Zep

In Goethe's Faust, the greater cosmological conflict that underlies the whole story is Mephistopheles' attempts to lead Faust away from the divine path of dynamism and constantly seeking something greater, and towards the path of indolence and sinking into a life of idle luxury. Aside from this pretty perfectly lining up with Faust's sin affinities (striving forward = pride's eternal progress and gluttony's constantly hungering for more, indolence = sloth's refusal to act), it's also... basically just the philosophical conflict between Ayin and Carmen; the manifestation of EGO representing a determination to keep moving forward even as you make mistakes and suffer hardships, versus Distortion representing your willpower being broken and a refusal to face your issues.

as more time passes I'm growing less convinced that Outis is actually going to betray us (well, she still might- she'll do anything she needs to- but I don't think she's actively planning to right now) and I'm starting to see her for what she really is: anxious. Some of the bad shit that happens to the crew in The Odyssey isn't actually Odysseus's fault- it was his crew who released the bag of winds, and it was his crew who ate the cows of Helios when Odysseus TOLD them not to. Outis has never mentally escaped the war OR the Odyssey, she thinks she can't trust anyone but herself, and Dante being her manager back when they were... really bad at their job must've been terrifying. A messy crew is difficult enough, but a leader who can't even handle them? They'll never survive. Her reactions to bloodfiends feel like they're born less out of disgust/hatred and more out of fear. She focuses on how Dante and Faust didn't tell any of them about Don Quixote's true nature, because if they're hiding something that important, what else are they hiding that the knowledge of might be the difference between surviving and not? And then what comes later with her asking Dante if they'd really be willing to extend a hand to someone who's killed so many (she's talking about herself) (she's terrified she won't be forgiven) (she doesn't want to be alone)... ohhh Outis