#ripu does meta

[saint-sigma]

Dishonored Meta: Wolfhounds

Hey everyone, so I decided to go a little crazy with the wolfhound meta, and I've written it like a natural philosopher's journal, complete with sketches. Keep in mind that everything about the Tyvian and Morlish hounds is my own fan speculation, and some of the stuff about the Gristolan/Serkonan ones (ie, the canon wolfhounds) is as well. I just have lots of thoughts on the murder-puppies, so here we go! Also, I didn't design a separate Serkonan wolfhound- that's a lie, I did, but you don't get to see it because it looked like a giant Chihuahua essentially, and Dishonored 2 just reused the hounds from the first game, so I thought I'd spare everyone that. I might be convinced to post it later if you really really want me to.

Wolfhounds: A Comprehensive Guide to the Hounds Throughout the Empire

Due to the widespread use of the Gristolan Wolfhound within the Isle of Serkonos, it should be assumed that the traits of the Gristolan hounds are the same as their Serkonan counterparts.

The Wolfhound of Gristol might be the most recognizable of the Isle varieties, or at least the first to mind when one mentions the creature. For many years, the Gristolan wolfhound has been the companion of choice for the Overseers of the Abbey of the Everyman, "second only to a frag grenade and a bottle of whiskey" - Overseer [Redacted]. Contrary to popular belief, the Gristolan variety is not the only variety of wolfhound in the Isles, though it is the most popular, being spread widely throughout Gristol and Serkonos. Known for its swift speed and strong body, it is well suited for work alongside Overseers as a patrol partner or guard dog. Gristolan and Serkonan wolfhounds tend to be several unfortunate shades of brown or black, with short, dense fur, though Albino wolfhounds are not uncommon.

Gristolan wolfhounds have long, narrow jaws, lined with an inordinate number of sharp teeth when compared to other breeds of common dogs. The creatures rarely seem to have their mouths entirely shut, and I begin to speculate that they cannot do so entirely due to the number of teeth crammed in there. It does not seem to bother the creatures any, and I suspect that further generations of the animals will have only more bred in. These long faces, the longest of the three breeds covered in this journal, work well in tandem with their muscular front legs and chests for performing take downs and holds on escaping Overseer targets. Combined with the downward slope of the neck, holding a man down is a simple task for the animal. Though after watching a few in the streets, I begin to suspect that this downward sloping shoulder and neck, combined with the long face, was bred into the wolfhounds not for hunting men but rather for vermin and small game. Certainly the long and keen nose would be excellent for sniffing out and finding animal dens, and a downward neck keeps the head low for catching smaller prey. Gristolan wolfhounds exhibit small eyes and ears, but they are no less keen for their size. If the hound does indeed have a history of hunting vermin, their small eyes would be a harder target for the sharp claws and teeth of rodents, and are certainly a difficult target for men.

While the Gristolan wolfhound is capable of lifting its head higher than the shoulder, it seems to do so rarely, in the instance of catching a treat, performing a jump, or attempting to ravage my coat pockets. They walk and sit with their heads tilted downward, much like the wild laughing dogs of Serkonos. I begin to wonder if that is where the trait comes from, though further research is necessary.

The paws of the Gristolan breed are large and quite splayed, and unlike most common dogs, the wolfhound never quite seems to grow into them

This wide foot is suitable for the wet climate of Gristol, and the sandy terrain of Serkonos. This wide foot with its splayed toes offers the hound better traction on slippery surfaces, and more surface area on sand or gravel, similar to the feet of the camels of the Northern Serkonan nomads. Thus, the hound is not in danger of slipping or losing traction on a wide variety of surfaces. Unfortunately, the larger paw pads of the breed mean it suffers in cold, and care should be taken to check that the feet of wolfhounds do not suffer freezing during winter months. Gristolan wolfhounds are quite vicious when provoked, and their long teeth can easily tear through flesh, and so I do not advise provoking the creatures. The Gristolan Abbeymen train the hounds to be rather excitable, and they react to the smallest gestures. They are by no means unintelligent, but I do wonder if the Abbeymen of Gristol keep them a little too wound up. Kennelmasters of Gristol and Serkonos breed the hounds several times yearly, or more or less often, depending on need, and are known to travel throughout the Isles for new breeding stock to prevent inbreeding. Gristol has the highest instance of this occurring, though whether due to poor training of her Kennelmasters is to blame, or a desire to breed specific traits is unclear in most circumstances. The average litter size is 2-6 pups. The breeding parents of the hounds are selected rather non-specifically, provided they have a desirable temperament and satisfactory athletic performance. Any runt pups or pups that fail to thrive within several days of birth are drowned, and the remaining pups stay with the breeders and trainers for a year before testing for the Abbey. Any and all that fail are put down. Those that 'graduate' go on to become Abbey hounds. Gristolan wolfhounds are bred to be as uniformly colored and patterned as possible without inbreeding the creatures, though this is not well regulated. Albinos are not uncommon. Gristolan wolfhounds that are not lost in the line of duty live an average of 8-10 years, though some are known to live longer with care. The breed seems to suffer arthritis of the shoulders and hips in old age, and lifting the head becomes more difficult.

MORLEY

Morlish Wolfhounds are noted for being extremely difficult to train, but they are loyal and fierce. Larger than their Gristolan and Serkonan relatives, the Morlish wolfhound employs a shorter, broader jaw, thicker legs, and a more upright head. The wolfhound of Morley is noticeably shaggier than the Gristolan wolfhound, due in part to the perpetually damp and rainy climate Morley hosts. Of the three, this is the one that unnerves me the most to be near, due to their ferocious appearance and attitudes, even when at rest.

Like the Gristolan Wolfhound, the Morlish variety features small eyes and pointed ears, though the jaw is shorter and broader. Morlish Overseers are known for a more martial style of dealing with instigators, and so the hounds of Morley are bred as such. Unlike Gristolan wolfhounds, which are bred for takedowns and often lethal attacks, Morlish hounds are for incapacitating their targets and nonlethal attacks, so that the Overseers of Morley might route out the friends of anti-Empire minded folk or heretics. The paws and legs of the Morlish wolfhound differ from the Gristolan hounds in proportion, mainly, in that the paws are smaller relative to the rest of the body while the legs are stockier all around. The hilly terrain of Morley requires a sturdy hound to run over, and the Morlish Kennelmasters have achieved this well. Morlish wolfhounds, as mentioned before, are difficult to train and notoriously hot-tempered, even among the other Isle breeds (Rather like the Morlish Overseers themselves). However, trained correctly and handled well, they make excellent herding dogs as well as Abbey companions, and it is not uncommon for wolfhounds and common dogs to breed. Common folk within Morley will often breed the Wolfhounds with common sheepdogs, resulting in a hardy herding dog, though with a far calmer temperament. Like Gristolans and Serkonans, Morlish Kennelmasters breed several times yearly, depending on demand, and have far better numbers in terms of inbreeding, due in part to a proximity to Tyvia to the north for new stock, and that inbred Morlish hounds are either vicious to the point of impossibility to work with, or utterly stupid, rather like the Morlish people. Runts and non-thriving pups, like in Gristol and Serkonos, are put down, and the remainders go on to be Abbey hounds if they graduate after a year. Hounds that fail due to an overly vicious temperament, or an inability to be trained are put down, while those that fail due to being overly friendly are often sold to the populace to be bred into local dog populations. Average litter size is 1-4 pups, and breeding parents are chosen based on satisfactory athletic performance, followed by temperament. Color and pattern of Morlish wolfhounds tends along the same lines as Gristolan and Serkonan wolfhounds: unfortunate shades of brown and black, though they are not bred with the strict uniformity of the Gristolan and Serkonan breed, and therefore have many different patterns ranging from Albino, to the well known Abbey Markings, to sold brown or black. Albinos are far less common in the Morlish breed, and while the hound is not rejected outright, albinos are less desired and not specifically bred for color-wise. Reasons for this range between superstition and "being too obvious in the field". As though the hideous masks of Morlish Overseers weren't too obvious enough. Morlish hounds rarely live longer than 8 or 9 years when not lost in the field, as they are prone to going deaf or blind in old age. The loss of hearing or sight makes the breed more temperamental than usual, and most are put down at early indications of hearing or vision loss to prevent unnecessary injury to people. Breed them a little less viciously, I say, and that wouldn't be such a problem. 

TYVIA

Tyvia has the most intensive breeding and training regime of the Isles, and it is said amongst Kennelmasters throughout the Isles that the very best Masters come from Tyvia, or study there. After my stay, I'm inclined only to believe that anyone that lives in this frozen wasteland is insane. Tyvian wolfhounds are the furthest removed from their other Isle cousins in terms of looks. With an exceptionally short face in comparison, large floppy ears, and their enormous size, these hounds look rather reminiscent of small bears with fluffy tails. But being that these dogs are bred with hunting bears in mind, I am no longer much surprised. Of the three varieties, the Tyvian wolfhound earns the name the most, in my opinion, and the Gristolan wolfhound looks rather a lot more like the rats it hunts (I expect, however, that Gristolan Rat Hound did not have the terrifying ring to it that wolfhound does). Tyvian wolfhounds have enormously fluffy coats, unlike the short coats of the Gristolan breed, or the shaggy monstrosity of the Morlish, and are very well suited to the frigid environment of Tyvia. I have seen these hounds do well in temperate climates, such as northern Gristol and Morley, and I suspect it has something to do with the odd structure of their coat that allows them to regulate. I do not, under any circumstance, advise bringing a Tyvian wolfhound to Serkonos for any reason. However, it is not the fluffy coat that makes the hound look enormous. Tyvian wolfhounds simply ARE enormous, and larger examples of the breed can press their noses to the chests of even the giants that are Tyvians. Everything in this frozen country is larger than it ought to be.  Don't let the short looking legs fool you, they are huge creatures. Even juveniles, such as the one pictured below, are shockingly large animals.

It is due to this large size that Tyvian wolfhounds must be perfectly trained, and their Overseer handlers capable, as fighting off such a large animal would be quite difficult for the average person, and pulling one away from its target likely impossible. Those powerful legs make running through the snow simple for the hound, though they are not often chasing people. Tyvian wolfhounds are chiefly for the protection of Overseers out in the elements. Wolves are feared healthily in the ice flats and frozen forests, and bears are common. The Tyvian wolfhound is bred for fighting those, not people, though they can do both, when prompted.   Tyvian hounds are bred to have a fully upright head and neck, chiefly for fighting off larger creatures, but also to pull sleds through the snow, bearing either supplies, or their Overseer handlers. One fully grown Tyvian hound can easily pull a man in an otherwise unladen sled, though teams are employed frequently to pull heavier sleds with greater ease. Kennelmasters in Tyvia are very thorough and meticulous in their breeding of their hounds, and follow strict rules to prevent inbreeding. Careful records are kept of breeding pairs and their resulting pups, and all hounds are checked against these records when considering the next season's matches. Wolfhounds are bred with Tyvian wolves for their size and weather hardiness, though obtaining breeding stock wolves is a challenge that only the most experienced Kennelmasters undertake, as it requires hunting down a lone female wolf with pups that are not yet old enough to be feral and removing them from her den. The wolf pups are hand reared and trained just like the rest of the hounds, and they are bred with Tyvian wolfhounds when the wolf traits begin to become too diluted in subsequent generations. Wolves are never paired with Overseers as patrol partners. Tyvian wolfhound breeding parents are chosen extremely specifically for temperament and athletic performance, however, unlike Kennelmasters in the other Isles, Tyvian Kennelmasters breed temperament from females, and athletic ability from males, to prevent the loss of said athletic ability in breeding females should complications arise during the birth of the pups. Tyvian wolfhound females selected for breeding have between 1 and 3 litters in their lives, but never more than 4. Females that do exceptionally well at rearing pups, while they do not have any more litters in their lives, are often kept as foster mothers in the event of the loss of another breeding female with pups or a litter with too many pups for one mother to rear successfully. Litter size is between 2 and 8, but some Kennelmasters have reported up to 12! Runts and nonthriving pups are often gotten rid of, though some Kennelmasters will rear them if resources allow, and the undersized hounds are sold as guard dogs. Hounds that do not graduate are not put down either unless extreme circumstances dictate, as the Tyvians dislike being unnecessarily wasteful. It is not uncommon to see Tyvian wolfhounds guarding homes or children, as fending off an attacking Tyvian wolfhound is difficult for the average person, and who would risk facing such a creature to injure a child? The wolfhounds do not leave the trainers until satisfactorily trained to do as told, reducing the risk of the hounds attacking at random. If the hounds do not become guard dogs, they are often made sled team dogs for the Abbey or common folk to transport supplies between cities or outposts. Albino wolfhounds in the Tyvian population are less common than Gristol and more common than Morley, and the purest white wolfhounds are prized for their natural camouflage for ambushing attackers or wildlife, though they are not specifically bred for, due to difficulty in seeing them in the terrain under normal circumstances. Colors range from browns and blacks to white, and while the standard Abbey Markings are typical, Tyvian wolfhounds are prone to having white splotches in their patterns. The hounds require additional care in grooming, as the Tyvian breed is prone to tangles and matting. I assure you, the hair is everywhere.

[saint-sigma]

The Corroded Man

As promised, I’m going off on this finally. I know, it’s been out ages, and I’ve just learned upon looking up the author, that in about a month, they’re releasing a new novel called The Return of Daud, so hold onto your pants for THAT exciting ride. (Please add your deepest, dripping sarcasm to that statement.) Spoiler alert for those that haven’t read this yet. But you’re not missing much if you don’t. There’s some really cool tidbits about the Tyvian continent itself, weather and geography, but that’s all I keep it around for at this point. This is long, so the rest is under the cut.

To begin, the book is vague. Like, really vague. Perhaps deliberately so, so to keep from spoiling anything for the unreleased-at-time-of-book-publishing game, but if this is meant to be a bridge, linking up the two games, what is the point of keeping it intentionally vague? It hardly links anything, and Dishonored 2 doesn’t even draw any sort of reference to it that I’m aware of. And you think they’d mention fighting a madman from Tyvia at SOME point.

The characterization is bland at best, and intolerable at worst. Emily is a hollow, unrelatable character who seems to do little more in the plot than disobey Corvo’s directions, climb over rooftops, and get herself into dangerous situations that require Corvo’s rescue to get back out of. Corvo himself is a stressed out worry-wart, who’s most worrying trait in the novel is regretting letting Daud live while they try to figure out who the mysterious man bringing the heretics back is, all while trying to maintain two positions at once. The main antagonist, known only as Zhukov, has some extremely confusing motivation, which is mostly revealed in haphazard, non-linear flashbacks, and almost never outright to his second in command, Galia. His motivations, in addition to being confusing, are extremely misguided. At no point does he actively lash out against those that wronged him, the High Judges of Tyvia. Everything Zhukov does in Dunwall, he could have done right in Tyvia, and it probably would have been a WAY more interesting novel, honestly. Show me all the shit he learned as a Hero of Tyvia, his contacts, his hidey-holes. Give me a Tyvian uprising and then crush it, come ooooon. I find Galia an almost intolerable character, which is a shame, because better written, she could have been incredible. She’s got a short-temper and patience, she’s eager to learn and become stronger, bold, brash, and clearly cut out to be quite the leader in better circumstances. All of these things are not necessarily bad, but she’s written so poorly that it all comes off very childishly.

Her short temper is displayed as she stomps about petulantly, demands things of Zhukov when he tests her patience, sniping at Rinaldo, who only wants to look out for his friend. Her eagerness is power hungry and greedy, taking all she can get as soon as she can, clinging to Zhukov for even the tiniest taste of power. That power is rather like a drug to her, as being in its presence is described as making her feel good. She’s reckless with her powers and on missions, and really comes off as an inferior, off-brand Billie Lurk. It’s almost a relief that she gets killed by Zhukov in the end. (spoiler alert) Back to Zhukov, and Tyvia itself, I can’t help but see a whole lot of parallels to the Soviet Union. I know I’ve joked about it in my tags before, but digging deeper reveals a lot more than I initially saw. Starting with Zhukov’s first appearance at the Golden Cat, he’s described as wearing a “...dark woolen great coat with red epaulets and brass buttons.” (Corroded Man, The, pg 40) Woolen great coats are excellent cold weather garments, but the addition of the epaulets and brass buttons makes this clearly a military type uniform, and Russia is absolutely the first place I think of with that kind of military uniform. However, it really only gets more ridiculous from there. A wide brimmed hat and snow goggles with red lenses “...each nearly as big as the saucer from a fine Morley tea set.” (Corroded Man, The pg 40). As big as a saucer from a tea set? Has Adam Christopher ever SEEN a tea set in his life? Even delicate china tea saucers are HUGE when applied as lenses. Zhukov is walking around with glasses nearly the size of a pair of CDs. With the large collar of his coat pulled up and the equally ridiculous wide brimmed hat, lenses that large are going to be nothing but in his way whenever he turns his head. They’d catch on his hat and collar every time. Speaking of the hat, I don’t think Christopher has ever tried wearing a large hat like that in blustery cold weather. Certainly not in the gales that come “Screaming out of glacier valleys”. Wide hats catch wind and go blowing away, or keep all that cold right on you. They don’t insulate much at all. Yes, it’s supposed to keep the glare of the sun away, but that’s what proper snow goggles are for, you know. (Plus the whole ensemble brings to mind Alucard from Hellsing. Big coat, wide hat, red glasses. Come on, you know you see it too) Questionable fashion choices aside, Zhukov frequently declares himself a “Hero of Tyvia”, and the meaning behind that is revealed, again, in a non-linear flashback. A Hero of Tyvia is someone given the task of peacekeeping in Tyvia, to keep the people happy and unaware of the less than pleasant things in the government. You know what the title Hero of Tyvia sounds a lot like? Hero of the Soviet Union, an extremely prestigious award in the former Soviet Union for heroic deeds in service to the Union, only revokable by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Funny how Tyvia is ruled by a “quasi-military tribunal”, a council of 16, referred to as the Presidium, and overseen by the three High Judges, one of whom, I shit you not, is called Secretary Kalin. Kalin, Stalin, anyone? How about this? Georgy Zhukov was a real person, and an incredibly successful general in the first and second World Wars, and was known as “the man who never lost a battle.” Georgy Zhukov was awarded, you guessed it, the Hero of the Soviet Union not once, not twice, but FOUR TIMES. He got to be so popular, that eventually Stalin was threatened by him, and demoted him to a regional post to get rid of him. Corroded Zhukov serves as a Hero for twenty years, until he’s convicted (correctly) of treason, and granted “freedom” by, oh yeah, Secretary Kalin. Georgy Zhukov, after Stalin’s death, comes back, but is eventually given the boot for putting the interests of the army before the Party (The Soviet party, for those of you not up on your Soviet Union history).

As an added bonus, in the scene where Kalin condemns Zhukov to a life of “freedom”, they address each other as “Friend Kalin” and “Friend Zhukov”. Yes, capitalized. Hey, Adam Christopher, the whole ‘Comrade’ joke is getting really old, and after a discussion with a Russian friend of mine, most Russian people in their mid to late twenties and younger don’t really get the reference anymore. Yeah, the Americans and the British get it, but I think everyone’s over it. There are better stereotypes than outdated Soviet Union jokes, okay? At least there seems to be no references to vodka anywhere.

[saint-sigma]

Buckle in for an unscheduled meta post coming soon. I’mma bout to go OFF on The Corroded Man.

[saint-sigma]

Wait I Think I Get the Narrative of Death of the Outsider a Little Better.

Earlier this week, I made a post about my complete lack of understanding of the narrative of Death of the Outsider based on what we were presented in the trailer. Daud’s presence, why Billie was coming to get him, and why the Outsider needs to die in the first place.  I focused mainly on Daud, because the idea of killing the Outsider is presented as his idea, and I ranted on that, because his motives at the time seemed petty. They still seem petty even after my revelation, but I wasn’t giving him as much credit. The motives I see suddenly added by my revelation are far more sinister than I first imaged.  Which most reaffirms my belief that Billie should go it solo, because what killing the Outsider would do would be badass for her. Not to mention powerful. And also a really, really terrible thing to do in general. My mind was fucking blown, this afternoon, folks. Join me on this wild ride.

Let us move away from Daud and Billie for a moment, and look instead at one of the absolute pillars of society in the Isles. No, not Dunwall Tower. The Abbey of the Everyman. Most of what we know of the Abbey has to be dug out of the game during playthroughs. Reading scattered books on the foundation of the organization, listening in on conversations between Overseers and other people, relics within the Abbey itself, even stealing documents off of Overseers or out of their rooms. We know that the Abbey was founded in Dunwall by John Clavering, the Abbey squashed out all other religions in the area at the time, and they started the Rectification War and ended it three years later in Whitecliff, simultaneously finishing the construction of the main Abbey chapter in Dunwall. Whoo! Holy Wars. Crusade. No more heretics. We also know that the pillar of their ideology is pretty much that the universe is unknowably vast and filled with evil and dangerous shit. But, looking past the lore and meta, and at the actual game itself and what it presents, their current and most obvious concern is the danger The Outsider presents (They also do mundane things, like officiating marriages and regulating the calendar, but that stuff’s for flavor and the fanfiction, mostly. Rounds them out a little more. Some nice world building. Good to know people get married with Ben Holger’s angry face prompting them through their vows. Think about that on your honeymoon, kids!). The Overseers are a militant force whose sole motivation in the game is to route out all influence of the Outsider from society. They spend the game shouting and ranting about heretics, killing people they believe to be heretics, confiscating contraband charms, runes, and probably lots of other stuff that isn’t contraband, but if you’re confiscating and no one is going to stop you, why stop with the illegal shit? Their way of thinking about the Outsider is so in our faces, I’ve seen some of the writers of the game actually angry over the misinterpretation of the character. That’s also another post. I’ll get there. My point is, the Abbey of the Everyman has built itself from the ground up in the eyes of society and the players to actively combat the influence of the Outsider. But, like a dog chasing its tail, what do you do when you actually catch it? If Daud succeeds (big IF) in his mission to kill the Outsider, what happens to the Abbey? Suddenly, their effective strawman is gone. They have nothing to blame the wicked things in the world on. The Abbey won’t admit it, but it NEEDS the Outsider, or something like him, to exist to maintain society. Not rule, no, order. Much of Dunwall and the rest of the Isles have based their day to day ideals around the Seven Strictures, many of which simply detail how to not be a terrible human being, but that many people believe (due to a lot of gold face ranting) will keep the Outsider from influencing them. So if the Outsider is gone, how do you maintain order in society if the people believe they are free from the dangers they fear he presents? Answer? You don’t. We can obviously argue that most people have never actually seen the Outsider, but many of them seem to believe without a doubt that he exists. Those that use void magic, or are marked, are the only ones who can be 100% sure. But if no one has seen him, how would they know he was even gone? Would the Abbey be able to continue to maintain their control? One could say yes. But if the Abbey knows the Outsider is gone, because I REALLY don’t think the death of a god in the Void is ever really all that quiet, and that would be a shitty death for him (like, seriously underwhelming), if they know he’s gone, what do the Overseers have to believe in now? Like the dog chasing its tail; now what? We did it. The Outsider is gone! But… now what? It’s not the people that will begin the decline, personally, I think it would be the Overseers themselves first. Those weakest in their convictions, now aimless. And when the Overseers are shaken, the people will see. You can’t hide that forever. They can surely find something else to blame the woes of the world on, but, you said it was the Outsider’s fault, and he’s gone! And there’s still evil in the world! All kinds of it! It would be chaos. Daud isn’t out to kill the Outsider for petty reasons relating to his own sins (ok, that’s probably a bonus, he’s here, his character development is ruined for me, he’d probably take it as a win-win), but he’s out to topple society entirely. Dude. Dude, holy shit, Daud, sit down. Put your Hawaiian shirt back on, get a fruity drink, and sit. the. fuck. down. Drastic much? We know you changed after killing Jessamine, but toppling the entire society into chaos and an extended Fugue Feast is a liiiiiittle much. Seriously. You do not need to go this far. The world is horrible and oppressive and pretty shitty these days, but that is NOT going to make it better. Siddown. You don’t kill the oppressor by killing their victim.

On the other hand. Kick Daud out of the picture entirely and put Billie in his place. Goin’ solo. SHE’S going to kill the Outsider to free the world from the grip of the Abbey. Now there’s a woman with some fucking power. Here’s a woman who has been let down by society AND the marked. She grew up on the streets with nothing after escaping an abusive mother, avoiding becoming a prostitute or mudlark, and cast out as a pariah after she killed one of DUKE FUCKING THOEDANIS ABELE'S sons. So she’s got no love lost for the society as it stands.

As for the marked, she spends a good deal of time training under Daud with his Whalers. She becomes his second in command. Hell yeah, you go, girl. She sees him grow unstable and wants to take over. And why shouldn’t she? She’s powerful and certainly capable, she’s proved that. So she betrays him to Delilah, who proceeds to take advantage of her to completely wreck havoc upon the Whaler hideout, and Daud himself. But in the end, her actions get her nowhere. Delilah fails, and Daud banishes her from the city, and arguably from his very presence. Yes, she goes back to him in the end, and busts his crusty ass out of jail (honestly, Daud, you’re tied to a folding chair. Billie’s really coming to let you out of the locker the jocks shoved you in), but I really hope they cover why Daud is only mildly surprised to see her. I hope there’s some letter writing. I’ve seen divorcees hate each other longer for less, and Billie  conspired to put a knife in him twenty years ago. Please address that, Arkane.

I digress. Billie would be in a serious position to have nothing to lose by killing the Outsider. Oppressed for her early life, cast out in exile by her family, wanted by the state for the Duke’s son’s murder. This would really be better if it were her idea. She’d be so much more powerful as a character. Bonus points if she takes advantage of the situation and becomes the new Entity the next emerging society builds itself up around.

Tl;dr:

 Daud is trying to bring about the end of society as we know it by killing the Outsider to topple the Abbey. Billie should be doing it because that would be boss and she’s got more reason to than being a sad old man. 

Bad Ending: Billie allows Daud to shiv the Outsider and bring about the ruin of society.

Good Ending: Billie shivs the Outsider and brings about the ruin of society.

Better Ending: Billie shivs Daud in the Void and goes back to the shadows to better the world in a different way. Bonus points if she does a sick backflip out of the Void while flipping the Outsider off with both hands.

Best ending: Billie shivs the Outsider AND Daud, and becomes the new god the next emerging society builds itself around. Billie Lurk for New Void Entity 2k17

[saint-sigma]

Meta List

Just a list of meta topics I’m working on that will include both my thoughts and accompanying artwork.

+ Wolfhounds Through the Isles      - Differences in breed and body shape, plus thoughts on the existing         hounds with the games themselves.

+Morlish Overseer Designs

+Overseer Uniform turnarounds      - All four designs, existing Gristolan and Serkonan designs, plus my fan designs of Tyvian and Morlish Overseers. Plus thoughts on weaponry unique to each.

+Overseer Uniform breakdowns      - All four Isle designs broken down layer by layer with thoughts on each layer and my reasoning for each. Is there any other meta anyone would like to see me delve into?

[saint-sigma]

A Brief Detour Into the Languages of the Isles

More meta of mine that I use for fanfiction and role playing, regarding the languages used within the Isles. Some of this may or may not be supported by the meta. I didn’t research much into the actual Dishonored meta of the languages, since I don’t believe much even exists. Feel free to use these ideas in your own stuff if you want. Except for the fan characters I list below. Those guys are mine, thanks. <3 

 On the subject of individual languages, I use Serkonan, Tyvian, and Morlish for my stories and games. (For my reasoning behind the term Morlish versus Morleyan/Morlean, see my post on that subject here.) 

Gristol does not use Gristolan for the name of their language, but rather Standard Empire, or just Empire, and it’s a universal language throughout the Isles, spread by the Abbey and the Gristolans as the Empire expanded and grew to include the other Isles. Most of my own characters speak Empire and the language of their home Isle, if they were born there. Some of them expand their native tongues with pidgins and dialects, though few of them speak more than the two. In my fiction, I refer to the national languages as Standard. Standard Serkonan, Standard Morlish, Standard Tyvian, and Empire to differentiate between dialects. When a character is speaking a dialect, it’s usually simply referenced by the region. Pandyssia is the only Isle for which I do not use any Standard language, and any of my characters or others who appear who speak any Pandyssian are referred to as speaking their own dialect. For example: Daire Foley will speak to people from his hometown in the Wynnedown dialect. If he is speaking to someone from Morley, but not Wynnedown, he will use Standard Morlish. He is also fluent in Empire, though it is accented. Ganymede Straka, a Karnacan  born dancer, speaks Empire and Standard Serkonan, as well as a pidgin Serkonan unique to his community within Karnaca. His Empire is only slightly accented, due to long hours of practice speaking with as little an accent as possible to better blend in during his time as a highly acclaimed dancer in Gristol. Atlas Main, a Gristolan native, grew up in a noble family with the intention of being an ambassador for the Kaldwins, and therefore speaks all four Standard languages, Serkonan, Tyvian, Morlish, and Empire. He later became an ambassador to Morley, and speaks many of the main dialects, and a few of the less common ones. He also speaks some of  the Pradym dialect of Tyvian, due to his lover, Garrett Berinov, teaching it to him during his time as Atlas’s bodyguard while they both were growing up. Learning languages is very easy for him, and he is working with fellow whalers Russo and Kazemde to learn their dialects of Pandyssian. Garrett Berinov, born in Pradym, Tyvia, speaks Standard Tyvian, the Pradym dialect, and Standard Empire. Due to being taken by the Abbey as a young child, his knowledge of the Pradym dialect is fading, though he does find another Tyvian Overseer, Arkady Tyriknov, to speak it with later in his adult life. His Empire has almost no accent normally, though he is prone to speaking lazily and with an extremely strong accent. His reasons are two-fold: “It is easier for me to speak thusly because all my thoughts are in Tyvian, and translating it perfectly takes more thought and effort, and it irritates certain Gristolan Overseers whom I dislike very much.” He is also prone to doing it to pretend he has no idea what someone is talking about, usually in a playful manner.

Kazemde, a former desert dweller from Pandyssia, speaks Desert Pandyssian, and very reticent Empire. He does not speak in either language if he does not need to, and is not known for long conversations with anyone, save perhaps Russo (Russo belongs to @drtanner, and he is a delightful character, go spam Tanner with questions about him), though they speak differing dialects of Pandyssian. There are enough common words that communication between them is fairly easy, and gets easier as time goes on. Kazemde does not like speaking Empire unless it’s necessary due to being brought over from Pandyssia as a novelty, and later a slave. He is a master at speaking with his eyebrows, however, and many of the Whalers he trains swear that he can kill people just by looking at them right.

[saint-sigma]

Dishonored Meta Thoughts: Morley. Morlish? Or Morleyan/Morlean?

This particular post is mostly going to be my own thought on the subject of Morley, since we have very little actual lore on the Isle, and only speculation. These are my thoughts that I apply to my fiction, my characters from Morley, and my role playing. Feel free to borrow from this for your own use if you like, and know that I am in no way trying to tell you how to interpret this. If you disagree, awesome, you keep right on rocking how you want to. Hell, you might even have better points on it. Send them to me. So, Morley. Are they Morlish? Or Morleyan/Morlean?

We know from a tweet from Harvey that while in development of the first game and the DLCs, the people of the Isles were referred to as Gristolan, Serkonan, Tyvian, and Morleyan. To me, the first three make perfect sense. It’s Morley that is the odd one out, due to it’s –ey ending. Looking at a real world example, Turkey, one does not call the people of Turkey ‘Turkeyan’, they are Turkish. Drop the –ey ,add –ish. Morley with its –ey ending would logically follow that example, and become Morlish. Morleyan, or Morlean to avoid vowel abuse, doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue well either, and looking at Morlean makes me want to pronounce it in the same vein as New Orleans. (New Morleans? Can that be the gambling district in Morley End in Dunwall? Please?) Sidestepping the etymology of the word in general, let’s look at cultural decisions, and how they may have shaped the words. Even within the game, the people of Morley are referred to as such: the people of Morley (and more rarely as Morleyan). It’s entirely plausible to me that a person from Morley might introduce themself as “A Morley man”. My character Daire uses that phrase quite often. “Aye, I’m a Morley man, myself.” Obviously this only works for the men, but it could be the source of the term ‘Morleyan’ (Morlean). Morley man becomes Morleyman, becomes Morley’an and finally Morleyan/Morlean.

The Isles are very clearly based off of real world places, and Morley’s influence is known to be Scottish/Irish. It would be foolish to believe that each of the Isles does not possess their own accent, regardless of whether it is presented in the game or not. The regions are very different, and they each likely have their own accents, and languages.

The language of Morley is likely referred to as Morlish, and the people, especially after the Insurrection, were referred to as Morleyan/Morlean, due to the term ‘Morley man’ being slurred between accents into a single word. But with anti-Empire feelings running high in Morley, I operate under the assumption that Morley began referring to both their language and people as Morlish to keep a sense of individuality and pride in their people and heritage. Don’t put your labels on us, Gristol, we don’t want them.

Morlish and proud.