#especially since none of the six virtue's actual teachings are that bad like

[themoonking]

finally finished the priory of the orange tree after putting it off for like a year, and putting aside the fact that it's insanely boring, way too long, and the romance is lackluster, it certainly was a choice to, in a book at least in part about finding common ground and coming together, basically go "religion a is correct and good and its believers can continue on their merry lives, but religion b is a 100% incorrect wrong bad lie founded by a wrong bad misogynistic lying liar, and everyone who believes in it should convert and in fact we're going to end the book by heavily implying that the recently-converted queen is going to slowly but surely pressure the entire country to convert because their faith is wrong and bad". like that was certainly a decision that samantha shannon made.

#idk i don't love an entire religion being painted as objectively inherently bad and wrong #especially since none of the six virtue's actual teachings are that bad like #and also esp since the only other thing we learn about galian berethnet is that he was fucking r/ped by his own mother #and was so distraught upon learning this that he killed himself #the fact that aside from that its just like 'he was a lying liar who lies and hated women' just didn't sit right with me... #the priory of the orange tree #priory of the orange tree #the roots of chaos #anti booktok #samantha shannon #like the entire time before this was revealed i was like #'ah its so obvious - both faiths are going to end up being a little bit wrong and a little bit right' #'of course it will be revealed that cleolind and galian actually worked together to defeat the nameless one' #'and learning this will really press into the characters that they themselves need to work together to defeat him again' #but instead like???? #and like even with the kalyba stuff it would have been so easy you can say like: #cleolind and galian worked together but kalyba (canonically posessive and jealous and willing to do horrible things to keep galian w/ her) #uses her magic to make cleolind believe that galian betrayed her which she then goes and tells her priory #+ in an effort to keep as low a profile as possible for herself while disguised as cleolind she makes galian believe that he did everything #and when her disguise falls he's so distraught that he kills himself and so the only one who knows the truth is kalyba #who certainly has no motivation to reveal the truth

[leechangjoons]

Ew 2008 OC

Name: Ye Rende, Jerry 叶仁德 Shifter form: A purple dragon sporting golden, curved horns with a thick, onyx collar around its neck. The collar is encrusted with 12 amethysts- several are mere indents. Appearance: A lanky, pallid man with a very obvious side shave on the left side of his head, which reveals a huge and very gnarly scar that wraps around his head (trailing into parts where he does have hair). The remaining of Rende’s hair falls in a lazy, black mohawk-like mop on his right, and he usually wears a nook around his neck to catch his drool, which often heightens when he tries to talk or gets emotional. Rende is usually clad in a purple, tie-dyed shirt and long track pants, often leaning on a curved cane to move around. The other more unusual part of Rende is the heavy-looking pair of gauntlets he sports on each wrist (mirrored by his shifted form), with 6 amethysts on either gauntlet. It’s also visible that several of the gemstones are missing on both gauntlets. He primarily communicates via sign, being that he slurs very heavily and tends to drool a lot if he tries to speak. Personality: Rende is blunt and often scathing by nature, but he’s matured over the years of reflection he was forced to endure. While much less twisted than his past self, Rende is still mischievous and ridiculously self-centred despite himself, and he doesn’t take well to any form of criticism at all. Rende is also incredibly reckless, often tackling situations ruthlessly with no rest if it captures his interest. Once you earn Rende’s trust, however, he is an introspective, intelligent and highly protective individual, especially towards his mother- a self-made man who’s learnt a few lessons from his time in isolation. He’s an awful man who likes to see people squirm, whether in a good or bad manner, and enjoys being the center of attention for anything. History: The spoilt and callous bastard youngest son of the illustrious Ye family, Rende never quite stood out for his intelligence or benevolence- which made his name, meaning ‘kindness and virtue’ utterly ironic. After sexually assaulting a woman he couldn’t have, karma eventually caught up with Rende and he sustained horrific brain damage from a fall off the 3rd floor of a parking lot which caused a quarter of his brain to be removed- leading to constant seizures, his current inability to stop drooling as well as a lack of balance.

In his hospitalisation, Rende noticed how hard it was for his estranged mother to care for him and work at the same time, and for the first time, Rende began to question himself as a person and how he had led his life. Growing introspective about himself after a visit by his victim, Rende was perhaps a little horrified at how awful an individual he had been and sought to better himself in his time at hospital, once again hitting the books to teach himself business and finance to prepare himself for his eventual return to Gemini, his late grandfather’s business.

Though, as life would’ve had it, things got interesting with Rende. Forced into a contract by a higher being or be sent to hell for his past offences, Rende gained his gauntlets as well as powerful telekinetic abilities- but he had to learn to sacrifice his power to save others. For every amethyst he shed to revive another with no malice, Rende was shortening his own life to extend others’. By then, Rende was well enough to leave the hospital and recuperate at his mother’s- but he couldn’t orally eat or speak to others, which made opening himself up to such demands difficult.

For now, Rende works humbly at a regular 9-to-5 job in Gemini, helping out as much as his health would allow: while he had tried several odd jobs here and there, none quite seemed to fit him as much as Gemini had, and he accepts this lot in life without complaint. His social circle remains small on his insistence, being that it would be stressful for him to explain himself constantly about his gauntlets, and he really only has 2 friends- his day nurse, and a vicarious mechanic who had worked out with him at physiotherapy.

What Rende remains clueless of is that for every amethyst he shed, he was actually gaining immortality at the end of things- the contract was offered by a curious Junjie, the Traveller having followed Rende’s redemption arc and needing someone to fill the position of a Past Reaper for him. After all, who would fit that role than someone who had to take a long, deep look into their own dark past before deciding to rectify it? Abilities: Rende is an incredibly powerful telekinetic, having the equivalent of super strength in them due to the amethysts amplifying this power- for every amethyst lost, however, his powers diminish. He rarely uses his powers publicly or for combat however, mostly for day-to-day tasks that he can’t complete (like getting a can of juice off a high shelf or unlocking the cellar so that he can get to liquor).

For now, with six of twelve left, he is still able to turn another’s brain to putty with just eye contact and hurl a person quite a distance without making physical contact. Rende is also one of the rare shifters that is not only willing and capable to kill, but also would be allowed to get away with it being a Traveller’s apprentice (since his job is to cast judgment). While he could by right telepathically speak to others, he refuses to use this and strongly prefers to sign.

Overexerting himself with his abilities, however, leads to painful seizures, being that his telekinesis taps into the missing portions of his brain. He’s often plagued with side effects if he focuses too hard on his abilities, ranging from mild dizziness to throwing up. Rende is incredibly careful with this, as a result, having lost a previous job from having a seizure that put him out of commission for several weeks.

Rende’s left gauntlet also acts as an occasional time machine, being that his test is to decide who deserves to live and cast judgment. He has no control of this ability, however, and is often pulled backwards in time or tossed across timelines on Junjie’s whims. The gauntlets themselves are generally indestructible as well as permanently grafted onto Rende himself- attempts to remove the amethysts if you’re not him or steal them causes him excruciating pain.

Alignment: Lawful Evil 
Immortal?: ‘Immortal’
 Other: Rende has a feeding tube on his belly due to being unable to swallow properly. It’s an understatement to say he hates it, though he often feeds himself in public to the often negative reactions to the public. Also he was totally a rip off the 双子星 character, bye

#time traveling shifters