#lore discussion

[gaygreenultimatecatboy69]

With the end of 2.5, I realized just how much the Yaoqing trio needed each other.

Jiaoqiu needs people who he can feel like he can help, who he can feel like he makes a difference for. Without them, he loses all motivation for life.

Feixiao needs people who she can be herself with. People who she can feel accepted and welcomed by. Without them, she has a hard time fully accepting her history.

Moze needs people who know his past and accept him for it. People who see his past, accept it, and help him through it. Without them, he sinks into the past and lets it overtake him.

This was just a little thought I had, tell me if I accidentally mischaracterized any of them (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠)

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hi! I’ve been reading your blog on and off for a hot second and I’ve seen you talk about similar things and if you’ve covered this concept before feel free to ignore!

I’ve always kinda wished that the ladynoir fist bump was the ‘miraculous ladybug cleanup power’ bc a) that would give a reason for both ladybug AND black cat to be out, and b) it would give credence to “you need both in order to become a god and change the world” bc it’d be like. They /touch/ and they eradicate any disaster in seconds if you wielded them both at the same who knows what you could do! Also half the time the miraculous cure is just destroying the things the akuma made and that fits more with destruction. All alone it feels more like ladybug is the god power, just kinda limited? Like she’d just need a power boost instead of a second power set.

Well that is a freaking adorable idea.

I've always thought that the cleanup should be a combo power because it destroys and creates, but I never thought about how it should be cast. Making it the fist bump is a total chef's kiss moment. I love it! Gold star for you! Can I use that? Because I really want to use that now...

[missycolorful]

I know there's often complaints about the c!Syndicate and how they didn't really do a whole lot, that their existence almost felt pointless because they didn't do anything. Not even regarding how Techno's condition and then his passing severely affected this storyline, I think these complaints sorta misses the point of what the Syndicate became and why people like this group so much.

Like, yes c!Techno initially created it in the aftermath of Doomsday, a way to ensure no governments were being formed or used to hurt or corrupt others. He gathered others who shared the same beliefs. They had even gone to Snowchester to ensure that nothing suspicious was going on. And before his passing, cc!Technoblade had wanted to work on that plot involving Cyberknife, to give the Syndicate story a bit more meat. Which would've been great, yes.

But then you look, and you have all these moments of them just... they're just bonding; if not as a group, at least in sections: the streams of Technoblade and Phil connecting with Ranboo, Techno and Ranboo becoming mentor and mentee, Technoblade's birthday party. And then you hear how the Syndicate really mattered to these characters: how Niki was beginning to heal around those who made her voice feel heard, Ghostboo saying that Phil and Techno did care for and love Ranboo, Technoblade outright stating he had friends now thanks to the Syndicate.

And then there's the last Syndicate stream, which I think also sums this up well. There's no Syndicate meeting, no talks of taking down any governments. It was Philza and Niki making a cake. It was Philza panicking over hearing voices, and Niki being a physical presence for him when he seemed to be lacking one at the time. It was Kristin finding the members of the Syndicate and taking them someplace safe. The Syndicate made it to the End, alive and not necessarily okay now, but someday.

And it's just... yes, I would've loved to see more concrete stories of the Syndicate combating corrupted governments and tyrants. But just because they didn't serve their initial purpose as much as we anticipated, does not mean that this group coming together was pointless. If anything their story is a solid example of fighting against a constant narrative in the server; the cycle of power and revenge.

Cause I think about Las Nevadas. People who banded together who, for the most part, did not make deep connections or find comradery. Or even if they did, things fell apart (only Foolish really stayed with Quackity by the end of the Las Nevadas lore). All because Quackity lost himself in his quest for, well, power and revenge. Las Nevadas could've been more than Quackity's need for control and power, but it was never able to reach that point.

Then you look at the Syndicate. Where from the start of the Syndicate's creation, Techno made sure everyone in the Syndicate was equal, that no one was in control of another. Where they never sought violence, wanting to only resort to drastic actions if they believed a location was a threat to others. Where they celebrated Technoblade's birthday and took pictures and had cake and were just friends. I just think there's something a bit profound, intentional or otherwise, in how the Syndicate may have tragically been underutilized, but the group wasn't just an anarchist group. It was a group of people hurt by a nation coming together and not actively seeking any goal toward gaining power or control over others. Yes, they wanted to fight against power. But they also wanted to just... be.

Just something I think about when of the few who managed to survive the Dream SMP, the ones who managed to escape with their lives were the ones who formed this anarchist group, a group that people say didn't do much, and... yeah, they're right, but isn't that a good thing?

[dovorionbird]

The Void

My bro got time to flirt but got no time to comfort his children

[house-of-mirrors]

Was thinking about the Firmament prologue with @awordbroken and went down a Wikipedia rabbit hole, starting with the War of the Roses, down to the Burgundian state, down to the city of Ghent, looked at duchesses from around the time of the War of the Roses, and landed on these two that possibly remind me of the Last Duchess' outfit (especially Mary). I'm not sure that everything lines up but I thought it was interesting nonetheless and we shall see

Regardless of all this. The War of the Roses was in the latter half of the 1400s and the fourth city fell in the 1100s right? So wonder if the G- city was meant to be the fifth city and the Masters mucked it up beyond repair

[epicthecandydragon]

Nobody ever talks about how Bettel has claws. Or the fact that he’s most likely corrupted and that’s why his fingertips look frostbitten.

Also this means that every member of Vanguard deals with corruption in some form. And that they all undermine the core mission of Guild TEMPUS by existing.

[anotherdragonbird]

Why I think the common perception of “Kiryu keeps running away” is incorrect

In this thread (or essay I guess) I will go through most of the games one by one to talk about the examples I've seen brought up for Kiryu's tendency to ‘run away’. 

My thesis boils down to: there's two different kinds of “running”. One is Kiryu thinking he's taking responsibility for something he's blaming himself for. The other is him taking responsibility for Haruka and his own happiness and basically an act of emancipation from Kazama.

Yakuza 0

So far I have not actually seen people bring up examples for Y0 actually. But Kiryu is a very different character here. At this point - at least at the beginning - he's still believing in the Yakuza. He doesn't feel like he has something to repent for yet. This changes through the game, especially with Tachibana’s death. If I'm missing anything here, let me know and I will add it to the list.

Yakuza (Kiwami)

Heads up that I only played Kiwami and not the original Yakuza, but since the story and the main plot points are the same, this shouldn’t really matter.

Kiryu taking the fall for Nishiki 

Personally I don't see this as running away at all, but I've seen Kiryu blamed for the consequences (especially Nishiki’s downfall and even his death and Daigo joining the Tojo Clan because he's so shocked by Kiryu supposedly killing his father) and it being called ‘running away’, so here we go, especially because it’s the first time we see Kiryu “running”. 

This is a very good example of Kiryu taking the blame/taking responsibility, because he basically thinks he's responsible - here for Nishiki (who's his kyodai and can't leave his sister behind) and Yumi (blaming himself, because he should have been there to prevent all of this from happening and probably even thinking this happened because of Yumi's connection to him). 

And in a way this is also a way out for him. For me the beginning of the game (I played it after 0) feels extremely depressing. Because Kiryu feels completely disenchanted with the Yakuza. To me it felt like at this point he was living this life because of other people and their expectations. He's climbing the ranks because he feels like he owes that to Kazama and he can't leave Nishiki. He gives Yumi the ring because that's what Reina and Yumi seem to expect him to do. Taking the blame for Nishiki is him taking action for himself, therefore an act of freedom (it's even the opposite of what especially Kazama would want him to do) and the very first example of Kiryu's self sacrificial nature when it comes to taking responsibility for others and the clan, thinking it's the only solution. It’s a pattern we see with Kiryu again and again: he’s taking the blame, thinking the only and best way out is to sacrifice himself. It’s not always what’s actually best for him, the situation or the people around him, but it’s the opposite of running, it’s facing the responsibility he thinks he has head on.

Kiryu resigning as chairman, giving it to Terada instead 

And here we go with a great example of “running” as a form of emancipation. It's one of the few times where Kiryu is actually selfish and not taking responsibility for the Tojo, but something more important and more personal instead. And I honestly think it's the best choice he ever made. Because while he's not taking responsibility for the Tojo, he's got something more important now: Haruka. He's responsible for a child and he obviously does not want this child to grow up the way he did. He knows he can't be a good father if he’s chairman. 

So why is it also a little bit selfish: it's literally his only way out of the Yakuza without consequences. It's not an organization you can simply *leave*. The people who held him in the Yakuza and in Kamurocho (Yumi, Reina, Nishiki, Kazama) are gone. And the only thing that's worth staying alive for is Haruka who needs him and she needs him *out of the Yakuza*. And it's his only way to be free from the Yakuza without making the Clan an enemy by being exiled or banished. Because he's the boss. You can argue about Kiryu's choice (Terada), but who else was he to choose? Majima to him was an extremely powerful man, but Kiryu has no reason to believe at this point that he would be reliable enough to lead the Clan. We see him as someone who abuses his underlings (including Kiryu, it's literally their first scene together), kidnapped Haruka and has an obsession with violence and chaos. The fact that this is a mask does not change it, because Kiryu has no reason to assume it is and even if he can't expect Majima to not use the mask as chairman. And he has no reason to trust Majima at this point. As far as Kiryu knows Majima’s loyalties lie with Shimano and/or himself. The other option could be Kashiwagi, but it's pretty safe to assume he wasn't interested. And to a degree Kiryu has some reasons to distance himself from Kashiwagi at this point considering he was just as involved with failing Nishiki and probably knew that Kazama killed their parents. It's nothing Kiryu would say out loud I think but subconsciously it's there. (And no, I don't think he magically owed it to Daigo to stay, but I already made a thread about Daigo's and Kiryu's relationship). And there’s also the very simple reason that Kiryu has no leadership experience, has been out of the Clan for 10 years and has to deal with a ton of survivor’s guilt, while he just learned that his father figure killed his parents. So that’s honestly not running at all. 

Yakuza (Kiwami) 2

Heads up again, I only played Kiwami 2 and not the original.

The only thing I can personally think of and I’ve seen brought up, is Kiryu being willing to die on the roof. And wonky writing aside, I think him being willing to die up there is a culmination of his survivor’s guilt mixed with the guilt he feels towards Kaoru, feeling responsible for her family’s death (even though he was a child himself) and also blaming himself for leaving the clan to Terada. It’s his first big “atonement by complete self sacrifice”. He’s not running, he thinks he’s solving the problem by taking himself out of the equation.

(Side note: it’s one of my least favorite scenes of the series because it feels extremely OOC. I think the writers/devs were going for some Hollywood action movie ending with Kiryu and Kaoru making out on the roof, etc, but do you really want me to believe he wouldn’t try to make Kaoru leave and get to safety and be totally fine with Haruka watching him die? Like, for real. It’s ridiculous).

If you squint, you could possibly count him not becoming chairman again, but my point from above still stands. That’s not running. It’s emancipation.

Yakuza 3

I think Kiryu leaving for Okinawa is one of the three times I see brought up the most as examples (the first being him running away from being chairman). And just like the first time I think it can count as running away, BUT just like the first time he actually does it for his own happiness and wellbeing and Haruka. It's him taking responsibility for his family. He's “running” from the Tojo and Kamurocho, but again: he doesn't owe it to anyone to lead a life of crime being unhappy, when he can have a happy life while his daughter has an actual happy life and childhood. Furthermore he assures that Daigo has people around him who have actual leadership experience (Majima, Kashiwagi, Yayoi), he has no reason to stay and sacrifice his and Haruka's happiness, especially considering Kiryu has no leadership experience and staying could also be seen as him challenging Daigo's power. So it’s not running, it’s once again emancipation.

Yakuza 5

The third big example I keep seeing brought up is Kiryu leaving the orphanage and start a new depressed life in Nagasugai. This, in my opinion, is another great example of him leaving = thinking he's taking responsibility and doing what's best for the people he loves, in this case Haruka and the other Morning Glory kids. And it's not that he's doing it because he wants to, but because Mirei Park successfully made him believe that the kids are better off without him, playing into a fear he very clearly already had before and that sticks with him for the rest of the games. I'm not saying Kiryu is doing the right thing here. In my opinion what he should have done was telling Park to fuck off and stay away from Haruka, but it is very Kiryu. Right until IW he feels like he has to repent for all the Tojo Clan ever did even though he hasn't been a part of it for a long time and they fucked up his life and keep dragging him back in. I think it's very smart of Park to get him out of the picture and completely isolating Haruka, so she can swoop in and manipulate her in this very fucked up Idol industry, making her think this was Haruka's dream. (Do you ever realize that if Kiryu told Park to fuck off a lot of sad stuff wouldn't have happened? Well). (Side note: I don't hate Park, she's a great and compelling character. But she's just like Arakawa: an abusive, manipulative parent grooming a kid for their own selfish reasons).

So: Kiryu's not running away. He's thinking he's doing the right thing by once again taking responsibility, taking all the blame and being self sacrificial. It's the wrong choice. But it doesn't mean he's running away.

Yakuza 6

Kiryu leaving for prison

in my opinion, another great case of him making a decision to take responsibility and atone for his Yakuza life, born basically out of what Park told him in Y5, that his past will ruin the kids’ future. I think none of the kids would agree, especially not Haruka and I'm not thinking it's the right decision, but it's very easy to see where he's coming from. And when Haruka leaves for Hiroshima (and then leaves Hiroshima when she learns she's pregnant) she's doing something very similar. I often saw “she's running away like she learned to run away from Kiryu”. No. She takes responsibility for others and her kid's safety the way she learned from Kiryu. Was it the right decision? Maybe not, but she is still very young and I will honestly fight for her right to make decisions that aren't perfect. And you can see where she's coming from, when she leaves Morning Glory. It's so much like Kiryu leaving in Y5 because he was convinced his past will ruin the kids' lives. It’s once again the opposite of running.

Kiryu faking his death

The top example of him taking responsibility and trying to repent for his life by condemning himself to loneliness, giving up everything he loves because he's convinced that's the only way to keep the kids safe, because they will never be safe as long as he's around. Mixed with his tendency to be self sacrificial and thinking he doesn't deserve to have happiness because of the people who died while he stayed alive, while he keeps endangering his loved ones. (I'm not touching the weird letter to Daigo here, because I already did that in a different thread).

Gaiden

I saw him not staying with the Jimas near the end brought up as an example of him running away, which in my opinion is just not working. He was basically forced out of hiding to help with the dissolution. That was a deal with the Daidoji. Why would he stay and endanger the orphanage when he just earlier saw that acting up could endanger the kids? I do think he cares about Majima and Daigo (and has respect for Saejima), but their feelings aren't worth risking the kids' lives for.

Infinite Wealth 

Kiryu not staying in the Jima-self-pity-shack

To say it bluntly: why would he? Coming there was already a huge risk. He's currently working on solving the mess the Jimas left behind, even though it should be none of his business. I see a lot of Kiryu hate for this scene, while I mostly was angry at Daigo, Majima and Saejima. Because time and time again Kiryu is dragged away from his civilian life to solve the mess of the Tojo Clan, that usually has nothing to do with him. At all. It's often started by Daigo being a weak chairman. (And no, I don't think Daigo is Kiryu's responsibility. Daigo at the point of becoming chairman has Yayoi, Majima and Kashiwagi with him. Why did Kiryu apparently fail Daigo, but they didn't?) But back to IW’s infamous 3Jima confrontation. Kiryu has every reason to be as pissed as he is. He had to help the dissolution during Gaiden, being basically sold by the Daidoji to the Yakuza cause. All of it wasn't his idea. Then the heads of the dissolution didn't see it through, flee into a fisher hut and it's once again Kiryu who suddenly has to solve the mess they left behind while being terminally ill. And then they have the audacity to ask him to abandon the cause and stay with them. Kiryu leaving with the Ichigang isn't only taking responsibility, it's also the right thing to do. And it's definitely not running away. 

Running from treatment instead of fighting 

Kiryu's lack of will to fight against the cancer is the culmination of his self sacrificial nature. It's on point. Because in the end he thinks that's what he deserves for his life and being alone with so many loved ones dead and people being added to the pile (like Rikiya, to his knowledge Kashiwagi, etc). He's just going full circle. He's alone and at this point he sees dying as being able to repent, join his loved ones and to a degree freedom from loneliness and the Daidoji leash. And in his mind the people who are still alive are better off without him, because as long as he's alive, he's a risk to their safety. With him gone, the Daidoji have no reason to threaten the kids anymore. It's very Kiryu. It's him on the roof in YK2 all over again. Finding his will to live again and fight is basically like him refusing to be chairman and leaving for Okinawa: because he's finally doing this for himself and his own happiness and not for the Tojo. And it makes so much sense that it happens through people who aren't Yakuza, but Date fighting for him, showing him all the people who love him and Ichigang as well, not the Tojo people.

But why the misconception?

Well, I feel like it's something that manifested as a belief in the fandom that a lot of people just stick to without actually questioning it. And a lot of times, it seems to be to make Kiryu responsible while taking responsibility from other characters (especially Daigo, Majima and Kashiwagi). In solidarity with one character another character gets the blame and that's - funny enough - usually Kiryu. He's magically ruined Daigo's life (I made another thread about why I think Kiryu's not as responsible for Daigo as some make it out to be) and responsible for basically every death in the series. If you read some takes, you could believe Kiryu's the true villain of the story. This is especially interesting because all those characters do similar things, but somehow that’s fine. Kashiwagi fakes his death and starts a new life. Majima drops Tojo responsibilities in Y2 to have a construction company (it’s not a civilian life though), he runs away from his (extremely young) wife, he leaves Kamorucho behind during the 3K-plan, he leaves the Yakuza grunts to hide in a fishing hut and he fakes his death in Y5. Daigo leaves the Tojo to drink his brains away with his nepo baby money, he basically vanishes in Y5 leaving the clan in disarray, he leaves during the 3K-plan and leaves with Majima once again when the dissolution isn’t easy. All of those characters have reasons for their behavior, Kiryu’s not more or less of an asshole for doing similar things. 

That’s my essay. It got far too long. Thank you, if you read all of this. 

I’m open to discussing my points. I’m not open to Kiryu being called an asshole just because a popular account says he is. 

[bababonzer]

OK I’ve got to obfuscate some highly contested things about SOTE, specifically involving Miquella’s seemingly bizarre choice of partnership:

Spoilers ahead

So, a lot of people are upset that Miquella chose to revive the soul of Radahn instead of Godwyn. Seems like the obvious choice. Godwyn was the person in the statues in the Haligtree, Miquella sort of ran the Castle Sol thing, even the existence of the golden epitaph sword calls into mind the strength of Miquella’s feelings.

So why Radhan? Let me flip it, why NOT Godwyn?

We know that Godwyn was the victim of the night of black knives. They carved a half of the curse mark of death into his back. At the same time they engraved the other half on Ranni. This leads to Ranni’s body dying but her soul remaining, and Godwyn’s body remaining but his soul dying. Keep this in mind for later.

The attempt of revivification at Castle Sol failed. The spirit at Castle Sol recants, “…The sun has not been swallowed. Our prayers were lacking. Your comrade remains soulless…”

They tried to usher in the eclipse, but for whatever reason, it did not work.

In SOTE, Miquella absconded with Mogh’s remains so that he could call down Radahns soul.

I believe that Miquella DID choose Godwyn first. He tried at Castle Sol with a different ritual. The attempt at Castle Sol made clear to Miquella that Godwin’s soul was gone. Truly gone. It wasn’t that the ritual was done wrong, it’s that there was no soul left to call upon. Godwyn was the only character to fall to that specific half of the curse mark, in a land where death does not occur normally.

With this version of events posed, it makes sense that Miquella knew he needed to do something drastically different. Maybe it was after that realization that he made a pact with the next strongest demigod. It wasn’t because of a long standing underhanded relationship between the two, it was because his first choice got obliterated in soul and contorted in body.

It could also be, that because Godwin’s body remained, a surrogate could not be used. He had to choose another.

Now, why Radahn specifically? Well…

- His twin is afflicted with the scarlet rot - an affliction that even he in all his wisdom could not heal.

- Mogh and Margot were omen born and little known. Accursed blood ran through their veins. Perhaps they were just not strong enough? Revered enough? It could be that Miquella didn’t know of their godly lineage. There could be a lot of reasons.

- Rykard was a sadist blasphemer that turned into a giant serpent. Not a good companion for the kindly Miquella, who favors compassion and mercy.

- Ranni died lol

- Godwyn because of possibly the reason’s I stated above

Who does that leave if not Radahn?

But why not a mortal? Why not any of the Needle knight crew?

Against someone as powerful as Radahn, what mortal could possibly compare in raw power? None exist. Miquella’s lord had to be the strongest! He’s ushering in a new age after all.

Thank you for reading so far. If you have any thoughts to add, or if I got an aspect of the lore wrong - I’d love to hear from you.

[atalante241]

About Genshin Impact and the technology of Teyvat

We get a kamera at the start of the game from Xu for the “Snapshot” world quest. In it Xu remarks that the kamera is a new invention from Fontaine.

Xu shows surprise at the Traveler knowing what it is, this supports the idea of the kamera being a new invention meaning it’s pricey and rare to have at this point. Later on, on the Traveler’s journey, we get quests to take pictures of things. This could mean that the kamera is becoming more widespread a time goes on, or just the knowledge of it.

During the 4.3 Fontinalia Festival the focus was placed of films. This was an attempt by the Fontaine Film Association to introduce films to the populace, making the main point of the festival the films produced for it.

This would give idea to films still being a new invention, as they aren’t widespread, just like how the kamera was at the start of the game which was about 3 years ago. And based off of Furina’s Character Demo “Furina: All the World’s a Stage” we can assume that the films recorded were black and white in quality. Unless, we assume that the mini-games during the 4.3 “Roses and Muskets” event were canonical in the way they showed the film quality. No noise was shown in either, but one was in color the other not.

This gives us an estimate of where — technological advancement vice — Teyvat is compared to our world. Films started becoming a thing at the end of the 1800s and start of the 1900s. Colored film started showing up around the 1930s, but became more accessible and profitable later on. Films started getting sound added to them around the mid-to-late 1920s. This gives us an estimate of around the start of the 1900s placement vice.

Now I’d like to bring up Khaenri'ah. It was heralded as “the pride of humanity” as said by Dainslief. Khaenri'ah has more than one notable scientific aspect linked to it, one of these being the “Field Tillers” aka Ruin Machines. Ruin Machines vary from “simple” Ruin Guards to a Ruin Serpent(s).

Ruin Machines seem to have been around for a while, since the Archon War even given the Ruin Hunter stored by Guizhong in a domain. This means that the technology may have been around for 1000s of years, likely being used as a defense method during the war and preserved thereafter. The knowledge of this technology didn’t spread much beyond Khaenri'ah, this showing through how the people of Teyvat started calling the Ruin Machines “Ruin Machines” after they spread globally after the Cataclysm.

Around Sumeru there exist three giant Ruin Machines called “Ruin Golems”. These were giant mecha style machines were piloted by a crew of people, and — get this — include a colored screen. By screen I mean the type of screen you’re viewing this through, footage from outside the Ruin Golem being broadcasted to the screen to allow the people piloting to see where they’re going or what they’re doing.

During the “Vimana Agama” world quest that was apart of the Aranyaka quest line we can go into the Ruin Golem in Devantaka Mountain by Port Ormos. There we can use the actual screen and see through it. This being a machine that has sat unused for hundreds of years. And its screen is still in working condition.

So, simply put. Khaenri'ah was very mechanically advanced.

BUT!

I have yet to mention the Terminal Viewfinders in Fontaine. You know, those eye ball machines you use to transfer energy to terminals in puzzles in the Fontaine Research Institute area. You know, the machines with working colored screens. Mind you this isn’t technology you’re able to find all through out Fontaine, only in certain areas usually accompanied by a researcher from the Institute. So it would be more comparable to machines found in laboratories and not accessible to common people.

But still. At the very least Fontaine is near the mechanical advancements of Khaenri'ah either a few hundred to thousands of years ago.

And I have yet to mention everything going on in King Deshret’s places in the Sumeru desert. And I’m not going to go into more than this mention because that is a headache I have yet to even get around to in game.

TL;DR Khaenri'ah was very technologically advanced to the point of hundreds of years later working colored screen technology. Fontaine is around that point with the Research Institute while normal day to day people are around silent movies in advancement, while I have no idea what’s going on with the Sumeru Desert.

[scribe-of-ariel]

Another beautiful breakdown of the themes and relationships in Legacy of Kain by Strictly Fantasy.

I especially like their take on Kain and Raziel’s relationship. How Kain’s betrayal of Raziel was so much worse than what he had experienced, because of the loyalty Raziel had previously shown him. How it differs from how Kain was betrayed.

How Raziel benefited from Kain’s mentoring, even if it did result in such a brutal betrayal. And the interesting antagonistic dynamic following the betrayal. One that I think did come full circle and was resolved at the end.

The comparison between the two is very interesting.

I don’t think there will ever a be a game series that captures my imagination as much as Legacy of Kain.

[strawberrrymilk1]

Lyney & Lynette Lore Dive

(Idk if anyone has ever thought of this, probably, but I just did too-)

I was recently watching a streamer play Act 1 of Fontaine, and the more I thought about the part where Lyney reveals his past I couldn't help but theorize it.

When Lyney was younger, he and Lynette got taken in by that one noble yes? The one that gave her to another creepy dude as a 'gift'. When talking about it, Lyney recalls what the noble had said to him when he asked about Lynette's whereabouts, 'She caught the eye of the most eminent person at the banquet, so I sent her over as a gift. I mean you'll be able to perform your magic regardless of who your assistant is, yes?'

Really focus in on the second sentence of that.

'I mean you'll be able to perform your magic regardless of who your assistant is, yes?'

Now taking that, if you go back a little ways into the quest when Lyney was revealing his trick to the Traveler for the trial, he specifically said that he personally loves that trick due to the fact that him and Lynette are the only ones who can perform it.

You see where I'm going with this?

That part in the trick where Lynette pops out of the box dressed up as Lyney certainly did not have to be added in to make it a great trick. Sure it adds more to the shock factor when Lyney appears in the other box only seconds later, but it also isn't entirely needed. He added that part so only Lynette and him could pull off that trick. Only him and Lynette. No other assistant would work for that.

I see it as his retaliation and almost fear to the fact that he wants to make it where he can't have another assistant. He wants to make it where only Lynette can be the one to be on stage with him.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

One thing I’ve always been confused about is how akuma actually work. In stormy weather they are treated like a horror movie trope, able to stop an elevator, cause lights to flicker and squeeze thru the doors to get to their victim. Aurora sees it coming and is terrified of it.

There’s a few other episodes where people see the akuma and try to avoid it but nothing on that level. Most of the time it seems like no one notices them and it just quietly possesses any item it touches

Then there are also times where the akuma can be trapped like in Sabrina’s suit case and it can’t get out or possess anything.

It also seems like they can get anywhere they want fairly quickly, but s5 adds them teleporting via the horse for some reason? Like travel time was never an issue before.

How would you treat the akuma in your version?

Also while on the rant, why does everyone know they are called Akuma? In the Paris special it seems they are called Komiko… so wouldn’t Tiki and Plagg assume they were still called that? Why do they have a unique name for the evil version and why are they Japanese words for the Chinese miracle box?

Akumas are whatever the story needs them to be for the current episode. There are very few clear limits or logic to them. The only thing that stays consistent is that the akuma possesses an object, gets released once the object is broken (though what that means can change), and that the ladybug of the day needs to purify the released akuma.

Those basic elements aren't actually bad and, as I've previously mentioned, I'm not too judgmental about how OP the butterfly's power is. Does it raise a lot of question like, "why can't you use this to heal your wife?" Yes! But this is a formula show where every episode has to have a fight, so I'm willing to give them some grace and accept that the butterfly is only OP because that's how the fights stay interesting. In a more serious show, the butterfly would be heavily nerfed.

There are still things that I'm critical of, though! Things canon never should have done, so let's focus on that.

1. Akumatized objects should function like a miraculous. It has to be on you to transform you. You drop it, you detransform. None of this hiding it somewhere BS. Could even lead to cool plots like someone picking up a seemingly innocent item and BAM akuma trap!

2. The butterflies should be magical constructs. None of this needing a real butterfly nonsense. What even is that? What do you do if you don't have a butterfly on you? Can you use any butterfly? I have questions...

3. There should not be a different word for a good akuma as that also raises a lot of question. Just have the power be what it is and let the good/bad element come from how the power is used.

4. Make clear rules around where the butterflies can go, how possession works, and how powers are assigned. I'm okay with the butterflies being able to touch things without possessing them or even being able to be trapped, but when that happens, the butterfly holder should be able to dismiss them and try again. Also, when the akuma goes out of range, it should dissipate. It shouldn't be able to go rouge like we saw in Startrain when Gabriel lost the akuma because it went to London, but Max's mom still got akumatized:

Gabriel: So, that's why I lost touch with my akuma! It's too far out of range. Nathalie: There's another problem. Adrien's class is on the train, and your son is on the passenger list! Gabriel: He's up in space! And there's nothing I can do.

This is so clearly done for plot and not because of logical world building. Of course, the show undoes this in season five where Intuition has Gabriel akumatize a spaceship in an episode that's a direct followup to the events of Startrain re Max's mom, so this is basically inexcusable:

Monarch: How fortunate that an artificial intelligence can suffer so much. (corrupts a butterfly into a Megakuma) Voyage, my Megakuma! (creates a portal, teleporting his Megakuma to space to akumatize A.D.A. in her core) Bugfighter. I am Monarch. The only reason Cosmobug wants to help you is so humans can test you again and again, even if it means losing more pilots.

5. I would personally make the magical construct butterflies invisible because they move so slowly that it does seem like something people should be able to avoid. We even see that happen when the show wants to go there with things like Marinette running away from one. That just raises too many questions about why people aren't always on the lookout for these things. Between that and the akumas getting trapped in other episodes, the fact that anyone gets possessed seems hard to believe.

All of these changes would means that you have to scrap a few story ideas, but that's just how good lore works. It limits you just like gravity limits you. It's how worlds feel real.

Why are they Japanese words for the Chinese miracle box?

Why is the Chinese miracle box guarded by Tibetan monks? Why are the two most powerful miraculous in the box - the only ones we see for most of season one - based on western lore? Why does Kagami wander around in a Japanese school girl outfit even though she lives in France while her mom sticks to highly traditional clothing instead of business suits? It's because these writers seem to think that Asian things are just a cool aesthetic that can be thrown into a story to make it look/feel cool with no real thought of deeper meanings or cultural origin.

As always, I will remind you am not part of these cultures nor have I studied them extensively, so it's always possible that there's something that I missed and canon is somehow fine, but I've yet to see anyone make that argument. In fact, the more I learn, the more I judge canon and feel deeply uncomfortable with the way various Asian cultures have been represented.

[annakenziesworld]

Stitchy isn't as nice as he thought

Hey! I just wanted to say sorry for not posting for a hot minute, I had gotten pretty sick and as I have a weakish immune system I couldn't work on any of my bigger projects. I will be repicking up ask little eclipse! I been thinking due to how well I feel its going, I may make a blog specifically for it. For now take some FC angst! He is one of my favorite characters next to Lunar.

However on FC I feel he's been getting much to hate recently, it's like people are forgetting it isn't just an act, FC is an actual child. He needs more guidance and neither Stitchwraith or Foxy can provide that stability so he chooses the 'better' parent based on strength and strength alone. People don't pay attention to these facts of FC being emotionally neglected by Foxy, and physically neglected by Stitchwraith with the exceptions of updates and repairs. But even then the only one emotionally caring for FC is Jake, while the other one exhibits abusive behaviors regularly and snaps at FC consistently. When Foxy was parenting properly he still seemed to be a bit neglectful, he was constantly dropping FC on those around him so it is understandable when people started to tell him no.

In the end my total thoughts are: FC is in an abusive situation, he needs some sort of third party caretaker that can properly guide and care for him, he needs more proper (supervised) bonding time with Foxy, FC could benefit from therapy, he needs to be properly acknowledged as a child and even though Foxy will need help healing he needs to stop seeing FC as some sort of adult that's there to use him and abuse him. Considering the fact FC is a child that is something he cannot comprehend properly, considering the facts he still uses a bottle and pacifier and the fact Francine is smarter then him I believe he is between the ages 2-6, he cannot be held responsible fully to his actions if he cannot even understand his emotions.

---

This art was lightly referenced off of the scene back during 2022 October takeover when Lunar had been slapped inside el' chips. Here the other one had finally snapped hard enough due to the fact Foxy didn't want his son at all, slapping FC as hard as he could due to how badly he messed up. He didn't even care about hurting them and Jake didn't have the ability to step in yet, FC was trying to desperately explain why he did what he did but he was struggling to de-escalate the situation. Due to how sharp stitchys hands are they sliced poor FC's face open causing oil to drip and fall. FC was internally begging to be saved by the great foxy! He was scared and his face hurt so bad. He knew better that foxy would of never let this happen to him.. He wanted to snuggle next to his father and watch Bluey again. He knew he was bad but he was hoping and near praying Foxy would still come save him and take him home, he wanted to play gatorgolf, he wanted daycare, he didn't wanna be Stitchys helper anymore.

[suite-purgatory-a-hh-what-if]

The origins of extermination day

Over 2000 years ago, there was a meeting met only for both the king and queen of hell with their highest rank overlord overseer at the time  [deeeeeeeez nuts] ] along with officials of heaven, the high seraphim Sera, Lucifer’s brother Micheal, and what seemed to be at least two other heaven officials were there at the meeting.

Of course, the reason for the meeting was due to a potential ‘warning of rebellion’ from the sinners and hellborn due to hell's growth in size over the last thousands of years; and Heaven wanted to ensure that a rebellion could never happen. So a few months before 1BC became 0AD a meeting was set up to discuss what to do with this.

Of course to the shocking surprise, it was Heaven who demanded a yearly extermination to occur, to which Lilith and Lucifer said NO for many reasons; the fight went on and on until an agreement was made between Heaven and Hell, In exchange for the once a year killings they would get request three things to happen. And Those?

The Royals families and Hellborn are excluded from extermination

 If any sinner or overlord fights back then it's allowed(although no killing of the soldiers is permitted)

[READACTED INFORMATION]

(Markings of the last one were strictly marked in black at the Hells Archives and any other History book, the only known people who could potentially know of what the last exchange was made could only be told by Lucifer and Lilith and whoever is the highest rank overlord currently)

One day,on the first day, of the first week of the new year heaven would send an army of their man-made soldiers called exorcists(to heaven they are called the powers but no one in hell calls em that) Theirs only a total of three kinds of exorcist that comes.

(More details about the exorcists and their ranks will come out when I make my exorcist lore dump)

After the meeting, on 0AD January 1st came the first extermination

It was recorded that BILLIONS of sinners died that day, being stabbed, slashed, and brutally mutilated beyond repair.

After they have killed at least one body; these exorcists tend to inject a needle into the corpses they killed to get around a pint of sinner blood. No one knows the reason why they're doing this due to not risking their life to then end up dead.

The main leader of the exorcist was at first Lucifer's estranged angel brother Micheal, but for the last 1,000 years, Adam has been the current one in charge (FIRST MAN ADAM)! He has been the recent leader of the exorcists (this is also because he's the reason that he could regenerate most of the army through his ribs is one reason enough) But around the early 1000s he had made his case for wanting to be in control since as of the last 200 exterminations Micheal has been too soft on his leadership with the exorcists and that they should have a leader who has a connection to the exorcists (thought rumors were going around that he wants to be the leader due to the lose of his poor wife Eve; who while still died she didn't go to heaven with him)

After the meeting it was decided that Adam would be in charge of the exorcists, leading them down into Hell for every extermination and majority of the paperwork; Micheal however still does train the exorcists while he does, and some of the paperwork too. It was… balanced to a certain degree but heaven decided it was for the best.

A few hundred years after Adam became the leader, sinners started to fight back. Most of them were making weapons that couldn't kill the exorcists, but they were able to hold them back for their protection. While Adam tried to raise a point to heaven that this wasn't fair, of course, in the deal that was made, as long as a sinner or overlord didn't kill one, it was alright, which infuriated Adam.

As of the 1500’s a new type of exorcist had started to emerge and became much more prompted, exorcist winners, were the angelic winners who died on earth and recently decided to become exorcists to protect heaven. Although there is no known reason why Heaven started to recruit their winners that's a mystery for another time. 

As the next five hundred plus years went on, the death count was starting to dwindle, sure there were kills in the millions but soon enough it was starting to dwindle from low millions to recent hundred thousand which made heaven get nervous; if the sinners start not only defend themselves from the powers themselves, and even happen to get slivers/fragments of their weapons that happen to break from the demon sinner “defending” themselves. What else can they do… what can they do indeed…

(Alright so OOOF this took a lot out of me to write down, yeah I have finally written out my extermination lore this time around. Yeah, I decided to leave some things to be a mystery so that I can leave some theories up to people and their own imaginations.)

(One I can't wait to write about when I get to making my season two more focused on the of plotline with angel lore, cause while there will be mentions here and there for season 1, season 2 will have more of heaven focus with basically the OG season 1 plotline and that I really can't wait to explain the lore for that hopefully in December 2024/January 2025)

[house-of-mirrors]

I haven't gotten too far into part 2 of Firmament yet because I'm trying to go at my own pace, but I have some Thoughts about the lore as a whole.

I have a degree in math and recognize some of the concepts the lore is hinting at. "Within and without" "folding time and cutting it" these ideas are related to higher dimensional studies, which have uses in mathematics and other fields (a noteworthy example is the MRI!), but in pop culture typically are used for time travel

So we'll see where it goes!