#kqe-1j-23

[masochnik]

guys I have a theory

[melliae]

Refraction Railway Line #1 Abnormalities Part 1 (Analysis)

Madness.

Simply put, there’s no better way to describe the first Refraction Railway ever released, and not without good reason. We can’t really expect a forced “patchwork” made of several possibilities coming from 3 Sinners to make sense, can we? Project Moon surely just threw whatever they thought interesting to the wall to see what stuck.

However…

“Embracing the madness is a necessary step for humans to move forward.” - Lunacy’s Flavour Text.

I stated in my second analysis of RR2, in Sign of Roses’ section, that accepting madness is to admit the limitations of the conscious mind, that things are just so vast and complex that there’s no way for us to fully understand them, let alone predict them. Life’s essence is rooted in uncertainty, and so is humanity. To separate them is to mutilate and destroy both, and to deny the life that madness wishes for is to increase its power over you.

So… who knows? Maybe there’s something there, a thread we can’t fathom, just like how life is. To try to say something with utter confidence and “rationality” is just as irrational as the opposite. The only true difference is your own disposition to admit and be conscious about it.

And thus, honoring its name, let’s try to find meaning in that which is unknowable and uncertain by definition.

“A symbol always presupposes that the chosen expression is the best possible description or formulation of a relatively unknown fact, which is none the less known to exist or is postulated as existing.” - Psychological Types.

Misery Loves Company

“In any case, we now know why dragging on doesn't do us any favor. I felt like I was being dragged deeper into the swamp of gloom as the fight went on.” - Ishmael, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

Glupo is one of the strangest Abnormalities ever, but not because of its meaning, no. Its weirdness solely comes from the effects of its EGOs and EGO gifts, which literally have nothing to do with the actual mechanics of its fight, notwithstanding the actual logic of the former two. A weird little guy, all in all.

Anyway, moving into its meaning… Really, there’s no way to get it wrong: a Trauma Abnormality with skills that are exclusively Gloom-based, and a blue resin defined as Gloom itself that fills the arena and escapes from its body once its eyes are broken. To say that Blubbering Toad represents anything but depression (or any other deep-seated sorrow) is wishing to “not fit in” on purpose.

However, if you pay attention to some details present in its Mirror Dungeon Encounter (not battle) and Observation Logs, it becomes obvious that Glupo isn’t a representation of depression per se, but of a certain perspective over it: the Abnormality doesn’t just want to wallow in its misery, but also to be heard and seen.

“An eyeball belonging to the toad was on its tongue. When we picked it up, it blinked its other eye at us before going on its way. Was that its thanks for lending an ear?” - Abnormality Encounter (“Sit and Wait” option).

This necessity for someone to at least hear it is seen many times, both during its actual fight and its Encounter, with the Sinners and Dante wondering whether they should interrupt Glupo’s crying or let it finish. And considering that it heals back some or many of the deployed IDs to full SP in case you fail the check of the “mimic the cry” option shown below, which is determined only by the average SP of the team, it’s obvious what it truly wants.

“‘Cruh-huh, croohoo.’ The toad makes a different noise as if to answer. It sounds like an affirmative reply. It extracts its long blue tongue, snatching a person from our group. Sometime later, they walked back out of its mouth. They seemed drenched… in moisture, or gloom.”

No matter what Glupo does or to what place it moves, its despair will chase it forever, for the true crux of its problem lies inside—the “gloom resin” that fills its body and that melts its own eyes. It’s completely fruitless to get angry at it and fight off its sadness, and so it’s to comfort it lovingly, because Glupo simply knows such things won’t work. Its essence is that of Gloom manifested after all, an endlessly dark dampness that crushes and taints everything it touches, and one that the Toad doesn’t have any way to free itself from.

Without escape and without rest, Glupo’s only solace as an Abnormality resides in others’ acknowledgment of its pain, that someone will hear its cries one day and maybe—just maybe—will remain by its side in an attempt not to make it better, but as an attentive, non-judgemental ear.

“I wonder what would've happened we just waiting until it's finished crying? No, I'm not saying we should try it. I don't see it being efficient, either. It's just... I remember someone doing the same for me a long time ago, and it helped me back then.” - Ishmael, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

The sadness and emptiness inside one’s heart may never disappear, and all the attempts at soothing it may be fruitless. But the short-lived relief that’s born at the moment your visceral cries are heard—that you and your suffering are finally seen—is so much more precious than any other thing, because it means that someone is willing to share the pain you thought was unbearable, and we all know that the only way no one will have to cry ever again is to share our curses. The Abnormality is no exception, willing to help you to its own detriment once you lend it the companionship it yearns for.

Yet, it’s because of that very same dependence on people that Glupo becomes vulnerable to the thorns that poison relationships too, the bitterness that leads people to resentfully think that someone else is receiving the attention they think they themselves need, and the resulting self-pity and doubt over one’s predicament. It’s very different from the seeming indifference the Toad holds for the Wrath, Lust, and even Pride of the Sinners, which in turn reinforces the empathy it has shown during all its apparitions and that it earnestly hopes will be returned to it.

Depression surely is a terrifying thing, isn’t it? Melancholy, sorrow, agony, despair, emptiness… Being so deep in the abyss of such emotions, wishing more than anything for someone—anyone—to be by your side, isn’t something I want other people to experience. But if there’s no other way, if you have already ventured too far into the dark cave, then it’s important to remember something: humans are not meant to be alone; even in desolate silence, companionship is nothing short of salvation.

A "Leashed" Dog

“This creature was like a living battery. Collecting lightning in its body, it used the power to fuel itself. Alas, its usage of the lightning's energy was not for a self-motivated purpose such as pursuit of strength; the accumulated electric forces appeared to dictate its motion, giving me the impression that it was the will of the sky that it followed.” - Yi Sang, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

Have any of you seen the movie Frankenstein? The one that showed how electricity was the element that animated the Creature? Yes? Perfect, then, because everyone should know such a thing never happened in the original book. The “electricity” was just a cinematic adaptation of the “vital principle” that Dr. Frankenstein discovered, akin to God’s “secret”. However, for Project Moon, there seems to be no difference between the two things as implied by Yi Sang.

But then one must ask what “divine” will or power is represented through said electricity. For that, we have to look at two elements that I’ve already gone over in my previous analyses.

The first one is related to another Abnormality with purple lightning, Dreaming Electric Sheep. There’s not much to comment on here thanks to how obvious the symbolism is, but I want to emphasize something about its environment: the lightning comes from the dark and chaotic sky, from the “liminal world” that the Sheep lives in. This world is our second element, being an adequate symbol for the source of all dreams and vitality: the realm of the dreaming, unconscious God, the source of the “spirit" or psychological spark that enlivens the mind (and body).

Regarding the nature of the unconscious mind… I’ll have to explain it once more since it’ll be important later on. But basically, the unconscious, as theorized by Carl Jung, is divided into two levels: a personal layer, proper to the individual, and a deeper, more collective one that underlies the former. While they do have their own peculiarities and differences, their point in common is that they are the matrix of life, the source of all “psychic” energy and change, as well as their limitations and possibilities. To say that the domain of the divine is the unconscious, while blasphemous, isn’t inaccurate, yet one must take care not to assume they are “asleep” or—even worse—“dead” just because of said unconsciousness.

“As an autonomous psychic factor, Wotan produces effects in the collective life of a people and thereby reveals his own nature. For Wotan has a peculiar biology of his own, quite apart from the nature of man. It is only from time to time that individuals fall under the irresistible influence of this unconscious factor. [...] It seizes everything in its path and overthrows everything that is not firmly rooted. When the wind blows it shakes everything that is insecure, whether without or within.” - Carl Jung, Essay on Wotan.

The wilderness and madness of the “divine” is best seen with the Erlking, who is identified as the Devil by Nelly, and what is the Devil but another name for the stormy unconscious personified by Wotan-Odin? What I meant is that the Erlking—Heathcliff himself—was the tempest that tore apart Wuthering Heights personified, the culmination of the accumulated pain engraved in the very mansion and without which its residents couldn’t survive—the master, the scapegoat, the “source” of all evil. He was the manifestation of the spark and winds that pushed everyone and allowed them to live, despite being no different from corpses only held together by the resentment that flourished deep within them.

At the end, no one should be prideful enough to think of themselves as friends or equals of the “heavens”. At most, we are just toys and slaves of our superiors’ unpredictable wants. Such is the logic behind Alleyway Watchdog, who has given up entirely on its autonomy and dignity as an individual being, breathing and living to the whims of its unconscious master—succumbing to its own smallness. Naturally, I don’t think I have to point out how a watchdog connects to this idea, right?

With that part clear, it’s obvious why the Abnormality has both Envy and Sloth skills, with a body at the complete mercy of that psychological and capricious lightning received by the Telepole. Thus, more curious are its Pride and Lust skills, “Howl” and “Claw” respectively, that point to how succumbing to its own drives and instincts was something the Watchdog did on its own. There is no grandiose sense of duty behind all the mutilations, pain, and discharges, only resignation and loss of all self-control, becoming no more than a devil that lacks any sort of shame even during its most beastly expressions.

Overindulgence and loss of control are also present in Fairy Gentleman and Sign of Roses by that matter. But whereas the Fairy still has a humanoid identity and form, enough to reign over itself momentarily, the human effigy in the other two Abnormalities is beyond disfigured, near the brink of extinction, as it is representative of the collapse of rationality. And while Sign of Roses is a manifestation of a twisted divine love, Watchdog is the epitome of submission towards said “love”, lacking any semblance of self-determination and responsibility for just as God created and commands you, the “torment” acts through and seizes you without asking.

Towards the heavens and God, there’s no answer or question, only blind obedience. You just have to look at Faust and her relation with the Gesellschaft, the temptation offered by Mephistopheles the Devil, who originally presented himself as a black dog in Goethe’s novel. Or Sancho and her nature as a Bloodfiend that demands her to follow the Bloodstream, to the point she wasn’t able to stop herself when commanded to leave La Manchaland (though Rocinante did help with that). And I don’t think I have to go over Heathcliff’s case after my explanation about the Erlking, though I find it noteworthy to mention just how typical his portrayal of emotions as a storm truly is—nothing more classical than a Byronic hero!

And to end the analysis, I want to highlight how the Abnormality’s weakness to Pride and resistance to both Gloom and Envy show that, again, the Abnormality accepted this on its own, without complaint or sadness for its nature as mere marionette for something “higher” and more “primal”; it refuses to stand up and claim its own being, like most would have done. In contrast, the Body’s and Telepole’s particular weaknesses to Sloth reflect once more his inability to refuse the heavens’ whims, while the vulnerability to Wrath of the Person and Head does so with the classical trope of raging against the above, awakening the squashed soul with its own kind of “vital spark”.

At this point, I don’t think a final remark is needed. I’ve already gone over this topic a couple of times before, and the question remains the same: is it truly worth it to completely relinquish oneself to the soul and its inner storm, to be no more than a rabid beast that doesn’t know any better?

Please, Don’t Call It “Dumbass”

“A smile is displayed on the terminal, but in the robot’s gestures, you feel a plea for help.” - Abnormality Encounter.

Okay, I give up with this one. I don’t have the slightest idea of what the Robot means. The only thing I know is that it wants to be anywhere but in its “town”, so please, don’t call him “dumbass” :(

…

Okay, in all seriousness, I have an idea of what KQE stands for, but the lack of EGOs and the vague nature of the “town” makes the Abnormality difficult to analyze. Still, if I had to put my life on the line, then…

“<There must have been an issue with the tour program.> After printing those words, the robot stood still for a while. Just when you started to wonder if it was broken, the terminal flashed. <No response after multiple requests to the Administrator.> <System Error. System Error.> <Rebooting…> After that, it kept throwing up complicated words on a blue screen.” - Abnormality Encounter (“Tell it you took a tour” option).

The City is still using Windows

Abandonment. Complete and utter isolation after being transformed into an unrecognizable monster and used as such.

However, even though the “administrator” and “townsfolk” have completely abandoned it alongside the “town”, KQE continues to fulfill its role and protect the latter all alone. The Heart of the Townsfolk that appears once the Robot’s claw is avoided? Don’t be fooled by the name; the Heart is its own, as they do not only share the same traits and Sin affinities but also have their HP bars connected thanks to the Heart’s passive, which causes KQE to take damage and become staggered once it’s destroyed. All of this means that the Abnormality is the last of the “townsfolk”, the only one who makes sure to keep the forsaken ghost town functioning in spite of its agony and despair.

“The claw was a pretty big bother to get around, but when we cut into that thing somehow, that tin can stopped moving! Haha, that sure gave us a breather. …Well, it might be because the heart belonged to the robot.” - Gregor, Abnormality’s Observation Log #3.

Another interesting detail to note is how the (only) trait KQE and the Heart have, Mechanical Amalgam, is only shared with the MultiCrack Office IDs and enemies. And if we go by Heathcliff’s Uptie story of said Office below, then…

“Grabbing piping-hot items without hesitation. Walking for hours upon hours without ever getting tired. It was those little things, those minor details, that have been making the child feel a sense of alienation ever since he replaced most of his body with prosthetic parts. [...] Days rolling, clicking by like cogs in a machine. The child was merely growing used to that kind of life. The life in the City.”

Mind you, I’m not sure how applicable this loss of emotions is to other MultiCrack Fixers due Sasha’s attitude during MotWE, but it’s still worth considering how reminiscent of KQE’s situation it is. Besides, this kind of abstract meaning is somewhat in line with the rest of Abnormalities that share the “06” classification code: Steam Transport Machine, whose existence is basically the past given physical form; 1.76 MHz, a Trauma Abnormality that stems from PTSD (likely from the Smoker War veterans); and and Nothing There, an Original Abnormality that represents the emptiness that has assaulted the city, one of the many consequences of the “sickness of the mind”. All of this, unironically, tells us a lot about the Abnormality:

Speaking about Nothing There, it’s extremely important to highlight how its code is almost identical to KQE’s. This was likely intentional on Project Moon’s part; they want us to connect the emptiness or alienation that the two of them represent.

Thus, the true nature of KQE, as per the rest of "06" Abnormalities, is abstract, not physical. More specifically, in a very similar way to NT, it likely originated as a “void” or some sort of abstract thing that people filled with flesh and machinery.

Finally, considering it’s a mechanical amalgam in the same way as the MultiCrack Office Fixers (and the “heretics” pursued by N Corp.’s Inquisition), the effects of technology has on the human body and psyche is a fundamental part of its meaning as well.

While Project Moon has been mostly impartial regarding the overall idea of prosthetics and technological implants, it’s obvious they aren’t blind to the debates over them and their possible consequences. The MultiCrack Office is just the most recent case “against”, but prior to them was Canto III (sort of), and even before it was the Brotherhood of Iron in LoR. All of them point both at the real and perceived risks of technological transhumanism, which are the basis of KQE… Or better said, technological transhumanism is the consequence of KQE’s meaning—an amalgam of flesh and technology created to satisfy the emptiness inside to no avail, the result being a clunky, misshapen, and simply useless monstrosity.

Basically, what the Abnormality tells you is that the root of your (psychological) suffering doesn’t lie in the outside, but within your own soul. It’s not about trying to imitate someone else like Nothing There or to modify your body like KQE, because in both cases you are simply running away from your fundamental essence, from the thing that rightfully can be called your own self. You just need to see how miserable KQE is, with all of its skills being either Gloom- or Envy-based, to know that altering your body to soothe your fears isn’t really the path to happiness (especially if those modifications are old as fuck).

Now, to finish things here, let’s go over KQE’s last relevant element: its Sin resistances. The first ones correspond to its two weaknesses, Gloom and Lust, which imply that KQE is weak to… despair and love, as if its entire Encounter in the MDs didn’t show already how deep in pain and agony the Abnormality is. Anyway, moving to the resistances as such, we have both Wrath and Envy, which are quite self-explanatory, aren’t they? KQE has already gone beyond the “despair event horizon”, and none of your resentment, rejection, and anger will ever compare to the hell it dug for itself.

… Okay, maybe KQE does deserve to be called a “dumbass” somewhat.

Post-Commentary

Ahh, finally I can post this. I really wasn't lying with KQE being hard to analyze. I was stuck on it for like 1 or 2 weeks because I had problems trying to just understand what it was about. Really, I'm still not convinced of what I wrote, so if you have any idea, share it! Anything is welcome here xD

Now, regarding the organization of the posts, I was originally planning to publish the analysis of the 5 Abnos together... But Headless Ichthys happened, and I don't doubt MFE is going to be as dense as the Fish. So to avoid making an even worse wall of text, I decided to divide them in 3 and 2. I'll likely use this for any post with 5 Abnos from now on (otherwise, it'll be half and half).

Anyway, moving into some curiosities, something I didn't comment was about the alternating resistances to Gloom and Wrath of Glupo's eyes. It's a reference to Ishmael’s commentary at the beginning of the third Log: the left eye is dedicated to physical damage, therefore making it resistant to “physical attacks” (Wrath) and weak to “mental anguish” (Gloom); the right eye, focused on sanity loss, is the opposite.

Other interesting thing is how there seems to be a parallel between Glupo, the Tearful Thing, and STNOWC, if we go by the quote of Sinclair’s Cavernous Wailing. I’m not sure of the implications, or if it even was on purpose, but it’s worth highlighting.

Other thing I find curious was how Telepole's theme fits with Ishmael. More parallels between her and Heathcliff, I suppose.

Also, it’s funny Telepole always uses Wrath and Envy - resentment against others and oneself - with a third Sin affinity, which changes according to the Sinner: Gloom for Don, to represent how her deep sorrow over what happened with La Manchaland and original Don Quixote (unconsciously) guided her; and so is Lust for Heathcliff, embodying his (multi-)universal love for Catherine. Faust uses Lust too, and much more than Heathcliff by that matter…

And as last thing since it was released long afterward I finished Watchdog's section, but the check affinities of its new Encounter are pretty obvious: Pride and Envy because, seriously, those telepoles look goddamn fine! Oh, and they are kind of wasted in the dog anyway.

So, now with all finished, and ignoring the obvious disclaimer of spelling, grammar, and different interpretations, let's go for the 2nd part!

(Please kill me)

[projectmoon-smash-or-pass]

propaganda:

✅️ "whip"

✅️ "kqe-1j-23 is a qt"

[daily-limbus-feet]

[letranger-soleil]

Every time I get the option to beat up KQE-1J-23 in a mirror dungeon I do it. I don't even do charge or burn runs I just love beating the shit out of it. I've perfected my ass wooping so I can do it in 3 turns. Cuteness Aggression.

[literallys-illiteracy]

EGO-Less Mirror Dungeon Abnormalities:

Well now this is 1 tenth off of my to-do List, theres still over forty left im pretty sure

Resident of metropolaris

Highway devotee

Spider of Marrige

KQE-1j-23

Wandering Mind

Resident of Metropolaris:

The only other major thing to note is the “Polaris” section, with Polaris being the north star, or the stationary star directly towards the North Pole.

Metropolis on its own is a word used to refer to the largest or most important city in an area or country.

--

I will be quite frank, reading through this abnormalities event the first time I couldn’t gain anything from the thematic, mostly thinking “huh that was weird” and moving on.

On hearing the suggestion that this abnormality was based on the novel “Metropolis” which I had read a long time ago and could not remember in detail, I became more intrigued in this abnormality before promptly forgetting about it entirely.

For the record I chose which abnormalities I analyse via a random number generator, with 4 random numbers, and then one of choice — I did not choose this abnormality in particular, mostly as a didn’t want to re read metropolis. Maybe if I do go back to read it one day, I will also return to this abnormality, but both of those are unlikely considering the size of my reading list.

Primarily, the theme of this abnormality relates back to the city itself, relating back to the taboo’s of the nests acting to “protect” those within their care, with the citizen stating “If nobody can touch each other, then nobody can hurt each other”

Though the taboo’s of the nests, and the rules of the city at large, may seem strange and absurd to outsiders, akin to the odd rules of this Metropolaris, following the rules of the city, though risking the seemingly painful repercussions of breaking the taboos, with the citizen itself stating that it hurts, it is far better than living outside the organised structure of the city.

Now onto my conjecture regarding the novel and film Metropolis and its possible relations:

in this story, the metropolis is a technologically advanced city, seemingly perfect, yet fuelled by the slave labour of a hidden lower class — The link to the city itself may be drawn, being fuelled by the unseen suffering of those deemed less valuable, however it is more so that both cities are a criticism of Capitalism as a whole.

The more important link to the novel is in the ending, with the statement that "There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator." potentially relating to the taboo of the citizens not seeing or touching each other, and this, never reaching an understanding, the linking of the lower and upper classes can never be made without the joining of their hands, however if the workers remain out of sight, fall silent, it is as if there was never any suffering in the first place.

Highway Devotee

Potentially related to the abnormality released in the next dungeon set, as both this and “explorer on a bereaved Road” seem to share a thematic, however we will discuss that at a later date.

I personally believe that this abnormality relates back to he concept of being stuck in a position in your life, which is oddly enough the exact thematic that The King In Binds uses — Milepost is a term often used for an achievement, similar to milestone. The name “Milepost of Survival” seems to invoke the concept of someone living their life, reaching a crossroad as they travel, a marking point for how long they have survived.

The Main road will block you in, trap you in a stagnant, singular role for what seems like an eternity, who knows when the next time you will come upon a crossroad like this one, Its Longer Than You Think.

The Alternative, the byway, represents taking a shortcut in life, cheating to gain a position, an action which the gods of… Traffic, will not look kindly on.

Spider of Marriage:

This Abnormality is about toxicity in marriage. That is clear to even those who have no media literacy. The married couple is stitched together, trapped in this nest by the brambles of the celebratory flowers. The couple, being stitched together, is constantly losing blood, needing to suffer in order to hold themselves, and by extension each other, up and moving.

The literary reference is me thinking constantly that this joke is funny: The EGO gift that is given by this abnormality is named “Prejudice” and is a pride affinity EGO gift. Pride and Prejudice is a novel by the author Jane Austen, published in 1813-

A large portion of the novel focuses around the conventions of marriage at the time, being that many marries are not borne out of love, not from the heart, but rather the wallet.

While I do think the reference within the EGO gift to be intentional, I do not believe that the abnormality itself is directly inspired by the theme within the novel.

All together, this abnormality is quite simple, acting as a very direct and obvious message towards the conventions of marriage and the expectation to remain with a partner for life, while also acting as a metaphor for marriage as a while, healthy nor not, with the couple’s reliance on one another in order to survive at all.

KQE-ij-23:

If you are unaware, this abnormalities code is O-06-20-02, in Lobotomy Corporation, the code for the abnormality “Nothing There” is O-06-20.

What does this mean? I dont fucking know???

My best bet at a linkage between these two is the fact that this abnormality seems to be partially a human, or rather, this abnormality is a robot which has been designed as a human? Maybe the other way round?

The opening lines establish that it seems to be leaking blood, rather than oil or antifreeze like a robot would; The [Hello] Option gives the line “in its movements you feel a plea for help”, but this isn’t brought back up at any point in the encounter nor logs again?; The Terminal on its chest, alongside the original two lines being [Hello] and [Goodbye], could be linked to the hole in NT-’s third phase where the lines match while having a hole in its chest?

The final major link to Nothing There is the fact that it says it appears to be “Incomplete”, akin to the way in which Nothing There will never become a human, and is thus always incomplete, simply being a shell undergoing its rote programming and basic observations of humans (wait hold on).

Okay I wrote that last part and had somewhat of an epiphany regarding this theory, the link between the incomplete nature of the machine and the endlessly seeking nature of the Tour Guide, with the Tour guide’s event claiming to have an “administrator”, which has left it incomplete — This is/Was the only Abnormality to have the keyword “Mechanical Amalgam”, linking back to this “Incomplete nature” and reliance on what it has been programmed to do, it is possible that, even if not directly linked to Nothing There, it is almost certainly of the same ilk relating to the theme of being an “Incomplete Human”.

O-04-84 is the Abnormality code of Meat Lantern in Lobotomy Corporation; F-04-21-03 is the Abnormality code of Faelantern in Limbus Company — Limbus Company uses a different abnormality classification system to Lobotomy Corporation. Even Aberrations dont share the same code across games, meaning that my statement about KQE being of the same ilk but not directly related is almost certain, and as we all know, I am never wrong (not legally binding).

Wandering Mind:

So, Starting off with the abnormality’s EGO gifts this time: Phantom Pain is the sensation of feeling pain from a non existent, amputated body part, most commonly Limbs.

Mirror Touch (touch is basically the same word as tactile) Synesthesia is a phenomenon where, upon observing another person, may feel the same or a similar sensation on an area of their body (E.g., Seeing someone touch their cheek and feeling a sensation in your own cheek) — This condition may be acquired following amputation due to sensory loss.

. Finally, the name of the abnormality itself: a “wandering Mind” is often used as a term for when one has thoughts unrelated to, nor produced by, current tasks or stimuli.

Both EGO gifts have names referencing tactile hallucinations, both of which may often be related to amputation, which is fitting due to the lack of arms in the abnormality itself.

This Abnormality is also, in some way shape or form, is linked to Cathy, as the EGO gift “Handheld Mirror” requires the latter EGO gift to create, and as the form of “Every Catherine” is similarly grey and arm-less in appearance.

The opening lines of this encounter are vague, relating to the concept of a wandering mind, settling within this shell of a human.

A mind never occupied in the present, only wandering, wondering what could have been, blindly reaches out to touch anything with its illusory hands.

Attempting to reach out to it, to grab its hand, reveals these hands to be an illusion, to be “Something that should not have been made visible”- a fact that the Abnormality seems to know — Recoiling after this, it turns into a small statue, the Gift “Phantom Pain”, lacking the small orb which hovered in the chest of the abnormality.

I want to note the imagery of a black hole that has been used within this abnormalities artwork, the event horizon centring the torso, the Singularity being placed where the heart would be.

The concept of Phantom pain, in this abnormality, may not specifically relate to the phantom hands, but rather the heart, the hurting from what is no longer there, the hole in the place of the heart acting to draw everything in, to consume, only to realise that it no longer has any means nor motive to do so.

Once again we are able to relate this abnormality to Catherine, or rather to Heathcliff, no longer having a reason to hurt, feeling empty as they have lost their heart.

[sinner-no-5]

Any abnormalities that you prefer over others?

KQE-1J-23 and You Must Be Strong. Both are very predictable over the course of combat; and in the former's case, we can more often than not beat it quickly enough to raise morale.

As such, I prefer them both over a more unpredictable and violent abnormality, such as Brazen Bull or Dream-Devouring Siltcurrent.

[ferronite]

Hiiii! I'm going to sleep in a little while, but. Do the same thing I did before! Tell me the egos of the 3 Limbus creatures, along with what they say, including the corrosion :]

ehehe~ I'll have to limit the number but we'll see how many we can fit!

Going a different order this time~ (Obligatory Cringe Writing Warning):

Susan:

-Lowest Star (Blue-ish Star) - Awakening:

"This paradise... forever out of reach. Perhaps it never existed to begin with."

-Corrosion:

"Why? Why won't you let me-!"

-Illusory Hunt (All-Around Cleaner) - Awakening:

"Am I not special? Am I inferior? Unworthy?"

-Corrosion:

"Maybe... I just wanted to be special."

-Dimension Shredder - Awakening:

"I wonder... did they ever find that place again?"

-Corrosion:

"It can't have been real! It can't!"

-Da Capo (Silent Orchestra) - Awakening:

"The ruins of a dream can give life to a new masterpiece."

-Corrosion:

"Ahahaha~ You just cant cope with the truth!"

Mint:

-Bygone Days - Awakening:

"...No fighting in the halls."

-Corrosion:

"You... why would you...?"

-Heart of the Townsfolk? (kqe-1j-23) - Awakening:

"Admin connection failed... welcome, dear guest."

-Corrosion:

"ERROR... I am... all that remains..."

-Roseate Desire - Awakening:

"Maybe... one day..."

-Corrosion:

"No... I don't... deserve..."

-Sound of a Star (Blue Star) - Awakening:

"I never wanted to be their idol."

-Corrosion:

"Ha. They all still... worship me."

Amaryn:

-Hex Nail - Awakening:

"Eheheh. May the nails scrape through your flesh as they did mine!"

-Corrosion:

"It still hurts... WHY DOES IT STILL HURT?"

-Nixie Digergence? (Steam Transport Machine) - Awakening:

"It is my nature, I suppose."

-Corrosion:

"A machine... can't go against its purpose."

-Yearning - Mircalla - Awakening:

"An eye for an eye, blood for blood. May yours help replace what was stolen from me."

-Corrosion:

"I'm still not- it's not enough. Never enough. I must take more, more-!"

-[CENSORED] (...[CENSORED]) - Awakening:

"Ehehehe! Your fragile mind would shatter if you knew what was about to happen!"

-Corrosion:

"[CENSORED]"

[ezzyfezzy]

So That Nobody Will Cry 📜

Refracted Steam Transport Machine 💨

Blubbering Toad 🐸

Armoured Artillery Trash Crab 🦀

Peccatulum Morositasis 🐟

Pink Shoes 👠

kqe-1j-23 🤖

Skin Prophet 🙏

✨Cute Project Moon themed names for your baby!👶

- Angela 😇

- Carmen 🌹

- Alriune 🌸

- Ishmael ⚓

- Laetitia 🧙‍♀️

- Flesh Idol 🫀

- Nameless Fetus 👶

- Shelter From The 27th of March 🏚️

- [CENSORED] 🫣

- Meat Lantern ✨

[art-blogge]

Currently existing list: Spring Demon Caprise, Dreaming Electric Sheep (12 wires/plugs), Clown smile prototype (man at desk w/clown outfit meme), Big Bird redo (ego) (sinner eye birdlets), kqe-1j-23, Portrait of a Certain Day, Bound King, [the next four will do here]

[melliae]

Master Post (?)

Persona 3

MBTI(?): Philemon & Nyarlathotep

The Universe Arcana

Nyx in Persona 3

Assorted Pharos/Ryoji Thoughts

The Great Seal's Design

The Moon and Buddhism

My first fanfic (Sapphire)

Limbus Company

Hermann's Goal Theory

Faust Network Theory

Canto VII Alchemical Symbolism

Hong Lu, An Analysis-Prediction

Refraction Railway Line #1 Abnormalities (Part 1: Blubbering Toad; Alleyway Watchdog; kqe-1j-23)

Refraction Railway Line #1 Abnormalities (Part 2: Headless Ichthys; My Form Empties)

Refraction Railway Line #2 Abnormalities (Part 1: So That No One Will Cry; Steam Transport Machine; Drifting Fox; Faelantern)

Refraction Railway Line #2 Abnormalities (Part 2: Shock Centipede; Fairy Gentleman; Fairy-Long-Legs; Wayward Passenger; Sign of Roses)

Refraction Railway Line #3 Abnormalities (Part 1: Dream-Devouring Siltcurrent; Drenched Gossypium; Ambling Pearl)

Refraction Railway Line #3 Abnormalities (Part 2: Skin Prophet; Ardor Blossom Moth; Spiral of Contempt)

Refraction Railway Line #4 Abnormalities

Refraction Railway Line#5 Abnormalities (Part 1: Hurting Teddy Bear; Rose Hunter; Sleeping Bag of a Bygone Day)

Elden Ring

About Metyr Being Abandoned

MBTI(?): Miquella