grimeowkin

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Can he crawl on the floor. Preferably with a collar around his neck and me holding the leash. Pleas

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Godrick and Thomas Hobbes political treatise, Leviathan

This is a wordy analysis of Godrick and his symbolism tied social construct, especially Thomas Hobbe’s political philosophy doctrine, “Leviathan.” I'll also explore the themes of masculinity, self-loathing, his grafting and its relation to the Shaman village. It’s a bit ramble-y, but I wanted to share my thoughts.

Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes’ political philosophy, “Leviathan” details the author's doctrine of authority, government and social structure. Written during the English Civil War, Hobbes reiterates the importance of a strong authority to ensure the people prosperity, peace and cooperation. 

Hobbes favored an “absolute government,” the people voluntarily entered a social contract, surrendering their rights and freedom to the sovereign power, usually a monarch. The point of the social contract was to ensure protection of the state of nature. 

State of nature is a concept primarily used in political philosophy, a hypothetical pre-societal condition of society without formal government and social structure. The state of nature explores humanity without formal political organization, legal system. Hobbes describes the state of nature as “war of all against all” where life is “brutish, nasty and short,” undoubtedly a criticism of anarchy.

Hobbes “Leviathan” was written during the Civil War in England throughout 1642–1651, a conflicted sparked by King Charles I and the Parliament primarily due to disagreements of religion, the king's use of power and economic policies, and how Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England should be ruled. The Parliament eventually won the war, executing the then king.

He likens the government to the Leviathan being the omnipotence symbol of the state. In Hebrew, Leviathan’s name consists of two words:

Lavah, לוה: to join, to connect or to be joined.

Tannin, תנין: large reptilian, or “dragon” in some biblical translations.

Why is bring this up is specifically cause he connects to the dragon during his phase transition, referring to it as kindred.

"Mighty Dragon, thou'rt a trueborn heir. Lend me thy strength, o kindred. Deliver me unto greater heights."

And his phase transition dialogue. Forefather likely referring to Godfrey, but I'd like to point out the theory of Lichdragon Fortissax having been Godwyn's partner.

"Ahh, truest of dragons. Lend me thy strength… Nnngh! Forefathers, one and all…"

לויתן (Livyatan) also translates to Leviathan, the word has roots to the word לווי (lwy) meaning to twist, to turn or to coil. A bit unrelated but I felt like I had to mention it.

Isaiah 27:1

“In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”

Leviathan is also one of the seven Princes of Hell, symbolizing the deadly sin of envy. A prominent aspect of Godrick's character is his envy and inadequacy, wishing to earn the same strength as his relatives.

To summarize the overarching theme of Leviathan, Hobbes favors the people surrendering their rights to the absolute government in exchange of prosperity, safety, peace and structure. The book was heavily influenced by years of war and unrest.

Godrick, the Grafted

The most prominent and noticeable characteristics of Godrick and his rule is that it is, at the very core, based on entitlement. He is the self-proclaimed ruler of Stormveil Castle, he hid within the castle which later housed him.

Kenneth Haight

“First he hid himself amongst the womenfolk to flee the capital, then hid from Radahn in that castle…”

As a descendant of the Golden Lineage, he admires his predecessor, erecting statues depicting Godfrey around his throne. He is painfully aware of his position, his divine blood having diluted throughout generations. Wishing to restore a sense of power, he turned to the arts of grafting. 

Remembrance of The Grafted

"A feeble man sought power through the grotesque act of grafting. "One day we'll return together, to our home, bathed in rays of gold.""

Despite his lack of strength, he still challenged his mighty siblings. He challenged Malenia, although he was defeated, he still believed himself capable. He is ambitious, he is arrogant; but he’s motivated to achieve the strength he lacks.

Sword Monuments: Central Limgrave

“Godrick the Golden, humiliated Having tasted defeat by the Blade of Miquella Now on his knees, begging for mercy”

Godrick’s forces were also participants of the Second Assault of Leyndell, a bold move attempting to besiege the sovereignty with significant influence in the Lands Between. The Royal Capital acts like an absolute government, or absolute monarchy, its influence and power centralized by a single ruler.

Godrick desperately yearns for power, for respect and validation. Although he’s solely motivated by power and monarchy, his art of grafting bears similarities to the concept of social contract. The people surrender their rights and freedom to the absolute government, though in this case the sovereign power is selfishly motivated. There is no protection and prosperity to be guaranteed, rather they serve as pawns to his ultimate goal; earning respect of his predecessor. 

Motives and the First Elden Lord

Godrick's axe is adorned with memorabilia of Godfrey, whom he harbours deep respect and gratitude for. 

Axe of Godrick

“Greataxe wielded by Godrick the Grafted. This golden battleaxe is emblazoned with the figure of a beast, representing the strength of Godfrey, First Elden Lord and patriarch of the golden lineage.”

Although he deeply admires Godfrey and wishes to be like him, little is known of him, he’s wholly unaware of Godfrey having become Tarnished. 

Remembrance of Horah Loux

“When Godfrey, first Elden Lord was robbed of his grace, becoming Tarnished, he took with him his kinfolk and left the Lands Between. After the Long March of the Tarnished came to an end, Godfrey divested himself of kingship, becoming a simple warrior once more.”

Which relates to his dialogue when the Tarnished player character is first introduced to him.

“A lowly Tarnished, playing as a Lord. I command thee, kneel!”

He doesn’t show much regard to Tarnished, possibly because if he lost his Grace, he would too, be Tarnished. He doesn't harness the power his Demigod relatives do, his power comes from his own craft and technique. He doesn't know Godfrey lost his Grace and became a Tarnished warrior once more, he likely doesn’t know Godfrey is no longer the ruler of Leyndell, rather his Omen son. The same son whose illusion protects Godrick’s Great Rune.

His superiority complex is motivated by feelings of inferiority, he has a warped view of what his lineage has become, yet desperately grasps onto it as a sense of restoring his identity as a descendant of Godfrey. He’s not the only one who deeply respects and looks up to Godfrey, Radahn being the second. Radahn, who Godrick also confronts, only to be hounded and hiding in fear.

Radahn’s Lion Armor

“The golden lion is said to symbolize Godfrey, the Elden Lord, and his beast regent, Serosh. From his youngest years, Radahn was naturally captivated by the Lord of the Battlefield.”

Shamans and Tarnished

A theory I find interesting is the implication of Godrick possessing the ability of grafting due to his Shaman blood, although unbeknownst to him. The most prominent reasoning why Godrick is able to graft is due to Marika, obviously not Godfrey. Godrick wishes to reiterate the image of patriarchy due to his lineage, meanwhile the only reason he can go on about his art of grafting is because of Queen Marika. Alternatively, the only reason he can graft with more success is due to his Shaman blood.

Minor Erdree

“Marika bathed the village of her home in gold, knowing full well that there was no one to heal.”

Remembrance of the Grafted

“A feeble man sought power through the grotesque act of grafting. One day we'll return together, to our home, bathed in rays of gold.”

It’s not unreasonable to assume there is a link between grafting, since the Hornsent were able to perform similar rituals to the Shamans. The process was often botched, but the bodies were able to merge. Godrick’s process of grafting isn’t perfect either, often leaving the limbs looking freakish and disfigured.

Innard Meat

“This is what becomes of the condemned, who get sliced up and stuffed into jars to become saints instead.”

The flesh of Shamans mended with another, the mending itself was successful, but the end results were extremely grotesque. The Jar Innards survived the grafting, but were forever altered.

Tooth Whip

“As the wounds ripen they grow inflamed and ooze pus. The flesh of shamans was said to meld harmoniously with others.”

Similarities between the Shamans, or the Jar Innards specifically, can be drawn with Grafted Scions. Scions are, too, botched grafting experiments. They are with certainty products of Godricks grafting and perfecting his techniques. The Scions are part of the Golden Lineage, although their divinity is highly diluted, too diluted to be counted as demigods, unlike Godrick. That would mean you’re required to have Shaman blood to be grafted upon, rather than being able to graft onto someone who isn’t of Shaman descent.

Ornamental Straight Sword

“After falling from grace, the dregs of the golden lineage sought power and purpose in the past.”

Roderika, a Tarnished, further explains the arts of grafting in her initial dialogue.

“Only to have their arms taken. Their legs taken. Even their heads...taken. Taken and stuck to the spider. Did you know? If you're grafted by the spider, you become a chrysalid.”

Chrysalid is the result of chrysalis becoming a pupa. The Chrysalid’s Memento depicts a round brooch similar to a pupa, the description implies that the persons who were grafted, are still alive. Like the Jar Innards. Take this as you will though, but the spirits of Tarnished are present among the chrysalid regardless of how you interpret it.

Chrysalid’s Memento

“Memento left by the chrysalids sacrificed for grafting. A brooch wrapped in red velvet. Traces of blood are visible. Faintly visible spirits try to convey something, but their voice cannot be heard.”

We’ve established that Godrick has little regard for Tarnished, and that Godfrey became tarnished. He’s infatuated with the image of Godfrey, his strength and accomplishments. Though, the real foundation for his success is Queen Marika. Take that as you will. 

Summary

Godrick has a lot of themes related to absolutism and social contract, though not in the sense of an absolute government protecting it’s people, rather than selfish gain. He draws similarities to the Biblical representation of Leviathan. He puts a lot of emphasis on Godfrey, although he is likely not aware of Godfrey later becoming Tarnished. The reason of his success of grafting stems from Marika, the matriarch and Goddess. If I got some stuff wrong forgive me I am tired of looking at this document and it bugging out.

I have an analysis exploring Morgott and his symbolism relating to leprosy, if you're interested in reading it: here.

Sources:

https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2023-10-31-temnick-thomas-hobbes-leviathan

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/the-english-civil-wars-history-and-stories/

https://www.biblegateway.com (passages using King James Version)

[grimeowkin]

Wish my brain could be normal for one second….. but no it goes blehhhh :3c and then I explode !

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Small collection of flipaclip doodles because procreate is taking forever to restore </3

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Glad Midsommar mina bekanta

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Making a small content donation for Varré nation. Feel free to go off and read it in safety somewhere 🌹

Summary:

In the photograph, everything was blurred — the operating table, the white light, the patient — but his face and hands were always clear in your memories. He was incredible in his work, but equally dangerous in his ideals.

Modern AU! Varré x reader.

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Finally beat Heolstor which means I have enough free time to draw my main girl ✌️✨

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Summer Carys :)

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Delusions so strong you start drawing the blorbos as robots

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Yeah.

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Morigan dakimakura doodle (=^ェ^=) Varré doesn’t come separately

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Old Varré boob mousepad concept

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Old Varré boob mousepad concept

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I don't do this very often, but my mom's visit and renovating half the apartment bit a Big Huge Hole in my budget. So if you'd like a commission for a lower-than-usual price, here's the link!

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come on in, the water is fine

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Remus and Morgotts silly daughter :-) Some info about her under the cut

She's an Omen, therefore she ages slower than others. She was still a child when Remus' passed. She was left with Morgott to take care of him, occasionally his trusted knights looked after her when he's away.

She's very curious, she loves reading and learning new things about the Lands Between. She's not allowed to leave Leyndell since Morgott fears for her safety. Since she was able to learn to read and write, she studied with knights. Since Remus somewhat shifted the attitude along Morgott's knights she's able to interact with them freely, though not the commoners residing in Leyndell.

Morgott struggles to bond with her and has since her birth, he's a perpetrator of generational trauma and neglect. She doesn't understand, but she still tries to build some sort of relationship with her father. She was given Remus' necklace although Morgott didn't want to give it up.

Her relationship to Morgott is very strained, she often feels neglected and dismissed. Morgott can't cope with the fact she's an Omen, he struggles with grief a lot and feels as if his daughter is a tainted remnant of Remus memory or smth. He sees to many similarities in her horn, her sometimes brash attitude and coloration of her tail. She doesn't hate herself for being an Omen and Morgott hates that.

Remus spoiled her rotten however, she's a bit uppity but very jovial. He taught her how to cook, forage and identify flora and fauna. She's chatty and bubbly, she has no problem striking conversations, though it may lead to trouble. She's a tad impulsive and spontaneous, to her own detriment.

Her attitude and carefreeness aided Remus in coping with his post partum depression. As a kid, she wasn't particularly needy nor cried much, allowing him to bond with her.

She's nameless as of now, but I'm thinking of her initial starting with M to follow Morgott's lineage. Remus wanted to name her Rowa, but he decided against it cause it made him feel bad.