#lads speculations

[love-and-deepspace-wiki]

Random Details: "Home Alone"?

In Sylus' "Night of Secrecy" memory, the protaganist goes to a late night movie with him. From their conversation about it, we are given the following details:

It's an "old movie"

The movie's protaganist had a lot of fun at home

The movie's protaganist "tricked those bumbling theives"

The plot relates to "leaving people alone at home"

The movie "has a few sequels"

This is purely speculation.

Buuuut, each of those details aligns suspiciously well with the movie "Home Alone" in the following ways:

The movie was released almost 35 years ago on November 16th, 1990 (damn, I feel old af 😭), easily categorizing it as an "old movie"

Kevin (the movie's protaganist)is mistakenly left at home when his family leaves for the airport

Kevin overhears Harry and Marv (two theives) plotting to break into his house, positing it would be an easy feat to outwit one child. Kevin successfully tricks them and defends him home using various booby traps.

To date, the original 1990 film has five sequels

It is a Christmas movie and this memory story is inferred to occur in winter (there's mention of snowfall and unspecified holidays)

[causalityparadoxes]

The Pantheon of Discord | Doctor Who, The Legend of Ruby Sunday

[sysig]

How much of me is me? (Patreon)

[dawnbreakerluna]

I just have this strong inkling that Sylus is gonna be a strongly multi-layered character. Like yes, he is a villain, and probably with good reason. Considering how the current timeline/story is so deeply woven with the myths and other phenomena we may not know of yet, it's likely that Sylus is this anomaly who exists to bring an unexpected sequence of events that hasn't been foretold by any prophecy or past life.

Knowing that Xavier's role has allusions to time and time traveling (the current timeline we play in is the past), he's essentially breaking that prophetic rule, in a way. Going back to the main timeline to try and save the MC, destroying the protocores in Onichynus' possession...

But everything that Xavier's purpose is, maybe Sylus has exceeded that already or intends to, at least. Since he's been watching the MC this whole time, and has seen her with Xavier/Lumiere... the central rivalry will transpire between those two. I can also see a rivalry between Rafayel and Sylus, only because Raf seems to have the deeper connections when it comes to networking and who does what, etc. (And with Zayne who became a cardiac surgeon with the intention of saving MC, it's likely a tense rivalry between him and Sylus would gradually turn into something of neutral ground.)

Anyway, my point of it all is: Sylus will break the pattern. Whatever curse there is that has been placed on MC, his existence seeks to rid of that curse by any means possible. I do truly believe he wants to let the world burn for her, and the protocore experimentation serves a greater purpose of trying to save her...

[lalunanymph]

Speculations for Caleb's myth based on what we Know So Far (Dawnie's Version) (Infold please don't sue me) 

Disclaimer: THIS IS ALL PURE SPECULATION after discussing with the caleb gc and i thought i would share it here, too‼️

CalebMc is not your typical love story because of two things: 

Caleb’s established relationship with her

Infold’s commissioned art depicting CalebMc as the seduction of eve 

ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP

Caleb and Mc were both adopted by Josephine, though it is noted that he does not share the same family name as her and retains his own surname (Xia). However, due to the close nature of their relationship, it is not socially acceptable to simply just show his love to Mc… but what if there’s something deeper? 

SEDUCTION OF EVE

Eve is a biblical figure known to be the first mother of humankind. During her time in the Garden of Eden, she is seduced by the potential knowledge from the serpent. Most interestingly, Infold has commissioned a drawing of Mc and Caleb in this exact scenario which implies: 

Caleb has knowledge Mc wants

The desires within the both of them need a catalyst to grant them that knowledge 

OR

Caleb is being set up as someone to corrupt MC. 

BUT, WHO IS CALEB?

He is shown to be someone kind and charismatic, witty and good at cooking. It is implied he is a charmer and is highly intelligent due to his high-risk job as a fighter pilot in the Deepspace Aviation Academy. 

WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?

After the explosion, Caleb is presumed to be dead. However, with his name already listed in the beta, it is highly probable for us to deduce that he will be returning back to the game. Further proof: In the trailer for the Visions Opposees music video, we see a man falling from the sky after the 4 LIs are shown with MC. There is some speculation that this might be Caleb. 

As he falls between time and space, there are suspicions that because of his Evol or the Spatium Protocore, he is currently in a different plane of existence.

But, where he is or when he will come back is not what we’re here to discuss. We’re here to speculate about his myth. 

THE MYTH OF THE WHITE SNAKE

Snakes are an important figure in Chinese myths, and the biggest one is Bai Suzhen. She is a white snake spirit who became immortal and could take human form and is the main character in the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's four great folktales. She notably met her husband in a past life and risked her life to steal herbs from the monk of the South pole to revive him back from the dead. 

THE COWHERD AND THE WEAVER

Another big Chinese myth. This one centers around forbidden love between a celestial weaver and a cowherd. Long story short, she returned back to the heavens after living a life with him and bearing him two children, but because of her grave error in tarnishing herself with humans, the gods separated them by heaven and earth—forcing a milky way between them. They are only allowed to meet once a year by crossing a bridge of magpies. 

SPECULATIONS FOR CALEB'S MYTH

If we follow Infold’s style according to the other LIs’ myth, MC is always someone who is shunned and ostracized by society in order to set up a connection between her and the LIs. However, taking into account all the myths listed above running in the same vein as Caleb’s general vibe, they have one thing in common: forbiddenness. 

Forbidden love. Forbidden knowledge. 

Mirroring Caleb’s love for MC which is forbidden because they were raised together. 

What I speculate is this:

MC is someone who is of high importance and meets Caleb through a chance encounter. Her life is sheltered and she yearns to learn more—to experience more (kind of like Abysswalker’s MC). But, she is not used for the powers of her Aether core, and is sheltered from that knowledge. Enter Caleb who has an inkling of what she is and what is her potential. He shows her a different world, one where she can’t be used as a pawn in anyone's game and gives her a taste of true power. In turn, she becomes drunk on it and seeks him out more to learn about her true purpose.

Somehow, they fall in love with each other and he admits his feelings. But, what she doesn't know is he has a different form, and only lives among humans to [insert motive because I am not Infold’s writer goddamnit]. However, something happens to her and she gets seriously injured. To save her from the brink of death, Caleb has to steal something from a deity or whatever. He goes to the heavens and steals a herb that can bring her back to life but unbeknownst to him, MC is actually the child of a god/higher up being/etc and this could be alluded to be Josephine. 

Knowing what he has done to her granddaughter, the Queen Mother Cvnt of heaven casts him away and keeps him from MC in the heavens, where she thinks he has abandoned her during her weakest moment. Someone saves her and it's Josephine, who brings her back to life but only poisons her thoughts about Caleb as the subsequent days go by. 

But, seeing how much Caleb loves MC, her heart softens and she allows them to meet once a year, under her watchful eye (EVER WHAT’S UP). 

….. Okay that’s it…. That is the only way I can connect the dots. 

THE END 

[bildads-shoes]

I feel like Crowley has often played the role of 'philosophy teacher' in his dynamic with Aziraphale, and I think this is probably what ultimately led to most of the backlash against Aziraphale immediately post-Season 2, especially from casual viewers.

The Resurrectionists episode is super obvious about it, big Philosophy 101 energy, but it's of course a big running theme in the show, often addressing the classic philosophical/theological question 'if God/Heaven are all-loving and all-powerful, why do they make us suffer?'

In these situations Aziraphale is often needing to learn to break free of his black and white thinking. Of course, we, the viewers, agree that morality is not black and white, so we start trusting Crowley's ability in the teacher role.

And it happens again in the Final Fifteen: we cringe at the stark oversimplification of 'you're the bad guys', we agree that Heaven and Hell are 'toxic' with their rigid rules and roles. Having seen so many examples of this dynamic at this point, this can instinctively feel like a continuation of Crowley's 'morality is not black and white' lessons. Therefore it makes sense to me that the instinct can be to agree that Crowley 'understand[s] a whole lot better' than Aziraphale.

I could go on for days about why I feel Aziraphale's character is so much more nuanced than that, but I want to focus on Crowley here. When you start trusting someone in that 'teacher' role, it's easy to assume they have it all figured out. That's why the whole 'Crowley is an unreliable narrator when it comes to his Fall' confirmation always had me so intrigued.

It seems (to me at least) that Crowley probably made some very complex, grey choices as an angel (choices that were not as bad as Heaven feels, but not as good as Crowley likes to think, to paraphrase NG) and he is yet to accept the reality of those actions. To me, it feels like he's coped with that cognitive dissonance by entirely detaching from that identity at times, almost as though those were the actions and experiences of another person (the angel you knew is not me) whilst returning to the first person in moments of vulnerability (I only ever asked questions). Judging by the hints at Angel!Crowley throughout S2, I think (hope) we'll learn more about the Fall in S3, and thus see him finally need to internally resolve this

I think it'll be very interesting to finally see that dynamic flip, to see Crowley in the role of the student, trying to solidify his moral code and sense of self as we have seen Aziraphale do throughout the show.

I suppose I hope that in potentially having Crowley's own struggles with morality becoming more explicit on screen in Season 3, the broad attitude towards Aziraphale and Crowley will become a bit more balanced again. I think it'll be lovely to see them grow in their understanding and acceptance of themselves and each other, and finally reach a place of joy and freedom as individuals and together. We'll always have our own personal character interpretations, and I think that's wonderful and fascinating to hear about, but at the end of the day we're all rooting for their happy ending, and I can't wait to see them finally get it.

[grabby-smitten]

I just found out that they have been hanging out together and exchanged fashion tips. I can’t believe Zayne is a bad influence on Sylus…

[soli-nepenthe]

On Sylus's 'true' name/some thoughts: *spoilers below*

N.B.: These are just purely speculations of mine fueled by my minor knowledge of linguistics/historical linguistics that I took in university and unfortunately, I am not fluent in Greek either, still at a beginner level. I am just an amateur. If I was a philologist, especially one that specializes in Classic languages, that would be cool, but, alas, I am not.

In terms of the localized English version (I cannot speak for the original source text in Chinese, but I bet there is more nuance as a tonal language; there's more room to play around with meaning) but the way the dialogue was presented made it seem uncertain.

As we can see, her response to hearing his "faint" words is unclear, and it appears that Ancient Philosian is presumably a 'dead' language that is no longer studied/used in the everyday life of the people.

(I wonder what the reasons were that caused that to happen, considering the inscription of the dragon's defeat in the Sanctuary is in Ancient Philosian, thus the language must have been used by the educated elite for a time, but I digress...)

It would be fair to assume that there is a Greek influence in this blend of Eastern/Western or xuanhuan storytelling, with the name of the world phílos deriving from the Greek with the meanings of "beloved, dear", coming from the Greek verb philéō "to love".

Even the name that she gives him, Sylus, has Greek and Roman connections being a diminutive of Silvanus, derived from the Roman god of forests meaning "of the woods", in addition to it's possible connection to the Hebrew name Saul, meaning "prayed for".

As for his true name, I was wondering if it would be fair to say that it would also have a Greek influence, with consonant clusters being common in Greek, especially with the beginning of 'st' in his name.

The ending of his name might also offer some clues, if the '-us' suffix is an alternative form of "-eus" which is derived from the Greek suffix "-εῖος" with the meaning related to location in the sense "of" or "from". But this is used to form adjectives, so someone from the place Elis could also be called "Ἠλεῖος" to show where they hail from.

It could be that his name indicates where he is from/or possible origins, or it might not. The first syllable of his name could hold the key meaning of his name.

If his name had a patronymic suffix, like "-ídēs," in Atreides, sons of Atreus, referring to either Agamemnon or Menelaus, then it could also point to a clue of his origins or identity.

Once again, just to clarify I am not a Classics major, but I really am curious to what the actual Philosian word is for his name, and if the localization team will reveal that in a spelling that more or less resembles the phonology of the language they are using as inspiration, in this case, Greek. It also might be Latin.

I apologize if any of my guesses are completely wrong.

If anyone has stumbled on any clues of their own, please share!

( Note: I know that Greek isn't the only language with consonant clusters, there are others like Czech, Slovene, Polish, Georgian, it even occurs in English...but for the specific cultural influence of Greek for Philos, I supposed Greek would be the logical choice.)

[letsgauxplay]

All I can think about is whether Caleb walks out that plane like Maverick in Top Gun or as…the Terminator. 🫡🦾

[catcze]

heard someone on the streets (twt) say that…. That the double myth banner could be next and I am in SHAMBLES

[love-and-deepspace-wiki]

Speculation: Noah = Jeremiah

Okay, here's part two of my Jeremiah post and my Noah post, as promised. I'm unsure if this theory has already made the rounds or not, so I may be late to the party lol. Either way, I think it's still worth it to map out my reasoning and evidence. Let me know what you think, though!

The Theory:

I've long suspected that Noah and Jeremiah are one and the same. So, if it pleases the jury, I will now offer exhibits A through F into evidence.

The Evidence:

Exhibit A: Alternate Identities

Both Noah and Jeremiah have a canonical connection to creating new identities. Noah stated that he planned to use Xavier's archive file for a new identity (left). And Jeremiah's in-game note says he "has a lot of 'skills' such as creating new identities" (right).

Exhibit B: Earth Food

The Anecdotes and World Underneath stories clearly establish that both characters have an aversion/dislike of "Earth food". In the Anecdotes story "Passing By", when Xavier mentions that he was making food, Noah teases him by criticizing human food and says he "[doesn't] get why [he] likes it" (below).

In the World Underneath story "From the Stars", Xavier is surprised when Jeremiah purchases a cake from Sweetie's Cake Shop and says "I thought you said you couldn't get used to Earth food" (left). Later in the story, it's mentioned that Jeremiah still doesn't understand Earthling's diverse tastes (right).

Exhibit C: Love Interest

In the World Underneath story, it is clearly established that Jeremiah had fallen in love with Bella (so much so that he intended to marry her). Meanwhile, in the Anecdotes story, Xavier mentions the fact that Noah "fell in love with some1 here".

Exhibit D: "normal person" & "ordinary person"

In the Anecdotes story, Noah says that he wanted to use Xavier's archive file for a new identity because he "wants to be an ordinary person in this timeline" (left). And the day that Noah arrives to retrieve the file is when he first referred to Xavier as his "former friend" (right).

In the World Underneath story, Jeremiah mentions that he lost contact with Xavier after assuming the identity of a "normal person" (below).

Exhibit E: Backtrackers & Traceback II

Both Noah and Jeremiah reference a past with the Backtrackers. Jeremiah refers to the Backtrackers and Traceback II multiple times in the World Underneath story (left). And Noah mentions both in his message conversation with Xavier (right).

Exhibit F: Order of Lightseekers

In the World Underneath story, Jeremiah mentions that he was once part of the Order of Lightseekers (left). While Noah doesn't mention the Order of Lightseekers in the Anecdotes story, both of Xavier's Lightseeker outfits (Dawn's Traveler and Polar Odyssey) have a purple ornament that says "Noah II" (right).

[causalityparadoxes]

A morsel for my lovely Rogue!Master truthers

[sysig]

Party (group) party (celebratory)! (Patreon)

[dawnbreakerluna]

call it what you will, but i feel this severe hunch that perhaps there is going to be a divine intervention moment & i feel like something will free zayne from astra's curse (i.e. another god or higher power that is actually a protector of the MC, etc.)

[acquiescest]

irt the lrb what would you say if i said liam & noel spent new years 2023 together in paris

what would you say if i said liam bought the house in france (the one with noel's name carved into the walls) in march 2023 and that month noel talked about wanting to spend several months in paris

which could mean nothing

[dokupine]

Buzz and Ozi headshots (with tentative Pfeeebian spellings of their names)