#ver ... demigod ... ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ... alternate ❅

[cardiolog1st]

verse tags.

[aidendh]

GI! AU! Fyodor Hinata

Genshin Impact! Fyodor Hinata AU

Basically Hinata family instead of the Twins

Hooded 'Mi'lord' instead of Princess

Dainsleaf is known as a Traitor

--

Fyodor Hinata ☆☆☆☆☆

Title: Отец-основатель

(Otets-osnovatel' | Founding Father)

Electro Vision / Punishment

Weapon: Sword

Elemental Skill: Switches to Catalyst

Elemental Burst: Crime and Punishment

- Summons his Semblance, Punishment can only take Elemental DMG

- Fyodor can only take Physical DMG

- Punishment will disperse if destroyed

- Punishment casts an AoE instant kill upon summon (non-elemental)

-Lv Materials-

Crystal: Vajrada Amethyst

(Electro)

Boss: Marionette Core

(Maguu Kenki)

Plant: Dendrobium

(Inazuma)

Mob: Fatui Insignia

(Fatui Agents)

Talent Book: Light

(Inazuma)

Weekly Boss: Shard of a Foul Legacy

(Childe)

-

Special Dish: Blue Berry Pancakes ☆☆☆☆☆

(Revival Item)

Utility Passive: Fatherly Advice, 5% chance to regain lost hearts each turn in Hang Outs

Constellation: Pater Familia (Family Father)

[Picture: Rat King, Constellations shapes a butterfly]

--

Fyodor rarely uses his Vision or Ability

Wouldn't mind doing some of the dirty work himself

Most of the Family are apart of the Abyss order, but some are simple civilians or employed within different regions

Fyodor and other members can be met throughout the Main Story and World Quests, some are even apart of the normal civilians

Fyodor just wants his family back together in a world without Visions or Gods

That's why he hardly uses his

Inazuma and Snezhnaya are their main regions

Karma hasn't awakened to a Vision

Ember uses a Delusion, to Akiko's dismay

Nagisa Hinata and Ogai Mori are incarnations of fallen Demigods from a world beyond

Nagisa is a Harbinger that replaced Dottore after he was killed for experimenting on Karma

Nagisa was born in Khaen'rhiah and grew up in Inazuma

Story-wise, Fyodor wouldn't reveal his Vision for a long time,

His face stays hidden and identity unknown for all of Mondstadt's and Liyue's story

(With a few hints here or there)

The 'Traveler' finds him familiar during Dainleaf's Liyue interlude, though remains oblivious to their closeness

{Traveler undecided}

Tartaglia is a secret member, he knew Fyodor before the Main Story

Ember is 'apart' of the Arataki Gang

--

Alternate, Fyodor is the Traveler Ver

Same main story, but Fyodor is only Traveler for a 'game'

Princess is Nagisa, (...Dainsleaf wants a raise.../J)

{¿Nagisa designed his outfit before separation?}

WAIT-! ...Traveler Fyodor, Fake leader Nagisa, its just a game Fyodor wanted to play, he is still the 'Lord'

Besides, if you don't want a 'hero/protagonist' destroying your plans, become them yourself and earn the world's favor

--

------

RAU! Abyss!Lumine / Traveler!Aether

(Fyodor Hinata L/ Nagisa Hinata A)

(Adrik)Lumine F→M / Aether M→F

Killed Dvalin to make Venti pay

Scruffy hair, blue eyes

(I got Lumine's eye color wrong but I like it)

Used to have golden eyes, but changed them during World Travels

-Allies-

Raised by Adrik

Keaya, Bennett

Noelle sometimes helps out but doesn't know

Adrik sees Dainsleaf as a Traitor

-

Abyss mage information in 2ed Dainsleaf Quest would be in Khaen'rhiah script but also Adrik's 'code'

(Only Aether can read it)

One of the dropped information's is just a Khaen'rhiah script of Adrik's Blue Berry Pancakes recipe

Aether makes it but can't seem to get it 'right'

Adrik's Original Sword is purple instead of gold

Аметист Sword

(Ametist - Amethyst in Russian)

His left eyesight is worse than his right because of an old injury

Adrik (Lumine)

-

-

--

A Lord that just wants their Sister back, and to enact revenge on the Gods

'Vision': none // Weapon: Sword

Ability: Crime and Punishment

--

A brown cloaked figure

--

Refered to by an Abyss Heralded as 'Mi'lord'

Not much else is known other than the fact that they use a Sword

--

Aether (belongs to @gay-kat-vibez )

-

--

Vision- Anemo

Weapon- bow

skill- Sunset Voyage

Burst- Calm before the storm

--

[apatheticnatureiskey]

hi

pinned post moment

ææææææ-

Basic Tags: #reblog #apathetic’s blurt outs #my art

My UTMV/DTAU children:

- Oscillate! Dreamtale (mmm a resetting amulet) (there's also different variations)

Tags: #oscillate #oscillateau #oscillate multiverse

-Alternate Realities (tons of timeline, variant, and multiversal shenanigans)

Tag: #alternate realities

- Accursedverse! (cursed ppl)

Tag: #accursedverse

- Synthesis! Dreamtale (unbalanced mess)

Tag: #synthesis #synthesisdreamtale #synthesisau

-The Demigod VA's (they're so cool)

+ 20 other multiverses grouped in worlds called LUSSORIA! & ECLARIS! :,)

-Lost Memory! Concept (The main characters of LUSSORIA!)

-Codeswitch Horror AU (I need to name it aaa)

---

My DS!AU children:

- DS! Storytwist (it counts shshshhs-)

Tags: #ds storytwist

- DS! Apotropaic (a mirror world, hallucinations, and psychological horror 👁👁)

Tags: #ds apotropaic #ds!a

- Vacation House! (Either a crossover or just a DS! Ver. | Teleporting house go brrr)

Tags: #vh! #vacation house #vacation house AU #vhau #vacation house brainrot

- DS!SS! (another storyspin au with different switches, also d-drani 🥺💕)

- Confusing Virtues (DS! D&D thing 😳👉👈)

- DS! Cyberpunk Sim. AU (hehe glitchy rankings, simulations, drani, and memory loss-)

- DS! Royalty AU (self explanatory)

-Otherworldly Atypical: DS! Ectopic Occult (teens summon demons to cope)

----

Danganronpa AU's (mostly v3):

-In the Eyes of Darkness (ITEOD) (killing game time loop with others weird aus/timelines, lots of kokichi being self aware shenanigans / my variants <3)

Tags: #In the Eyes of Darkness #ITEOD #ITEOD Concept #In the Eyes of Darkness Concept

-Weirdcore/Dream AU (this one includes all the protag, antag, & supports. also cool silhouette people :0)

-My DRV3 Poly AU (it's modern, and mainly Kaede 🤝 Shuichi 🤝 Rantaro 🤝 Kokichi 🤝 Maki 🤝 K1B0 🤝 Kaito are holding hands but there are tons of branches with other people)

Tag: #DRV3 Poly AU

-DRV3 Ghost Hunters AU (Based of Phasmophobia) (Kiyo orders Kaede, Shuichi, Kokichi, & Rantaro to figure paranormal stuff. The other characters are the ghosts.)

Tag: #DRV3 Ghost Hunters AU

-Homebrew Central (a v3 d&d/rpg au :D)

-Pregame Variants (normal teens doing teen stuff >:))

Tag: #pregame variants

-Conflicted Mindfuck (Pre-game + In-game shenanigans, specifically Pregame Variants & ITEOD! together. Oh and there's pregame x in-game/post-game shite <3)

Tags: #Conflicted Mindfuck #Conflicted Mindfuck Concept #cfmf #cfmf concept

-The Archivist (facility patients & worker employees try to stop the owner (Ms. Grey)) (there’s yummy kiiouruma) (an ITEOD variant)

Tags: #the archivist #the archivist concept

-The Sound of Lightning (it’s another ITEOD variant, with perk-switches & drama.. it’s also kind of apocalyptic??)

Tags: #tsol #tsol concept #the sound of lightning

-Hollow Perceptions (sad postgame and void pregames, they are also gay)

Tags: #hollow perceptions #hollow perceptions concept #hpc

-The Birthday Party (shenanigans with Kokichi and Koda)

Tags: #the birthday party concept #tbp kokichi #tbp koda

-then there’s the Assassin/Sniper Corp AU (oumaki my beloveds), The Magician & The Mage (oumeno magicians and bad deals), and Space Interconnections (oumota in space with friends)

The Ones I got from weird Dreams:

-DR2 + DRV3 Chair AU (Himiko curses 6 dr2 people into chairs so oumamatsu(?) have to fix it)

-Decadence Facility (a terrible facility makes the drv3 cast suffer and sometimes die)

-3 Silhouettes & the Crew (kae, Ko, and shu survive the killing game! there's magic elements and they live on a ship with gay "pirates" that are actually sailors!) (this is so out of context)

Tags: #3 Silhouettes & the Crew #3S&TC! #3S&TC! Concept

(ps. It used to be called 3 people & oumatsu—)

-Doubles! Concept (it's all Kokichi? Always has been /hj)

-The Hanger (angsty stuff, death, doubles, and Shuichi having the worst time in his life :))

Tags: #The Hanger #The Hanger Concept #TH! #TH! Concept

-Whispers Hotel (oumaki vs the spoopy ghosts they reincarnated from.. they are also trapped in a hotel and fiancés!!)

Tags: #whispers hotel #whispers hotel concept #wh concept

-Pinprick (kokichi gets bothered by a drug corporation called ACCLIVITY, irouma canon)

----

OC Things:

-Altered Divergence (six friends vs decadence facility)

-The Misadventures of Mayhem (chaotic sillies trying to get rich and a promotion)

-Aversion! Concept/The Hatred Cast (oblivionnnn & sel)

-Neutraverse (pog)

-Businesses! Concept (they deserved better 🤧) (this is also a branch to Neutraverse-)

-Otherworldly Atypical (hehe ghosts, demons, and teenagers.)

-Trials of the Faultless (TOTFL) (teens go through deadly trials caused by the government & their crazy classmates)

Tags: #trials of the faultless #totfl #totfl concept #totfl art #trials of the faultless concept

-Project "Reverse" (I played with reverse tropes & song vibes)

-Project: SPIRE (a place where you play simulation "games", die, revive, and turn off the SPIRE)

-Just Some "Casual" AU (and they were roommates but theres ghosts and demons)

-Cro-Wraith Dreamscape (what I’m the alternates is happening??) (basically my dreamworld oc-ified + some dr references because I dream about them)

Tag: #Cro-Wraith Dreamscape

The ones that came from weird dreams:

-Diamond Party (the name doesn’t correlate to the new plot lol)

-The Test (currently being revised)

----

Sideblogs:

@emotion-patchblog (kinda ded)

@alternaterealities-blog (hiatus)

@ask-the-backgrounds-blog (also dead-ish? might pick it up later...)

————

Socials:

YouTube- Eristarria

Instagram- same name as this

AO3- Ezzral

Spotify- Archxangel

————

I ran out of tags 😂.

[vvarrior]

                                                   [CLASSIFIED] 

                             Advanced Advocate Case File: Warrior

BASICS

BIRTH NAME: Dane Pablo Angelos

NICKNAME(S): Danito, Pablito, Danny

DATE OF BIRTH: 11th, December 1996

AGE: 23

GENDER: Cismale

PRONOUNS: He/Him/His

NATIONALITY: Portuguese-American

HOMETOWN: San Diego, California

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Turnstone City, USA

OCCUPATION: Kickboxing instructor

APPEARANCE

HEIGHT: 6′2

WEIGHT: 192

BUILD: Athletic

ETHNICITY: Portuguese, Greek

HAIR: Dark brown

EYES: Hazel

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: One tattoo - a swallow on his right hand

DISABILITIES: N/A

DRESS STYLE: Casual but coordinated

TATTOOS: Small swallow on his right hand

PIERCINGS: N/A

PERSONALITY/PSYCHOLOGY

INTROVERT or EXTROVERT: Introvert

INTELLIGENCE LEVEL: Above average

MENTAL HEALTH: Below average, undiagnosed

HABITS: Knocks on wood to divert bad luck, crosses himself when afraid

MANNERISMS: Holds his lower lip between his teeth, rubs his right bicep

HEALTH: Excellent

MBTI TYPE: INFJ

POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES; Amicable, nurturing, resilient

NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES: Capricious, aggrieved, vain

LIKES: Coffee, animals, the environment, alcohol, fighting, crime shows, rain

DISLIKES: Arrogance, bullying, intolerance, The Office, squash, summer

HOBBIES: Exercise, cooking, reading

TALENTS / SKILLS: Very talented athlete, having practiced soccer and gymnastics from a young age and taken up track-and-field in middle school. Later on enrolling in kickboxing and MMA classes and excelling in those as well, though not after several years of work. Excellent physical performer and hand-to-hand combatant, but he still has a lot to learn.

FAMILY

PARENTS: Unknown biological father, Clarissa Silva (mother), Charles Johnson (stepfather)

SIBLINGS: Younger sisters Mariana and Angelica Silva

CHILDREN: N/A

MARITAL STATUS: Single

SIGNIFICANT OTHER(S): Single

OTHER FAMILY: Large extended family

PETS: Pomsky, with family

SEXUALITY

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual

DATING STATUS: Open, conflicted

DOMINANT / SUBMISSIVE / SWITCH: Switch

TOP / BOTTOM / VERSATILE: Vers top

TURN-ONS: Dirty talk, possessiveness, marking

TURN-OFFS: Toilet play, age play, blood play

SUPERHEROISM

ALIAS: Warrior

POWERS / SKILLSET:                                                                                     Forcefield Manipulation: Dane can create, shape, and manipulate force-fields, a field of energy without mass that acts as a matter/wall, so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the field and reach the other side. This power, however, is currently limited to him as the strength of these fields depend on intense skill, power, and concentration, all of which Dane requires significant improvement on.

In theory, the fields may block or deflect certain forces/materials while allowing others to pass, such as air and light - the little experience he's had making them have shown that he requires practice on allowing air through these fields. Strong and/or repetitive impacts may be able to disrupt or destroy these forcefields, as can causing Dane to lose his concentration, and they can currently only defend against the explicitly physical.

The fields also demand great mental strain and energy uptake to maintain, so Dane must ensure he's in excellent shape and mindset when creating them else he runs the risk of passing out.                                                                                       

   [ RESTRICTED ]  Demigod Physiology, Type II: As a mortal-God hybrid, Dane was born from the union of a divine being and a mortal, inheriting his power from his magical, divine parent. Demigods may gain powers associated with their divine parent's domain, or a domain of their own, or just powers generic to divine beings.

However, those unaware of or unwilling to accept their divine nature may sometimes, over a period of time, experience extreme fever, migraines, and body pains, with the potential for seizures or even death as a result of their spirit struggling to manifest itself. Notably, if realized too soon, one may go into shock and experience these symptoms as well.

Potential abilities may include decelerated aging, enhanced condition such as agility, durability, strength, speed, and senses, as well as a regenerative healing factor and sometimes flight. After a demigod truly and completely comes into their divinity, these abilities may increase to extraordinary supernatural levels. Due to his magical origins, he can also resist many forms of magical manipulation

COLORS: Black, gold, sometimes navy blue or red

APPEARANCE:  Handsome and tall, Dane provides a striking figure to most, and he knows it. He typically dresses casually and in low tones, alternating between t-shirts, shorts, and sneakers to jackets, jeans, and boots. He doesn’t necessarily have a superhero outfit, seeing as he’s brand new to the Advocates, but he does own a long sleeved, black, lightly armored shirt with some gold lining that he pairs with similarly colored leather gloves, athletic pants with greaves, and combat boots. Aesthetic-wise, he’s always been a fan of red, navy blue, black, and gold. Striking colors, but if used well can be calming and familiar, even soothing. He likes that aspect.

WEAKNESSES:            When not protected by his forcefields, Dane may be vulnerable to any attack that may harm a regular person.  Overexertion of his physique will render him exhausted and in need of rest.Telepathic or other mental-based attacks may also be effective against him, and as a younger, less experienced fighter, he may also fall prey to psychological manipulation.

 [ RESTRICTED ]  Dane himself, while not invulnerable, may be highly resistant to great amounts of concussive force, extreme temperatures, and some forms of radiation and energy attacks. However, edged weapons or projectiles applied with sufficient force are able to pierce his skin. While his body may be naturally resistant to most poisons, powerful enough toxins may render him incapacitated. Lastly, he is likely also vulnerable to powers or abilities that are solely capable of harming divine beings, such as divine power negation.

MENTOR / PROTEGE: N/A

LENGTH OF ADVOCATE MEMBERSHIP: Less than one week

SUPERVILLAIN ARCHNEMESIS: N/A

SUPERHERO HISTORY: N/A

[chaitanyavijnanam]

శ్రీమద్భగవద్గీత - 379: 10వ అధ్., శ్లో 07 / Bhagavad-Gita - 379: Chap. 10, Ver. 07

🌹. శ్రీమద్భగవద్గీత - 379 / Bhagavad-Gita - 379 🌹 ✍️. శ్రీ ప్రభుపాద, 📚. ప్రసాద్ భరద్వాజ 🌴. 10వ అధ్యాయము - విభూతి య���గం - 07 🌴 07. ఏతాం విభూతిం యోగం చ మామ యో వేత్తి తత్త్వత: | సోవికల్పేన యోగేన యుజ్యతే నాత్ర సంశయ: || 🌷. తాత్పర్యం :

నా ఈ దివ్యవిభూతిని, యోగశక్తిని యథార్థముగ నెరిగినవాడు నా విశుద్ధ భక్తియుతసేవలో నియుక్తుడు కాగలడు. ఈ విషయమున ఎట్టి సందేహము లేదు.

🌷. భాష్యము :

దేవదేవుడైన శ్రీకృష్ణునికి సంబంధించిన జ్ఞానము ఆధ్యాత్మికపూర్ణత్వము యొక్క అత్యున్నతదశ వంటిది. ఆ భగవానుని వివిధములైన దివ్య��ిభూతుల యెడ స్థిరనిశ్చయము కలుగనిదే ఎవ్వరును సంపూర్ణముగా భక్తియోగమున నెలకొనలేరు. సాధారణముగా జనులు భగవానుడు గొప్పవాడని తెలిసియుందురుగాని అతడెంతటి గొప్పవాడనెడి విషయమును పూర్తిగా ఎరిగియుండరు. ఇచ్చట ఆ విషయములన్నియును సమగ్రముగా తెలుపబడినవి. శ్రీకృష్ణభగవానుడు ఎంతటి ఘనుడనెడి విషయము సమగ్రముగా తెలిసినపుడు సహజముగా మనుజుడు అతనికి శరణమునొంది భక్తియుతసేవలో నిమగ్నుడగును. భగవానుని దివ్యవిభూతులు యథార్థముగా అవగతమైనప్పుడు అతని శరణుజొచ్చుట కన్నను మనుజునకు వేరొక్క మార్గముండదు. ఇటువంటి వాస్తవమైన జ్ఞానమును భగవద్గీత, భాగవతము మరియు అటువంటి ఇతర వాజ్మయము ద్వారా తెలిసికొనవచ్చును.

ఈ విశ్వపాలనము కొరకు విశ్వమనదంతటను పలుదేవతలు కలరు. వారిలో బ్రహ్మ, శివుడు, సనకసనందనాదులు, ఇతర ప్రజాపతులు ముఖ్యమైనవారు. విశ్వజనులకు గల పలువురు పితృదేవతలు శ్రీకృష్ణుని నుండియే జన్మించిరి. కనుకనే దేవదేవుడైన శ్రీకృష్ణుడు సర్వపితృదేవతలకు ఆది పితృదేవుడై యున్నాడు. ఇవన్నియును వాస్తవమునకు శ్రీకృష్ణభగవానుని కొన్ని విభూతులు మాత్రమే. ఈ విభూతుల యెడ విశ్వాసము కలిగినవాడు శ్రీకృష్ణుని శ్రద్ధతో శంకారహితముగా గ్రహించి, అతని భక్తియుతసేవలో నియుక్తుడు కాగలడు. భగవత్సేవలో ఆసక్తిని మరియు శ్రద్ధను వృద్ధిపరచుకొనుటకు ఈ ప్రత్యేక జ్ఞానము అత్యంత అవసరమై యున్నది. శ్రీకృష్ణభగవానుని దివ్యఘనతను సంపూర్ణముగా నెరుగుటచే మనుజుడు శ్రద్ధాపూరితమైన భక్తియోగమున స్థిరుడు కాగాలనందున ఆ దేవదేవుడు ఎంతటి ఘనుడో తెలిసికొనుట యందు ఎవ్వరును ఉపేక్ష వహింపరాదు.

🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹

🌹 Bhagavad-Gita as It is - 379 🌹 ✍️ Sri Prabhupada, 📚 Prasad Bharadwaj 🌴 Chapter 10 - Vibhuti Yoga - 07 🌴 07. etāṁ vibhūtiṁ yogaṁ ca mama yo vetti tattvataḥ so ’vikalpena yogena yujyate nātra saṁśayaḥ

🌷 Translation :

One who is factually convinced of this opulence and mystic power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt.

🌹 Purport :

The highest summit of spiritual perfection is knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one is firmly convinced of the different opulences of the Supreme Lord, he cannot engage in devotional service. Generally people know that God is great, but they do not know in detail how God is great. Here are the details. If one knows factually how God is great, then naturally he becomes a surrendered soul and engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord. When one factually knows the opulences of the Supreme, there is no alternative but to surrender to Him. This factual knowledge can be known from the descriptions in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā and similar literatures.

In the administration of this universe there are many demigods distributed throughout the planetary system, and the chief of them are Brahmā, Lord Śiva and the four great Kumāras and the other patriarchs. There are many forefathers of the population of the universe, and all of them are born of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the original forefather of all forefathers. These are some of the opulences of the Supreme Lord. When one is firmly convinced of them, he accepts Kṛṣṇa with great faith and without any doubt, and he engages in devotional service. All this particular knowledge is required in order to increase one’s interest in the loving devotional service of the Lord. One should not neglect to understand fully how great Kṛṣṇa is, for by knowing the greatness of Kṛṣṇa one will be able to be fixed in sincere devotional service.

🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹

[genderfluidkai]

OK SOOO. Since a couple people want to know more about this vers of Lloyd/the AU i mentioned, little addition!

This is a version of the movie Lloyd in mine and Imp’s demigod au (which I already have a post about)! Specifically he’s from an alternate timeline where all of the main group of characters are raised by their godly parents. We nicknamed him Chlorophos, both for actual reason in the timeline and to differentiate him from the regular timeline.

Since movie Lloyd has the misfortune of being a kid of one of the Roman big 3, he’s essentially raised to be nothing but a weapon. This results in so much trauma for him <3 he gets to go through a little arc of learning he is in fact a person and is allowed to have thoughts and feelings of his own. Except he quite frequently runs into the problem that he only knows how to speak Latin due to how he was raised which results in,,,so many miscommunications. He goes through a lot basically <3

here have a lloyd :] he is from an au and he is so so traumatised <3

[thesffcorner]

Dishonored Retrospective Part 1: World Building and Characters

If you know me at all (or if you came here from my main blog), you know that I’m a huge fan of the Dishonored franchise. For all intents and purposes, the original Dishonored is what got me into mainstream gaming; I played it for a Video Game Writing and Narrative class in my senior year of college, and I’ve loved and played each game since.

It’s an excellent series, and while there is some debate around this, in my opinion, every single expansion of the game has been an improvement on the original. So I wanted to do an overview and talk about how the series changed and improved, and the overall story that it tells. I will touch upon every aspect of these games, including story, characters, world-building, mechanics, and gameplay.

So, what better way to start than with a quick overview?

Story and Overview:

Dishonored is a 2012 first person stealth/action-adventure game developed by Arkane and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was followed by 2 pieces of DLC released the following year, the Knife of Dunwall and the Brigmore Witches, and then a sequel game, Dishonored 2 in 2016. The final piece of the franchise was Dishonored: Death of the Outsider that came out summer 2017 and for now concludes all the plot-lines and character arcs from the characters we have been following since the first game.

Dishonored is set in the fictional Empire of the Isles, a fantasy world loosely based on the UK. The setting is a mix of late 18 century politics and aesthetics, combined with early 20 century costuming and technology. The Isles are ruled by the Kaldwin family from the capital of Dunwall.

In the first game you play as Royal Protector Corvo Attano, Empress Jessamine Kaldwin’s closest ally and lover. When Jessamine is murdered by the Whalers, assassins lead by Daud and her daughter Princess Emily is kidnapped, Corvo is framed for the murder and set for execution.

The game proper starts 6 months after the assassination. Corvo is broken out of prison with the help of the Loyalists and the rest of the game follows his quest to save Emily, clear his name and thwart the plan of the people who orchestrated the whole thing from taking over Dunwall.

The story of the original Dishonored is, in my opinion both the weakest and the most ‘video game-y’ in the entire franchise. It’s not bad, but it’s a rather simplistic, straightforward revenge plot, the kind that you would find in the standard Liam Neeson/Jason Statham action films. Corvo gets framed for the murder of his family and spends the rest of the game trying to save his daughter and either kill or dispose of everyone who was involved in framing him. There are a few twists here and there, but the plot is otherwise indistinguishable from dime-a-dozen other action stories. Where the first game really shines is the world-building, gameplay and character writing.

World-building:

Like I said the world is very loosely based on the UK, and this much is apparent in the design of Dunwall. It’s an industrial port city, build on a traffic heavy river, with lots of grey, metal buildings that tower over the narrow, crime infected streets. It’s a city of factories, poverty, gangs, assassins, and disease. It’s a harsh world made even harsher by the backdrop of the Wheeper plague; the rich throw lavish parties while the poor are terrorized by supposed law enforcement as well as the gangs; corruption is rampant and we see this immediately with the scene where Corvo is tortured in the prison by his captors who, only a few minutes ago in game-time were his closest allies.

I absolutely love the setting. Dunwall is a gorgeous place that feels like a real city; it’s clear the developers spent a lot of time making sure the levels correspond to different parts of a city and fit together in a cohesive way. This is why most of my favourite levels are the ones that take place on the Dunwall streets.

Despite the abundance of grey and black industrial buildings, sewers, prisons and factories, the setting is still beautiful, and there are enough locations in the game that are bright and colourful to break up the monotony. You can enter random houses and apartments, and find letters and remnants of the people who inhabited or still inhabit Dunwall and even interact with random non-aggressive NPCs on the streets.

The Wheeper plague is another incredibly effective way of linking you to the world. The first time I actually saw a Wheeper was terrifying; they mindlessly charge at you, scream and puke bile and flies at you and look like the first stage of a zombie transformation. Even the noise they make when they are close by and not aggressive is eerie, this quiet sobbing and retching. They are the final product of the rat plague that has swept Dunwall and are a pitiful and yet still horrifying enemy.

Many sections of the city are blocked off or seized by the government because of the plague and you even explore the district where the plague started, the Flooded District. Like its inspiration, the bubonic plague, this one too is carried by rats which are also aggressive enemies that will attack you in swarms. The sectioned off areas form natural boundaries to the levels and I found this a clever solution to keeping the player confined to where the developers wanted you to be.

Additionally, there are tons of notes, posters, books, journals and letters to discover that give even more character to the world. My favorite are the various posters, general notices and advertisements plastered all over the city. I especially love the smaller details like the cancelled signs over concert announcements or the plague warnings. Likewise, you get to hear the thoughts of both important characters and random NPCs by either listening to their audio-graphs or pointing the heart and listening to their secrets.

Speaking of the heart, the other thing that makes this world fascinating is the presence of magic in conjunction with the technology. Dunwall, and by extension the Isles are powered by the use of whale oil; in fact we spend an entire level in the Knife of Dunwall in a whale oil refinery. The oil is used as fuel for electricity, which in turn powers trams, tallboys, streetlamps, machinery and various weapons like arc pylons, guns, electric bolts and mines.

However, people also use whale bones to craft and collect bonecharms, which are supposedly blessed by a chaotic neutral demigod called the Outsider who marks people and gives them superpowers and lives in a place outside of time and reality called the Void. And the best part? It’s all true.

One of the very first things you do after escaping Coldridge Prison is meeting the Outsider who marks you, giving you a variety of superpowers. This also facilitates the collection of runes and bonecharms that upgrade these abilities and award you more of the same.

Fascinatingly, not only does the official religion, the Abbey of the Everyman know about the Outsider, both the Sisters of the Abbey and the Overseers also consider him a heretic and a tempestuous trickster. They aren’t entirely wrong; the Outsider marks very few people and those he marks are crucial to history in some way, but that way can be highly destructive. We see time and time again throughout the game that the poor and downtrodden turn to the Outsider often as they build shrines to him, but it’s hard to tell (at least in Dishonored) how much he responds, if at all.

Speaking of the Outsider, let’s quickly go over the characters, which also happen to be one of the point for which I have the most complicated feelings.

Characters:

Our silent protagonist is Corvo Attano, and he’s an excellent character. Depending on how you play him, he’s either a vengeful violent man who is willing to avenge himself in very violent ways or a clever if somewhat petty man who takes the violence the world dishes at him and doesn’t let it destroy him. Even though I love the fact that he gets a voice in the sequel, I think a lot is delivered about his character from how he reacts to certain things, or rather how you, as a player think he should react.

Like any silent protagonist, Corvo is what you want him to be which is a good thing in terms of the first game, because then the experience of playing as him feels better. But in terms of the franchise overall, it gets complicated, especially when we get into the games’ ‘canon’.

One thing I don’t quite understand is his relationship with Emily. In the first game, it’s pretty clear that Emily doesn’t know Corvo is her father; yet in the sequel it’s common knowledge that he is?

Likewise if Jessamine is unmarried and the Empress, and there is no law that forbids her from marrying commoners, why aren’t they married? And if it’s a secret that Corvo is her lover/Emily’s father, than how come no one thought it was super weird that the Empress suddenly has a child without a husband? I feel like I missed something.

Other important characters (some of which we’ll touch on later) are: Princess Emily Kaldwin; the Royal Spymaster/Lord Regent Hiram Burrows; High Overseer Campbell; the Pendleton siblings Custis, Morgan and Treavor; the assassin Daud; Admiral Havelock; Overseer Teague Martin; Granny Rags; the Bottlestreet Gang Leader Slackjaw; the Boyle sisters; and inventors Anton Sokolov and Piero Joplin.

Let’s start with my number 1 complaint; the female characters. There are 8 named female characters with speaking roles. Those are: Jessamine Kaldwin, Emily Kaldwin, Calista Curnow, Granny Rags, Lady Boyle, Lydia, Cecilia and Madame Prudence.

Prudence and Lady Boyle are killable NPCs who have about 2-3 lines. Lady Boyle is especially egregious as she is an assassination target without having done anything wrong; the alternative to killing her is actually EVEN WORSE than just killing her (Dishonored does that a lot).

Cecilia and Lydia are likewise characters that have about 10 lines total and though Cecilia does serve a purpose, neither is very necessary or interesting.

Calista is a lot more relevant, but she doesn’t exactly have a lot of personality. There is also a scene in which you can spy on her taking a bath (?) which like…. Isn’t a thing that Corvo would do? At all? Especially not to his daughter’s governess?

Jessamine Kaldwin is killed immediately, and spends the rest of the game as a LITERAL spirit guide to Corvo, her soul trapped in the heart by the Outsider. We never really get to see what she was like as Empress, only that she was ‘good’. She’s a pretty bad trope of a character.

Emily is the precocious child character who honestly could be quite annoying. The fact that she constantly needs to be saved and protected doesn’t help, and some of her lines are outright terrible (and Chloe Grace Moritz’s voice acting is… not good. She’s not good at playing a precocious child).

The only female character that I legitimately loved is Granny Rags. She is an old witch who in her youth was so powerful and impressive that lords and royalty fought for her hand, but she rejected everyone because of the Outsider. In the DLC we find out that her name is Vera Morley and she is one of the marked ones.

She is voiced by Susan Sarandon and has pretty entertaining dialogue. Her side-quests are quite good and fucked up (poisoning the entire Bottlestreet Gang?) and the fact that she turns out to be a pretty dangerous antagonist if you reject her was a nice twist.

So to recap, out of the 8 characters, one is actually good, isn’t in need of rescuing, isn’t sexualized, and isn’t killed immediately. Nice one, Arkane!

To be fair, a lot of the male characters are killable or even supposed to be killed, some in rather gruesome ways. However, the fact that literary every single person who is a villain is a man, and the one female target is on the list purely out of coincidence is really frustrating in a game series that’s otherwise pretty progressive. There are also no female hostiles, but both are moot points now, since even the DLC improves on this. I still feel like it’s worth mentioning.

Part 2 will be a breakdown of the gameplay and level design, as well as a closer look at the first three levels. 

> part 2