oh my god what a cool thing to receive,,,,,singing this 100 times over in my head. this absolutely feels like something they're singing on twitch's ship except also adding increasingly ridiculous verses on to jab at twitch, for the bit
Out of curiosity, is there any music from his era Jimmy particularly enjoys (be it surviving recordings or new performances)?
I feel like he'd be a jazz and ragtime fan, and would have heard a lot of the origins of that genre scattered throughout bars, street corners, and music halls across the city, but I'm not sure he has any particular pieces that he'd mark as a favorite of his.
For one thing, he doesn't remember music he's listened to nearly as well as he remembers what he reads, so even if he had a few notable favorites, he's likely forgotten the names, composers, and/or performers that he liked in particular.
And for another thing, the real thing he likes about music is live music. He'll go to just about any live event and enjoy it no matter the genre: a sole busker playing jazz on a streetcorner, an up-and-coming pianist doing her senior recital, a full orchestra gathered for a concert... hell, you could probably even take him to a hardcore metal show and he'd have a good time - he wouldn't understand the music style and he'd probably find it a little intense, but he'd enjoy the way it makes people come together and bond over a shared song. He's really not picky about the music he listens to, but it has to be live; recordings of any kind are nice, but they're just not the same.
(And if you'd like a sweet thought... I like to think that once Lars learns about Jimmy's affinity for live music, he finds excuses to take him to live events whenever he can, whether that's stopping by a little coffee-shop jam or buying tickets for the New York Symphony. Lars isn't a big music guy himself, and he tends to find certain live music to be loud and a little overstimulating, but he's willing to sit through it because of how much Jimmy adores it)
It just occurred to me that, if they came in contact with pre-Christian norsemen or norse gods, there is every chance that Eris would be given a title something like Leohöfdi (Lion headed) alongside more strife based titles.
Like, they’d match example of mythical berserkers like Bodvar in the eyes of these people, so it would not take much association with lions at all to make people go “Lion berserker” and start making up terms. Honestly even a rumor of them turning into a lion during an intense battle would be enough.
I’m kind of rambling but I just like the idea of people completely misidentifying what’s going on with supernatural characters.
Sorry I'm late in responding to this, I've been balancing a lot of life stuff lately and haven't had the chance to be online much at all.
But you are ABSOLUTELY right!! I like to think that Eris has been responsible for a lot of myths and folk tales across the globe: creating plenty new ones, but also reinvigorating old ones (I mean, the lore of Sekhmet in Egypt existed long before Eris left Themyscira, but seeing a bloodthirsty warrior turn into a lion in battle probably only renewed that belief), especially since the war god/personficiation of strife is an idea that pops up almost ubiquitously across global cultures.
Honestly, I think it would be fun to write a fic where Eris remembers all of the various names and titles they've collected over the years!! It also would be a good excuse to research how some of those similar titles would have come about, and how those naming conventions take shape across the different cultures.
Thanks for the ask! As always, you have fantastic insights about Eris!!
So, I know Vivienne is a siren, but did you get any inspiration for her version of what a siren is from Slavic water spirits like Rusalki or the Sea Tsar’s daughters?
Ooooh, good question!
Vivienne is absolutely similar to a rusalka, particularly in how she changes after being drowned against her will via her abusive ex-husband. There's also a bit of similarity to the rusalki and Slavic tradition in how Vivienne appears in water versus on land - rusalki are often described as loose hair as a symbol of freedom or to signify that they are unwed, while the tradition was for married women to have tightly braided or covered hair. Vivienne, similarly, wears its hair loose while out on the water, and frequently has it tied back while appearing as human on land (she is a married "woman" on land because she is wed to Wojchek, but at the same time is free as a siren and has no need to tie herself back).
Writing Vivienne initially, I designed it to be more similar to a nøkk or a nixie, being that she's Norwegian and all: related to a rusalka, since they stem from similar Slavic and Germanic roots, but with certain depictions describing them as neutral or even benevolent creatures, and with stories of both them drowning men and falling in love with men. Really, I didn't want to just draw on one depiction of sirens or mermaids or the like; there's so many interesting legends out there telling variations of a similar story, and I prefer to translate bits and pieces of each rather than sticking to one strict depiction.
As I'm looking more in-depth into this legend, I'm noticing that there's also a Polish counterpart, which makes me curious to write Wojchek's perspective on it. I've already mentioned that he's a superstitious man and has been from childhood, so he'd surely have been raised on those stories. The gears are turning for sure...
Could I ask for Lars and Jimmy in something like Robinhood or Arthurian times?
Oooooh absolutely!! I love this idea!
I think I'd go with a straight Robin Hood AU with this one - Jimmy's nature as a ghost could be easily translated into a rogue like Robin Hood, who's known of but never caught and who seems to disappear without a trace, and I think I'd place Lars into a role that puts him near the King, like a royal advisor of some sort.
You might think that Lars would be the "Maid Marian" role in this story, but I think it would be more interesting if there is still a Marian, and Jimmy/Robin still reaches for her affections at first. She's plenty nice and he's of course a gentleman, but he's also repressed to hell and back, and the more they get to courting the more she and the others around her can see that... well, she's not for him.
Jimmy finally gets captured and imprisoned, but it turns out that he's got a surprise ally from the inside: the royal advisor, who's watched every one of the King's questionable, dangerous decisions slowly destroy his country. Lars wants out, and he finds a way to sneak Jimmy and his allies out of prison for his next big hurrah. It's through this experience that Lars and Jimmy really bond, and Jimmy starts to realize where his feelings really lie.
Thanks for the ask!! I really like this concept, I might even place it on the back burner to potentially write at some point!
For a short (few sentences, couple of paragraphs, we’ll see how it goes) fic.
Are there any pre-gunpowder weapons that Eris has a distaste for?
Ooooh, good question!
In This Phantom Life, Eris does mention having a distaste for kukri blades, namely because he finds them to be rather imprecise and difficult to maneuver in the way they want to maneuver. They like them well enough as a basic survival tool, but prefer other sorts of blades when it comes to a battle setting.
I also feel like Eris isn't particularly fond of bludgeoning weapons as a whole. They prefer blades or piercing weapons - these usually result in a quicker, more efficient battle overall, and they feel like it preserves the integrity of their opponent more than a blunt-force death. Part of what they find honorable in battle is keeping the body in decent shape for the family's benefit, and it's easier to plug or wrap a knife wound than it is to restructure a bashed-in skull. If possible, Eris prefers to grant their victims a quick and reasonably non-brutal death, so any weapon that uses primarily blunt force won't be their first choice.
However, if they're going to use a blunt-force weapon, they'll likely gravitate towards the Japanese eku. She prefers artistry in battle, so a traditional martial art like kobudō would be more preferable to the hack-and-slash Medieval maces or flails. Though like I said, he'd generally prefer not to use a bludgeoning weapon at all.
And with all of this, remember that it's not for a lack of familiarity. Eris has had centuries to practice and train, and they're well-versed in just about any weapon you could give them. Even if they don't enjoy using a particular weapon in an active battle, they'll still train independently with the technique and artistry of it.
There really aren't any weapons Eris has an overall distaste for, only weapons they dislike killing with. Even when it comes to guns, as Eris is so vocally opposed to... they do enjoy shooting, and love a good Annie Oakley-style challenge like the one they gave DuBois, but they feel like guns lack the capacity for honor when it comes to an actual battle.
Thanks again for the ask! I always love thinking about Eris in this way, they're such a complex and interesting character to me!
Ooooh interesting! Haven't played Weird West the video game if that's what you're referencing, so I might swap this over to a more typical Wild West AU if that's alright with you! Thanks for the ask!!
So first of all, if Rick's not a cowboy then what the hell would he be? It suits him very well to be a rancher of some kind, especially since he tends to "herd" the Suicide Squad in canon - the gun-toting, hyper-competent, Southerner identity makes that a very easy translation. Plus, it makes Eris' pet name of "cowboy" very fitting.
As for Eris, I'd want things to be a little up in the air. The Wild West is a superstitious place, and Eris is old enough and powerful enough that he brings a lot of paranoia in his wake. Their age and ethnicity are both indistinct enough that nobody's quite sure what they really are: some say the ghost of a slave now set on vengeance, some say a Native American deity come to protect their land, some even consider them a chupacabra-like figure that sucks the life from corrupt barons instead of livestock.
She's the cause of a lot of Wild Western superstitions (placing your hat on the bed sparks misfortune, horseshoes as a talisman against bad luck, whistling at night attracts evil spirits, etc.), and every cowboy that enters her domain is in for sleepless nights and constant anxiety.
Enter Rick: curious about the rumors, too stubborn for his own good, dead-set on seeing this mysterious being for himself. He defies every superstition - casts aside his horseshoes, leaves his hat on the bed every night, even goes out and whistles after sunset to taunt the spirits.
And one night, it works. Eris hears the whistling and comes to investigate, and Rick catches his first clear glimpse at the famed Devil of the Desert.
For a short (few sentences, couple of paragraphs, we’ll see how it goes) fic.
🪞 - what would your character do if faced with an evil doppelganger? would they run away, fight? is the doppelganger a reflection of their inner fears?
Eris' first instinct, as it is with most confusing things, is to see this as some sort of threat. They're smart enough not to outright attack without attempting to get more information first, but... at some point, a fight is probably going to break out between them.
Though the idea of an "evil" doppelganger is a bit interesting in this case, since Eris' morality is already so blurry. Does that just mean the doppelganger is purely evil regardless of Eris' usual morals? Or is the implication that they're an inverted form of Eris - in which case they're both somewhere in that blurred morally-gray area. Either way, people are not going to have a great time with this combination, I think.
🌃 - what would your character do if they were trapped in a labyrinthine city that's alive?
Hm... Rae's pretty good at navigating cities, with how much international travel she's done, so it wouldn't take her long to realize something's off about this one. What she does next is to try and get to higher ground - either using her shields as stair-steps to get above the city, or having Warren give her a lift if he's with her. She's going to find some way to use that third dimension and try to get a view from above, and hope that that helps her escape.
🔮 - if your character had a dream they or a loved one was going to die a horrible death (that is probably inevitable), what would they do?
Now THIS is an interesting one... there's two interesting routes to this one, I think: pre-siren Vivienne foreseeing her first husband's death, or siren Vivienne foreseeing Wojchek's.
With its first husband, I think a dream like that would honestly give Vivienne the resolve it needed to go through with the poisoning. She'd been planning it for a while, fed up with all the abuse and adultery her husband had put her through, but struggled to work up the nerve to actually go through with it- what if she failed, and he retaliated worse than ever (hint, hint...)? But seeing a vision like that, especially for someone who's always been strongly spiritual and would genuinely believe it had come from a higher power, would probably give it the strength to commit to it. As gruesome as that death is, it represents a freedom that she didn't have before; and if that vision was sent by Poseidon, it represents another level of freedom by what comes after.
Now, seeing Wojchek's death would be a very different story. Vivienne still believes it wholeheartedly (again, she's always been strongly religious/spiritual and very much believes in visions), but the emotions tied to this one are instead a great deal of fear and sadness. Poseidon has already warned her that bad things would come from marrying another captain of sea, and this would feel like confirmation that he meant what he said. She has no doubt that this is coming, that it will be terrible, and there's likely no way around it. It's probably a bit erratic for a while after the vision, clingier and more emotional than usual when it comes to Wojchek, but all things considered... it probably doesn't matter in the end.
