#lcb hermann

[damagesuppressor]

Bored

[ayangdon]

Do you guys like old women yuri here, WELL YOU BETTER DO.

Ahab x Hermann is a funny & crazy pairing seriously, I just finished canto v... But guys... I don't think I'm joking anymore, they plagued my brain enough to get me to draw them. Not only once but TWICE.

Fucking kitty

[lulivalu]

new year, new hag

[offshore-brinicle]

Traitor Gregor is something I’ve had flagged for a bit now too. The thought that Hermann’s “that arm isnt all there is to it” line means theres a tracking device in his arm or elsewhere is super interesting, I always thought it meant he could mutate into even more of a bug, and that he would ‘betray’ the Sinners by Hermann forcing him to mutate and attack them (it could be both, who knows!). It would work really well with his theme of never being free of Hermann’s grasp if she could just randomly take control of him again.

Also finally answering these I wasn't really Sure what to make of it since I don't have much to add, the mention of Hermann's "gift" is definitely a very...terrifying thing that will definitely come into play later huh. There's actually a letter from Franz Kafka about his father and how it feels his fathe envelops the world and he can't ever escape so...knowing Hermann is based on Kafka's father, it makes sense if this would end up being literal...

The Sign of Roses connection is a Very good one too, I remember my friend also connected the EGO back to Carmen but right now I don't have the energy to really relay much of our conversation...how she wants everyone to give in and expose their own sins....

[zen17hdee]

I drew Hermann cus I'm gay for her (gn)

The German says "My cute little vermin"

[mulberriesandtea]

can we call ahab x hermann 'whale louse' after the shrimp. please.

[mossy-green-aka-ferrythem]

Interesting as hell that Gregor refers to Hermann as "Mother".

EDIT: GREGOR IS HERMANN'S BIOLOGICAL CHILD???????????????????????????????????????

I DO NOT FUCKING REMEMBER METAMORPHOSIS GOING LIKE THIS

HIS MOM WAS NAMELESS DESPITE A FEW MENTIONS, AND HER NAME SURE AS HELL WASN'T "HERMANN".

WHERE IS THIS GOING? THE STORY IS GOING TO CLIMAX IN SOME BATSHIT DERANGED WAY WITH GREGOR, ISN'T IT?

[strangezuicide]

Mother knows best

Gregor as Rapunzel + Hermann as Mother Gothel

[rugwurm]

I was saving up to send her to the conservatory

[art-is-kayos]

Dantlings

Bonus charon:

[unowers]

if you told me i would ship ahab from moby dick and hermann from the metamorphosis last year i wouldve thought you were insane

also obligatory:

[meursaulter]

noooo don't use me like i used my crew you're so sexy aha

[cowabinah]

[balis77]

I love how when the Sinners are asking Nelly why she betrayed them/Heathcliff and Cathy, she responds with "Imagine finding out your entire life is cosmically destined to be spent being the third party to those two's relationship drama" and literally everyone, including Heathcliff, just go "ok yeah, that's fair."

[offshore-brinicle]

[Cracks knuckles]

More simple observations then anything, admittedly.

First things first, Dante uses golden bough resonance seemingly on command, seeing a possibility and thus wishing it into reality, which isn't exactly how we've seen it beforehand - namely in how it manifests the fathoms of one's ego into reality. The image of the symbol we've come to associate with collecting a bough is red and yellow with added chains, as opposed to its usual pure gold - the implication of which is that the specific construction of their head allows them to fine tune this output of reality warping in some way or another.

Given what Faust says of the laws of causality and such, I believe that they were fine tuned to be able to exclusively manifest concepts regarding time, possibly making it more powerful in exchange for limitations on what they can do. This personally reminds me of the people in IV, who were 'revived' by the fathoms but only in body [that is, if I'm remembering correctly] whilst Dante brings back everything of the sinners.

Then this brings us to the actual abilities [currently, ability] themselves and the menu around it. Firstly, the button one clicks to active them is labeled 'Durante' which: is believed to be the baptised name of Alighieri, means 'during' in Italian, comes from the Latin word for 'endure' and was the name on Dante's coat on an early art piece of them on the bus. The idea of 'enduring for a period of time' both fits with the Canto and how Heath endured through his childhood for only the period of time he thought he could be with Cathy, and how Dante endures through the pain of death only for limited amounts of time. Though I do not know of how to tie in Alighieri's name with the game, alas.

Anyways, onto the actual mechanic, once we open it's menu, we are greeted by an unfinished but upright tree of life from the kabbalah, with 'Hokma' at current being the only one unlocked. The chain motif appears again, representing Dante's control over it - or some kind of contract or agreement being made with it, as with the chains binding the sinners. There is also additional text on there but I simply cannot read it, a shame.

The symbol used is the one for Hokma's floor in LoR, with the only other place it has been seen in Limbus being Gregor's base E.G.O, alongside the symbols for Malkuth, Gebura, Chesed and Binah. We also see it when the ability is first awakened, with overlayed hands settling in the 9'oclock position, the same one Dante started the game off with, and white chains are seen again as the symbol of connection/control. This of course yet another thing tying the boughs to Lobcorp and its consequences, this time with specific reference to a very important character. We do skip over Keter for the time being, which I don't know enough to comment about.

We also see 'Pigritia' or 'sloth' under Hokma's symbol, but given as there are more parts of the Kabbalah then sins in game, we may end up bringing in some other sins like 'vainglory' from past ideas around christanity. Plus, this implies a connection between Gregor and sloth, which is proven true in how it the affinity of his base E.G.O. The sins the other badges rep. may also be ones connecting more personally with Gregor as well, but we'll see in due time.

Now. Golden bough synchronisation isn't something I believe we've seen before, but it is in the corner of the home screen whilst Dante commits season name. This could be Dante's bough synchronising with one of the ones on the rooftop in order to perform that feat, or something else I am too tired to think of right now.

The ask is. Really long but! I do think the fact they are called 'sapling of light' abilities is really interesting, it implies a more grown version of the seeds of light sowed within the people of the City - I believe its either grown as a result of interacting/resonating with the boughs, or due to Dante's experiences and developments through their journey. This also presents a non-zero chance that Dante is an attempt to recreate the seed of light project, something I'm sure at least a few of Limbus' workers [coughcoughFAUSTcough] know of in some capacity.

I believe that's it for that for now, though.

HONESTLY REALLY FANTASTIC ANALYSIS, I also caught up on the thing about Dante's name and the label on their coat since my mother language is Spanish and "durante" means "during" in it, so it naturally led me to understanding it easier.

God the appearance of Hokma's symbol was such a jumpscare it left me agape, but also the fact that it's the symbol used for Hokma ever since the Library came to be as well as the Sephirah in the floor, and also the fact that Hermann is interested in The Well which seems to be the "river" under Wuthering Heights being some kind of unique area that connects to it hence the ghosts and apparitions from other worlds. It makes me wonder even more about the state of the Library and Angela's ultimate goal in the true ending is finding a way to dismantle The Head, since now it means Dante is not just connected to Carmen but The Library.

I wouldn't be surprised if Limbus and N Corp are in some kind of race to recreate the Seed of Light but with their own purposes, mainly Limbus taking in count what you just said and the fact that the path layed out for the Sinners to reach their own "awakenings" is awfully similar to how the Sephirah were used in the original Seed of Light, though not as calculated and controlled as Ayin's plan and prone to failure since we technically only had 4 out of 6 attempted boughs collected with Heathcliff's burnt one and only 2 of the 6 missions resulted in an EGO realization/self-actualization in Yi Sang and Ishmael. Sinclair made some progress at least while Gregor and Rodion stayed the same but Heathcliff....feels like he got worse, really. Bodysack stayed the same and the one time it's "awakened" it's used in the Canto it's as an act of self-hatred and once everything is over it stays the same symbol of death, just now with a new obsession driving him forward in bringing back Catherine somehow which is definitely not going to turn out well in the future.

Somehow I didn't catch up on the 'Pigritia' part, it's interesting that it uses a different term from the actual Sloth Peccatula, since Acediae would be more accurately translated as "apathy", but the fact that it all connects to Gregor again and he acknowledges Hermann again and stops calling her "mother" is also an intruguing development. Hell, it's actually most likely that the Bough Hermann gave to Nelly and Catherine is the very same one they took from Gregor in Canto I.

As always thanks for your asks I love reading people's observations and analysis.

[akimame-log]