#BEING SPLIT IN TWO HALVES IS NO THEORY WITH ME / * && ( MUSINGS )

[dearestblood]

tag dump !

[angelofthepage]

BATDR Speculation: Who is Bendy?

So the internet is currently freaking out over little Baby Benders (rightfully so, he’s ADORABLE), and we all have a lot of questions about him. Is he as cute and innocent as he seems? Is he going to betray us? Is he the lighter half of an ink demon split into pieces? Does he have a soul? If so, is it someone we know? I have a lot of thoughts on this, and none of them are concrete, but today I want to talk about one of my favorite musings so far: How Joey and Henry might be involved in this. I wanna talk about The Illusion of Living.

https://twitter.com/LaurenSynger/status/1587778374038069249?s=20&t=b-DLbISPVNI584xRm5ALAg

Warning: if you haven’t read the Illusion of Living by Adrienne Kress, HIGHLY recommend it, as there are spoilers ahead. This book is delightful, and it’s not what I expected. When I picked it up, I thought we were getting a narrative about Joey’s life, and we did to an extent. But the real treasure of this book is that it’s a character study of Joey Drew. It gives us so much to think about in terms of who he is as a person. Because he’s Joey, you’d expect him to bend the truth (pun absolutely intended), and there are moments where it feels like some details aren’t entirely true. But there are some scenes that are written in such a way that feel all too earnest, and one of them is the scene in Joey’s apartment: the birth of Bendy.

The way Joey tells it, he’s the one who had the concept for Bendy, then his friend Abby Lambert attempted to draw it, but nothing was looking right. Abby brought Henry on board to help without consulting Joey first. Then they all sat on the floor of Joey’s apartment while Henry sketched out what would become the signature Bendy design (with critiques from Joey along the way). It’s made out to be this magical moment, and it’s believable. What reason would Joey have to lie about this? He may have a lot of feelings about Henry, mostly negative from what we’ve seen in DCTL, but he gave Henry credit here. He didn’t downplay Henry’s importance in all of this, which surprised me, and I like that a lot.

Joey comes off as being so deeply in love with his creation that it doesn’t matter who did what, the fact remains that Bendy is still his in the ways that count the most. He was made with love, dreams, and wonder at his core, Joey’s ideas and writing, Henry’s artistic execution. He belongs to both of them. I get the sense that a lot of people are going to jump into debating whether this little Bendy is somehow made using Henry’s soul or Joey’s. But I’d like to propose this: what if he’s made with both? His creation isn’t credited to a single person, but two, and who better to give Bendy a soul than both of his creators, two halves of a whole?

It gives another layer to why Joey would send Henry into the studio in the first place. Like why Henry? Henry’s just a guy who supposedly worked with Joey as an animator and business partner for one year before vanishing forever, why send him in? Is he a last resort where others failed (maybe Tom was sent in first and couldn’t fix things), or is it because he’s so integral to Bendy’s creation? Surely he has something grand to offer in that regard, by Joey’s logic. Send Henry in, sure, if anyone can stop this twisted version of Bendy, it’s his creator, right? No, this story isn’t one that you can solve by making Henry the protagonist, it’s one that needs both of them. It’s a story that needs Joey to acknowledge a lot of things in order for it to change. That could be why it’s a loop, the story can’t end without Joey playing his part, but he’s too busy blaming everyone else for the trouble he’s caused, not taking responsibility for his actions.

One of the theories I’ve seen that I really love from the first game came from @dreamfisher-nux​ which I’ll link here: https://www.tumblr.com/dreamfisher-nux/184575733862/that-child-at-the-end-might-not-have-been-human?source=share The idea that the child we hear say “tell me another one Uncle Joey” might not be human based on the milk carton texture’s inky handprints gives me a lot to think on. I have to wonder if that child might have been his last attempt to make Bendy. Yes, I know, five fingers is too many, but that’s exactly why I say “attempt,” not success. I mean he has the studio full of his previous employees, souls he’s claimed he owns, and now Henry is in there too. Is it possible this was all a plan to get Henry’s soul to make into his creation? I’ll admit, while I was around for the emergence of the “Henry is a perfect Bendy” theory, I’m not 100% sold on it for canon (though I do love it in fandom works), but an imperfect Bendy, or something close to Allison or Twisted Alice in nature? That I would buy. Henry alone may not be enough to give Joey what he wants. So what if, before the end of his lifetime, Joey gave himself up? Bendy is in part his creation, a part of him, just as Alice is a part of Susie, there is something they give to that character that no one else has. And much like Susie, Joey would do anything for the character he loves. He went to great lengths to try and see it through, sacrificed so much (much of which was never his to sacrifice).

When I first heard Joey’s tape about cheating death itself, I assumed his goal was immortality for the longest time. But TIOL has me thinking that that’s only half the story. You’re never dead if your legacy is still alive, and Bendy is Joey’s legacy. Making Bendy real and innovating beyond what any artist or engineer has done before is at the core of what he wants, to make dreams into reality. And if he’s gone, but Bendy is here and real and perfect? I think, that’s a sacrifice Joey would be willing to make, his dream would be achieved and that’s what matters. Throw on the machine machine one more time, take the child, his child, that was so close and take one more chance, add his piece to the puzzle, his soul to the mix. Become part of your creation. It’s an act of love, “but love requires sacrifice.”

Joey is believed to be dead in 1972, and this is where Arch Gate comes in. They have control of the Bendy brand, they own the rights and assets to it. Nathan was someone that was believed to be Joey’s friend, even though he’s done things a friend wouldn’t do. What does Nathan Arch know of Joey’s marvelous machine, of his dreams? While I don’t know if I buy Nathan as a benevolent character given what he’s said in the books, I do believe he would carry out some of Joey’s final wishes, though maybe not exactly the way Joey would want him to. And handing Bendy over to him, his most precious creation, to be taken care of? Well, that would be an interesting thing, wouldn’t it? You don’t leave your child in the hands of just anyone. It’s as Tom says in TLO, you don’t give up on a miracle.

Or course, take this all with a grain of salt. I think this would be an intriguing story to follow, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I expect it to be canon. Canon or not though, it’s an interesting thought, isn’t it?

[novantinuum]

Could Pink Steven be the one to corrupt?

Hi folks! As a preface to this, I wanna make it clear that I’m just throwing out interesting ideas here. It’s fun to consider multiple options. At this point I don’t know if it’s even within the realm of possibility for us to see Pink Steven again, but I’ve seen a little bit of musing about this over the past few days and I wanted to break the concept down... and suggest a possibility for how and why it could happen.

So! Let’s get to it.

The most likely way I see for Steven’s organic and Gem halves to fall apart is if Steven comes to a moment in SUF where- for whatever reason- he decides he hates himself.

Fusions are an embodiment of the bond between people, of course. Garnet has been very clear to state that it’s the strength of Ruby and Sapphire’s love for each other that keeps her together for so long. 

SUF has already gone on record to show us a blatant example of how fusing because of mutual hatred (for another person) isn’t exactly... sustainable. Aquamarine and Eyeball had a lot of trouble forming Bluebird Azurite again due to this.

Steven: “You guys fused just because you hate me, didn't you? […] If that's the only reason, then it's no wonder you can't keep it together.”

From Garnet’s comments on fusion, it’s not a leap to believe the same would be absolutely true if a fusion began to hate themself, instead.

Hate is a strong emotion, though. And yeah- Steven’s had obvious self-worth issues that have been visible since way back in og. series episode 2, (”You can’t just be useless! I know you can help!”), but to flat out hate himself? Steven? A special sort of permafusion who is literally built on a foundation of self-love? It would take an especially harrowing event to lead him that low, I think.

(Note the pink and white eyes, (symbolic of Gem and organic halves?), and the tear over his chest where his heart is, stuffing pouring out. This Steven doll is beginning to split apart.)

And looking at what SUF has given us so far when it comes to Steven’s new powers, I think the likely candidate for what could lead him down that path is... an incident where he almost accidentally hurts someone he loves. 

I doubt it would be on purpose, mind you. He’s a genuinely kindhearted boy. He intends the best. But with his powers growing wildly out of control right alongside his emotions, I could easily see him perhaps... having a repeat of what happened at the Reef.

This episode introduced the plot thread of Pink Diamond accidentally hurting Volleyball because she was too close to the blast radius when Pink got really upset and yelled. So what if history almost repeats?

What if one of the Gems or something gets caught too close? (I seriously, seriously don’t think it would EVER be Connie, y’all. CN ain’t gonna maim a human, but fantasy violence to Gems is fair game.)

With all the stress and pressures he’s currently carrying- his lack of purpose, the fear he’s being left behind in the past, his tumultuous emotions about his mom, the troubling matter of this new power he can’t control, him feeling like he can’t even talk to the Gems about his problems- this could be the last straw. The final piece that pushes him across the line.

So, suppose Steven does split into two. Gem and organic halves. What might happen from there?

Garnet: “Remember – your body isn’t just a projection of light but also a reflection of your inner soul.”

Perhaps Pink Steven on his own is unable to handle the brunt of Steven’s emotions, and it’s because he’s without his organic half’s emotional restraint that he corrupts. Steven hates himself. He fears he’s going to hurt others, become just like his mom, become a monster. He feels like a monster.

And so his Gem half becomes one. Reflects what fears lie within his inner soul. It’d be exactly like how Cactus Steven mirrored Steven’s emotional state in Prickly Pair. 

I also think Pink Steven being the one to corrupt instead of hybrid Steven would fix a lot of the chinks people have pointed out in this theory. Namely:

It would allow Steven’s POV to be retained throughout the incident. Or, well- half of Steven’s POV. A part of him would still be there as a central character, and able to communicate with the Crystal Gems in the heart of the moment. If hybrid Steven corrupted, that communication would be hard- and they might have to switch to a different POV, which could pose the risk of feeling out of place compared to the rest of the series.

Since Pink Steven is an entirely hard light entity, it would sidestep all of the disturbing body horror implications of a half-organic individual corrupting. This is easily something Crewniverse could depict within the restraints of the show’s rating. We’ve seen full Gems corrupt before. 

Of course, Crewniverse has gone on record to state that Steven’s halves cannot survive for long without each other. But I don’t think that statement rules this out as a possibility. If anything, it would provide more peril... a ticking clock, so to speak.

If Steven can’t begin to sort out the emotional issues that are causing him so much pain, he will continue to suffer. That’s just a given no matter the scenario. His halves have to forgive each other... come to a place of acceptance with each other... understand that it’s okay to be open and ask for help... otherwise, he won’t be able to piece himself back together. What a better way to finally convince Steven to seek help in dealing with his own problems then the fact that if he doesn’t, he may lose himself in the process? He literally can’t deny it then. These halves aren’t supposed to exist on their own, apart, at all. But if they’re ever going to be able to fuse back into one again, they have to work some things out.

Steven: “I’m sorry I mistreated you. I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone- [...] I should've given you more of the love and kindness that you deserve. So...who wants a hug?”

The other reason I quite like this concept is that it would inevitably lead to an emotional end where- after the corruption issue is sorted with Pink Steven, and organic Steven has opened up about what he’s going through to his close loved ones- the two halves will reconcile, forgive themselves, and begin to rekindle that self-love. Fuse together again. Begin the long journey of picking up all those broken pieces, this time with his family and friends’ knowing support. That could be super cathartic. 

So that’s all I really have to say on that. Once more- this is just a theory. I’m playing with ideas for fun, that’s it. But this idea is definitely one I like a lot, and if corrupted Steven theory is completely off in left field and it’s completely wrong, I’d love to explore it more in fic. Thanks for reading, all! Have a nice day! :D

[animexalchemist]

Keyblade Theorising II

So after posting about the Kingdom Key and Riku’s role in giving it to Sora, someone asked me what I made of Kairi’s keyblade. The result? A bloody essay. Read on for more mad theorising!

Note: contains spoilers for KHIII!

So Kairi gets her keyblade in KHII and it happens thusly: she jumps down to save Sora, gets surrounded by heartless, and they immediately bury her. She calls out for Sora to help her as the heartless’ darkness begin to consume her and then there is a bright flash of light. This bright flash of light immediately kills all of the heartless and then Riku is holding out a keyblade for her (and really, this whole thing can be paralleled with how Sora got his keyblade in KHI). Clearly the light that vanquished the darkness is Riku’s. Think about that: Riku’s light despite him taking the form of Ansem, where darkness is currently winning in Riku’s internal dark/light battle.

Riku’s light, eh? Pretty damn strong.

So I have two theories about where her keyblade came from, and I’m not saying one is better than the other. I’m just kinda laying down my thoughts.

1.) This is Aqua’s keyblade

We know in BBS that Kairi accidentally touching Aqua’s keyblade meant that she inherited it. Which… I always thought was complete bullshit and ran counter to everything that had been established about how bequeathing ceremonies worked (Terra actually performed it for Riku, where Kairi just touched Aqua’s blade and that counts??), but supposedly Kairi’s heart was worthy of the blade which is why it’s legit. I don’t think that this keyblade was forged of Kairi’s personal light because none of the other princesses of heart were able to call forth a keyblade, and the manner in which she gained her keyblade suggests that it didn’t come directly from her, but from an external source.

So let’s assume this is Aqua’s keyblade. We know thanks to KHIII that at some point while Aqua was trapped in the RoD, she lost her keyblade. She had it in II.5, which covers the events of KHI, but lost it at some point during KHII. So it could be that Kairi being in danger called forth the keyblade that was ‘bequeathed’ to her by Aqua, and that’s where it came from, thus in effect leaving Aqua keyblade-less. Aqua ‘losing’ her keyblade shouldn’t be a thing, given that keyblades are connected to the wielder, but if Luxu literally lost his ability to keyblade once he passed it on then this would explain why Aqua suddenly lost her ability to keyblade: it passed on to Kairi, leaving Aqua behind.

This once more shows how powerful Riku really is. Aqua is a full on Keyblade Master but once she has lost her keyblade, that’s it. She’s defenceless. She cannot make another. And yet Riku, if my earlier observations hold any weight, has at least two keyblades in the Kingdom Key and Way To Dawn (later Braveheart).

How did Aqua’s keyblade seek Kairi out? Aqua put her own magic in Kairi’s necklace and given the things we have seen in this series so far, it isn’t too much of a stretch to believe the keyblade zoned in on this magic and ended up with Kairi.

But then why was Riku the one holding it? The fact he could hold it at all, when keyblades typically reject anyone but their true wielder, leads to my other idea.

2.) This is yet another keyblade forged from Riku’s light

So, in effect, this is the THIRD keyblade that Riku is sustaining. The bright light happens, Riku’s light, and suddenly he’s holding yet another keyblade that he quite literally hands over to Kairi. When he gave the Kingdom Key to Sora, it was more of his heart choosing to do so. But he just up and hands her this one. And I think it’s likely due to similar reasons as to why he gave one to Sora: Riku wants to keep Kairi safe.

Despite KHIII utterly ruining any relationship these two had, KHI and KHII actually did a decent job of making it seem that Kairi and Riku are friends. Riku in KHI is literally doing everything in his power to get Kairi’s heart back. He even says that he’ll work with Maleficent and embrace the the darkness more if that is what it takes to save Kairi (whether this is truly genuine or only part of the truth, in that he says this as an excuse to get closer to darkness, is up for debate). The last thing he says in KHI? “Take care of her [Kairi]”. And in KHII, when Kairi and Naminé are surrounded by Nobodies and shit looks dire? Riku swoops in to save the day, and subsequently spends a lot of his time protecting Kairi (he literally wraps his arms around her to protect her from Saïax’s berserker mode). So it isn’t wildly out of character for him to try and give her a means to protect herself, as he did for Sora, by giving her a keyblade. The only difference being that, while the Kingdom Key was actually Riku’s keyblade that he’s passed on, this seems to be a keyblade he forged specifically for Kairi.

Extra: I didn’t know this as I initially typed these musings as I haven’t read the manga, but a friend pointed out that in the manga Luxu seems shocked that Kairi had a keyblade and (with a sort of begrudging respect) asks Riku how the hell he managed to make one for her.

Kairi’s Keyblade: What’s In A Name?

So Kairi’s keyblade is called Destiny’s Embrace (in English) or Destiny’s Place (in Japanese). This emphasis on destiny is interesting to me. Sora, essentially a non-wielder who gained the ability to wield thanks to Riku’s heart choosing Sora over himself, was never ‘destined’ to wield the keyblade. Or, at least, not destined to wield the Kingdom Key (destined to wield Kingdom Key D, however… see this link to another theory that I think holds water). Whereas Destiny’s Embrace suggests that Kairi was always destined to become a keyblade wielder, which is… odd, given that her ‘inheriting’ of the keyblade from Aqua was a fluke. But what WASN’T a fluke was Aqua putting a charm on Kairi’s necklace and saying it would take her to someone that would keep her safe. She was destined to be protected, and sure enough, if Riku did make this keyblade for her, then this destiny is fulfilled. Interesting again to note that Riku, not Sora, was the one protecting her in this instance.

Kairi’s Keyblade: The Paopu Keychain

Why is it that Destiny’s Embrace has a paopu keychain? I have a few ideas, some of which are more plausible than others.

1.) Riku wanted to share a paopu with Kairi

Wow, what a rogue idea! Full (and probably obvious) disclosure: I’m a SoRiku shipper and read a lot of the KHI moments of Riku getting jealous and bitchy as him being jealous that Sora didn’t like him, but let me just take my SoRiku goggles off for a hot second and… put my KaiRiku ones on?? It’s not as crazy as it seems.

As mentioned earlier, a huge part of Riku’s motivations in KHI was protecting Kairi and getting her heart back, and he even thanks Kairi for coming to the island and inspiring him to seek a world beyond Destiny Islands. During his race with Sora in KHI, he says that if he wins then he wants to share a paopu with Kairi (again, let’s say that this wasn’t actually Riku just trying to razz Sora and there was a part of him that did genuinely want to share it with her). If Destiny’s Embrace really is a keyblade that Riku forged for Kairi in order to keep her safe, then the paopu keychain is essentially him finally getting to share a paopu with her as per his request in KHI.

Now, of course, paopu fruits don’t necessarily have romantic connotations all the time. It could be that he just wanted to keep the two of them close, like how Kairi gave Sora her way-finder. Regardless of if this is read as romantic or platonic, Kairi’s keychain being a paopu fruit is symbolic of her relationship with Riku— and I would also extend it to Sora as well. If Riku gave both of them keyblades, he’s kind of like some secret guardian watching over those that matter to him and wanting to keep them safe. He is the origin of all of their keyblades, and in this way binds the Destiny Trio together.

‘Ah, but Alchemist!’ I hear you cry. ‘Riku no longer wants to protect the THINGS that matter, as KHIII made it very clear he cares about one person and one person only: Sora.’

Fair point. I think KHIII did Kairi and Riku’s relationship SUPER FUCKING DIRTY, but it’s also true that Riku’s number one priority is and always has been Sora. Giving Kairi a paopu fruit to keep the three of them together does make sense for his character, but when push comes to shove, Riku would probably push Kairi off a cliff if it would save Sora (I mean come on, RIku would throw HIMSELF off a bloody cliff if it would save Sora, and take King Mickey along with him for good measure). So maybe the keychain means something else.

2.) Kairi’s ‘destiny’ is a solitary one

So why does Kairi have a complete paopu fruit all to herself, but the combined halves of Sora’s Nightmare’s End and Riku’s Mirage Split together make a whole paopu fruit?

We know that if two people share a paopu fruit, they will remain part of each other’s lives forever. In effect: their destiny’s become entwined. The Gayblade being formed of two halves to form a whole, and being a keyblade that both Sora and Riku share, is a clear illustration that Sora and Riku’s destiny’s are entwined. By sharing this keyblade with its paopu imagery, they essentially seem to be sharing the same destiny. But Kairi has her own fruit, and it isn’t being shared with anyone. This makes for a rather tragic reading of her character, but one that seems to make sense given the events of KHIII:

If the Gayblade paopu is symbolic of Riku and Sora sharing the same destiny, the paopu of Destiny’s Embrace is symbolic of Kairi’s destiny being a solitary one. Her destiny is one that she will have to face alone, with no one to share it with her.

I’m sure you are all aware of the star-crossed quality that characterises SoKai; Sora even explicitly states this at the end of KHIII when he vents his frustration of always being separated from Kairi just when it looks like they can finally be together. Then there’s the fact that Kairi seems to have been left on her own in some alternate Destiny Islands at the very end of KHIII, so this all points to her destiny being apart from those of her close friends. Her ‘place’ (Destiny’s Place) is separate from them. And this is rather apt, given what her name means: Kairi means ‘ocean’, of course, but it also means ‘separation’.

We can take ‘separation’ in many ways: she tried to separate Sora from Riku in KHI by suggesting they take the raft together, and she seemed to keep them separated again in KHIII with the now infamous paopu scene. But really, the separation is felt most keenly on her end. Sora and Riku were friends long before she washed up on Destiny Islands, and they’re always going off and having adventures without her and leaving her behind. In KHII she very fervently states her desire for the three of them to stay together from now on, and almost immediately after she is separated from them AGAIN. The Destiny Trio is an uneven trio in a lot of ways, and while I could also write about the ways Riku is excluded from it, Kairi is excluded from it just as much if not more so. And that is why a single paopu fruit just to herself is fitting: no one to share it with, a destiny that she will have to face by herself.

3.) Kairi is whole but Sora and Riku are incomplete

And this is the batshit crazy side of this epically long journey through my thoughts, but while I’m here I may as well put it down. What if Kairi, having a whole fruit, is symbolic of her having a full and complete destiny, being a full and complete person? What if the two halves of the Gayblade actually mean that apart, Sora and Riku are ‘incomplete’? Yes this is all cute and romantic in one sense, but what if they are literally incomplete? Admittedly this idea is fuelled purely by Yozora, who seems to be a combination of the two of them. But I don’t really want to get into what the fuck Yozora could possibly be (An ultimate fusion of them both? Their illicit lovechild? Some dude who just really loves cosplaying Riku but made it ‘edgy’?) and so I’ll just end this one right here. I don’t have much stock in this particular reading but eh, thought it worth shoving down anyways while I’m here.

[thegildedgun]

Musings on ShB spoilers V 1.0: Some Theories™ Ahead.

Specifically toward the end. I’ve got some thoughts, and I’m going to tag this post appropriately. There are no images, just some musings about the last leg of the MSQ and the Story Thus Far™.

After doing the final trial with the Siren’s Bounty (Or a fair number of them. There are a few who haven’t caught up just yet) there was a good hour-to-two spent just tossing ideas around in voice chat about the conclusion of 5.0′s MSQ. I spent a lot of time considering the final area in the Tempest, the lore we’re given through interacting with NPCs, and the explanations acquired through runs of the Twining and Akadaemia, not to mention Amaurot proper.

It all came back to a couple of questions about Amaurot itself, however, and its subsequent destruction during The Final Days.

What We Know:

-The First People who later became Ascians were immortal and capable of creation magics simply by focused thought and sufficient aether. Similarly(Indeed, a one-to-one comparison) to summoning magic utilized by beast tribes.

-We already know this to be no coincidence as the Ascians are the ones who taught summoning magic to the beast tribes in the first place.

-The people of Amaurot who created complex new ‘concepts’ and ‘ideas’ had to submit them for acceptance and approval, and then their ‘creation’ would be realized with the assistance of others. 

-Clothes, creatures, and objects were all within the purview of creation magics.

-Creation magic was not a 100% science and required intense focus and concentration to achieve. (As suggested with the Lucid Amaurotine Shade during the MSQ.)

-Having ostentatious clothing in Amaurot was considered ‘peculiar’ and largely discouraged, as one’s ‘inner creativity’ should be celebrated rather than their outer appearance. For this reason, the player is encouraged to go find robes akin to those worn by other Amaurotines.

-Outside of Amaurot, in far-flung reaches of the world spontaneous creation magic was taking place, unguided by conscious thought. Monsters were appearing, believed to be shaped by the innermost fears of the people.

-These were isolated incidents, culminating in the creation of Archaeotania, who was lifted to the Akadaemia Anyder to be contained and studied. Archaeotania would later escape, and cause a containment breach as several of the other creations then set upon the Amaurotines and kill a number of them.

-An Amaurotine within the Akadaemia creates a Guardian Force to contain the breach. This births Quetzalcoatl, but extinguishes the life of the Amaurotine who creates it.

-At some point, Amaurot faces the Final Days, an understood conclusion by the people of the city, who otherwise calmly go about their business while they await the Convocation of thirteen(fourteen) to deliver a solution to the issue.

-During the Final Days, the fabric of reality was somehow ‘pulled apart’ in terms unspecified and the convocation decided the solution was to somehow ‘rewrite’ them. 

-Also during the Final Days, the panic that had gripped the outside world as the First People began spontaneously manifesting their fears explodes, and the entire world faces destruction on a monumental scale.

-The proposed and carried out solution to the looming apocalypse was to give the ‘star’ a ‘will’, which would become Zodiark. Through the sacrifice of 1/2 of the population (Or rather, perhaps, their Aether) Zodiark is brought into being.

-The world After the Final Days is a barren waste, and another half of the remaining population sacrifices themselves to Zodiark to bring life back to the world. The remaining 1/3rd of the population of the original First People plan to nourish the world, then offer up a portion of its vitality for the return of their fellows.

-Dissidents to the idea of Zodiark’s rule came to create ‘Hydaelyn’, whose domain allowed ‘Her’ to split, divide, and halve all traits of anything ‘She’ touched. People, places, and even Zodiark himself.

Side Notes For Reference:

-Much of FFXIV’s story and themes takes from other games, literature, and real-world conflicts. This is perhaps nowhere more evident than in Shadowbringers, with liberal usage of themes from other FF titles in music, boss design, naming conventions, and environments.

-The terms “Amaurot” and “Anyder” are both direct pulls from Thomas Moore’s socio-political satire work “Utopia”. Amaurot was the capitol city of Utopia, while Anyder was the river that ran through the city. Interestingly, “Anyder” means “No Water”, cementing the concept of Utopia as an abject fantasy. (Utopia itself as a word means “Not a Place”.) I’m not going into too much detail about why this is important or what Utopia’s story and commentaries were about but suffice to say it is well worth the read if you want to get a little kick out of Amaurot’s concept.

Overarching Theory:

Much of what I have concluded through the MSQ boils down to this: the First People were a largely stifled lot, and we view them through the lens of Emet-Selch’s nostalgia. They wore identical robes and similar masks, concealed their bodies and faces, and their ideas and contributions had to be submitted and approved in order to be recognized. This, to me, exemplifies a society where one’s freedom of self-expression would be utterly strangled by rules and regulation. However, in Amaurot this incredible sense of control would also serve the purpose of keeping a leash on the greater rules and understanding of reality.

In the Final Days, reality comes apart at the seams. Monsters are created, yes, but more than that, fire rains from the sky and seas boil. These are non-specific fears of destruction, of reckoning without carefully defined parameters. This is the framework for an apocalypse born of the collective consciousness that was the First People. Fear is a mighty thing, especially when it is loosely defined. Imagine all of that creative magic and energy without perfect control and parameter, allowed to manifest incomplete but nevertheless horrifying concepts. The First Beast is a great example of this: too many mouths and teeth, too many legs and nothing but want for destruction, a creature who can call down fire like rain.

But what about the catalyst for all of this? The people of Amaurot didn’t spontaneously all start fearing for their lives, did they? No, no they did not. That particular honor belongs to Archaeotania, and the containment breach in Akadaemia Anyder. We know that Archaeotania was created on one of the colonies away from Amaurot in the preliminary ‘incidents’ of spontaneous creation, and was then transferred to the Akadaemia for containment and study. However, it couldn’t be contained, and that concept in and of itself has hefty implications.

Something, a monster, born of fear cannot be contained. Fear cannot be contained. 

What happens in the Akadaemia fosters growing panic, which then festers among the populace, and the Convocation (Already debating how to go about containing the threat of these ‘beasts’) realizes the situation is way out of control. What can be done? How do we contain this threat of fear that is burning through the people? How do we calm them all down?

They, of course, turn to the one tool at their disposal which started the mess, but also the only tool they really have: Creation Magic. The Guardian Force known as Quetzalcoatl serves as the tinder and spark for the idea of Zodiark: a being that could protect and guide the people. Zodiark, on the other hand, had to be on a massive scale and thus require a massive amount of aether.

Emet-Selch says a very interesting phrase about Zodiark. He mentions that Zodiark tempered them because ‘of course he did’. He also mentioned something about it being ‘futile to resist such power’.

It became startlingly clear to me after the fight with Hades why that phrase bugged me so much.

Zodiark tempering the First People is what saved them in the first place. Him, binding their will to His, and therefore stopping the rampant panic. 

In the sort of manner, you know, that an Abrahamic angel might shout BE NOT AFRAID. But with more ‘oomf’ behind it, if you will.

The ‘rewriting’ of the laws of reality was simply placing those ‘laws’ under Zodiark’s command. He decided what was and was not possible, what was and was not acceptable. 

Why is this so important though?

Because the First People were possessed of incredible power, but in order to ‘control’ it, sacrificed much of their self-expression and indeed, self-identity. When all of the rules of how and what to conceptualize went out the window and the First People lost their control over their thoughts and emotions, chaos ensued, monsters were born.

In a word, the First People were guilty only of ‘thought crime’. And Zodiark was the answer, tempering their minds so that they couldn’t create such unrefined concepts of fear and destruction. And with Zodiark holding hostage so much of the aether sacrificed to make him...no one could create anything.

Not without his say so.

He was the Will of the star, because nothing happened without his approval. 

Questions Yet Answered:

-How did Hydaelyn come into being, and how did Her creators escape Zodiark’s tempering?

-How does the WoL fit into the narrative, with a soul ‘seven times rejoined’? (Eight with Ardbert.) Do they happen to be a dissident? Were they the ‘fourteenth’? How were they ‘nostalgic’ to Emet-Selch, as was suggested in the MSQ?

-All this and more...