Talk:Dettlaff van der Eretein/@comment-217.23.3.92-20190327003434

Ok, so, everyone who is defending Detlaff's actions needs to stop, and everyone who is defending Syanna's actions also needs to stop. These are shitty people (or, in Detlaff's case, arguably insane).

Detlaff:

Detlaff is essentially a terrorist. He literally besieged a city and killed dozens or hundreds of people because he was pissed at his ex and/or he planned to commit suicide-by-Regis. This is abominable. I don't give a shit how angry he was; nobody gets to just kill civilians en masse.

Also, he's a goddamn higher vamp. He could've easily abducted Syanna and had her explain herself/killed her during those three days, since she wasn't in Land of a Thousand Fables 100% of that time. Personally, I'm of the opinion that he was determined to make himself dangerous enough that either Regis or the Unseen Elder would have to kill him permanently, although it also seems as though he was determined to wreak havoc and take people out with him as well. In other words, he's mentally unstable, dangerous, and willing to throw away his morals because homicidal/suicidal rage.

Now, I'm not going to say "deserves to die" in this case, because he seemingly wanted to die; thus, he got exactly what he wanted (except in one, rare ending). No, I'm going to say that it doesn't even matter, because he was a danger to society and had to be put down.

This doesn't mean I never pitied him- I do. I'm personally of the opinion that he was mentally ill to begin with, and of course Syanna's bullshit didn't help. But that doesn't mean can I excuse, like, or respect him when he's willing to murder innocents like that. Furthermore, I think it's despicable that he essentially forced his best friend to kill him. In other words, there's a difference between understanding someone's motives and excusing their actions. As a wise TV show once said: "Nice motive. Still murder."

Syanna:

Syanna is another case of understanding someone's motives, but not condoning their actions. Yes, Syanna had every reason to be angry. I would even argue that those knights, being guilty as hell, deserved to die. In fact, I wouldn't have faulted her if she'd hired an ordinary assassin to take them out. If she could afford to pay off the wine cellarer so she could have Sangreal (which was stated in-game to have cost A LOT of money), she could've hired a mentally stable, professional, human assassin to kill those men. In fact, as a bandit leader, she probably knew virtually every assassin in Toussaint, and probably could've gotten a discount.

Yes, that might've meant that their bodies wouldn't have been posed in ironic ways, since a normal assassin probably would've done something intelligent like put a crossbow bolt through their necks while they were using the outhouse. Well, too fucking bad. A simple note left next to the body that listed which knightly virtue they lacked (perhaps a list of all five, with the one they lacked crossed off?) would've sufficed.

In fact, she could've made an even bigger impression if she'd paid a professional mage to curse them in ways that matched their crime! Point is, she KNEW Detlaff was a bit off his nut, since she'd actually lived with him. She had the money and connections to pay someone with no personal connection to the situation to eliminate her targets.

And yet, what does she do? She blackmails and manipulates a mentally unstable demigod who would do literally anything for her, even though she knows damned well that such a thing is dangerous as hell and likely to go awry. And Syanna is not stupid- She knew the risks. No, what she wanted was to terrorize the city, not simply destroy her targets. She knew she was putting innocent people at great risk, and she didn't care, because, like Detlaff, she didn't give a shit who got hurt, as long as her feelings were satisfied.

All this, of course, aside of her cruelty to Detlaff and the fact that she was COMPLETELY unjustified in having her sister killed. Yes, you guys can stop the Anarietta-bashing just right the fuck now. I will admit that Anarietta fucked up in underestimating higher vamps (the "my dogs could do it better" thing), and in being too lenient on her sister when judging her for her crimes. In other words, she loved her sister, if anything, too much, since she was willing to take such risks for her. Both Syanna and the fans who blame Anarietta for this whole mess, need to get a grip.

Seriously, what the shit did anyone expect a preteen to do in order to prevent her sister's banishment? Yes, she let Syanna take the blame for that particular prank. On the other hand, if the governess's journal is anything to go by, it would've meant nothing even if she HAD fessed up. She'd tried before to stop her parents blaming Syanna for everything, and fat lot of good it did. Her parents were gagging to get rid of Syanna, and the rest of Beauclair apparently hated Syanna as well. Do you really think a ten- or twelve-year-old kid could've convinced her parents of anything when they'd already made up their mind, and when Syanna had been involved in a diplomatic incident (the prank)?

Syanna is nothing but bitter that her sister had a better childhood than her, and that she didn't inherit the throne herself. Well, that's not a reason to kill your only sibling and destabilize the political structure of a city-state. The knights were guilty of actual, heinous crimes. If they were tried, I could see Anarietta sentencing them to death (not, to be fair, that Syanna would know that, even if she knew her sister had been looking for her). But Anarietta was guilty of no crime against Syanna but having been her parents' favorite, and having been a goddamn kid.

In other words, I understand Syanna's rage, but like Detlaff, I think she treated the city and its people as disposable, even if the way she did so was different. I approve of Syanna spending her life behind bars, but it would be just as good if she got beheaded, or if Detlaff killed her.

Nice motive. Still murder.