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clarebear-0925 · 16 days

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The Holy Trinity of Fear-Entity Based Media

HELLO! i am returning to elaborate on this subject because i've been thinking about it for literal WEEKS ever since i made the connection while starting TMA.

So, let's explore this venn diagram in more depth, shall we?

(Apologies for the length of this post but I have MANY thoughts. I know it's long, but please hear me out lol)

First, I want to talk about the world-building similarities since they're what I first noticed and spurred this entire thing.

Imagine the following explanation in terms of the venn diagram above.

Chainsawman:

A Japanese action/horror manga

A universe where fear-based entities (called "devils") exist. Each devil correlates to the fear of a specific concept (with infinite possibilities ranging from tomatoes to the future). They are the embodiment of the fear their name represents.

Each devil thus has its own special abilities and 'theming' associated with its name.

The existences and power levels of the devils fluctuate based on what the the populace is afraid of at the time and how scared they are. They survive and feed off of human's fear.

The devils exist in another 'place' (Hell) that is separate but linked to the our world. However, they can manifest in the real world to attack and spread further fear (and if they die there, they are sent back to Hell in a weakened state). It is currently unknown as to how devils cross over from Hell.

However, the devils CAN in fact permanently die- if they are forgotten entirely by humanity (and thus run out of fear to exist/feed on)

There are a few special types of devils: 1. Primal fears, which embody ancient instinctual fears (darkness, falling) and 2. the Four Horsemen: (Control/manipulation, war, famine, and death), the most powerful of the devils.

There are also many ways that humans can serve, be linked to, and be embodiments of these devils. Beings known as "fiends" (corpses possessed by devils), cases of devil transformations (humans who make contracts with devils and are transformed into monsters to do their bidding) and "hybrids" (humans and devils fused). However each way results in great personal cost/change, like the loss of humanity.

The existence of these devils is a common, well-known fact of society, and one of the main causes of death in this world.

There is a governmental agency tasked with combating devil attacks. The main leader we interact with is a character who manipulates the protagonist throughout the entire series to help them achieve their vision for the world. They are revealed to secretly be one of the devils the characters were supposed to be fighting, and is heavily associated with eye imagery.

Ordem Paranormal

A Brazilian live-streamed horror TTRPG (table-top roleplaying game)

(Disclaimer: for this one, I have only had the chance to watch OPQ and Cellbit's onstream explanations of the lore, so I tried to supplement with the wiki as best I could without getting too spoiled. If I got anything wrong or you think I missed anything, please tell me! I'd love to get your guy's insight on this)

A universe where there are 5 elements (Death, Energy/Chaos, Blood, Knowledge, and Fear) that exist in a place separate but linked to our world known as "the Other Side."

Each element is associated with different monsters, abilities, and general characteristics. Death is associated with distortions in the passage of time, spirals, and an ultimate end. Blood is the element of intense emotions, both positive and negative. Knowledge is the element of discovering, knowing, recording. It wants to preserve balance between the elements since it likes reality as it is. Energy/Chaos is unpredictability, unreality, and transformation. It mostly serves its own entertainment. Fear is the most mysterious- it is the source of all paranormal and has existed since the dawn of humanity- it is of the unknown and the infinite.

Individuals can connect to and form pacts with each of these entities (except for Fear). They gain different supernatural abilities depending on which, but all result in great personal cost and change- usually becoming less and less human in a variety of ways.

The barrier between the two worlds can be weakened through fear. Cultists take advantage of this and attempt to perform rituals that would break the membrane and bring these entities over to our world.

These elements can also just manifest into our world in a variety of different ways, like monsters, paintings, artifacts, etc.

Tthere are independent organizations around the globe who work to prevent these rituals and maintain order. However, the existence of this "other side" and the entities is not known by the wider public.

The organization we follow is headed by an elderly character who has dedicated every single aspect of their life to fighting these elements, stopping these rituals, and maintaining the balance. However he is willing to form connections with those around him, and violence isn't always his first option.

The Magnus Archives

A British horror/tragedy podcast

A universe where entities known as "the fears" or "the dread powers" exist next to our world (separate but linked). Each entity is the embodiment of a different fear that the humans (and animals) of earth feel.

The fears are typically broad (covering multiple specific fears under a wider category) and when manifesting can blend into one another. A good analogy to explain it is the color wheel.

The single entity known as fear has been around since the beginning of the world. However, as humanity developed more complex thought, they split off into different aspects (though they are still in some ways linked).

At the time of the series there are 15 entities (a full list here). The existences and power levels of the entities fluctuate based on what the the populace is afraid of at the time and how scared they are. They survive and feed off of human's fear.

The entities can permanently die, but only if the organisms of the world did too, as there would be no more fear left for them to consume.

These fears can manifest in our world as a number of different paranormal happenings, from monsters to books. They manifest in order to cause fear to feed themselves.

Most of the entities are near mindless- they simply operate to feed, with little to no future planning (with the exception of The Spider, the fear of control and manipulation, whose entire thing is future planning.)

Individuals can connect to and form pacts with each of these entities to become individuals known as Avatars. They gain different supernatural abilities depending on which fear they connect too, but all result in great personal cost, change, and the overall loss of humanity.

Followers of the same fear often gather to form cults. When a fear gains enough power, its avatars usually attempt to perform various rituals that would manifest their entity in our world. This would result in our world transforming into a hellscape of fear for that entity to gorge itself on. (There are also two fears that do not attempt rituals as they prefer reality the way it is. )

We follow an independent organization tasked with recording and categorizing the encounters of individuals with these paranormal events. The two leaders we interact with the most are

A Character who manipulates the protagonist throughout the entire series to help them achieve their vision for the world. They are revealed to secretly be one of the Avatars the characters were supposed to be fighting, and is heavily associated with eye imagery.

An elderly character who has dedicated every single aspect of their life to fighting these entities, stopping these rituals, and maintaining the balance. (However she is unwilling to become attached to those around her, and will ruthlessly do whatever it takes to accomplish her goals.)

Ok, so if you read through these explanations you can hopefully see many of the connections that I drew. The TLDR is: these three pieces of media all feature fear-powered entities that exist in a world separate but connected to our own, but can manifest here in a variety of ways and each have their own unique theming/powers. People can form pacts and become connected to these entities and gain supernatural abilities, but that often results in the loss of their humanity. Rituals are performed by the people connected to these entities in order to manifest them more into our world. Finally, all three stories are centered around the members of an organization tasked with dealing with these entities in some way.

(Also, if you combine the world-building of CSM and OP, it basically results in the world-building of TMA, which is that thought that originally inspired this post)

However, these are just baseline world-building connections. When I first posted about the idea of this venn diagram, I got some tags from @wasabi-ribs proposing a connection between the very themes of these shows in a way I hadn't even thought about.

While I don't feel as though I can accurately speak to the themes of Ordem as much as the other two, I was doing some research (*cough* scrolling tumblr) and saw this post from @just-an-enby-lemon.

And honestly, that sounds pretty damn similar to what I consider to be the main themes of CSM and TMA, aka:

Love and connection alone can't save you, but that doesn't mean they are unimportant, especially in a world full of so much fear, trauma and loss of control and perhaps even your humanity.

Also, the general questioning of what exactly it means to be human, and my age old favorite of the indomitable human spirit even in the face of unfathomnable horror and tragedy.

What is the conclusion or point of this post? I'm not entirely sure. But I wanted to acknowledge the beauty in how such different mediums can be used by people of three completely different cultures to discuss eerily similar themes of humanity and connection (and also very spooky fear entities).

Thank you so much for reading this far and please feel free to add onto this post with anything you think I missed or got wrong. I love talking about the connections between my favorite pieces of media with people! :)

(Also, apologies if this came across as incoherent or rambly in any way, turns out it’s a lot harder to explain this in a console way in writing than to just have the thoughts floating around in your head lol)

#it’s finally here babyyyyyy #I have been thinking about this for so long so it’s nice to #finally articulate it #the Magnus archives #chainsaw man #ordem paranormal #tma #csm #clare’s tedtalks

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emilystheories · 1 year

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I think you have some great theories but some require so much explanation to make it work and are buried in references and outside sources, we almost get away from what we know - SJM makes whatever lore she pulls from her own. Some are so complex and very specific to the way you analyze, we can't possibly expect SJM to have been on the same wavelength as you. Considering how often SJM retcons and contradicts herself in interviews, I just don't think she's putting in as much work as some fans do with some theories. Yes, she has plot twists and turns, but they aren't overly layered and she's not the best as creating two demensional villains either. She's also made some questionable writing decisions that so many fans never could've predicted. Like, I remember all the wild theories for KOA & ACOSF and none were remotely close to what she planned in terms of plot development aside from the obvious, Nessian as endgame. I think at best, the theories that do come to fruition are the simple ones even causal readers can pick up. I think you have some creative ideas, but I think we are expecting too much from SJM.I think she's a simple gal, who loves writing romance. Will you be disappointed if none of your theories come to be true? If none come true, I hope it doesn't stop you from expressing your thought and blogging, there's so many other fandoms who would appreciate you in their corner.

This is a valid point, so thank you for bringing it up!

I think first and foremost, it goes without saying that most SJM fan theories will (likely) be wrong in some capacity - my own included. I am definitely aware of this, which is why I am intentional with my wording (ie. I will never say "I figured it out!", or try and present my theories as canon facts). For me personally, theorising isn't about trying to be "right" (as that's pretty much impossible); instead, it's about pondering all the different possibilities that SJM could take in future books, and then sharing these possibilities within a community.

As for expecting too much from SJM - I am undecided. I do see where you are coming from, and I especially agree with KOA; a perfect example of this was Elide's character - SJM hinted several times that Elide had Blackbeak blood (which spurred on the creation of many incredible theories), but then it ultimately lead to nothing...? However, I also know that Merrill's hypothesis in ACOSF (about the 11 different dimensions, or as many as 26) is a direct reference to String Theory - and then the Harp, with the 26 strings, represents this. To me, this does indeed suggest that SJM is thinking about her worlds (and how they interact) beyond the surface level.

This is also why I often reference outside sources in my theories (such as mythology or folklore), because to me it is clear that SJM derives so much inspiration from these same sources. For example, Helion appears to be named after "Helios" (Greek god of the sun), and Thesan appears to be named after "Thesan" (Etruscan goddess of dawn). Knowing that SJM is connecting her characters in this way lends itself to questioning the other remaining characters - for example, why is Hunt named after Orion; a famous hunter in Greek mythology? Why is Mor named after The Morrigan; a famous war goddess/shapeshifter/banshee in Celtic mythology? Does it mean something? (Or, are you right, and SJM is just choosing names at random?)

So, I guess I can admit that I do have high expectations of SJM going forward, and that my theories reflect that. However, if SJM does indeed opt for more "basic" storylines in her future books (ie. much less of a crossover than we are anticipating), then it wouldn't be the first time that my theories have failed to account for that. In the past, I have actually posted theories for two well known TV/book series, and both went "viral" within those respective fandoms (I still remember when Reese Witherspoon posted a news article about my theory to her instagram story lmao). However, both times, the author went for a much more "obvious" ending, and as a result, I was on the receiving end of fandom backlash (that my thoughts were too "outlandish," or that my expectations were too high).

But, that's still part of the fun. Honestly, my one true goal is to write my own fantasy series - that way, I am free to include as many "outlandish" twists, turns, and ideas as I wish !! :)

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copperdaisy · 7 months

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Finished the storyline for Teal Mask. Not going to talk about spoilers - aside from location mentions maybe - but I'm definitely curious to see how certain things will pan out in Indigo Disk.

Instead, I am going to ramble about random bits of the lore I've been building for Araceli and some of her Pokémon. It has been a bit of a puzzle figuring out Araceli's personality separate from the game storyline, but it has been fun as well. Getting closer to a point where I'm more comfortable translating save file events into fic/lore events.

tl;dr rambling contained below the read-more.

Araceli is Paldean born, but not Paldean raised. Between the ages of six months and fifteen years she and her parents lived abroad, first in Hoenn and then Kanto. Her father is a nature photographer while her mother is a research assistant who works for both Birch and Oak. In the summer following her fifteenth birthday she learns that both of her parents were going on research expeditions. Her father will be going to the Lental Region to help Professor Mirror's team study the Illumina phenomenon. Her mother is going to the Sevii Islands to follow up on rumors of Mythical and Legendary Pokémon there. It is ultimately decided that Araceli will be sent to stay with her maternal aunt in Cabo Poco, given the uncertain timeframes of both expeditions and potential dangers therein. She is decidedly NOT HAPPY about this but fails to come up with a convincing argument to change her parents' minds. Thus she finds herself shipped back to Paldea just a few weeks before the new term starts at Naranja Academy, where she gets dragged into the game's storyline.

Some random information about her:

She initially enrolls in the Arts track at Naranja but switches over to the Sciences track following the events in Area Zero.

She has nightmares about what happened in the Zero Lab; rather than talk about them to anyone, she uses them as fuel to further her ambition to help the Paradox Pokémon in her care. Something good has to come out of the whole ordeal (besides Arven's breakthrough).

She has trouble with test taking and in-class learning. One on one tutoring sessions with her teachers are the main things keeping her academically afloat, in addition to extra credit opportunities.

The events of the DLC will be part of her lore, but there will be a two year gap between the Zero Lab incident and her visit to Kitakami. She will be spending some time in Galar during that two year gap for a semester or two of student exchange.

Chase is the first shiny Araceli sees in the wild, but is not the first one she catches. He calls the ruins above Alfornada home. It is here that he and Araceli cross paths. She stumbles across him while on a field trip and attempts to capture him. He is too high level for her and ends up chasing her off instead. She finds him again a few months later. By that point she is a much better trainer. He, however, has been worn down by territorial disputes and is in rough shape. Distrustful of her at first after she battles and captures him, her efforts to nurse him back to health make him warm up to her. Now he is part of her main team and goes where she does. Anyone who dares touch a single hair on her head will find themselves on the wrong end of a Thunder Fang if he has anything to say about it.

Victory is Araceli's baby and no one can tell him otherwise. Not that there are many who would argue with a Charizard. Hatched from an egg sent to her by her mother, Araceli is the only parent he has ever known. Her work was cut out for her while raising him. He was a cute but bitey little Charmander and an overeager Charmeleon prone to unintentionally setting fires. Patience and dedication built a strong bond between trainer and Pokémon, however. By the time he evolved into a Charizard he was as well behaved as you please - so long as you are Araceli. Victory is a heavy hitting member of her main team and has helped her out of many tight spots in battle. He loves a good fight and thinks nothing of going up against the likes of Titans. He is also quite the fan of napping in sunbeams and pestering his trainer for chin and head scratches.

Quake is not one of her usual battling partners but is much beloved by her nonetheless. Araceli developed great fondness and sympathy for the Great Tusk while observing him in the Asado Desert. Though he was a Titan she found him to be more or less peaceful - so long as he was left alone. Despite getting close enough to him to nearly be trampled on several times he never attacked her. Battling him to get the Herba Mystica was the most difficult Titan battle simply because she felt so bad about provoking him. She captured him primarily so no one else could, fearing what might happen to him otherwise. (It caused a fight between her and Arven at the time, as he did not agree with her actions at all, saying that the Great Tusk was too dangerous. She firmly disagreed.) In the time since capturing him Araceli has put a lot of effort into making him comfortable and safer to interact with. He frequently spends time with Dida and Padma, Araceli's shiny Donphan and Copperajah, as part of their 'herd'.

Kevin is another Pokémon that Araceli rarely battles with but spends a good amount of time gentling. There is little known about Kevin's species - they aren't even mentioned much in literature beyond the name Walking Wake. They have to be some kind of Paradox Pokémon but Araceli has only ever encountered Kevin, and that was while she was in a Raid den, not Area Zero. Does this mean that more Paradox Pokémon have escaped into the wilds beyond the Great Crater? It is a troubling thought. Kevin, at least, seems to be quite fond of her, which is a bit of a problem in and of itself given just how big Kevin is. She's been putting in a lot of work to make Kevin safer to be around, but there is a long way still to go.

#Pokemon SV #Araceli's Shiny Adventures

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faroreswinds · 2 years

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Hello again. I spent a good deal of time trying to write down a translation of that account’s deleted blog post, but then I realized it would take to long to do properly (and because I was trying to properly show it in English). I hope you forgive me for showing instead a shortened version (and this is still quite long, so I apologize again):

Pros: graphics are greatly improved and the cutscenes look beautiful. The gameplay is very entertaining and the level of difficulty is challenging in a good way. There is a lot to do around the base camp, and its changing locations add to the excitement. It’s good to have characters like Rodrigue and Jeritza as playable cast members (especially Rodrigue, he enjoys high popularity in Japan). Byleth speaking out loud and having supports with Jeralt is pleasant and highly prized. It’s good to see the rest of the cast show up in cutscenes and cgs to show their own parts in the story.

Unfortunately this is where the pros end…

The reviewer has maintained a blog to criticize the mistakes and issues in the fodolan series since launch but did so out of love. The reviewer’s stance is that Musou storyline totally butchers the spirit and integrity of Houses

Self-described as a lore purist who at least enjoyed being able to ”fill in the blanks” for everything left unsaid in Houses. Musou introduces a lot of information that is contradictory to established canon such as House Bergliez with its crest of cichol, Kronya’s attitude being the first sign of something wrong instead of that being Monica’s true personality. Monica herself is controversial, she’s seen as good yuri fanservice and a loyal vassal but others dislike how she is now part of ”the Emperor’s loyal court” (Hubert, Dorothea, now Monica follow Edelgard to praise her constantly).

Arval as the antithesis to Sothis went nowhere, was ultimately not considered of much interest by the fans.

Sothis having her memories but no interactions with her children and Rhea angered many people. The reviewer notes they also made her sound crueler and haughtier in English

Shez is a fun and likeable character, though fans ultimately care more about the established cast.

Eyebrows were raised over why pertinent lore the game wants players to consider canon is now suddenly in a Musou spin off instead of the main game. Suspicions were raised over Kusakihara and Iwata as the main scenario planners (this is the term general used for those in charge of the story scripts): is this the story they originally meant to tell, but couldn’t because of the rush to finish the deadline [in 2019]?

Further suspicions over the Nintendo Life/Famitsu interviews confirming the canonicity of both, which is unheard of for any Musou spinoff. Musou is meant first and foremost as a purely fanservice vehicle, and it’s how people buy those games at all

“In fact, the game seems to struggle with wanting to take itself seriously, and also tell players to enjoy the fanservice, while winking at the camera”

More suspicions, now towards Westerners. The reviewer notes the large size of the English speaking fandom…as well as the strange changes made for the international releases of previous FE titles (censored cg art and dialogue in Awakening, censored dialogue in Fates plus the LGBT controversy). There are concerns that the development team took to heart too many complaints over previous games’ characters, writing, settings, scenarios.

Reviewer casts aspersions over English fandom as vulgar yet strangely puritanical, constantly given to fighting, not tagging properly, the frequent interactions between fans and seiyuu so casually on social media, and generally being an unpleasant space to be in

Reviewer embedded several tweets from a few prominent English speaker FE fans showing…bad behavior basically.

The reviewer then compared them to other events like an asian fanartist who drew a Disney’s Encanto fanart being run off twitter because of perceived issues in skin coloration. They also pointed to reddit and 4chan as further evidence of bad behavior and made an explicit comparison to calling it “otaku behavior” and hoping they’re wrong about their feedback suspicions

The reviewer is pessimistic however as they explain about complaints that Fates got a Golden Route while Houses did not, and that it seems prominent in foreign fandom as a desire

“We as players understood that taking the hand of Emperor, clad in red, and wearing horns, whose own tragedy was working with the shadows while lying to Byleth (Jpn writes them together as Beretoresu since they actually share a name overseas), and as shown in the Safflower route’s ending illustration as the dark route, was meant mostly as a pleasant delusion (the term used for headcanon) and a particular fanservice. There seems to be no such distinction for foreigners.”

The review is then divided into critiquing each lord in Musou:

Edelgard’s tragic side is stripped to make her into a full-blooded Red Emperor character. This comes across as unpleasant since the reviewer feels like the scenario team is trying to trick the players with fanservice (her outfit is very youthful and cute) when it does not mesh well with her blatant agenda of conquest. In Houses at least players understood her goals as contradicting her image when she was dressed more like an adult, and had Amyr, with its menacing looks and movements. There is a great deal of confusion over why she wants to keep Rhea alive this time, yet still greatly hates the church. Her ending was nonsensical and unsatisfying and there was no reason for the Hegemon form to make an appearance

Claude. Goodness. The reviewer is incensed. Claude’s curiosity, wanting more knowledge, to learn the truth behind things, they’re gone here. His attitude towards the Kingdom comes across as condescending. He is called a hypocrite more than once. Though showing him having doubts, and expressing fears over his vulnerabilities is good, that’s negated when his actions only invite more disaster, and his worries look more like self-pity when he’s unhappy one moment, and then coldly executing another assault against the Kingdom the next. The Sreng invasion is particularly used to lambast him. There is no reason why his mistrust suddenly allows him to swallow Edelgard lying to his face or why he is suddenly so against the Church

Shahid is wasted when Claude is then shoved back into Fodla’s war. The reviewer snidely recommended watching The Lion King for better family conflicts over a throne.

Rhea is considered a lord in that she represents another faction, the Church. Rhea is quite popular in Japan and her treatment in the game is seen as insulting. Her motherly concern for Cyril’s safety is touching, but does not negate the strangeness of sacrificing herself for Edelgard against Thales, or (worse) Claude killing her. The reviewer brings up the apparent fact of the English voice director’s dislike of Rhea and his instructions for her English seiyuu to sound more harsh, violent, not as serene or dignified as in Japanese (circling back to concerns over Western involvement)

Dimitri, written surprisingly well. His arc is of a noble young king coming into his own, his friends are just as brave and amazing next to him. Unfortunately his route starts to falter in the middle, since it does not know how to strike a balance between suddenly knowing about Those Whoe Slither in the Dark and the Empire invading when both are now separately working. The powerful pathos of fighting against the girl who was once his family (and betrayed him) is gone, so it just seems like Marth fighting Hardin again. His redemption in Houses was one of the most popular things about him, and that is also gone too in Hopes…so taking both previous things into account makes Edelgard as part of his final fight seem very forced. “This is a king who is resigned to being a king, who will sadly be glad to kill his phantom, and say that his happiest moment will be on his deathbead, instead of living for his people.” Him not reaching a hand out to a helpless Edelgard is seen as cold.

Here is Byleth’s section. It is the bleakest part of the review so far and honestly made me feel really bad:

”The box art shows Byleth quite prominently, which is laughable considering her (reviewer played as Beresu for two routes and Bereto in one) almost non-existence in the story itself. The so-called rivalry pushed in [commercials and promotional work] was nothing more than an audacious lie designed to part us from nearly ¥6000 (reviewer purchased the LE box).”

The reviewer goes on to note Byleth’s high popularity and how it contradicts the magazine interviews acknowledging this. ”Is this how a [fan-favorite] is treated in other spinoffs? I can’t imagine this happening to characters like [Persona Five’s] Joker without angering fans.”

Byleth is seen as uniquely a target of particular scorn from Iwata considering their position in the game: recruiting them can be difficult and easily missed, and so means seeing Jeralt die painfully again, and absurd yet heart-wrenching retaliatory deaths of other characters. Rodrigue’s death is seen as particularly punishing, especially with dialogue from Felix and Dimitri then calling Byleth a monster and their enemy. Their death is anticlimatic yet also painful, and this level of death also unheard of for what is supposed to be a fanservice genre of games, nevermind for the former main character! In supports Jeralt laughs at the idea of Byleth becoming a teacher and calls them unqualified and Leonie still hates them.

Even when recruited, they play no further level of involvement in the story, nor do they show up in the fight against Arval that their recruitment unlocks, nor does that change the unsatisfactory route endings in any way.

The reviewer cites more suspicions and points to how Byleth is popular in Japan, but their research across English social media shows a lot of hatred for Byleth. ”Perhaps an English speaking fan wrote this game.”

”For fans of a teacher who grew close with their students, and formed bonds of cherished warmth with them in Houses, comes across as a slap in the face to see them being strangers [among the rest of the cast]”

This also carries on to other routes. If recruited for Edelgard the emperor says she feels drawn to them but nothing comes of it, but if not recruited then it means Claude recruits them and says he wants them to work together even after the war ends, but this results in both dying in Ailel. If recruited for Claude he also says he feels drawn to them but nothing else comes from it.

The dimitri one is particularly bad. I would like to stress that Dimileth is the most popular ship of Houses and in a popularity poll, Dimiresu scored first place, Dimireto second, with both varieties far outstripping any other ship (no Edelgard ship showed up in the top ten). Dimileth fans are particularly heartbroken

Considering the previous point: it seems like Koei/Iwata want to punish the players for liking Houses and Byleth, and to declare Musou, the new canon. In Musou, though the war continues, no one really dies (except maybe Claude and Rhea and Byleth and one of the other three that Byleth can kill). Nothing really terrible happens like Jeralt dying, the monastery being invaded, Rodrigue dying, Those Who Slither In the Dark are defeated. In contrast, many tragic things happen in Houses permanently for each route.

Considering the previous two points, this is especially heartbreaking for fans of Azure Moon: playing Azure Gleam means Byleth never becomes a teacher, and Dimitri keeps his eye, the whole truth of the Tragedy of Dusca is uncovered, Those Who Slither in the Dark are defeated, Dedue is never separated from Dimitri, Rodrigue and Jeralt stay alive, and so does Claude, Edelgard, and Rhea

Many Dimileth fans say their enjoyment of the ship and Houses is destroyed because they can no longer consciously think of submitting Dimitri, Dedue, Faerghus and the rest of the continent (!) to the sad events of Azure Moon when Azure Gleam clearly shows better fates for them all

A large-scale figure of Byleth is planned for release in July and is quite expensive. The reviewer calls it a poor yet expensive consolation for what is seen as the development team spitting in the fans’ eye

The reviewer concluded their blog post by saying that their enjoyment in Houses is shattered. They don’t know who to blame, either Koei or Intelligent Systems, but they know they are working on the next mainline title together, so it likely means they will stop playing Fire Emblem (they apparently started since the first games) if it means not giving KT-Intsys their money

I am sorry that this is so long. And I am sorry that this is such a negative thing to plant in your inbox. I just wanted to show information and the perspective of Japanese fans to others, since many outside of Japan don’t know what opinions are shared in those circles.

Thanks anon, and thank you for sharing other links as well (which I will keep private for their privacy).

This must have taken a lot of time, and your hard work is appreciated.

I really like these insights into other language speaking fandoms. I'm posting this for others to read as well.

<3 You are wonderful, anon, no need to apologize.

I’m going to make a post to regard these points more thoroughly. I just don’t have the time at this moment. Please forgive me if my response is inadequate to the work you put in at this time.

#Three Hopes #anon asks

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hellfireconfessions · 4 months

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!!! Phen Lore Drop !!!

Jack_BadCat (me) was falsely banned by him. He was really grasping at straws just to get me out of HF entirely due to me being, and I quote… “abrasive, aggressive, rude, and seemingly instigating drama for no reason, even when situations don’t pertain to you.”

And, here, I quote, are the main reasons I got pushed into that ban:

“most of what I do is me speaking for other’s behalf not my own cuz honestly I have been treated like a queen on here (I say while my name is GREEN)” Which was partially true at the time due to how I was very good at fighting back with the staff in reports, tickets, concerns, etc. and knew the rules so well I was almost untouchable at one point.

“but the worst part is that it’s all kept quiet and makes people feel isolated and scared”

“also my 2 other warnings/mutes were both mistakes from the staff’s end but they still counted anyways”

“I had no idea a staff request to move to a different channel (ex. #suggestions-and-ideas, #reports-tickets-concern-forms) was actually "SHUT THE FRICK UP NOW AND MOVE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE OR UR GONNA GET A WARNING” (I’d like to add in between these that this was taken very out of context, the other person I was messaging said “they’re gonna get u for that” or whatever and I responded in all caps “I HOPE THEY KNOW I AM JOKING LOL” so… it was obviously satire/sarcasm??

“…did you JUST now get approved?” Which was a joking stab within context for how it took over a month to get it approved.

“Thank you for answering my questions!! NOT. Because I was skipped. But no point now I guess. 💀” And btw, I said this BEFORE I got my final warning so it wouldn’t have even counted. He had to dig that deep to find enough reasons to defend himself about it.

The thing is that… we were friends prior as well? Which made it sting even more when it came from him. For a while I believed he took it because he thought it’d lightened the blow to see a friendly/familiar face, or that he was told to do it because we were on friendly terms and just copy n pasted what someone else had written. But now looking back… nah he was just an asshole. He was very weird and usually only hung out with the girls there which were almost always minors, while being pretty distanced with members who were older/guys. It just… rubs me the wrong way on so many levels.

I was going to send all the screenshots but tumblr SUCKS with images so like…. yeah, if anything ill make a little youtube video on it if anything. (And this is me not even mentioning the whole Noodles fiasco LMAO)

mod edit: I’ve heard 3 people talk about the girls thing and as someone who talked to him alot maybe i just dont see it since i was kinda involved, but i never pegged him as the malicious or predatory type while talking and its been years so while its good to keep that part in mind unless someone steps forward take it lightly, id take even this mod edit lightly it’s just my own observation

#phen #staff #jack badcat

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shihalyfie · 3 years

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With Digimon Ghost Game starting, I thought about how different it is from previous Digimon series, though it's still undoubtedly Digimon... and then I realized all Digimon series are like that. So I wonder, what do you think sets each Digimon series apart from the rest?

I think both Ghost Game but also the reboot have been a wake-up call for people in terms of realizing that likes, dislikes, and tastes are subjective, and I think it's especially important in terms of this fanbase that is so obsessed with this idea you can objectively rank things by quality -- especially when each series is often deliberately trying to have its own identity, so it's arguably apples and oranges -- and forcing this idea of what's Good and Not Good on everyone else (especially when there's a nasty double standard phenomenon where Adventure and often Tamers get to be so impervious to criticism that people conveniently forget they're perfectly capable of being scrutinized for a lot of things they're weaker in). Very frustrating to see everyone who likes less popular series treated as if they have to accept that they like a "badly written series" for some things and everything else is a guilty pleasure, which I find to be incredibly dumb.

The most important take-home here is that the fact each series has its own identity is always going to be the main factor in what makes it "good" or not to you, not some arbitrary bar of comparison that's based on some narrow-minded view of "good writing" (which is usually unreasonably based on Adventure). For instance, the reason why 02 is so important to me is because (see below), to me, it has the highest amount of meaningful, important life lessons and themes that it wanted its audience to remember, to the point that I frankly do not care about where the plot goes in comparison. That may not be the case for everyone else, and that's fine, but should my tastes be called unreasonable for that? I think we're also coming to realize that because of Adventure (and kind of 02)'s precedent, so many people have been judging series purely by how intimate their individual character development style is, but this is unfair because Adventure and 02's ridiculous level of character depth to psychological detail is extremely unusual and unrealistic to expect of others; Adventure and 02 only achieved this by practically considering the plot utterly subservient to its character arcs, and it's arguably why they have some of the weakest "plots" in this franchise. It's so bizarre that I can see character development in other Digimon series that outstrips even most kids' anime on the market, but it's not as much as Adventure's so apparently it's bad. And, moreover, as it turns out, some people have priorities other than characterization; just because Adventure had that as its strength doesn't mean that's the only thing anyone should care about. Is the plot fun? Is there a meaningful message besides characters (also important to me)? Do you vibe with the tone being dark, or being silly? How much do you care about resourceful usage of Digimon lore? That kind of thing. Everyone is different, so that's why everyone has their own priorities. If you’re someone who prefers darker content, you may not realize that writing good and well-timed comedy is actually a very, very difficult task, especially when said comedy simultaneously has meaning (in comparison, it’s surprisingly easy to write “dark” but shallow content).

I think it's fair to like every Digimon series for its own thing, depending on your personal tastes. I can't speak for everyone, but my impressions are that it has to do with the following:

Adventure: Significantly easier to understand than 02 due to its more straightforward plot, and focus on individual character development ("individualism" being a strong point here). In terms of characters, it goes a lot into some very real social problems (the divorce around the Ishida and Takaishi families and the pressures surrounding Jou, for instance) in a very realistic manner. Also, it has that sense of mystique and absurdism to the Digital World that's both whimsical but also mysterious, and while 02 has it too, Adventure's the isekai story that has it the most.

02: The first is its focus on the importance of human relationships and the compelling group dynamic unparalleled in this franchise, and the second is its important themes and life lessons that I think are some of the strongest in said franchise. I have a whole tag for the ridiculous amount of nuance packed into every detail and dialogue line for this series, and I think every time I've rewatched an episode I've learned something new about it because there are so many things that clearly wanted to be said in each line. The entire series is basically an unpacking of the feelings of insidious self-hatred and the crushing feeling of being subject to society's expectations, and ones that are so deep-seated that you often don’t even have a single answer to how to unpack it (for instance, Miyako hardly has a tragic single event in her backstory, but she says and does a lot of things that'll be painfully familiar to those who have experienced chronic anxiety). Almost every plot point can be said to connect to each character arc in some way, and the mantras for appreciating and treasuring your own life and living life the way you will make this, in my opinion, the strongest series in terms of speaking to those who struggle with this kind of existential crisis for reasons of depression or otherwise. (Oops, I think I went too passionate about this; my biases are obvious...)

Tamers: I think it forms an interesting study and unpacking of the kinds of things you take for granted in Digimon or the monster-collecting genre in general, and an examination of how they'd work in a real-world context (although 02 had a focus on daily life, it didn't quite merge the Digimon and the real world factors until very late in the series). Also, probably the second highest on "hard sci-fi" (the only one that outstrips it is probably Appmon, but Appmon has a very different, more simplified take on it).

Frontier: A series that lies somewhere between Adventure's scale of individualism and 02's scale of group dynamic, and one more discussing the feeling of having your heart hardened from being an outcast, and what it takes to accept the idea of opening yourself up to others again. Recommended for those who like transforming hero and magical girl stories, too. From the Digimon perspective, also the one with the most detailed and consistent Digital World mythos.

Savers: I think this is the series that most drives home "life is complicated" (i.e. there isn't a single mastermind behind everything) in the most tasteful manner, because while it drives home the point that you can't just simplify everything into a good side and a bad side, some bad things really are evil (hi, Kurata), and it doesn't change the fact that everyone's responsible for cleaning up the fallout. The portrayal of the evils of government bureaucracy is probably the most realistic out of any of these series.

Xros Wars: For those who like fun, most of all! For those who like seeing Digimon finally get more of the spotlight and individuality since so much of it had been geared and biased towards the humans prior to this. For those who really like worldbuilding, and, after all, this is called Xros Wars, so it's interesting to see shakeups on the usual formulas in the form of the different factions and their priorities. Hunters is very different in tone, but I do think they have some of these aspects in common; that said, it being closer to having single partnerships brings it a bit closer in line to conventional Digimon partnerships, and it also has more of a picture of daily life. Also, as much as Tagiru is probably your-mileage-may-vary since he's not exactly a very nice kid (I get it if you don't vibe with that), which may also rub those hoping for not nice kids to become nice the wrong way, I do have to say I find him to be one of the funniest characters in this entire franchise, and you'd be surprised how hard good comedy is to write.

Appmon: Probably one of the strongest theme narratives besides 02, since it has a very clear and obvious theme about the importance of kindness in a world where technology is dominating and we're almost encouraged to strip the feelings out of everything. (Bonus for more straightforward plot than Adventure or 02 while still retaining a lot of its elements in terms of how to characterize them.) Also the first series to be speculative about the near future instead of taking place around the time it airs, and it's very obvious it wants to provide important and necessary commentary about what we need to do in the incoming era, especially as a lot of what it has to say becomes increasingly relevant.

Reboot: For those who like Digimon mythos and null canon -- this is probably the only series to show it off in this level of detail -- and the kind of cool action fights that would usually be saved for the climax in prior series (and animated in much more intimate detail with battle choreography than prior series would have). There are a lot of people into this franchise who felt like it genuinely was not making enough use of its Digimon roster and its potential because it kept going back to the old standbys (especially Adventure-based ones), so it was a huge relief for that crowd to see attention finally being paid.

#digimon #shiha's ask box #demonoflight #digimon multi series talk

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darlington-v · 3 years

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I know different interpretations of a work are generally enriching and cool... but c!dream villan interpretations is like how to tell me you only watch Tommy without saying you only watch tommy.... which would be fine but its not a great place to be making statements about the whole nature of the dsmp lol

Wild speculation, but sometimes I wonder if like, because the dsmp didn't really start as a narrative, and a lot of fans don't nessecarily enter it expecting a narrative, but then there is one and the fandom is really discourse heavy and everyone is sort of excpeted to have an opinion while maybe not expecting to form one from the begining or not having a ton of experience with narrative in a way that would "expect" them to have an opinion or not take things at face value??, I don't know if I explained that well at all... and I don't really even think thats right nessecarily... but like wow sometimes some of the takes about power and government and villany...

Honestly, it makes sense!!!

I think something interesting is like.... looking at how animatics have shaped the like tone and culture of the fandom essentially. Like, an interesting fact that I didn't really fully grasp until SUPER recently is like...

c!Wilbur out the gate admits he is manipulating c!Tommy. Like his first youtube video on the Dream SMP he admits his goal is to manipulate c!Tommy and people like c!Tommy into helping him achieve a potion ("drug") empire to monopolize on potions because there were a lot of people on the server who like to min-max, which is to put all of your effort into this one specific skill essentially. so like... i know minecraft doesnt have a skill tree but if it did, it would be putting all your points into that one specific branch of a skill tree. So he wanted to exploit the labor of all the TommyInnits to.... maintain a Potion Empire.

THIS IS A LONG POST BC I GOT CARRIED AWAY SO BUCKLE UP

And I don't think a lot of the fandom who joined later on knows this. I certainly didn't until like a week or so ago? Like... I knew c!Wilbur had been manipulative from the start because I'm a mod of (shameless self promo incoming) @dsmpanalysis and we have a lot of different POVs in that mod team and discord and we talk about it really frequently. I joined the fandom as someone who was really big on L'manburg ESPECIALLY crimeboys, and have turned into.... *gestures vaguely to my blog*

And ngl I owe a lot of it to @1-michibiki-1 in terms of c!Dream "Apologism" but all of the mods there have expanded my thoughts and views on the storylines of this narrative.

My application consisted of like largely essays about like... how I think Dream was the villain but he was meant to be the villain because you don't get any insight into his character WHICH.... IS A FAIR ASSUMPTION AT FIRST GLANCE. People are easily villainized when you cannot get a glimpse into their thought process. It's easy to dwindle someone down into this flat character and starting out I knew Dream didn't stream the SMP on purpose.

And I personally came to the conclusion of "Oh! So Dream is supposed to be the villain." However as the story continued and I learned more about what Dream went through I began to realize that... it's more than likely a form of a red herring. My opinions on this were immediately solidified when I watched Ranboo's 2 MIL stream because both Ranboo AND Dream agree on enjoying red herrings.

There have been MANY times were Dream has said that c!Dream is a complex character and he's not a wholly evil guy and there have been times where the narrative has honestly just proved that.

Anyways, what's important though was that... I learned most of this from other people who were more focused on c!Dream rather than myself. Eventually I shifted from c!Tommy to c!Ranboo and c!Techno after c!Tommy betrayed c!Techno and I began to realize.... everything I learned before hopping in wasn't exactly what it seemed.

Part of this is because I'm older, I heavily identify with c!Techno's sense of loyalty and philosophies on government, but I especially identify with the anguish c!Techno voiced in... a lot of lore but especially the lore around Doomsday.

I'm not 16 anymore. I don't always feel wronged by adults, or older people in my case, whenever they absolutely have done something wrong by me, but I do feel wronged by my close friends. I also felt like c!Tommy's sense of loyalty didn't line up with mine after what felt like him constantly flip-flopping and refusing to understand c!Techno's morals on government didn't line up with his.

In short, it was easier to identify with Tommy in these animatics versus in the actual stream content because c!Tommy is played by a 16 year old. I'm not a teenager and my line of thinking doesn't entirely line up with people that age anymore. It's harder to place myself in the same shoes of someone's OC who is played closer to their actual age, because I'm not that age.

Regardless, I was still on the c!Dream is a villain train. I wasn't ever like... c!Dream is repulsive I hate him, but I was like omg hot villain lad go brrr.

Even when the first like... mellohi, panic room, Ranboo lore stream popped up I thought "Oh! c!Ranboo corruption arc?"

And I was excited because I really wanted this shy, nervous character to turn into villain buddies with his good pal c!Dream. I'm a total sucker for villains and corruption arcs and all that good shit.

SO I STARTED GETTING REALLY INTERESTED IN ENDERSMILE. I'VE BEEN ON ENDERSMILE SQUAD OUT THE GATE. NOT THE SAME WAY I AM NOW, BUT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED THEM TO TEAM UP.

So... upon not really keeping up with c!Dream and being relatively??? indifferent? I don't think I started arguments on c!Dream back then, but I might have. But I remember like... starting to participate more whenever c!Dream came up and looking more into Dream's character BUT ESPECIALLY TALKING WITH OUR SERVER'S C!DREAM SPECIALIST MICHI ABOUT DREAM A LOT MORE.

And because Michi has been a watcher since day one and was a DTeam fan rather than a SBI fan, she was able to provide me with more information on how the server worked pre-Tommy but especially pre-Wilbur.

Now, you could definitely argue well Michi probably has clear bias but it made sense to me when I looked back on how the storyline had been constructed and was going along, and everyone in the server talks a lot about our own biases and how we want people to maybe not lean so hard on them. Michi would also provide like anecdotes on what had happened and I'm sure links were probably provided at one point but the point was I felt like Michi had no reason to lie or manipulate how the story was told and if she did, eventually someone would have pointed it out because... Group of like... right now it's around 20 or more analysts but I don't remember how many at the time there were. POINT BEING, WE'VE ALL GOT POINTS TO PROVE AND IN MY EXPERIENCE NOT MANY OF US HAVE BEEN SHY TO PROVE THEM.

So if anyone ever had any differing opinions they would be talked about and we literally had and still have discussions.

REGARDLESS.... I DIDN'T FACT CHECK IN DEPTH BECAUSE I THOUGHT PEER REVIEW WAS ENOUGH WHEN YOU HAVE LIKE HOURS UPON HOURS OF STREAMS TO WATCH.

Anyways. Eventually I started paying closer attention and looking more into c!Dream lore but only recently have I started to triple check before speaking about c!Wilbur lore because I know everyone has biases and while I did trust everyone's thoughts and analysis in the discord, whenever I make essays I typically like it to be largely air tight and if theres a mistake, I want it to be because I forgot not because I just trusted what was said. Plus, I wanted to get down to the specifics of how Wilbur had always started with manipulation on the mind.

SO I WATCHED HIS FIRST VIDEO ON THE DREAM SMP.

AND WHAT I WAS NOT BY ANY MEANS EXPECTING WAS WILBUR TO SAY WORD FOR WORD, VERBATIM,

"SO WHY DON'T I START AN INDUSTRY WHERE I USE THE TOMMYINNITS OF THE WORLD TO WORK FOR ME, TO CREATE THINGS THAT THE MIN-MAXERS OF THE WORLD WILL WANT."

Like... this is in no way an attempt to like hardcore villainize c!Wilbur like everyone does Dream, it's just more so to like REALLY outline how far off a lot of fandom interpretation of c!Wilbur is....

Because of SBI focused animatics.

Now, when I joined I watched A LOT of animatics that really highlighted like... Wilbur being this self-loathing JD-esque, "I destroyed it because I had to because the world was against me because no one loved us, Tommy" type of character. At least... that's what it came across as.

And it definitely highlighted the fact that Tommy was a victim, which he is. He is undoubtedly a victim and no not even any dream apologist can change my mind otherwise. Tommy, despite being an instigator sometimes, didn't deserve the abuse he received.

But these animatics never shown the fact that c!Wilbur started L'manburg as a shady ploy to exploit people like c!Tommy and vilify c!Dream so he could have power.

And that was easy because Dream and Tommy had wars before. They had spars and pranks and here's the plan to take back my disks and here's the plan to out smart the thieving little child etc etc.

And all of the animatics I watched never mentioned this. Neither did the recaps though. The recaps gave the events flat out, there didn't sound like there was bias, and honestly I don't really know if there was rather than like... a lack of nuance. And it's hard to provide a recap with that much nuance in a short period of time for a youtube video, to be perfectly fair.

However, this creates a perfect formula for entirely rewriting the history of a server. c!Wilbur quite literally fucking succeeded TO A META LEVEL. He slandered and ran smear campaigns against Dream and like he even does that with Sapnap in the beginning. But what's crazy is that it transferred over into the meta! Most of this fandom understands Wilbur as a victim of mental illness, and yeah maybe? He definitely wasn't mentally well by the end of pogtopia, but he never started out with honorable intentions. L'manburg was never a victim, only its citizens. The TommyInnits of the world.

I just think it's like... such an interesting case study. Because this is like... an opinion like shared by at least half of the fandom, but the vilifying of c!Dream is shared by MOST of the fandom I would argue. Which is like even more crazy for me because that was c!Wilbur's goal!!!

LIKE I GO INSANE WHEN I THINK OF THIS BECAUSE HIS REACH IS JUST TOO POWERFUL. HE'S NOT EVEN ENTIRELY REAL, JUST A MANIPULATIVE PERSONA OF SOME BRITISH GUY.

And I mean... maybe people who have watched Wilbur's video on the SMP still maintain this idea that Wilbur wasn't always the bad guy, but honestly... I wouldn't be surprised if their introduction was still an animatic. Like bias is hard to check and I'm not going to lie I could have sworn I watched both Wilbur's AND Tommy's video on the SMP in the beginning and yet I STILL was a ride or die for tragic yet on some level still honorable Wilbur and a resilient Tommy.

Like... upon watching Wilbur's first video... possibly again I was surprised because I thought I did watch it like right before I even started watching the streams and yet I was still so invested in c!Wilbur as this tortured anti-hero.

It took 6 months of... not being in an echo chamber, full of multiple different people of different ages, different stream POVS, and people who joined the fandom at different points in time.

IDK IF THIS WAS EVEN ENTIRELY RELEVANT IT JUST FELT TANGENTIALLY RELEVANT AND THIS WAS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR A HOT MINUTE AFTER LIKE WATCHING WILBUR'S FIRST VIDEO AGAIN.

TLDR;

SBI CENTRIC ANIMATICS HAD A LASTING AFFECT ON THIS FANDOM AS IT'S HARD TO GO BACK AND ACTUALLY CHECK THE NARRATIVE FOR SOLID FACTS FOR YOUR OWN INTERPRETATION BASED ON THE FACT THAT THIS NARRATIVE SPANS OVER HUNDREDS OF HOURS WORTH OF TWITCH STREAMS.

#asks #anon #dream smp #dsmp #dsmp analysis #dream smp analysis #dsmp meta #dream smp meta #my analysis #long post

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hotdemonsummer · 3 years

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Obey Me! and Angelology and Demonology

alternatively titled Lets Get Into Lucifer

This is yet another long, long post about the lore of Obey Me! from the perspective of historical and theological angelology, and demonology or the study of angels and demons respectively, because I think it’s neat. I also talk way too much. I’m scared to check the word count on this.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on anything, and certainly not on religion. I just like comparative theology. Also, spoilers for lesson 43/44.

What is an angel? And what, in turn, is a demon? It depends on who you ask. All religions that have angels have a general consensus that they are spiritual beings, intermediaries of some kind of higher power. Demons, on the other hand, are much more vague beyond general malevolence toward humanity. Any connection between the two is entirely dependent on the culture and religion in question. Some have angels but not demons, and many have vice versa.

There’s generally four kinds of spirits that are considered demons:

Dead people with extremely bad vibes (think mogwai, yuurei, and other revenants)

Neutral-to-malevolent energy, physical form optional (think djinni or yokai)

Cult subjects (including foreign gods and ancestor worship)

Corrupted angels (either fallen or Nephilim)

The word demon comes from the Greek δαίμων, or daimon, but the concept of a demon is much older than the Greeks. The original daimon had none of the malevolent, evil associations that we now think of. Instead, daimon just described a kind of powerful spiritual entity (for example, δαίμων is the term Euripides uses for the new god Dionysus in The Bacchae). What we think of as demons now didn’t exist in Greek culture, and the negative associations came when the Tanakh was translated from Hebrew to Greek, but even then shedim aren’t identical to the contemporary depiction of demons that we see in Obey Me!, which, like everything else in Western society, came about through the domination of Christianity.

Shedim, the precursor to the Christian demon, was more or less a term for false gods, a title for the various Levantine pagan gods (see: origin of Beelzebub, Belphegor, and pretty much every demon that starts with Bel- or Bal-).

Obey Me! pretty much canonizes Type 2 and Type 4 demons, with characters like Diavolo, Barbatos, and Satan as Type 2 and the other brothers as Type 4. Historically, Beelzebub and Belphegor are Type 3 (Beelzebub and Belphegor being Levantine gods), Mammon being Type 2 (a general personification of Wealth, although Milton did write him as a Type 4 in Paradise Lost) and Asmodeus being somewhere in between Type 2 and 3 (being heavily derived from a Zoroastrian daeva of wrath). Lucifer is, historically, the only consistently Type 4 demon.

I don’t think I have to explain what a fallen angel is to any OM! fan. But I will.

Let’s talk about these guys. We’re all familiar with Satan’s weird complex about Lucifer, and I’m sure we’re all equally familiar with how Satan and Lucifer are terms used interchangeably for whatever being is The Big Bad of Hell. However, they’re not synonymous.

Satan derives from the same Proto-Semitic root as shayatan, which... should be pretty obvious, but nonetheless has a pretty analogous role as a tempter of men in the Abrahamic religions. Beyond that “tempter of men” title, though, the actual details of what Satan is is incredibly varied, including whether or not “Satan” is a name or a title. In Christianity, the view of Satan as an extremely powerful and evil corrupter of man, wholly opposed to God, came around the Middle Ages, when witchcraft hysteria spread.

Lucifer, on the other hand, is simultaneously a figure originating in Christianity and much, much older than it. The term of course means “light-bringer”, and is heavily associated with the morning star, aka the planet Venus. To make a very long story short, many Mesopotamian, Levantine, and Mediterranean cultures saw the lowering of Venus toward the horizon at night and thought, “hey, thats a pretty neat image!” and created stories about heavenly beings falling toward the earth. Of course, they didn’t use the ‘term’ Lucifer, that’s Latin, and came from the Vulgate Bible.

The term Lucifer does not exclusively refer to The Evil Fallen Angel™ in Christian texts (some very sacred things like the Exsultet explicitly refer to Jesus as Lucifer), but it sure is the most popular interpretation. In works like Paradise Lost or the Divine Comedy, the general idea is that the angel Lucifer rebelled against God in some way and was cast out of Heaven, then becoming Satan, and thus the two are one and the same.

(inb4 some Quora-type chews me out for accuracy’s sake, the “lucifer” mentioned in Isaiah 14:12 refers not to any angel, but to a Babylonian king. The whole fallen angel thing, much like the beatitudes or Bethlehem or Christmas, is a fusion of pagan influences.)

In other words, Lucifer is always and has always been a fallen angel. Satan, on the other hand, doesn’t have those connections to angelhood, and the two figures have an undeniable connection despite their clear individual differences. Sound familiar?

The next question is then what kind of angel is Lucifer anyway? to which you might be thinking, wait, there are different kinds? Yes, holy shit, there are so many kinds of angels and very little consensus on what they are. In terms of Christian angelology (because again, Lucifer is a uniquely Christian/derivative Christian figure unless you exclude Leland’s Aradia which I don’t because lbr they were Italian anyways), most hierarchies are based on the work of this guy:

This man has the incredibly succinct name of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, and sometime in the 5th century he wrote a book called De Coelesti Hierarchia. It orders the *WTNV voice* hierarchy of angels into three levels called spheres, and each sphere has three sub-levels called choirs. Many, but not all, of the choirs are adopted from various Jewish angelic hierarchies. If you thought that it was just angels and then archangels were, like, the middle management version of angels then you are very wrong. I’m sorry that television lied.

You know who also lied? Tumblr dot com and any post that implies that the true form of angels is a big wheel with a bunch of eyes. That is, in fact, a descriptor for only one kind of angel: ophanim, or thrones. The depiction of angels runs the gamut from winged humanoids to multi-winged humanoids with multiple animal heads to burning snakes to vague heavenly mist.

Archangels and angels are the eighth and ninth lowest choirs of angels, respectively. Angels, or malakhim, are the default messengers of God and the choir from which guardian angels come from. Generally, if someone claims to have a message from God delivered to them, it will be an angel doing it. If it’s really important, it’ll be an archangel. Everyone else literally has more important things to do. No one’s getting visions from dominions.

Lucifer’s (the theological one) actual designation is kind of a mystery. Depending on the text, Lucifer has been described as a seraph (the highest), a cherub (the second highest), or an archangel (the eighth). According to Thomas Aquinas:

Lucifer, chief of the sinning angels, was probably the highest of all the angels. But there are some who think that Lucifer was highest only among the rebel angels.

Not very helpful, but hey. The question remains: what kind of angel is Lucifer, and this time I mean our Lucifer.

We know that Michael, just like his namesake, is an archangel. We also know that (SPOILERS) Simeon, unlike his namesake, is an archangel as well (Simeon is a saint, not an angel.) Lucifer likely was at their level, if not higher.

However, Lucifer was also a six-winged angel, a depiction generally reserved for seraphim (and cherubim, but far less frequently).

Moreover, in terms of role, an angellic Lucifer fits well with that of the powers, the sixth choir. Powers are in charge of moving the heavenly bodies, and are depicted as powerful warriors dressed in beautiful armor. It's fitting for a being so closely tied to the morning star to be a power, after all.

So, with all that considered, what is Lucifer?

Well, he’s a seraph (or saraph, technically). Why? Because Simeon is somehow a seraph and an archangel (I have already written too much to unpack that bullshit), and Mammon was a throne (remember those wheels with eyes?) and Beel was a cherub and therefore Lucifer had to be higher than both of them (interestingly big brother Mammon is in a lower choir than little brother Beel). This makes Michael kind of, well... weird, given the archangels’ low rank.

Some like to differentiate between archangel the eighth choir and Archangel, with a capital A, as a term for any high-ranking angel. While this is likely what Solmare is doing, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that this has zero basis in any religious text whatsoever and is solely done for the convenience of not remembering anything besides angel and archangel. Which is like, fine, but I’m a pedantic jerk who I found claims to the contrary while researching and I felt the need to correct that.

Anyways, the more you know.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me theories #obey me demonology #obey me angelology #obey me lucifer #my theories #YEEHAW that was a lot. my god #anyways besties dont let this flop

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ready-to-obeyme · 4 years

Text

[OM!] Reverse AU: Demon Brothers (+ Diavolo) Headcanons

- original idea came from this lovely post so please check it out if you haven’t already bc it’s so cute!! I couldn’t stop thinking about the boys collecting our character cards and desperately trying to complete events and chapters just as we are afjasldkfjasfjdts

Scenario: We’re the characters in the game and the demon brothers (or would they be human in this au??) play Obey Me! and collect our cards, play the events, etc...

Reverse AU: Demon boys collect cards of YOU instead of the other way around

Ranked from most invested to least invested in the game + headcanons on how they play (while stanning you ofc)

EDITED: there is also a related follow-up post of Reverse AU [here]

Leviathan

VIP VIP VIP

the man would die for every UR+

stans you so hard; cries whenever any new card of you comes out

a collectionist at heart, but he knows there's a fave in his otaku heart of his

every event holds a special place in his kokoro

Idk how he gets sleep grinding for all your URs considering how fast the events come and go without breaks in-between

If he had a terrible sleeping habit before, it’s WORSE now

honestly, this game right up his alley so he's an expert-- he's probably the one to rant about the game and convince his brothers to start playing too

"Add me so we can give each other AP!!"

he says, but he spends a lot of money to get all he needs so he doesn't really NEED his brothers to play with him

very happy when he gets to rant about the game with his brothers

Casually plays OSTs from the game, sometimes on blast and his brothers don’t even bat an eye because they all play the game hehehehe

cheers when he gets you as a surprise guest; uses wikis to make sure he does you right (he once made a wrong move and your dissent dialogue crushed his heart-- so never again)

never ranks below 100 during events

Mammon

baby tries really hard to save up for a good event card or UR+ but always ends up pulling desperately for your cards

relies on his luck to get what he wants, and when that doesn't work out, ends up putting money into the game

probably prays before each 10x pull and free draw

he's not rich enough to win aaaaaaaaa

fell in love with your character almost immediately and has not looked back since

you are Best Character; probably fights with Levi about who loves you more

gets pumped when he sees your cards; the other character are ehhh even though that's probably not the most strategic way to play

doesn't understand why he can't just have three of you on the dance team all at once

Screams whenever he loses a dance battle (“I’m so sorry!!!!!!’ he tells you as he quickly levels you up and throws a ton of glowsticks at you)

suffers when his brothers get the cards he wants-- though tbf he also brags about pulls he gets that his brothers didn't

when did this game become a competition?

Satan

f2p but he works really hard to get the cards he wants

diligently saves up and spends all his pulls on a UR+ card he absolutely MUST have

collects all the wallpapers, dialogue, and chats of every card he has of you

stares longingly at the URs and has to resist the very real urge to just buy stuff

invested in the story, the characters, the nuances, and the LORE

thinks of theories and ideas on how the world works and the facets of each character

probably write on blogs and posts fanfic

...his bros don't know about that part tho so shhhh

The animal event really grabbed him by the DICK

If there is a card of you with cat ears and a tail-- hhhhhhhh

Spends ALL his draws during this event and invests all his time and effort into unlocking the devils flower and regrets NOTHING (o´ω｀o)

Lucifer

tries to not get invested

then gets invested deeply in both the storyline and the characters that he completes all the levels asap and grinds everyday to fill out the devil flowers

Takes break between work by opening the game

Refreshed with you on the home screen

Feels like dying when Diavolo catches him SLIPPIN’ peers over his shoulder and asks him what game he’s playing

Also feels like dying when Barbatos catches him humming the opening screen song

tries really hard not to buy anything and he succeeds for quite some time but alas came the hydrangeas

he started off by buying some devil (human?) points… and it escalated

slippery slope-- recharge missions took him by the neck and then he gave in to being VIP (might as well, since he can afford it…)

outwardly calm about playing the game, enjoys talking with Satan about the possible lore and having something to bond with Levi

inwardly pretty invested: adores the interactions, remembers what options are best for each surprise guest dialogue

Asmodeus

posts about all his Good pulls, especially when he gets the new UR+/UR cards

the type to unlock all the devil flowers for the flex but also for the aesthetic

scrolls through devilgram (uhh human...gram? so instagram) and unlocks every story asap

thinks the game is adorable whenever he gets to interact with you as a surprise guest

probably doesn't have a high preference for any particular card but absolutely LOVES the pretty ones

love love LOVES the fan art that people draw of you

Hums to the opening screen song in the shower or even the opening video (that he voices hahah)

gets frustrated when the levels get hard and he has to grind but so far hasnt given into buying anything

Not as invested as his brothers but he does spend money just to get a REALLY nice UR+ card like the rain event

Water does wonders for aesthetics（=＾0＾=）

Belphegor

the game is too fast-- so many events for him to care about that he sometimes drops off the face of the earth to play it or drops the game and takes a break from it for a while

there is no in between with this dude

he can only invest in the game when he feels like it, if he feels somewhat motivated

thinks the dance battles are funny

slightly upset when he doesn't get the cards he want from gacha but it's too bothered by it

has like at least one UR of you from an event that he didn't expect to get and that's good enough for him

the bed head cards got him feeling some type of way ////

had notifications for his AP during that period of time; has never grinded harder

Beelzebub

what can i say? the man gets lucky from free pulls all the damn time

least invested, but does enjoy reading the story and the characters; just gets kind of lazy when he gets stuck on levels

does his best to level up enough to continue the story and unlock your gram stories but has a hard time grinding to unlock devil flowers

which is understandable considering the amount of URs he has

i could probably see his brothers fight each other to get his account when he thinks about giving it away

plays more often during events because he likes the extra interactions from the game with you

Bonus:

Diavolo

Lowkey does not know how to play for a while but does log into the game just to make sure he gets his free pulls

His knowledge of the games grows EXPONENTIALLY and by the end of the first week

he’a asking Lucifer to add him, what cards he has, should he invest in this event or not

Lucifer isn’t sure if he’s happy with this development or not

Definitely has Barbatos join in on the fun too :333

Barbatos somehow ends up being as equally invested as Levi but the only way any of them can tell is because he revealed himself to be top 10 at one event

Adores every UR card of you and asks Lucifer if he should just sign up and be VIP

Does get extremely lucky at times

“Lucifer, what’s the difference between a UR+ and a UR? Huh, why? Well, this card I got has a UR+ on it--”

Ranks probably above Asmodeus and below Lucifer in terms of how invested he is into the game

#obey me!#obey me lucifer #obey me diavolo #obey me satan #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me asmodeus #reverse au #hahah #shall we date? obey me!#obey me reverse au

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captainkurosolaire · 3 years

Note

I challenge you to pick five Tumblrs in your social circle and tell them something you admire about their blog!

Only 5? I could probably do 500. However, that's determined by what's considered my social circle. I'm often in my head being incredibly social continuously is really a challenge of mine. I'm always actively marching to something, my flame of passion when I have it, I can do some crazy stuff but it diminishes relatively quickly, so I try to cling. But I'll up your thing and list 25 of my fave people. Ask me this same thing in a Month, I'll keep doing 25, until I do all the people. How about that? (If anyone wants to be taken off mention let me know.)

@eligos-venator

- Has one of the most intelligent and sophisticated minds, I've had the pleasure to know. Literally admire all his aesthetics, work, head-cannons, ideas. It's only a benefit that the dude shares some OC characteristics to my own (Winning features). I really enjoyed the short-thread we did. It was incomplete, mainly because of my faults. I want to actually be better to give him a proper delivery and RP worth his time, but he's incredibly worth the investment of eyes.

@mischiefandmystics

- If there was a Mount Rushmoore of writers who kept me in this endeavor, encouraged me. Sun'ra is one of them. His characterization skills, writing, the delivery and how believable his character is, they're masterful acts.

@mishivymendi

- I wouldn't be nearly tamed or as creatively freed if it wasn't for this gem. She broke my shell, I really didn't at a time ever see myself being anything really beyond a smut writer, but Mishi not only saw potential in me, but brought it out. Her stories and world's she brings to life are so majestically colorful.

@asymphonyofash

- My go-to. He's another pillar individual who saw things in me past just the obvious perception, (Probably second longest XIV RPer I know.) Taught me a lot of the lore, I shot him up and he's sort of become my stapled rock. He's right aside Sun'ra met them about the same, both took me under their wing's as I quietly observed and absorbed.

@lavender-hemlock

- We're always up and front with each other, never feeling like I couldn't say anything around, extremely rare to share that these days. Her gif's are legendary, something on my own terms I want to soar in quality. The writing she does is astounding. Character has so many mysterious pages that are quite addictive to want to explore and learn them. (Encore 20 below-cut)

@under-the-blood-moonlight - Her sweetness and artwork and overall is just a friendly presence to be around. I cherish them so much. One I can jive with more darker undertones with. She's one the most hardworking and ambitiously creative people. I'd mail them infinite hugs if could. Thanks for being you! @roxinova - I owe a lot of credit to her. She's constantly OOC and everything was nudging me too be more inclusive to things and involved heavenly. It's rare for me. I'm really horrible about that my autism sets me back socially, I constantly will be drowned by the next day and be reverted back to better off alone, that's my major crux and weakness. But her thoughtfulness, these things, aren't ever foreign to me, I do pay attention probably better than any would ever give me credit. She's a beacon model to have as a friend. @corpse-dancer - Haven't ran into many words with them, but her character, screenshot game, expressiveness, they're all a marvel to constantly see, alongside her attitude and bringing life character. I do think if I were better, we would click quite splendidly. They've recently reminded and motivated me to pick-up my daily-practice, or try too. Keep being a rockstar. @fair-fae - Few who wouldn't know who she is in this community. She's been in my opinion a huge core. I'm certain she's inspired many who weren't even RPers too try it by seeing her at the Quicksands or elsewhere, a tyme ago. Making no exception, I was even one of those. I used to be in QS every-single day and was often doing my shameless stuff. Though her presence first did show me there's a lot more. I admire her in all fields. Also appreciate her adopting me to the FC and her always thinking of others and giving events, or her aesthetics and portrayal, its the epitome of swan elegance. @thorcat - One of my most treasured friends. Been RPing with them for a longtime. There's never anything complicated between us or a rift of drama, it's just let's go and have fun. We really mesh well, I've welcomed nearly ever character and got the privilege to RP with nearly all them. They always open up envelope and help me, settle on back and just laugh. Whether used to be waking up to their characters humping my afk one or use randomly having a hardcore banter between Ufah and Captain and capturing them as a voidal pet. Memories with them isn't something I'd ever want to lose. I love ya! Never stop enjoying life for anything. @lukawarrioroflight - I get in the gutter find myself lacking motivation or writing, discouraged even... But I never have felt, I could ever do any wrong with this person, they bring the light out of me. So no matter what, how many hospital-beds I yearly visit, it's because of this rare nature, that I come back, even if they're the only one's ever to read my stuff. I would do it for them alone. @scholarlybreadbun - I've only been back recently and they've so much warmth. Their presence is the sun of inviting. The couple and posing all the shipping that stuff makes me even melt. I'm not particularly talented in regards to posing couples, but I took notice of them along time ago and set on quietly improving. Really like them for them, wouldn't ever want them to change that. Ideally look forward to be in their orbit longer so I can bask in them. @seascrapes - Been mutual with them for a while. Their aesthetics and character is all S+ level. I appreciate throwing back tagged prompts with them, one of many people I really think would be enjoyable to collab with any other seafarers. The artwork and pieces of Tal Brook, are breathtaking as ever exceptionally too, not to mention. Love your stuff matey, you're a king. @mai-takeda - Is a myth. Her absolutely sheer friendliness and her attitude, are so positive influencing, I was so thrilled to be welcomed with her and boosted by them early on. I couldn't see myself, wanting to exist where they didn't have happiness like the same she always delivers by just doing so many soft-things. Not to mention her writing... She's a whole world to throw yourself gazes

under. @zhauric - It doesn't go far either without the same breath of Mai, I could say about Zhauric. He's someone worthy to look-up and also recognize they're passionate and inviting, hoisting up literally everything. Could easily find any of their characters comrades with my own, or jiving alongside. Not to mention last XIVWrite, they slaughtered it. So enjoyable to read them all. I like how organized their blog is too, motivated me recently to redux my entire thing. @cadrenebula - They have so many diverse characters and their entire roster is vibrant and is imbued with a massive flux of life. They are able to encapsulate so many character's voices and portray them so effectively too, I really admire that greatly. They've made me think bigger and try myself recently at actually undertaking a huge roster of characters too. I've taken many breaks, but I always am so graciously returned often with them close-by and that's so incredibly sacred. I've seen a lot of people get discouraged or quit, leave, departure, etc. But they always seem to have a bigger house then they had last I took a break and I enjoy peaking in. @silvernsteel - Her artist and gif-work are awe-aspiring, there's little unrecognizable by her photo-sets and edits. They helped me even tip-toe into uncharted with giving me the recipes to try incorporating gifs into my arsenal. Plus so delightfully pleasant to actually talk with and just chill. I want nothing less in life, than the beauty they give, to be returned to them for eternity in all their glorious air. If ever needed anything of me, they've got me. @spotofmummery - We talk about passion or friendliness or overall a person to even remotely try to be, I got to include them. Their web-series and writing, screen-work, everything they do is fantastic. And that's furthered back nearly any I've met showcase or immortalize how just genuine of stellar person they are. I wish them always the energy to create and sparks. @snow-covered-moon - They've never been anything less but absolutely a diamond to know. I enjoy their character, their almost always abundant of energy that's very rub inducing. Their WoL character stories, writing, screen-shots, everyday they open up a new pandora box of joy, there's no mistaken love behind their character and that's infectiously easy to also enjoy something when the author does too. Always healthy to be around, I never feel short of vitality when they're close-by. @letheofthelost - Always cheerful or least encapsulates with me, they're a carnival ride. Just pure epic story-telling and engaging equally as passionate, constantly writing characters, not looking for anything outside of RP or anything really just being their selves, they fade all others. I love their presence, them as a person. Enjoy any character they'll ever come and throw under me, or a change of pace. Always feels easily understandable between one another. @crow-iv - Together we're an unfiltered, unstoppable wake of pure passionate writers and art. But I would say they're far ahead of me, in every regard. Already able to portray multiple characters in a scene and do such in-depth thinking, alongside even sketch or draw right afterwards or a scene. They're so talented, huge reason I set-out on giving them a Crew of cast and actual stories to-tell when I'm actually caught up and if they interested and we both have the room, I really think if further myself, I can be better and supply more for them to draw and I want to see them soar. I want to give them all my improvements and effectiveness. @trishelle - They've such a reinforcing personality and aura around them that easily bolsters anything that dares thinking they're about to be depleted so energizing. Aesthetics, characters, all them are so lively that further compliment their own mun's great welcoming presence. Worth hundreds of smiles and stars, keep high. Wish I had more time to dedicate to learning you! But I do notice and appreciate you. @fracturedfantasia - One of my people, I like to retreat and just talk my full

head-cannons with or learn, share insightful and inquisitive thoughts about philosophies and multi-culture things. Or plotting and in-general, they're a well of information and brimming ideas, they are every making of what makes a quality friend. When you can generally be open-about-all that's a real one right there. Their characters and tarot readings, I always would implore if they're offering. Thanks for giving me any-time. You're truly a treasure. @violet-warder - Never have even came to words with them yet unfortunately but didn't mean as a mutual, I haven't admired all their screenies, writing, or the aesthetics they bring of their character. Glamours is real end-game, I like all what you've done and put together. I care strictly about what represent and give, I don't want to see them ever think anyone want's them gone, they are abundantly so talented and possess things only they can deliver. I think recently came back too, and I'm glad to share, hopefully, overtime I can build you better up. Or eventually even talk, but I'm certain you are a busy-body person too, so we're relatable. @layla-grey - I have a lot of underline issues that set me back as a flawed person, but I've never not been anything but someone who's open, it's why I always do include my f-list in anything or etc. I'm not here to present this facade, and really don't care to be an image crafted by another. No one as of recently or now, am I close with as an RP partner or friend with then this stunning masterpiece. I never let-up on story-telling or anything so I can eventually use my Crew or other Characters, to give them anytime a master entertaining day, they push me to not be short-changed. IC and OOC I would devote my full attention too cause they've never shed from me. Didn't ever matter how much silence or anything, they're always around. And don't expect anything out of me or pressure. Just accept me and I equally share that sentiment, I want you to have everything in this world has to offer. ----- This is just a fraction of people, I've paid attention, noticed or know. I've been around in this Community for many years. There's a lot of things I could say about it, more probably then anyone else. But what matters to me, is recognizing the people who are here, that work hard, build others up, support, constantly are a beam. I don't need to interact with everyone, to know when someone is generally out for good. Or they're out for bad I've learned inquisitiveness longtime ago, I had to survive and remain afloat. I just go out and be me, and along the way, I get to find people like these, who help bring out the best me. I am nothing without these people, creators, writers, artist. I'm a terrible friend, horrible person, I don't have the energy to interact NEARLY with as much as I'd like with you all, If I could clone myself, or if things were different, I would drop it all to be in your orbits more if could. But, do know I appreciate you. And even if you ever do depart from this whole community or anything, know that anything you share, or give, that stuff does matter, somewhere, someone was aspired, if nothing else, by me. ONLY you can give the worlds you see and I am thankful. Do love yourself.

#I acknowledge you #Love you #Keep doing you #Asks answered #I'm the one guy who's never not going to be filtered or unspoken #To many people have left or been broken #Don't you ever think about it.#There's so many many more #But I'll recharge for next time

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thefirstknife · 3 years

Note

OKAY BUT OSIRIS

Osiris who kept fighting for the city even after exile and hardships

Osiris who wasn't expected as a person by ‘his own’ cult

Osiris who loves someone he risked TIME ITSELF to get him back, who had versions of him go MAD

Osiris who has never truly given up on the light, on the city, on anyone even, not REALLY

Can you talk about that osiris? The,,, hidden, osiris? For lack of a better term?

The Osiris who loves harsher than solar fire, and yet is as unwavering as the void of space?

The man who rises from his ashes yet still casts a light? Even when dead, even when he himself cannot USE that light?

Oh damn. Yeah. Yeah. All of this.

Osiris often appears arrogant and distant, but he cares about things so much. Too much. I think that under all of his raw power, his biggest asset it that care and belief in the Light.

He may question both the Light and the Traveler, but he always stays focused and believes in it. Even with all of his doubts, he never wavered.

Perhaps the best example of this is from The Pigeon and The Phoenix lore book, in the aftermath of the Battle of Six Fronts. The way he used his Reflections to monitor the battle on all fronts and to quickly move between them as needed. At the end, when everyone is celebrating, he is tormented by the lives that were lost.

Osiris: I don't know how many times I died. I witnessed the battle through the eyes of the City. Balanced on wire. We were spread thin.

Saint-14: My Brother, you have fought hard. You should be proud. Without you, we would have been lost.

Osiris: Some were.

And instead of going to a memorial for the battle, he sends Ikora while he tries to commune with the Traveler. And when the Speaker tries to console him, he is still clearly in distress, weeks after the battle. This is a great insight into how desperate he is to understand his place in the world and how to better help that world:

"What troubles you?" The Speaker steps toward Osiris.

Osiris inhales sharply. "You have read my reports?"

"Of course." The Speaker loosens his posture. "I value your council."

"We were so close. A moment in the wrong place." Osiris looks to the Speaker.

The Speaker nods. "Yes. But the Light guided your path."

A noose awaiting a misstep.

"I did not see the Traveler on the Six Fronts."

The Traveler dwarfs Osiris. "But you did, my son. It was in the fire that saved your brothers and sisters. It was in the Arc bolts that ripped through their armies. The violet shields that held the line—"

"Do not romanticize this burden. We wield a weapon."

The Speaker shakes his head. "The Light wields you, Osiris. You are what you make of it. A glorious extension of its majesty, in many directions."

Osiris paces at cadence with his words. "Then it would do well to speak clearly. To better direct me."

The Speaker cocks his head. "Without will? Then it would be no better than the Darkness."

"I am asking only for guidance; it is a delicate game we are playing." Osiris's voice, distressed.

Osiris, for all his arrogance, tends to hide his best qualities and only reveals them to those he's closest to. Most never see that side of him.

He really placed so many burdens on himself and blames himself for anything that did go wrong or that could've gone wrong. Every death weighs on him. I'll drop one of Sagira's lines here as a closing statement:

Ikora: The Sagira I knew would never admit to anything less than Osiris-level perfection.

Sagira: Ikora, here's a secret. NO ONE has ever lived up to Osiris's reputation. Not even Osiris.

He really doesn't let himself rest or be free of worry. And he still thinks he can do better no matter what.

#destiny 2 #osiris #lore vibing #long post #ask

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lostinthosebrowneyes · 3 years

Text

Pedro Character HCs | The Boys as D&D (5e) Classes

Dave York

Rogue. Dave is a soldier who specializes in the silent kill. He knows all about a life of murky morality and thrives in the darkness with his expertise in stealth. But get him up close and away from his teammates and their flanking advantage and it’s game over for him. He’s the classic high risk, high reward class with melee and range versatility, specifically the Assassin archetype who makes the most of drawing his weapon first.

Din Djarin

Fighter. Nobody beats the humble Fighter in terms of battle versatility. Din is more than a mercenary, he’s a true warrior. An expert in all manner of weapons, just put something that kills in his hands and he’ll make it sing. The Fighter is the workhorse of any D&D campaign, a classic and always welcome addition, he does his job with maximum efficiency be it solo or as part of a team. He has no need for fancy spells or gimmicks, his job is to take the pain and dish it out in equal measure. He will outlast all of the showy casters and niche glass cannons on the battlefield, taking his Second Wind while they’re making death saving throws. Din would probably also have the Sentinel feat because he particularly shines as a protector and is a selfless member of any party, ready to take up the slack and have your back when you need him. This is the way.

Ezra

Bard. Ezra is a talker. In a sticky situation? Try to talk your way out of it. Looking for information? Say just the right words to try and get what you need. Whether he’s good at it is debatable and he’s rolled a lot of Nat 1s in his life, but Ezra has the spirit of a Bard inside him. He’s a lateral thinker, lives by the philosophy of taking the unspoken third option and he seems like the type of person who invests in obscure lore. In the Green there is no magic to save you, only hard work. But could you imagine Ezra’s sheer power if he could speak cutting words that actually physically killed people? He would be unstoppable.

Frankie Morales

Ranger. Whether it’s up in the sky, armed with a rifle or just socializing with friends, Frankie seems to like to navigate his way around danger and keep it at arms’ length rather than face it head on. He’s found his way through quite a few wild and dangerous terrains through his career in the military, from jungles to deserts, and surely knows a thing or two about roughing it. He’s quiet, thoughtful and down-to-earth, and he seems to make his biggest mistakes when he’s around other people. Peer pressure can’t hurt you when you’re in the wilds on your own, I’m just saying.

Jack “Whiskey” Daniels

Blood Hunter. I’m going to be blunt, Blood Hunters are zealots who pick a particular type of target and hunt them to the ends of the earth. Jack clearly has an issue with black-and-white thinking and can’t let go of a good (or even a really stupid) vendetta. Particularly, Jack would be Order of the Profane Soul, because he would clearly sell his soul to the devil to wipe his enemy from the face of the earth. Blood Hunter also fits Agent Whiskey’s fighting style as they are generally Dex-based (aka, agile) fighters who sacrifice their own health to do intense amounts of damage; the riskiest daredevils of all D&D classes. Jack Daniels is a bloodhound, when he’s got his target’s scent he will finish the job or die trying.

Javier Peña

Paladin. Here we have the somewhat nobler take on the black-and-white morality man on a mission. Javier is a Paladin all the way. On a good day, Javi would be Oath of Devotion, the most romanticized version of his ideals and goals. But most of his days are bad days, so Javi chooses the Oath of Vengeance; committed to seeing evil pay no matter the cost, making restitution for the things he must do in their pursuit only after he’s taken his foes down by any means necessary. Javier has a bit of a white knight complex at times, an overdeveloped sense of justice that just doesn’t jive with how the real world works. Sometimes he realizes that, but other times it eats him up inside. As a Paladin he would have a host of spells and tricks under his belt specifically to help him root out his elusive targets, echoing the arsenal of espionage tactics he has access to in the show.

Marcus Moreno

Paladin/Sorcerer Multiclass. I couldn’t pick between the two for Marcus M, luckily these two produce a very strong multiclass! Marcus is the product of strong bloodlines like a Sorcerer and his magnetic talent is an innate part of him just as a Sorcerer’s magic is. However, this power is not his strongest asset. His leadership abilities and protective instincts are what make him who he is more than superpowers and that’s his Paladin side coming through. Marcus Moreno is the quintessential hero and a high Charisma type, but in the unassuming way that he’s just a nice dude who people naturally like... unless you’re Miracle Guy, I guess.

Marcus Pike

Rogue. Oh man, Marcus Pike was the hardest to pick of all. He’s in a law-oriented job but is impulsive and intuitive. He has combat training but he is not aggressive. He’s passionate but not over-emotional. He has a love for the arts but no desperation for the limelight. Eventually I settled on a specific Archetype: The Rogue Inquisitive. A detective flavor of the Rogue, the Inquisitive is more reliant on Wisdom than his sneakier brethren. His skills are in honing in on the truth, both of his situation and the hearts of those around him. He’s insightful, steady and trusts his gut for good or ill. The Rogue is more than a criminal or a killer, the Rogue is also the classic jack of all trades. Marcus as a Rogue is someone who loves sampling many different interests and avenues, surprising people with his versatility of talents. He’s always up for a new challenge and adventure, he’s always got an arrow in his quiver you didn’t know about. And yes, sometimes he’s a bit low-key, but you really want that in a Rogue.

Maxwell Lord

Warlock. Maxwell is the perfect Warlock cocktail of willing to make a deal and too arrogant to realize it’s a bad one. Warlocks are greedy for power, too ready to take shortcuts and often needy for attention, even if it’s the wrong kind of attention. His short rest spell slots make his magic a quick fix for sticky situations but just as quickly depleted. Maxwell is willing to get his head in way too deep in order to get what he wants and what he wants is always just out of reach, but that taste of power from his patron is enough to keep him going.

Oberyn Martell

Monk. I know what you’re thinking: “What?? The hottest man in Westeros, known hedonist Oberyn Martell as anything but a Charisma-based class???” Well here’s the thing, Oberyn is a lover and a fighter, and nobody does what he does better than a Monk. Peak physical condition, baby. Those acrobatic moves? Dexterity-leaning Monk class has it covered. Oberyn is a clever man and he uses the science of poisons to get to his enemy’s weak points. Similarly, the Wisdom-based Monk uses a blend of magic and science to exploit pressure points and Stunning Strike their enemies into submission. They are experts of the human body, what more need I say? At higher levels they literally have a class feature to stay fit and sexy for the rest of their lives. Add onto that, the Monastic Tradition Way of the Sun Soul uses explosive bursts of fire and light against their enemies in a way that’s pretty thematic for the Prince of Dorne and his fiery personality.

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inventors-fair · 3 years

Text

Two-Faced Commentary

People went really big this week! There were a lot of cool tropes, novel mechanics, and a surprising number of white cards with hexproof.

@alextfish - Manifold Core

The front side of this card is a very powerful cost reduction effect, especially given that it applies to a set of cards that often don’t have any colored mana in their costs. I suspect that would often function as a combo piece in decks that don’t intend to transform it, to a degree that it overshadows the rest of the card a bit, but the overall flavor is good. The card is also very aggressive when transformed on turn 4, although that you need to four-for-one yourself to get the creature serves as a powerful check.

@bread-into-toast - Guilt-Wracked Artist

A genuinely horrifying card concept. I’m not 100% sure that I follow what the treasure represents in the story (the key?), but it’s still very unnerving.

Mechanically, the card holds together reasonably well, in that if you get the card in the graveyard the “right” way, then it’s easier to pay the disturb cost, and the mutual discard plays reasonably with a graveyard-focused strategy.

@decayingbooks - Graceful Swan

This is a great transformation trope, and a very strategy-heavy flip card. Flip cards that gain value by flipping back and forth are established design space, with Huntmaster of the Fells being the most notable, but this card adds the additional wrinkle that, once you’ve accumulated enough bird tokens, you want it to be night on your own turn to take advantage of the ability to buff your tokens. (Although both activated abilities do have value on your opponent’s turn.)

While it’s doing reasonable flavor work, the ability that makes your bird creature tokens humans may be overkill. There’s nothing wrong with trinket text, and in a set with human tribal elements it could be genuinely relevant, but the card is already fairly complicated.

@deg99 - Seraph of Salvation

The creature revealing its true demonic nature (or falling angel, but my understanding is that this is the former) trope is a good fit for a TDFC. There’s a ton packed into this card - the front side on its own is very flashy, and threatening an instant-speed Mythos of Snapdax once the card is on the field changes the way the game is played significantly. (Wrathing at instant speed is a big deal.) The mechanics of each side don’t feel all that strongly connected, but they make enough sense on their own. I like the aesthetic decision to leave the demon W/B rather than making it mono-black, as its effect is more strongly associated with white.

@dimestoretajic - Zosusk, Cruel Taskmaster

The front half of this card is extremely strong. Even at four mana, a super-Ashnod’s Altar that can go in the command zone is a scary proposition, especially given that it’s also difficult to remove and can cash itself out for a treasure if it would die. The indestructibility is arguably overkill, especially as the card can generate a lot of value even if it is removed right away.

Similarly, I’m not sure if the back half particularly needs hexproof; if you’ve got any kind of board, it generates a lot of value, and I think that on balance it’s better if that’s answerable.

The idea of a card that’s sort of a side-grade when transformed is interesting, as is the tension about whether or not to cash out your creatures if it’s going to transform, and I like that the tension is abated a bit by the fact that both halves make sense in the same deck, even though they operate differently.

@fractured-infinity - Velis, Distorted Reflection

This is a really clever twist on the Evil Twin design space. The back side is very powerful, but the effort required to get there is real and meaningful, and the front side is enough of a slightly bad deal on its own that the transformation ability isn’t just a freebie. Needing to specifically see a creature with the same name die is also fairly clever, as it means that Velis needs help to transform. (You can’t just crash Velis into whatever it’s copying.) The back side does have a pretty high level of inevitability; once you’re at six mana, you can effectively “steal” any creature your opponent plays before they can attack with it, and in Commander can be used to keep other commanders off of the field. This latter feature might make this card safer as a non-legendary creature.

@gollumni - Ral, Untapped Potential

The front half of this card makes a lot of sense as a Ral card. The sparking condition doesn’t tie directly into Ral’s own sparking story in any obvious way (he sparked when he discovered his partner was cheating on him), but it mechanically ties into what the character is about and strongly enables his fairly stiff sparking condition.

If I have a quibble with this card, it’s that you often won’t be able to productively make use of Ral the turn he flips. To do so, you’d need a fourth instant or sorcery that you can cast that turn, this time at full price, and if it’s a very cheap spell then the amount of value you’re getting is pretty modest.

@greensunzenith - Escape from the City

What I think really elevates this card above the basic idea of a Saga that transforms into a creature is that it does something with the lore counters after transforming. Unless I’m missing something, haste on Hazoret is mostly superfluous, as it will nearly always have been on the battlefield from the beginning of your turn when it transforms. (It could still matter if you double proliferate or if it changes controllers, I guess.)

@grornt - Inconspicuous Youth

This card is another fantastic choice for a transformation trope. This one does a magical girl transformation in a non-obvious but flavorful way, where the character transforms specifically in response to a major threat, and then reverts when the threat is gone. That it transforms even when the major threat is your own card feels like an acceptable flavor bend for the sake of making the card playable, and that it reverts as soon as any major threat is gone is a reasonable choice for simplicity. (It could also check for 6 MV creatures at the end of the turn.)

I went back and forth on whether I liked the back half having defender. On one hand, it allows the back half to be far bigger and scarier than if it didn’t have defender; without that, the transformed half needs to shrink or the card needs to cost more. It’s also fine flavor. On the other hand, it really gums up the board, as it’s very difficult to profitably attack into the card. Additionally, it kind of creates an “...oh” moment when reading the back.

Lastly, I think that a white creature just straight up having hexproof is a bit of a bend (although not one wholly without precedent.) The flavor helps justify it (and it’s definitely mechanically relevant), but flavor can justify a lot of things.

Despite these questions, I do really think the design is very clever, and it was one of my favorites from this week.

@helloijustreadyourpost - Marchesa, Tyrant Queen

The mirrored Abyss effects are clever together, and the flavor helps to sell the shift. The nontoken clause on the first side is doing several interesting things in terms of not only making the card a bit stronger as a control tool, but in helping enable the flip. Giving opponents a natural out on the back side helps check the overall power level of the card as well, and I think it’s a positive that any wrath is an answer for the back half in Commander. While the flavor makes sense and it certainly makes the card stronger, I could take or leave the second ability on the back.

@hiygamer - Penultimate Form

I like that this card cleverly ties the “quest” condition to something that the reverse side of the card will naturally need. I also think that the triggered ability on the back is extremely clever, in that helps make the card less tricky. Without the triggered ability on the back, there’s a not-immediately-obvious interaction where casting instant spells in response to each other allows the creature to transform with five loyalty counters on it, which is a major advantage in that the card can use its -4 ability right away and survive. Stealing a creature is extremely powerful protection for a planeswalker and strong in general. However, because a similar ability is present on the back, players don’t need to recognize that stacking instants correctly allows the planeswalker side to start with five+ loyalty counters, as you can get the same effect by just casting them in sequence.

@hypexion - Sigarda, Fallen Grace

The transform condition on this card is quite difficult, even with the amount of Eldrazi token-making available and its ability to fuel itself, but the front half is plenty strong. Large, evasive, efficient hexproof creatures are something that I think they shy away from a bit now (and white rarely gets creatures that just have unconditional hexproof), although the throwbacks to Sigarda’s first card are clear. While the back half of the card is a meaningful upgrade, the front half is strong enough that it stands on its own - many decks may not worry about flipping the card at all.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes - Ormendhal Weakened

Ormendhal is a potent abyss effect, and having it wait until your upkeep to trigger for all players is a good safety choice - it gives your opponents a healthy window of time to respond to it. The backside is something of a consolation prize, as in many circumstances it will operate like a basic Plains, but the flavor is interesting. I don’t totally understand the decision to allow the land to tap for colorless instead of just white; outside of an environment where colorless mana costs exist, it won’t make much of a difference, and while there have been Eldrazi on Innistrad (and Ormendahl was affected by Emrakul), the connection seems a little loose to justify what’s otherwise an unusual line of rules text.

@jsands84 - Battered Lamp

This is a really fun design. That you need another creature to “rub” the lamp is a cute piece of text, and allows for other costs on the card to be pulled down to really attractive levels

The degree of inevitability on this card (5-power, evasive, bounces any blockers your opponent has, requires either artifact destruction or instant-speed creature destruction), along with its complexity, might push it to rare, although I like that the numbers work out such that this doesn’t win the game on its own.

I’m not sure whether this is intentional, but you can effectively get “infinite wishes” by having Zephyr Djinn bounce itself when you transform it for the last time. It’s enough of a tempo hit that I don’t think it’s a power level concern, and if you’ve already made (and probably attacked with) a 5-power evasive creature twice, then there’s a good chance that you’d rather attack with the Djinn the third time than to bounce it, but I felt that it was an interaction worth pointing out.

@kellylogs - Klara, Embereth Aspirant

This is a sufficiently clean, elegant transform condition that, even though this is not an existing planeswalker character, tells a clear story. I do feel like the backside of this card could be a bit stronger; if you’ve successfully attacked alone with Klara, blockers may not be something that’s causing you problems, and in an aggressive deck a 3/2 with Exalted may be at least as powerful planeswalker side in many scenarios. (Although being able to get a 2/2 Vigilance creature right away means that you don’t fall back much in terms of board presence.)

The -7 ability in particular could probably also use a bit more juice. While it’s technically a three-turn ult, its impact disappears if Klara does, and the +2 ability required to get to it is pretty weak (especially on the turn when Klara transforms, where it will generally do nothing.)

@misterstingyjack - King Pakesh II

The two sides of this card are loosely mechanically connected (they both like it if your opponents’ creatures die, although both halves can also be fueled in other ways), but the flavor helps tie them together. I think that limiting the front half to one treasure/turn is a good decision both in that it helps keep the cost of the card down and in that the card isn’t so good that you don’t care about the back half. Both halves have unique mechanics that still feel reasonably elegant and flavorful, and I like that the card doesn’t try to do too much. This is also a cool recontextualization of Disturb in general.

@morbidlyqueerious - Niko, Quizzical Javelineer

You mentioned that this card is revised from an earlier contest where the goal was to make a card that included every letter of the alphabet, and while that shows in the card’s name, the overall package isn’t stretching or squishing tooooo much to meet that criterion. Niko offers a larger amount of repeatable scry that exceeds what’s generally printed, although needing to connect with what’s otherwise a gray ogre to get it makes it such that it’s not likely to fire too many times in one game. The flip condition is challenging enough that I think the strongish +2 ability on the reverse side is justified, especially as it will often leave Niko vulnerable. If anything, I think the reverse side could perhaps be a smidge stronger.

I’m not sure whether this is intentional or not, but I do think that it’s interesting that it’s easier to meet the card threshold for the when you’re on the draw, but easier to meet the unblocked attack condition when you’re on the play.

@naban-dean-of-irritation - Will, Stoic Cryomancer

This is a pretty clever way of handling a flip walker that represents power sets found in two different colors, and the card does a solid job of feeling like a tag team. Another cool thing about this card is that it defies the legendary rule as long as you leave both copies on different sides.

If I have a critique of the card, it’s that I do think it’s a bit difficult to reach Will’s ult, however. If you play the card on curve (turn 3), you generally can’t flip it until turn 4. From there, you need to use the +2 three times to get to 10 loyalty, which is only possible if your opponent consistently has at least two creatures. That takes you to turn 7, which means that you can use the Ult on turn 8, making it a five-turn ult (or four turns if you were able to flip Will on turn 1). The ult only does something, however, if you control another planeswalker. While the ult is not a big deal on a planeswalker that’s this flexible, I think it could be a smidge cheaper. (-9 would save you no turns on building to it, but means that you don’t need to have another walker in play to use it.)

I’m also not sure if overtly making typeless permanents is something that’s worth putting on a card, given the potential confusion. The rules can handle it, and there are ways of making it happen in-game already, but similar gameplay can be achieved in more conventional ways.

@nicolbolas96 - Ugin, Last Among Elders

This is another card where the front half is almost worth it on its own, so the relatively steep flip requirement is fine, as it serves as more of a bonus. Life gain and card draw aren’t the things I most strongly associate with Ugin, but the card draw works as a mirror of Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, and the package is sort of like a miniature version of Ugin’s ult.

This is a small thing, but I wish Ugin was a bit bigger than 3/3. I realize that the similar Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, is only a 4/4, but 3/3 feels a bit small for an Elder Dragon.

The planeswalker side is recognizably Ugin, serving as a sort of greatest-hits of his associated cards. The novel ultimate will win the game on the spot in any deck built around it, but as you spent 5+8 mana on Ugin already and upticked it three times, that’s totally fine.

@nine-effing-hells - Mysterious Ruins

It’s not totally obvious which part of the ability the Revelation ability word refers to, but overall the card tells a clear story. A land that transitions into cardflow in the late midgame and a (kinda) finisher in the late game makes a lot of sense, although opponents that are too worried about the reverse side can save a kill spell for it. A land that enters the battlefield untapped doesn’t need to do much else to be good, so the high overall investment required to flip it is a good decision. Decks that want this sort of effect will tend to be controlling decks that can make better use of the mutual draw as well.

@partlycloudy-partlyfuckoff - Tender of the Wilds

The names on this card are clever, and help tell a different story than the superficially similar Mayor of Avabruck.

This is a very strong effect; the back side in particular is both large for a 2-mana werewolf and has a very strong anthem effect. While a good fit for a werewolf deck, this card is strong enough to go almost anywhere (and the front half is slightly better in a non-werewolf deck.)

This is a minor thing, but the more common templating for abilities like the backside has is to roll the stats it provides into the creature itself (printing it as a 4/3) and then to print the ability as “Other non-human creatures you control...” However, I think the templating you’ve chosen is potentially reasonable on this card for the sake of mirroring the front half.

@piccadilly-blue - Gavony Town Hall

This is a very difficult card to evaluate, because its impact on the game can vary a ton depending on how things are ordered.

This needs to go in a token deck to do anything at all, but the day-side drawback of turning off all of your creatures is harsher than the anthem on the back is beneficial, if you’re trying for an aggro strategy. On the flip side, there’s a lot of potential to gum up the board quite a bit with indestructible hexproof tokens if you play the card after your token producers. Token strategies already sometimes gum up the board, and this creates the potential for game stalls. Your opponent can get around this by passing their turn to shift to night, but that’s a fairly major tempo loss, and it sets you up well for the crack back.

I do like that there’s some interesting things that can be done with wraths and with creating token copies of cards with powerful static effects while on the day side.

@pocketvikings - Covetous Vizier

One of two “genie of the lamp” cards this week, I believe that this card is specifically a reference to the Disney movie Aladdin. (I could be wrong about that - I’m not super familiar with genies.) This card is basically Phylactery Lich on an installment plan, although you spend more total mana and some life. Additionally, your opponent has a window of time to respond with creature removal, which is not the case for the Lich. In compensation, the front half of the card can be played profitably even if you control no artifacts. Black does, as of Midnight Hunt, apparently get 2/3 creatures with upside for 1B at higher rarities, but a 2/3 for 1B with a useful effect is already, on its own, a satisfactory creature. The first question I had with this card is why it wasn’t just a lich, but not every card needs to use the most obvious or most-established flavor for an effect - and it’s more memorable that it doesn’t.

@quillpaw - Shellcrown Phoenix

A few different phoenix cards - Everquill Phoenix and Rekindling Phoenix - have used complicated tokens to try to mimic this effect, and a few DFC cards represent hatching eggs, but this card is novel in combining them, and I think it works really well.

The one slight oddness with this card is that it’s possible to miss your chance to transform it back, if you don’t have the mana (or don’t wish to spend the mana) to flip it at the time that the last counter is removed. It’s possible to play around this by attacking with fewer creatures, but I don’t think that the card as a whole is so strong that this limitation is necessary. Additionally, due to the cost of the card and the flip condition, I feel like the game will often be over before the card can flip back, but it still has utility in getting the last bit of damage in in a gummed up board state.

@real-aspen-hours - Gathering Storm

The front half of this card is very strong, offering heavy levels of card selection at a reasonable price on a card type that’s relatively difficult to interact with. I don’t know that it’s over the top (three mana is a lot for just selection), but the card doesn’t hinge completely on

I respect the decision to use a simple transform condition. I feel like the “obvious” angle is to condition it on having a certain number of cards in your graveyard, and that’s potentially safer (the current version will, I think, sometimes be flipped with just one very strong card in your graveyard), but even that requires some building around, so it’s probably not that big of a deal. I do like giving players a decision

@reaperfromtheabyss - Wavewhisper Egret

This is a lot of card for a two-mana uncommon. The front half would be an attractive card even without the ability to transform, and the transform effect will generally scry at least 4. Blue can get 2-power fliers with upside at higher rarities on occasion, but this is certainly a very aggressively-costed version of this creature profile.

I also think the decision to flavor this as a card from Kaladesh, rather than from New Phyrexia or Alara, was an interesting one. It injects a bit of light horror into a setting that doesn’t have much of that.

@shakeszx - A Tempest Foretold

Having the saga exile itself and return transformed is an elegant way to kill two birds with one stone, dealing both with the sacrifice clause on the card and helpfully disposing of the now-irrelevant lore counters.

I’m not 100% sure how to parse the first ability on this card - I’m assuming that it’s meant to pull from your graveyard or cards you own in exile (and maybe the stack), since those are under most circumstances the only zones that will have instant and sorcery cards in them when the ability resolves that aren’t your hand, but as written it sort of reads as though you can grab cards from places like your opponent’s graveyard. The rules do intervene to stop you from putting other players’ cards into your hand, but I feel that the wording on this could be clearer.

I’m also not sure that the back side works the way we want it to. In cases of cards that exile themselves on resolution, I’m not sure that Izzuke will recognize that it’s the same card, and any other card will go to the graveyard upon resolution, where it won’t be recognized as the same card if it’s then exiled again. (The rules could maybe be altered to support this, but it’d create additional complications.) Additionally, I’m not sure that exiling your hand in order to slowly potentially get the instants and sorceries back one at a time really feels worth it; Izzuke is a good deal for four mana, but even with Ward 4, the blowout potential is pretty huge. If your opponent saves any removal for it, you’re very likely to lose.

All that said, the general concept of a saga that builds up a resource that the creature it flips into can expend is a strong one.

@snugz - Queen Bee

Assuming that you hit your land drops and that nothing happens to your drones, this card will flip after two land drops, having created seven 1/1 fliers. The reverse side will then make these fliers 2/2’s, three of which can attack right away (assuming this occurred over two turns). In most formats, this means that your opponent is going to be dead before the long-term value aspects of the card come into play. They are still relevant in Commander and as a rebuilding option if your drone army gets wrathed, and the flavor is good, however.

On the whole, the card may be a little too efficient at building a game-winning board, especially as it is hard to remove if not removed immediately. I think the card could do fewer things and still work as a card, even though all of the individual components make flavor sense.

@starch255 - Cursed Knight

There’s a lot of things I really like about this card. I like that its toughness is low compared to its power, so it will usually either kill something or die in any combat with another creature. I like that the Frog side is still a knight. This feels like a reasonably in-pie way to give white a well-above-the-curve creature, and if your opponent doesn’t have an answer or a body to throw in front of it, this puts out much larger life swings than two-mana uncommons normally ever do. Even if your opponent tosses a 1/1 in front of this, you’re still up a bit.

@whuh-oh - Masked Debutante

This card has a lot of moving pieces, but the overall package makes sense. The actual power level of the card hinges a lot on your opponent having at least three creatures already in play, but there are enough outs to it that it doesn’t feel hopeless in any case. I also like that the creatures have to actually hit you to get the counters, limiting the total amount of value you can steal. I also like that the card doesn’t have any sort of anti-sacrifice mechanism built in; it’s game-winning enough of the time as it is, and doesn’t need to have what answers do exist for it to be shut off.

I’m not 100% sure that the creature-stealing is really a red thing, but tying it to the survival of the creature helps, and in general makes the card much more fair.

@wilsonosgoodmcman - Venser, Close to Death

In inventing a new card subtype, this is the most ambitious card for this week. I also like the flavor of a doomed planeswalker having only minus abilities, and lining up the planeswalker so that it needs to die to using one of its abilities (or take damage on your turn, I guess) is a nice little minigame that isn’t trivial, but also is easy enough that you can usually expect to flip Venser if your opponent doesn’t have a substantially greater board presence than you.

The third ability on Venser should probably target only other permanents, to avoid confusion about what happens if it targets Venser, but that’s pretty minor. (I’m assuming that the intent is that it doesn’t flicker Venser.)

Even though it costs you (usually) a creature and the effort of flipping Venser, I think that the +1 on the reverse side might be a bit much. While all of the abilities are powerful, that one stands out as especially tough to beat.

@wolkemesser - Keepsafe Bear

This card tells a cool story, and I appreciate the work you did in balancing the difficulty to flip the card. At first, I sort of felt like it went a little overboard in terms of preventing you from flipping it (you basically need a wrath or for your opponent to block it or attack into it with a much larger creature), but the front half and back half are both strong enough that I think it’s okay for there to be some fairly specific hoops.

The back half does just enough, I think. There’s an alternate design for this card where the back half loses indestructible and the front half is harder to flip, and that version is probably a bit easier to print, but I think there’s a place for the higher-challenge version presented here as well.

#commentary #if-two faced #mtg #magic the gathering #inventor's fair #custom magic card

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papabirdurskeks · 3 years

Note

I ask this both for Baron Dark, Ariandel and SkekSo !

Give me a character and I will answer: @ben-the-hyena

Oh boy a triple feature! :D Here we go, folks!

Under a read more cause its going to get long but each listed character will be split apart evenly!

First up is Baron Dark!

Why I like them: He is just bombastic in personality! He lives loud in his actions and words, participating in most of the action himself while also showing he is a threat and menacing altogether! I also like that he is one of the few villains that shows he cares for his crew as a “family” (at least for most part of the series before being overtaken with obsession to have power more on his own). Given the dynamic we are given from the show, its obvious he cares and treats them all on a level of respect as well, something so rare to see nowadays! And I also enjoyed that his reasons to take over and do the shit he did in the series, “Because I can!” is just as refreshing and fun to see in a villain too! And again, his design is a top tier design I love overall! Its menacing, powerful, and outright amazing! Definitely adds to the character and how well he works in effect to keeping my attention! Like just look at that design! And his VA did a wonderful job of adding to that charm that is just delightful to see in his personality! Overall, he is totally a villain I would love to see more of in the future!

Why I don’t: I say my dislikes often fall on the usual tropes of a kid’s show of the 90s. He talks too much when he could be doing things himself and falls victim to the typical “I am too powerful” but doesn’t think of the obvious steps ahead that will be his downfall. But honestly, its so small I don’t find it jarring or that bad to be in the way! It was the 90s and aimed at kids at the time, so we can’t expect TOO much out of that xD

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Oh man, that’s a tough one cause every scene/episode Baron is in he totally slays it! Its either a tie from the first episode to the very last one cause the stakes of start and finish are so well done, I love it all!

Favorite season/movie: Obviously, the TV series is the best version of him! The comics sucked and turned him too OOC from what was initially given! Like how does one go from point A to be Z so freaking fast? xD

Favorite line: “Because I can.” Yeah, not gonna lie this was indeed my favorite line of his xD

Favorite outfit: Honestly, the outfit he gains near the end of the series is by far my favorite! Its like a mix of the Bejeweled Catacomb Saints and Mictlantechutli put in one and its befitting of the Baron given his gain in power!

OTP: Baron and Cyborn are my OTP and are married, fight me.

Brotp: Definitely Brotps with the rest of his henchmen though I see them more being like his adoptive children!

Head Canon: Baron is of indigenous background! I also like to headcanon that the white tuft/strands in his hair are truly his and have been there since birth! (I have so many more HCs for him but I will keep it short cause it can go all day x’) )

Unpopular opinion: Don’t think I have one, at the moment at least.

A wish: To have gotten more information/lore on him and the entire cast, honestly! I would have loved to see more of his character explored and what more he could have had to offer as a series main villain! Hell, the whole damn series had so much to offer! And just the relationships he has with the others and what more he could have done post season and before! So much potential there to be explored! I honestly would not be objecting to a reboot/revival or continuation of the series!

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Though with that said, if a reboot does come around, don’t turn it into the mess of current cartoons we have. Not that they are all bad but most of them have been very disappointing in keeping my attention and liking. Keep the same type of messages it had before! It worked beautifully as it did then and still does work now! I’d love to see the same formulas used while also updating it to be more gritty and mature like they did for Castlevania! Just... Don’t turn it into a cringe worthy mess that will ruin Baron and all the characters in the series! Don’t do what the comics did!

5 words to best describe them: Charmingly evil, badass, fun, conniving bastard, and menacing.

My nickname for them: Mega dork (affectionately speaking)

Next is Ariandel!

Why I like them: Oh boy, there is a lot to say in terms of why I like him but I will try to keep it short and simple for time purposes! His design is top tier for me! Like a rotting skull like face? Check! A monstrous body much like a bird’s? Check! And to add he is a giant Corvian, which are one of my favorite enemies in Dark Souls III! His personality also differs from the usual loud, bombastic, and proud characters I tend to gravitate for. Instead, he’s withdrawn and rather sad to look at and hear. You know he’s going through a lot but don’t know exactly what it is. In game, one can sort of get hints as to what has gone on behind the scenes but at the same time, its still vague and hard to really pinpoint what really did happen. So he has that air of mystery to him that I honestly adore in many characters as it leaves room to explore deeper into their lore! But I also find his personality relatable as well as sympathetic. But that’s just me, I can gush about him all day but I will cut it short here x’)

Why I don’t: To be honest I don't have any reason not to like Ariandel other then the small fact that he followed Friede and let the Painted World rot in such a terrible state. But that is so minor of an issue to me to really make a difference, lol. I adore this giant bird man!

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I have to say the scene where he ultimately snaps and breaks out of binds after seeing Friede's lifeless body before him is my favorite scene of his. The amount of pain and anguish heard in his scream and the way he moves prior and after; I can very much relate to that feeling. Sometimes, actions truly convey the emotions better in the most powerful means necessary. And this scene alone truly nailed it.

Favorite season/movie: He's only ever seen in the Dark Souls III DLC, so obvious answer points to the DLC!

Favorite line: "When the Ashes are two, a flame alighteth. Thou'rt Ash, and fire befits thee, of course..."

Favorite outfit: Uhh, he doesn't really wear any clothes save for his cape? So I guess the cape does him well as he is, though I always draw him without it xD

OTP: To be honest, I don't ship him with any canon characters within Dark Souls. Friede does not deserve him..

Brotp: Ariandel being best friends with the Ashen One is my ultimate Brotp! Just think of how much of a valuable ally he could have been!

Head Canon: I know his origins are debatable, as either theory I have for him can be plausible but I often lean more towards the idea of him being half Giant and half Corvian! IDK why but I just like it a lot more x’)

Unpopular opinion: While Ariandel is partly responsible for what happened to the Painted World, I still feel he was manipulated overall and probably at one point did have a change of heart before being forced into complete isolation. He plays more the role of the willing/unwilling accomplice then the actual perpetrator of the crime.

A wish: He could have had a happier ending without having to die for Friede. I know, its Dark Souls. Such a thing is expected to happen in the Soulsborne series but its a wish, right?

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: That anything beyond the infatuation he had for Friede took place. Just.. No. He loved her but never could ever have her in that sense and never did. Just no, she is horrible to him.

5 words to best describe them: Sad, lonely, birdman, withdrawn, and tragic

My nickname for them: Papa bird

And lastly for skekSo!

Why I like them: I think its as obvious as the case for Baron Dark. I like evil, smug bastards that shine through their wickedness and don't usually hold back. In the case of skekSo, I actually didn't care for him at first but then after my second viewing of the show, I started to like him more and enjoy his villainy! He's selfish, arrogant, vain, and conniving and I love it! Added that his design is really appealing to the eye and how he carries himself out, I gotta say he's one of the few villain characters from a show that makes the turn around for me to like them instead of hate them more. Also, his voice. Can NOT go wrong with that voice cause DAMN, its good and shows just how powerful a villain can be with a voice like his. And those eyes. Oh man, those eyes!

Why I don’t: Despite his villainy being the main point that caught my attention, its also a part of his downfall too. His constant greed and arrogance pushed him too far into doing what he did and ultimately cost him everything in the end; including loyal allies that end up dying for him in the long run. I hate how easily and quickly he changes his mind when actual logic is put into perspective of his plans and how quick he is to dismiss someone else when they don't please him anymore or things don't go his way for the smallest things. And yes, that is part of his character, I know that. That is what makes him as scummy as he is and why I love how trashy he is. But I also can't ignore just how easily he pushed skekVar away and believed skekSil despite knowing just what a lying bastard he is. IDK, it just feels too obvious but at the same time, it is what it is and I am not upset about it in the least x)

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Honestly, I enjoyed all the scenes with him in the show but mostly in particular with his interactions with skekVar, especially towards the end of the series. It showed a peak part of his vulnerability in his character that honestly I doubt he ever shows to anyone else. He spends most of his time pushing others around and making them fear him but with skekVar there is a sort of mutual respect going that really speaks out in a different way. Maybe I am just reading too much into it, but I always did enjoy how they interacted with one another!

Favorite season/movie: Well, skekSo didn't get much screen time in the movie other then him dying and turning to dust so.... Definitely enjoyed him more in the show then the film xD

Favorite line: "NOOOOO!" (Yes, this scene is still very infamous to me for personal reasons but the way he carried out his "no's" cracked me up each time xD)

Favorite outfit: Honestly, the main outfit he wore throughout the show. It's just so regal and goth, I love it! And as a goth and fashion enthusiast myself, I am all up for the style he has! The battle armor he wore near the end made it a tad more laughable to be honest.

OTP: I started shipping him with skekVar but ended up with an OT3 of skekVar and skekZok. So now all three of them live in a happy relationship with each other in my noodle~

Brotp: I see him being on neutral terms with skekMal!

Head Canon: I feel that even in the show it wasn’t seen or given, but he did feel a lot of remorse and regret after the loss of skekVar. He seemed very close with him and spoke with skekVar with more trust then he did the others. Perhaps in secret he did mourn the General’s loss.

Unpopular opinion: Does this count as an unpopular opinion? I know most people see him with just a few strands of hair but I tend to see him with a head full of long flowing white locks he keeps hidden beneath his clothes. It adds to the extra layer of vanity for a proud Emperor such as he! He looses it over time the darkening consumes him and withers down his health.

A wish: To see what he was like as an urSkek prior to being split up into a Skeksis and urRu. Yeah, I know people don't care or like the urSkeks all that much but honestly, I would LOVE to see more urSkek lore and see what it was that made SoSu so special among his peers. It was said, after all, he had a voice that could move the stars but was conflicted and consumed with darkness. Honestly, I want to know why and who he was prior to all of this mess! SkekSo even says in the show he still has nightmares of the life before so I wonder, what they were and how it was! So much potential here, man!

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I don’t think I have any of these to be honest? At least with skekSo. Not that I can think of on top of my head now.

5 words to best describe them: Proud, absolute piece of shit, pretty, conniving, and menacing.

My nickname for them: Stupid idiot

#Matla answers #non doodle reply #skekso #baron dark #father ariandel #headcanon territory

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unincised · 3 years

Text

Okay, let’s break this down:

We need to sit down and have a discussion about the current lore in the Dream SMP, guys. Especially after today’s stream (w/ Quackity). This doesn’t make any sense ‘cause I’m tired but OH WELL WHO CARES?!

[SPOILER WARNING]

Also, remember this is all roleplaying, and when I discuss this it is in terms of lore. Be respectful during bits and know that no one truly wants to brutally murder the other (hopefully). :D

My predictions for the Factions that will happen (along with those that already are):

I’m definitely missing a lot of people, but these are the main players in the game.

L’manberg

Tubbo

Fundy

Karl

Connor (?)

Ranboo

Mexican L’manberg

Quackity

George

Sapnap

Karl (yes, I put him twice. He’s a bit of a wild card when it comes to picking sides)

Badlands

BBH

Skeppy

Antfrost

Awesamdude

Dream SMP

Dream

Eret

Punz (technically a merc)

Puffy (which might also mean Niki, since... marriage?)

Purpled

Exiled

Tommy (I’m almost guaranteeing this, you can @ me if I’m wrong tomorrow)

Technoblade

Why Tommy and Techno should not team up with Mexican L’manberg or the Badlands:

Techno is anti-government. L’manberg is government, Mexican L’manberg is government, the Badlands are an oligarchy (their land is neutral, but it’s still overseen by Bad and friends). Therefore, Techno has no reason to team with any of them. He is a wanted, exiled man -- not exactly an assassin-for-hire.

Tommy has a personal agenda that doesn’t line up with any of the factions’ endgoals (at the current moment). Taking over the Dream SMP w/ Mexican L’manberg and The Badlands might help him with retrieving his disc -- especially since Skeppy would be on his side during it -- but we aren’t too certain that’s all Tommy has going for him. He loves his discs, yes, but he also cares a lot about Tubbo. Going against Dream could get Tubbo targeted for use of leverage (and that’s a whole can of worms I’d like to open :D).

Why George was a “bad” king:

Dream’s one rule for Kingship was for George to stay neutral. He claims this was the case for Eret’s crowning, but Eret technically bought his title in exchange for the betrayal of L’manberg during the First Revolutionary War.

Of course, Eret was dethroned after his siding with Pogtopia during the “Final” War, and the crown was given to George on account of his neutral stance during it all.

But George, immediately after given that little bit of power, went and abused it.

Chopped down the L’mantree

Griefed L’manberg (built a mushroom house in front of Tommy’s) even though he was specifically instructed not to enter the walls on account of safety and diplomacy)

Taunting Tommy during his trial

Became VP of Mexican L’manberg w/ Quackity

Used his role as a protection, subsequently making Sapnap and Dream shields in order to stay alive after getting in trouble.

Why Sapnap is betraying Dream:

Sapnap is hurt. He’s been overlooked many times by both Dream and George. He’s often viewed as more of a grunt than a friend. Their trio dynamic has been off for the past few arcs -- being paired together by mere formality than loyalty -- and it’s finally past the breaking point.

Dream’s speech during the Tommy fiasco seemed to have pushed Sapnap over the edge, thus sparking his whole rebellion arc and general hatred of Dream. Dream does still care for them both, in my personal opinion, but Sapnap is taking Dream’s “I only care about one thing on this Server” to a personal level. It’s completely understandable, and I was actually waiting if it’d ever be addressed, but in practise it is becoming a lot more than just a friendly dispute.

Why the Badlands are asking for so much land:

Simple: They don’t really want to establish borders, per se, but more of a general consensus that the Badlands would be overseen by Bad and Friends as a neutral territory. A wilderness in an otherwise governed Server. As for the amount -- their reasoning is that no one is currently using the land, nor will it ever be used on account of distance. If flying was enabled on the server, there would most definitely be structures further from the mainland, but everyone’s main transportation is walking... so...

What alliances does Dream even have anymore?

To be honest, not much. We can’t rely too much on Techno, since Dream’s loyalties lie on the server’s best interest and Techno’s is to just create chaos.

Dream has Punz (hired), Eret, Purpled, possibly Ponk, and if Techno teamed up with them I wouldn’t be too surprised -- but it would be off character. Along with that is Dream’s access to creative mode (which I’d doubt he’d do just to win a fight, but it’s still an opportunity he has) along with his pride that will give him more of an edge than anything.

Why Tommy is getting the blame:

Tommy has been against Dream for most of the SMP. The only time they paired together was because they had a common enemy: Schlatt. From the beginning, however, it’s been constant squabble. The discs, Spirit, Revolution, Wilbur’s corruption, Manberg’s Last Stand, etc. So, in Dream’s eyes, Tommy is the main man to blame for all of this chaos happening now.

But Tommy is a kid (we’re still talking Lore, don’t forget!) who has lived through nothing but war and betrayal, now with a mindset of “nothing stays, cherish it while you can”. So he’s always trying to be the one coming out on top, to help stem any more of his treasures getting stolen, killed, or hurt. This ends up leading into wars, and going against the peak of the hierarchy -- Dream.

(Dream should know better than to blame children, tut tut.)

------

Also, please send help I’ve been writing this while the Dream SMP is building a wall of cursed George pics. I keep losing my train of thought. This was supposed to be a meta post but I’m literally just crying over G R O G.

So, apologies if this doesn’t end up making sense. It’s 12 AM and I’m tired, haha.

#dream smp #dream smp lore #dream smp spoilers #quackity #georgenotfound #sapnap #the eret #badboyhalo #punz #tommyinnit #tubbolive #technoblade

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