him. When it does, he doesn’t necessarily handle it all that well when left to his own devices.

This is also really interesting to me when thinking about it in the context of Erri’s relationship with Bel growing up because Erri made sure Bel knew it was okay to cry, to feel sad all while never crying (in front of Bel) himself; it was okay to be afraid of things, while never showing Bel his own fears; it was okay to ask for help, etc. And I think this actually really skewed what Beltza thought “being okay” meant and what strength was. Bel of course will realize that these things are different for everybody, but I think for a time he struggled with wishing he was more like this idealized image of Erri that he (and probably many others) had.

TL;DR: Erri is an irl rogue-ish Raven King (in the context of this universe), and he isn’t without his flaws. Let us all hope he doesn’t meet a tragic end (I say, as the one with the power to make it so he doesn’t meet a tragic end).

KORONE

For Korone, I’m using the story of Coronis, a lover of Apollo who had an affair with Ischys. Specifically, I’ve taken inspiration from the white crow Apollo tasked with guarding Coronis, who was cursed by the god in a fit of rage because the crow, having learned of her affair decided to inform Apollo first instead of gouging Ischys’s eyes out immediately. The curse was so strong that it burned the crow’s feathers black. As a note, I’ve seen some versions refer to the bird as a raven instead of crow, so I’m not quite sure how interchangeable the words for crow and raven are in this context (or if there’s a differentiation in the original language in the first place, I haven’t researched much).

In line with this whole idea of curses, her theme is probably “A curse can be overcome.” I still haven’t talked much about her backstory yet, and honestly I don’t know if/when I ever will because it makes me think of some Bad Things, but there were things that happened that resulted in her having this general idea of, I am a blemish upon the world. This additionally goes along with something I set from the beginning that every member of BKBD has gone through misfortune while at the same time are seen as bringing misfortune to others (whether that be they did bring, are bringing, or will bring).

So far I’ve only hinted at this theme (partially because I just haven’t talked about my quiet crow very much) in her Semblance and some design choices. When she overexerts her Aura, her hair starts to turn white (and her Aura, which is typically black, might do the same, I haven’t decided). Whenever in the timeline she gets this outfit (which I want to update), her hair is completely white. And I honestly don’t have a logical explanation of why this happens right now, but I like the symbolism because it means Korone is healing, too. It means that she is overcoming this “curse” by her own power.

BONUS for Erri from the other one: 9. Humiliating memories

I’m going to focus on one memory in particular here, because I think it captures this very interesting image of Erri, of all people, feeling humiliated really well. I feel like Erri’s the type of person who is shamed by little. He’s confident in his body, his abilities, his existence in general and he wouldn’t be adverse to showing either of them off (he doesn’t do it to be flashy, per se, but if the opportunity presents itself, he’ll certainly take it). And while he may act flippant, he conducts himself with dignity. And I think this is what humiliates him most, to have his dignity trampled on. Erri does not kneel for anyone. If he does, it is coming from a place of complete reverence and adoration. He is at their feet, at their mercy because he believes them worthy of that privilege.

So I think this is where the memory starts: He relishes in the power he was born with, in having autonomy and being able to move of his own volition. But after the Wendigo Grimm, after having his body stitched back together and taken to recover by a certain individual, he loses a lot of this independence.

At first it’s because he just cannot move—it comes with having limbs severed and having nerves and veins and muscle and bone forcibly being held together by another’s Aura. It’s excruciating (though over time, as his body adapts, it turns into more of a constant, dull soreness), but he knows, god he knows he should be dead, so the pain is something he can deal with. What he can’t is when someone constantly and purposely reminds him who saved him, the limitations now placed on him, and what that means for Erri’s abilities to accomplish his own goals.

To explain (and I may have discussed this in a previous post, I can’t recall), Erri’s fight with the Wendigo Grimm was…terrible. I posted a scar guide a bit ago, and basically where those magenta stitches are indicates the worst of his injuries. These are the injuries that would have never healed on their own, and frankly, they still aren’t healing even after he’s put back together. One day I’m going to make a proper post on how this Semblance works (maybe after I actually design the character oops), but for now I’ll say that these stitches can be taken out at the whim of the one who made them, or they’ll start to fade if Erri is too far away from the source (though, again as he adapts, he’s able to go farther and farther away without this consequence). What this means is Erri will fall apart. The pain starts first, then the bleeding, then he starts breaking into pieces—his hand falls off, an arm, his leg, etc. in whatever order. And this is what’s used against him, to get Erri to listen, I have your life in my hands and you will do what I say. And usually Erri complies because he knows that the missions given to him will, in the long run, help keep his brother safe. But this is where the disconnect comes in: Erri’s primary motivations are to keep Bel safe, while the motivations of his savior (though he hates to call them that) and the organization behind them are to, in a sense, maintain a certain balance.

And I think this memory was the first time Erri tried to defy them, the first time he said, No, I will accomplish my own goals first. Maybe it’s something that involves Bel, maybe Erri just wants to be in someone else’s company for a bit. I haven’t fully fleshed out this scene, but I imagine Erri is about to leave whatever base of operations these two have set up. He makes one final check on his knives, a small supply of Dust, and is halfway to the door when a voice behind him asks, And where are you going?

The figure is long and ghostly (certainly taller than Erri), voice not necessarily quiet, but with a soft quality and a lilt suggesting either amusement or thinly veiled annoyance. Erri knows what could happen here, but he doesn’t care. He’s very, very tired of following orders right now. And so he says, tacitly, Out. He knows immediately this is the wrong answer but hell, he’s in the mood to fight and he wants to know how far this bastard will go.

That’s not an explanation, Erri. They say it with a smile, one that’s curved and unsettling. It’s not impish like Erri’s, but there’s an implied threat to it, and it’s clear that they are displeased.

You didn’t ask for one, darling. He says the term sarcastically, darling, fully aware of the strange state of cohabitation by necessity he’s found himself in.

Sit down. The smile stays, but the voice gets a little quieter, a lot sharper, to which Erri replies, Thank you, but no.

Sit.I will not.Then you will kneel.

It all happens so quickly. The pain, the bleeding, and then—then his leg is the first to go. He’s forced to one knee, with almost the entirety of his other leg dangling by threads. He braces himself with an arm, they let that arm fall as well. It jolts Erri forward, forcing him to bow his head. And the figure knows, they know that this is what Erri will hate. He will hate being so conspicuously reminded of what he can and cannot do and he will hate being reminded that, in the end, he has no power here, and that is exactly why they made him do it.

And Erri does hate it, so much that his face burns, so much that something vengeful claws inside him. He hates having his will taken away, he hates that he can’t even attempt to fight this. He is in so much pain, but he doesn’t scream or swear. He only lifts his head as much as he can and glares up at them to say, I will remember this.

#mono answers #teamnova #beltza erroi #erregaliz erroi #korone vrochi

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