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Old 06-24-2009, 01:02 PM   #1
JCD
 
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Default tHEhERETIC's Inspired Post And Choirs

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But back to the OP's main question: imagine celestials as highly specialized beings. It's both their strength and their weakness: an Ofanite can get you anywhere, anytime, but he must keep moving. A Seraph is a walking lie detector, but he can't lie. In neither case does any other way even occur to the angel's thought processes until he's faced with a bad dilemma.
As a general concept this may seem basic, but to understand that this is so intrinsic to the character that they don't see any other way naturally is sort of an epiphany to me.

Seraphs would almost be like those River People or Dwarves in Terry Pratchett's Diskworld universe, unable to normally wrap their head around WHY someone would even try to lie. It's as obvious to THEM as someone defecating in public. The fact no one else can see that means that they are sometimes as offended by their comrades who try the same thing, frequently unthinkingly.

Cherubim express Devotion. Taking someone as the end all and be all (worse then Teenage Girls in some ways) Every time they attune, it's like converting to a new religion or a new cause. They may very well lack a sense of humor at disrepect, criticism or emotional trauma offered to their wards. Touchy seems to be a

Ofanim: What do you mean 'stop'? Just doesn't compute

Elohim: Spock "Oh, he seems to have anger issues" as he sees the carnage of a mass murderer. Always a cold fish.

Kyriotates are too alien for me to understand at the best of times.

Mercurians: Violent movies would be sickening to them. And soap operas quite unpleasant, as bad relationship followed bad relationship. Not to mention it's obvious falseness.
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Old 06-24-2009, 01:32 PM   #2
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Default Re: tHEhERETIC's Inspired Post And Choirs

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As a general concept this may seem basic, but to understand that this is so intrinsic to the character that they don't see any other way naturally is sort of an epiphany to me.

It is a pretty cool realization, isn't it? The analogy that came to me initially was that lying for a Seraph was as unthinkable as incest for a human. Like you, that put me on a whole new appreciation of the psychology.

In some ways, I think Mercurians could watch soap operas, but in the way that a history buff would watch a World War II film: a mixed amount of curiosity, amusement and (of course) disdain that they could get so much so wrong.
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Old 06-24-2009, 02:39 PM   #3
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Default Re: tHEhERETIC's Inspired Post And Choirs

This wouldn't apply JUST to Choirs, right? How about Hell?
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Old 06-25-2009, 06:10 AM   #4
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Default Re: tHEhERETIC's Inspired Post And Choirs

Belseraphs: The ultimate Post Modernists. Nothing is fixed, even the hours in a day. No wonder they are so paranoid. Reality changes every second and the only option is to force reality into their personal version to feel safe.

Djinn: Because of the nature of their resonance etc, and the fact that they constantly fail and DO care about things, I can't see too much difference between them and cherubs

Calabim: They've gone from moving to watching everything else move and by 'move', I mean rot. Shown a picture, they see layer upon layer of pollution, destroying pigments. A model, a meat sack slowly sagging. And they can make that go faster.

Habbalah: Bug nut insane. Insane does not mean stupid. They don't see people, they see a keyboard. Push A for Anger, Push B for Bathos...And they can guess exactly what button A will do. Life is only passion. Impulsive as any Ofanim.

Shedim: Mine are very far off canon, so it doesn't apply plus the problems understanding Kyriotates follow this one. Though how mulitplicity somehow becomes Hellish Horrorshow is a bit of a disconnect.

Lililm: They are Chinese Monkey Copy Demons made by a human. That's why Princes buy them. They are effective Semantically human, culturally different.

Impudites: Not sure. But they see all humans as cattle.

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Old 06-25-2009, 06:29 AM   #5
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Djinn: Because of the nature of their resonance etc, and the fact that they constantly fail and DO care about things, I can't see too much difference between them and cherubs
No, they're reversed.

The cherubs are always asking how they failed the things they loved.

The djinn are betrayed by the things they devote themselves to.
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Old 06-25-2009, 07:02 AM   #6
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No, they're reversed.

The cherubs are always asking how they failed the things they loved.

The djinn are betrayed by the things they devote themselves to.
Hmm. Never thought of it that way. You may have something.
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Old 06-25-2009, 09:31 AM   #7
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Shedim: Mine are very far off canon, so it doesn't apply plus the problems understanding Kyriotates follow this one. Though how mulitplicity somehow becomes Hellish Horrorshow is a bit of a disconnect.
Well, here's how I see it ...

--Kyriotate, for one reason or another, has to leave host in "worse shape" than it was found. Collects dissonance.

--Kyrio, feeling sick, decides "The reason it was in such bad shape was that I didn't devote enough attention to it. Next time, I'll focus harder on a being so it doesn't get in trouble."

--Cycle repeats, with Kyrio spending less and less time in multiple bodies and more and more time in just one, trying to keep the inevitible from happening. In addition, he may start bailing out at the first sign of trouble rather than grow further dissonant, increasing his detatchment from his hosts.

--By the time he Falls, the Kyrio has pretty much obsessively put all his focus into one being in a time anyway, out of desperation. With his Fall, he comes to "realize" that it's not his fault ... that it's up to the human to protect herself, and that any failure means the human is weak, not the celestial.

They may suffer a similar delusion to the Habbalah -- every time they push a human and it fails, it reinforces humanity's weakness. But every time a human successfully resists, it rocks the Shedite's world; if humans can be that strong, does it mean the harm was the Shedite's fault after all? Were the others weak or simply overwhelmed? And to keep from thinking about it, the Shedite goes on another frenzy ....

Just my two cents. Your mileage may vary.
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Old 06-26-2009, 07:56 AM   #8
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That's a nice read, Rocket, but I still tend not to favor them.

In my game, there are no Kyrios and the Shedim are creatures Lucifer drafted from the Lower Hells, which explains their abomidable tendencies. Quippolithic Shells from the First Creation.
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Old 06-26-2009, 08:24 AM   #9
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LOL my name on a thread!

Kyriotates, I do love them. Don't think of them so much as multiplicity of host. Think rather of multiplicity of perspective. I mean really, why see things from only one angle, when you can see 360 degrees, just by picking your eyes correctly? Why see only ground level through a human when you can also see overhead through a hawk? Why limit yourself?

(Kyriotates are pretty much impossible to sneak up on.)

And only demons use people/animals. We possess, but we have to. The least we can do is not trash our temporary homes. For their valuable perspective we really must give them something in return. It's a bit like tipping at a hotel--you're a lot more welcome if they remember, and it's just plain nice even if they don't.

I find Kyriotates whimsical.

As for Impudites--shudder. Pacifists or not, they're demons. Imagine a sociopath who is really, really good at playing the friend. Hiya buddy, say I'm short five bucks and I'm really hungry. Can you spot me for a hamburger? What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine, as long as I can weasel it out of you. Leech. Freeloader from Hell.
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Old 06-26-2009, 08:54 AM   #10
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Default Re: tHEhERETIC's Inspired Post And Choirs

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In my game, there are no Kyrios and the Shedim are creatures Lucifer drafted from the Lower Hells, which explains their abomidable tendencies. Qlippothic Shells from the First Creation.
Ooh, that's interesting. So I assume "redemption" isn't even an option for these creatures? Is this sourced from real-world Kaballah directly, or are you using Ken Hite's Cabal cosmology? Any other elements?
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