Welp, I Hate a New Character Now

[Trusk'our he/him]

Bit weird for me to post on my emotions more than picking apart the nitty-gritty gears of some obscure magic system, but I figured this is as good a place and time as any.

 

I hate Xisis, to be specific. Holy smokes, I absolutely abhor his arrogance mixed with his level of power and elegance. Truly the worst combo in my opinion.

It's honestly wonderful. I haven't felt this way about a character since Highprince Sadeas. Not even Crow managed to provoke this kind of response from me, and she was written as a pretty hate-able character. Hope he gets Hemalurgically nailed at some point so we can see how that reacts with draconic Spiritwebs.

Also, weirdly, he made me like Hoid more. Hoid is also kind of arrogant and overpowered in his own ways, but. . . he's very human about it, and pretty redeemable in my eyes. He doesn't dismiss a person's ideas or thoughts outright, though he'll give you a few barbs, and though it isn't his primary goal he does help people from time to time, often without demanding recognition or compensation. I legitimately hadn't considered him in this light before, but I'm glad I got something (or, someone) to change my perspective a little.

[Returned he/him]

I don't hate him as you do, but I do agree that he's a really effective antagonist/villain. I like the appearance of an antagonist who isn't Shard-level powerful, aloof, and mysteriously/arbitrarily restrained. He's a big deal who is a big deal because he's effective at what he does and has been for millennia. His arrogance, while unpleasant, might actually be earned by an honest assessment of his abilities. I especially liked the contrast of his opulent, but human-appreciable, décor and luxury against the alien-ness of his mindset and life (his improvised piano piece was a really nice touch).

I hope he doesn't just depart the stories, Amaram-style.

[Trusk'our he/him]

3 hours ago, Returned said:

He's a big deal who is a big deal because he's effective at what he does and has been for millennia. His arrogance, while unpleasant, might actually be earned by an honest assessment of his abilities.

I agree. And honestly, that makes me hate him all the more.

It's a behavior that is the polar opposite of humility and respect and love for those who are weaker than you. The anti-(ideal) Radiant, so to speak.

Being able to and actually overpowering, embarrassing, and destroying any meager mortal as you will is just something that I (love to) detest.

[Nitpicking]

Xisis reminds me a bit of the Lord Ruler.

[Trusk'our he/him]

54 minutes ago, Nitpicking said:

Xisis reminds me a bit of the Lord Ruler.

A little, but more powerful, we get to interact with him more, he's even more innately powerful (didn't even have to absorb a Perpendicularity to get his power), he's still kicking, and he sees every single human being as an inferior entity that is destined to worship him and his kind (hmm, I guess TLR was like that too actually. Huh. Still feels different to me).

[Returned he/him]

I hadn't thought to compare Xisis to the Lord Ruler, but I think @Nitpicking's comparison is pretty apt. Xisis might be a model of what the Lord Ruler wanted to be but couldn't. He was hampered by his weaknesses of character, flaws in his perception and concepts of power, his unsuited-ness for immortality, his disengagement with the world, and Ruin's constant degradation of his mind and will. I like thinking of them on the same axis.

[Schizoposting]

I had the same initial reaction as well. But I would hesitate to call him a villain—while he's extremely arrogant and contemptuous, we don't actually see him do anything particularly immoral, at least compared to others. In the grand scheme of things, he's just some billionaire who happens to be immortal. As far as dragons go, I'd argue that the ones from the Realm of the Elderlings are far more odious than Xisis and his ilk. But perhaps, we just haven't seen enough of them yet. The fact that they used mortals as cannon fodder in their wars against each other, does not paint a good look.

[ThroughTheLivingIlliterate He/Him]

Though his use of six seven was truly profound.