rose vines, blood, apples, velvet, sharp nails, galaxies, dripping jewelry. your essence is crimson: you are the strong, defiant and avoidant. you crave some sort of deviation; to walk in another's footsteps feels mundane, a waste of your time. you are possessive and never look back at the things you've lost or forgotten. you are the rebel. you are the one who will change the world. you find kinship in like-minded individuals of red, blush, garnet, and bronze, who share your impassioned existence. you are also drawn to the confident souls royal and gold, who will help you grow and show that not everyone seeks to break you. however, you may struggle to get along with the slow-acting personalities of navy and umber who never seem assertive about anything.
young cailan and his love for books. cailan and his love for reading that rowan instilled in him by making sure every inch of the castle in denerim was covered in bookshelves packed full, or table books in rooms that have none. the prince known for loving books so much that other nations had sent him gifts of books, histories of their people. and cailan devoured every single one of them. reread them several times over. so many times in fact that he'd hand them to ailis and ask her to read them to him so they felt any different.
within the game of d.ol, there are animal (five total, as of now), angelic and demonic transformations that the player character (henceforth called pc) can obtain. they are described as: ". . . several gameplay enhancing effects bestowed onto the player upon meeting specific requirements. They possess both beneficial and non-beneficial effects. Transformations will progress over time, requiring a long time to not only acquire but also maintain. They have the ability to alter the player's appearance and enhance gameplay, grant at least one Trait, and grant a boost to both Attractiveness and/or Allure. You may only have one animal and one divine transformation at a time."
while it's easy to write this off as just another kink fulfillment, i've always found the concept of the transformations (henceforth called TFs) within this world to be interesting! in this post, i'll explain their in game mechanics and my thoughts.
the animal TFs: " "Animal" encompasses the Wolf, Cat, Cow, Harpy, and Fox transformations. These will typically have animal ears and a matching tail." the pc can gain these TFs through different repeated actions over time, and in game they can prevent the loss of points by wearing certain correlating items to bed each night. when looking in the mirror to examine your "inner self", it reads: "Hiding parts of your Inner Self lowers your attractiveness and allure, but will also slowly increase your Trauma over time. If your Trauma gets too high, you will be unable to hide."
to many people, the wording used here ("inner self") specified that these manifestations must be indicative that the pc is only imagining these qualities. there are also times within the game where various npcs will comment on the pc's ears and tail, with varying believability; those that are more in tune with the paranormal (or, in game terms - those with a higher "awareness" stat) will see the animal features as real, whereas those with a lower awareness will think that the features are fake. for a long time, this has been a point of contention within the community, with some preferring the TFs to be a figment of the pc's broken mind, and others believing that they are in fact real and is a byproduct of the town's superntural influence.
personally, given the practical uses of these features within gameplay, i think the TFs are real - but can only be registered as real by those who've already seen too much of the paranormal. i believe that in order to protect themselves from possible mental breaks, a lot of the people without a high awareness will parse the paranormal as fake. this is information that their mind simply can't handle, so it has to translate it into something more believable; but it doesn't suddenly make it unreal, just because there are a few npcs that say it's fake. there are also instances of npcs that have a reputation of lying to the pc who will insist that everything is in their mind - from the TF features to the paranormal and criminal happenings around town. the in game narrative is meant to fuck with the player's conception of what is and isn't real.
however - when you have wings, you can jump off of buildings and fly. it has literal in game, during both inconsequential and in lore event applications. see the following:
while you may be able to hand wave this instance of "cat instincts",
this is perhaps one of the most definitive examples that indicate that the pc's TF is real. during this event, and many similar events, depending on your pc's acquired TFs, there may be special dialog options you can choose from. eris has the angel TF, thus he was able to use his angel wings in a pivotal lore moment to physically pick up another character and fly him to safety. this npc reacts you the event, in detail. i don't think you can hand wave this away as something simply being inside the pc's head.
what i believe is happening from the in game text and information we've been giving is this: due to the thin veil separating the supernatural world and reality, those within the town are highly susceptible to change. depending on how you act and what you do, you may find yourself changing into something bestial. this is noted in game to be a slow and painful transformation; every morning, while acquiring the TF, there will be an accompanying flavor text noting that something about the pc's body has changed. sometimes it starts as a headache, their teeth begin to hurt as they grow fangs, their eyes itch as they become accustomed to the dark, the back feels strained as their wings press against their flesh - seeking release. when you look at it outside of a "this is just a kink so that you can be a catboy", the TFs are a horrifying concept.
hiding your TF traits also causes mental strain upon the pc. as noted previously, the game states: "(hiding your TF) will also slowly increase your Trauma over time. If your Trauma gets too high, you will be unable to hide." it takes mental exertion to deny your bestial nature, and it literally hurts you over time to do so. with this in mind, i'd like to mention that other characters (namely random mob npcs) can also have TFs. in those cases, they're noted to act no different than the animal who's traits they exhibit & are, for the most part, seen as animals by the majority of the town. it's only those with a higher awareness that seem to see them as animal-people. while this is a toggable option, and again could be waved aside as simply a kink thing, i personally think that implication that these are people who lost themselves to their TF to be a much more plausible and frightening reason for there to be so many beast-people roaming the town. given the lore we have, i think it would make sense! & it also means that the pc is at risk of eventually losing themselves too, if they aren't careful.
regarding eris' TFs:
eris specifically has the cat animal TF and the angel TF. the cat TF is very easily gained, as one only has to have an affinity for eating cream buns, drinking milk, jumping fences, and teasing dogs. the angel TF is acquired by having and retaining max purity and your frontal virginity (oral and anal don't matter). these TFs offer very valuable traits:
the cat TF offers:
fangs "This grants a bonus to the "Bite" during encounters. Biting is three times as effective.".
sharp instincts "sharp eyes grants a passive Skulduggery boost (+5%)." sharp instinct also allow the pc to see in dim light, have heightened hearing, gives them a warning when they're being hunted (see the above image for an example) and multiple different flavor texts within tense encounters detailing what they can sense, that a normal human wouldn't be able to.
not listed but options that can be seen within various parts of the game are instances of catlike reflexes, flexibility, hunting small animals (like gathering the hens up on the farm), pouncing on prey, etc. the cat TF offers many boons, overall.
the angel TF offers:
you radiate purity. "Unlocks the forgive action once per encounter, removing trauma gained so far." being an angel also means you get special dialog options where you can shame aggressive npcs, some of which will immediately be filled with guilt and prostrate themself before you.
radiance "unlocks the "banish" action several times per day based on your Angelicness, dealing heavy damage to a tentacle. Its strength is greatly increased while at maximum purity." eris is able to use the "banish" action 7x a day.
wings "you can glide from high locations." unlike the harpy TF which offers the pc the ability to fly freely, the angel wings only allow the player to 'glide'. nonetheless, this can come in clutch in tense moments, like the example above.
if i had to guess where the angelic features come from, i would assume that it's a boon bestowed upon the pc by the "good" god of the game, virgo. there are many mentions of something divine granting eris its' presence and strength before he does Angel Dialog Choices like saving avery, or another instance:
in this instance, eris had been tasked by the head priest to retrieve a holy item (a spear) and while fleeing with it, he got an angelic option. in this event, it seems like he was once again granted some kind of godly strength to not only fight back - but to escape, aided by a sudden storm. on the opposite end, i would imagine that the demon TF one can acquire is most likely a "blessing" bestowed upon them by the "bad god" of the game, auriga.
his in game sprite with his TF features:
i don't generally draw eris with both his angel and cat features, just because i'm lazy :") but! i do have a different concept for them than the standard features shown in the game:
eris' cat features (tail, ears, claws, fangs, slit pupils) are much more common for people to notice. even in game, the animal features are more often noticed by others and commented upon (as either fake or real) and even at times yanked (which you can bite them for, and eris always does haha). the angelic and demonic features are both harder for npcs to see and notice, with in game dialog having some npcs notice eris' halo only for a split second before blinking and no longer seeing it. this, i believe, once again ties into the idea that a character's awareness directly correlates with how much of a supernatural they can see. as for eris' angelic features, i chose to portray him with four wings and i made them blue as a nod to warrior angels - like with depictions of archangel michael! eris is, at his core, a protector and an avenging force of divine fury. i more or less kept his halo the same as the base game's though! additionally, i do believe that eris would be able to fly better than the in game limitations, but he still wouldn't just fly around for the fun of it because it'd be waaay too much unneeded attention.
within rp -
i'll leave it completely up to you to decide what your muse would be able to see in terms of eris' cat or angel features! whether they believe his ears are real or fake, whether they can glimpse a peek at his halo, etc. i will, however, always treat his TFs as real. i will also ignore the limitations of needing to upkeep the animal TF by using a bell collar at night, it's just here to stay in general. the angel TF, however, will continue to be intrinsically tied to his (frontal) virginity; in the game, if an angelic pc has sex with their vagina/penis, they will immediately become a fallen angel. this TF has no benefits and is instead an active hinderance upon the pc's mental and physical well being - falling is portrayed to be a very painful experience. i'm open to plotting something around this concept ooc, but will not do anything spur of the moment with it.
𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊, A MUSE PLAYLIST STUDY ! ↳ list 5 songs that you associate with your muse ! ... ( bonus: include lyrics if you'd like ! )
1 ) ALL STAR - SMASH MOUTH somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me / i ain't the sharpest tool in the shed / she was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb / in the shape of an "L" on her forehead / well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming / fed to the rules and I hit the ground running / didn't make sense not to live for fun / your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb / so much to do, so much to see / so what's wrong with taking the back streets? / you'll never know if you don't go ( go !) / you'll never shine if you don't glow / hey now, you're an all star / get your game on, go play / hey now, you're a rock star / get the show on, get paid / ( all that glitters is gold. ) / only shootin' stars break the mold.
2) DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' - JOURNEY workin' hard to get my fill / everybody wants a thrill / payin' anything to roll the dice / just one more time. / some'll win, some will lose / some are born to sing the blues / whoa, the movie never ends / it goes on and on and on and on. / strangers waitin' / up and down the boulevard / their shadows searchin' in the night / streetlights, people / livin' just to find emotion / hidin', somewhere in the night / don't stop believin' / hold on to that feelin' / streetlights, people. / don't stop believin' / hold on to that feelin' / streetlights, people.
3) DANCING THROUGH LIFE - WICKED SOUNDTRACK dancing through life, no need to tough it / when you slough it off as i do / nothing matters but knowing nothing matters / it's just life, so keep dancing through.
4) TIME AFTER TIME - CYNDI LAUPER if you're lost, you can look, and you will find me / time after time / if you fall, i will catch you, i'll be waiting / time after time.
5) WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS - QUEEN i've paid my dues / time after time / i've done my sentence / but committed no crime / and bad mistakes / i've made a few / i've had my share of sand kicked in my face / but i've come through / we are the champions my friends / and we'll keep fightin' on 'till the end / we are the champions / we are the champions / no time for losers / 'cause we are the champions of the world.
tagged by : stole from @identitysolved
tagging : @sm4llville, @loisl4ne, @startaxian, @soulbarer, @rotinto, @outlawiism, @supurman, @diam1nd, @us4gent, @fntstic, @trvstbroken, @rot3rstern, @hexblast, @rotinto / @showgoeson, @stcrgirl, @warbyrds, @paleyeth and anyone else who wants to do this !
