I’m glad people enjoy my thoughts on his character, thanks guys! As for Lysandre’s notebook, I couldn’t find the exact text online with a few googles, so I can’t reply to the wording, which means that I can respond perfectly but I’ll give it a go.
I can picture that someone thinking of people as parasitic would actually DRIVE someone to behave as he did.
Here’s how I see it: He sees how human beings require a lot of energy, time, and resources in order to survive. Think of how a child needs to be fed, cared for and clothed by their parents, needing their constant attention. Many parents sacrifice a lot for their children in terms of their own needs and wants emotionally and materially. And this is just one example, the same is true for many relationships. And of course we all need resources too, to grow food, to have shelter, etc.
Looking at it from that perspective, people are parasites. And seeing things this way, Lysandre would be incredibly motivated to NOT be one. Just like any person who wants to distance themselves from something that makes them disgusted or ashamed. With this mindset, he’d work tirelessly to make up for the fact that he was also born a “parasite.” He’d arrogantly believe that most people were too stupid or blind to see it and that at least he was aware of the “truth”.
This makes his goals to try to help others in the past very interesting. In his mind he might imagine it to be his way of evening out his personal scale, to make it so he gives more than he takes. In one of his conversations he says:
Lysandre wants never to be grouped as one who takes. He sees selfishness and scarcity of resources as the great evils that will cause people to ruin the beauty in the world and maybe he’s not wrong! Those are some serious obstacles we have in the process of reaching world peace.
In the end, he doesn’t really succeed at being someone who gives more than he takes. And maybe that’s the hubris that causes his ultimate destruction, to believe he knows best how to solve these problems. We’re all flawed and human, perhaps even parasites? I’m sure we’ve all felt like one once or twice. I can’t say that’s how I really think of my fellow man, but life is all about wrestling with these things. Trying to find a resolution to these problems and behaving in a way that hopefully makes the world a better place day by day.
As for Cyrus? I’d like to make a separate post. It’s been a bit since I played Diamond and Pearl, but I’ll consider doing a little thinking on it.
By the by, if you like hearing me talk about things like this? I’ve been doing an in-depth analysis podcast about Invader Zim with my wife called I Was the Podcast All Along. For now I’m posting the episodes here.
