#lore discussion

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I've been rereading your "Gabriel redemption/corruption/canon mess of ideas post", and I remembered an old idea of mine: Gabriel driven insane by the Butterfly miraculous.

This is an artifact that allows you to sense the negative emotions of All of Paris. And then mentally connect to the person in whom the negative emotions are currently strongest.

It's less about "can this power drive anyone insane" it's more about "is there a chance this power wouldn't drive anyone insane?"

Worse, Gabriel uses this power constantly. Gabriel uses this power for shady purposes. Gabriel uses this power when already in an unstable state after losing his wife.

From a storytelling point, this neatly explains:

1) why Gabriel could go worse and worse as time progresses

2) why Gabriel's behaviour may be inconsistent (consistent behaviour doesn't combine well with sensory-overload magical madness and he is saner when untransformed)

3) why Butterfly Miraculous is so powerful (because this power is balanced with the great risk of using it)

At the same time, it is a trope known well enough to work well even in children's shows. In fact, I thought this idea may be canon, but then season 5 happened.

What do you think of this idea?

P. S. As always, thank you for your analysis, you are a treasure for the fandom!

Thank you for the lovely words! I'm flattered that you enjoy the blog so much!

I'm on the record as saying that evil Kwamis are about the only way to fix canon, so of course I love you idea! That post was about fixing canon post season five, though, so let's focus more on the butterfly itself.

Canon doesn't really explain how the heck the butterfly works. We get moments like this one from Sandboy:

Hawk Moth: I feel an emotion of great intensity. So pure… (turns a butterfly into an akuma) Fly away my little akuma and evilize him!

But why this happens is confusing. The butterfly isn't the miraculous of Emotion. That's the peacock. The butterfly is Transformation. Which is silly, so we're ignoring that. The butterfly is absolutely written to be Emotion in terms of almost everything about how it functions, so as far as I'm concerned, it's Emotion. Gabriel senses emotions with it and is even implied to have to pick what powers he gives based on the person's emotions as we see in Risk:

Shadow Moth: I need a villain who will force Ladybug to take risks, and without even realizing it, (corrupts a butterfly into a Megakuma) she'll make a mistake! (Shadow Moth closes his eyes to search for any strong negative emotions.) Extra 1: Great, of course my keys disappear from my bag just when I have to go out. Xavier: Now even benches have empty pigeon spikes on them? Oh, my poor friends... Froggy's Dad: Froggy, come back! It's too dangerous! Froggy: Why are you always scared of everything? I want to ride my bike without a helmet, without training wheels! Shadow Moth: (Open his eyes.) Perfect! Fly away, my Megakuma, and plague that deceived heart!

You could absolutely take this setup and use it to craft a narrative where Gabriel's actions are at least partially driven by the effects of feeling everyone else's emotions weighing down on him. This is extra true when you remember that Gabriel is supposed to be grief stricken. We are rarely at our best when we are mourning profound loss and the show really failed to lean into that fact even though the writers clearly wanted Gabriel to be sympathetic.

In my own rewrite, I heavily rely on these elements to shape Gabriel and Nathalie's characters. She may not use the butterfly, but she's also supposed to be mourning Emilie (or, at least, she is as of season five. I'm pretty sure that's a retcon, but it's something I changed to make her character work, so I'm cool with it.) That is a much stronger basis for Nathalie supporting Gabriel than the tired old trope of women doing stupid things because of men. (Don't get me wrong, we do, I just find it boring in most situations. It would only work in canon if the love square was supposed to be positive romantic love and Nathalie was supposed to be toxic romantic love, but the love square is toxic as hell and even "ends the world" so bleh )

I will peel back the curtain a little bit and give you one of my favorite ideas for making something like this work: if you have Emilie in a coma and not dead, then her brain would still be active. She'd still be experiencing emotions. Doesn't it make perfect sense for Gabriel to stay transformed 24/7 so that he can sense what is left of his wife, assuring himself that she's still there? And if the magic needs to stay secret, then of course that would mean that he never comes out of his home office because that's the only safe place to transform. And if you add in Gabriel being weak to the emotions of others, well, I think that has potential for something interesting, don't you?

[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｀⁠*⁠)

[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

[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.

[house-of-mirrors]

This is what I got with my main from the Museum of Souls in Burrow, having your soul examined. Thinking about the soul flaws from skies and I just learned from the wiki the text is variable based on your quirks:

First, for comparison, the text from skies for when your soul is pleasing: "The devils of Carillon claim to be experts in the assessment and improvement of the soul. They would describe yours as tantalisingly opaque, and rich with personality."

Now, onto my interpretations with the delightful flaws. (I refuse to be appetizing!)

High Melancholy: Flickering: "Soul-light is unpersistent, incurious, lacking. [...] intermittently tantalising with an aftertaste of disappointment."

"Here the Devils treat flatterers, the excessively malleable, and those who don't know themselves at all. [...] Maybe you've found yourself lying as a matter of course. Maybe you've forgotten a few inconvenient aspects of yourself."

High Heartless: Cold: "The soul is icy to the touch. Dispassionate, clinical, removed. [...] still, pale and chilly to the palate."

"Indifference to love can be corrected. But not easily."

High Austere: Lightless: Here, things get a little complex. The echo uses "flavourless" which corresponds neatly to "[...] distressingly bland, inoffensive and liable to dissatisfaction." However, Lightless is also described as "Slothful, viceful, willful abandonment of talent and interest," which does not fit Austere. More of the text does, though.

"Vision, imagination, the ability to see beyond the nearest convention: that's what the Devils are trying to evoke here. [...] Perhaps you have fallen into habits. Perhaps you haven't stretched your imagination lately."

Not a perfect match, but alas.

Low subtle: Clear: "Soul is fully transparent. No swirls, no clouding, no personality."

"Disregard of death is a serious flaw. It displeases the Blue Kingdom; it makes the Devils tut."

(Sticking my tongue out at the Sapphir'd King.)

Conclusion: I can't find any obvious comparisons for the ruthless or hedonist quirks. I'm going to remark upon the soul flaws that don't present parallels here.

A fermented soul is "pungent of odour and indifferent to taboo." What I did in skies to get it was commingle with a rubbery man and accept an eye tattoo from the Halved. Good times. If I had to guess, I might connect this one with the Daring quirk. Fermented foods may be described with a "sharp" flavor but that's a stretch; I really don't see a connection to ruthless.

A curdled soul is "Overly willing to please, envious, obsequious." I can't think of any obvious quirks this would correlate to.

Finally, a stained soul: We know what terrible things this means in FL. One gets it by being a seeker, asking what shouldn't be asked. From skies: "Soul appears damaged, scorched. Reckless, dangerous and fatally curious. [...] over-rich, cindered and irrevocably damaged."

"Perhaps you've looked into topics you should not have. Perhaps your soul has been consumed and spat out again by an unspeakable beast."

("The starveling cat! The starveling cat! Soiled your soul! Grew glossy and fat!")

Now go forth and consider your characters' souls. Be unappetizing!

[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.

[cloudberriess]

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]

I know you’ve said in the past that you don’t think switching marinette and adrien’s kwamis would solve anything writing-wise, but do you think having the kwamis switch personalities would do the trick? marinette still has ladybug/creation, but with plagg’s personality, and adrien still has black cat/destruction, but with tikki’s personality. thoughts?

No, I don't think that this would fix anything because it's approaching the problem as if the issue is some flaw in the show's base setup. As if you have to make major changes for Miraculous to work. My stance has always been that the base setup is totally fine. The problem is the execution. In fact, I think that the current kwami personalities are a great choice, the problem is that they're not being used well.

Marinette has a pretty strong personality. She knows what she wants, but has a tendency to get caught up in her own head and a tendency to make snap judgments. Those tendencies make her occasionally fail to consider alternate paths or points of view. That means that what she needs most is someone who will make her consider those alternatives. Someone who will be direct, talk her out of mental spirals, and keep her focused. A voice of reason, if you will. Tikki is perfectly suited to that role. She is not the kind of kwami to sit passively by. Plagg, on the other hand, would just encourage Marinette along the path of glorious chaos or let her do whatever she wants so long as he gets his cheese. While I think that could be genuinely fun to watch, it's not really benefiting Marinette much and this ask appears to be treating the Kwamis as potential mentors, so I will, too.

Adrien is a little more complex. Given his rather depressing home life, I can see why someone would want to pair him with loving Tikki over more-detached Plagg, but I'll explain why I think that Plagg is the better fit IF you actually let him mentor.

Adrien is a passive follower. He never fights for himself and he bows to authority at the drop of a hat. While those traits are arguably strengths for his role on the battlefield, they're not great for him in his day-to-day life. There's nothing wrong with being more passive and more of a follower, but he needs to learn that he can make his own choices, too. The best way to do that is to give him the kind of mentor who doesn't just hand him the answers. Someone a little chaotic whose style is subtle pushes and not just handing him a possible path to take because Adrien would absolutely just take the suggested path. Plagg is perfectly suited to taking on this style of mentorship and it is a crime that the show never let him shine.

Example scenario: Adrien feeling left out in season four. (Note the following is a very rough draft)

Adrien: I feel like Ladybug doesn't need me anymore. She keeps calling in other heroes! Tikki: You need to talk to Ladybug and tell her how you feel! Ask her when she's free to meet up! Adrien: Okay, what should I say? Tikki: Tells him what to say.

This is solid advice, but Tikki is just handing Adrien an answer. He's probably not going to learn from this and may even flub up his talk with Ladybug without Tikki walking him through it because he's just doing what he's told and not coming to this path on his own. Contrast this to Plagg in his ultimate form (by which I mean mentor Plagg, not eldritch horror Plagg):

Adrien: I feel like Ladybug doesn't need me anymore. She keeps calling in other heroes! Plagg: And you're left watching from the sidelines every time? Adrien: No, not always. Plagg: So she's sharing the cheese now? Giving you slices instead of the whole wheel? Adrien: yeah, I guess. Plagg: why? Adrien: what do you mean why? Plagg: why'd she start sharing? Adrien: I don't know. Plagg: Huh. Too bad. If only there was a way you could find out. I guess it will remain a mystery. Adrien: (annoyed) Ladybug knows! Plagg: And? Adrien: And... I guess I could ask her? Plagg: I mean, if you started sharing my cheese, I'd be demanding answers! Adrien: I'd never share your cheese! Plagg: You promise? Never? Not even if you were starving? Adrien: Well, I mean, I guess I might if it was an emergency or something, but I wouldn't share it without a good reason! Plagg: And Ladybug's different? Adrien: What do you mean? Plagg: She does things without a good reason? Adrien: Of course not! She's brilliant! She always has a plan! Plagg: Interesting. Might want to keep that in mind for your little talk. Adrien: (after a thoughtful pause) So you think I should talk to her? Plagg: Is there another way for you to find out what's going on? Adrien: No. Plagg: Then why are you bothering me? Sounds like you only have one option!

Note that Plagg never gives Adrien a clear answer here. He just asks questions in a bored manner and lets Adrien think things through. He's guiding Adrien to a specific answer, but making Adrien really think about it, better prepping him for the coming talk. This mentorship style would drive Marinette crazy, but I think it would do wonders for Adrien! The difference is that, in this situation, Marinette probably already knows what she needs to do and is just avoiding it while Adrien genuinely needs help realizing that he can speak up. This doesn't mean that Adrien should never get direct, clear advice, I just wouldn't make that the standard as it's not helping him with his passivity.

All of this is a big part of why I love Plagg so much. That little cheese gremlin is just brimming with potential and it saddens me greatly that canon will never give it to us. They gave him the perfect personality, they just missed the fine details of how that personality should function as a mentor.

[polyhedraldreamgirl]

Some of my theories for Dragon Age 5!

I need to get this out of my head so here aaaare ..

Put your tinfoil hats on everybody, I did not do much research beyond what I already know and I'm going OUT OF POCKET!

Void, Retcon & Soul fragments

The game will heavily feature lore about/creatures from the Void.

The secret ending graphic pretty much confirms this idea for me (the black gaping triangle, also shaped like an eye), as well as it being a big unexplored thing in most of the lore that offers new angles. That don't necessarily need to be connected to alllllll the Evanuris stuff.

The speaker in the Secret Ending plus whoever their compatriots are are actually from the Void (at least originally), perhaps have been doing their Whispering and steering from there.

I'm certain they're going to hit us with a "these new creatures have been influencing Thedas ALL ALONG MWAHAHAH" line of thinking.

The secret ending at the end of Veilguard shows the Magister's Sidereal (who went into the fade & released the blight) Loghain, Bartrand, Meredith and Orsino, Corypheus, (Flem-)Mythal, Solas, Elgar'nan and Ghillai'nain all part of this plan/plot/progression. All of these people have at some point in there narrative made moves that could be described as deeply out of character. I'm especially in my *Leonardo DiCaprio pointing accusatorily* energy about this when I rewatched the scene where Loghain hires Zevran. He's staring into the fire, almost seeming like he's listening to something else. (I might be wrong, I probably am, but TINFOIL HATS BABYYYY)

The Void is essentially the antithesis to the Fade.

The fade brings life, energy, magic. The void holds death, magic-nullification etc. (See the mystery substance codex notes in Veilguard) Largely speaking, the Evanuris were "of the Fade" and the Forgotten Ones (or perhaps whoever these secret ending people are) are "of the Void". The Void that drove Andruil insane. The one the Forgotten ones were banished to (is this canon? I think so?), as the Evanuris were imprisoned in the Fade. More on this below in my Soul-diatribe.

Blood Magic came from the Void/these Void creatures. Perhaps was even taught by them.

Veilguard kind of defangs the whole "Old Gods taught Tevinter Blood Magic" by making the Old Gods (=Archdemons) simply voice boxes for the Evanuris because each Evanuris put a little bit of themselves into that Dragon. I sincerely doubt the original invention of blood magic will remain connected to the Evanuris as well, given everything they've already canonically ruined. I think the origin of Blood Magic lies somewhere else, especially since blood mages lose their clear connection to the fade.

Some or all of these creatures from the Void/speakers from the secret ending are the Forgotten Ones, or those the Forgotten Ones sought.

Yes, the forgotten ones were also powerful elves alongside the Evanuris. But they weren't imprisoned in the Fade, they were banished elsewhere. Their motives are different, as are their actions. Anaris using a Demon army kind of counters this theory, because demons are (ostensibly) from the fade, but what if the Void also has it's own kind of spirits? Once that are vastly different to those we know now? Idk spitballing here.

Anaris' last words pretty much confirm this for me, something about needing to escape from the Eye(s) - which fails, because of Rook. Wherever Anaris is banished to, something is there, and watching.

All of this connects into my biggest conspiracy idea:

Every mortal soul has two parts. One magical/mystical/spiritual Fade part, and one non-magical/grounded/earthly(?) Void part.

The original Elves who came from spirits would only have the former, but all those who were born of this world (Thedas) have something to them that decreases that pure connection to the Fade, another part of their being.

When the dead are encountered or resurrected, not all of them returns, although powerful mages are stronger (see Zara Renata's corpse scene with Emmrich). Emmrich states he believes in a "truer resurrection", aka the spirit that possesses a body is often, at least in part, the same spirit that belonged to the deceased.

Now what if...what IF that part that returns, those spirits that play out all of Thedas' dreams. The divine encountered in DA:I, what if those are just the FADE part of the soul? What if the soul has roughly two parts (Mythal splitting, the Evanuris binding to Dragons, Titans/Dwarves being split from magic shows us souls CAN split to some extent), one returning to the Fade, and the other returning to the VOID on death? What if Dwarves don't have any of that Fade Soul™, what if the rest of the world has a sliding scale amount depending on magic aptitude, elfiness™ and other genetics? What if the Veil caused people to just have a way larger amount of VoidSoul™, which is why everyone feels Tranquil to Solas? Because the Void would be anti-magic, un-emotion, un-life. What if resurrections through Blood Magic and other Blood Magic draws inspiration from the Void, thus tainting the Fade part of the soul, thus worsening the connection to the Fade? E.g. if the Veil fell, those with a high enough Fade-Soul™ percentage would be OK, while those with too much Void Soul wouldn't be able to survive/ascend (obligatory bible parallels mention, *cringe*).

I suppose three parts (Void, Fade & Earth is also possible, but I think the dichotomy would be more interesting.)

I could literally go on and on about this. It's by No Means a perfect theory and very much based on conjecture and vibes and most of the above proving true. But my conspiracy brain is doing overtime and I for one can't wait to see how Thedas' story continues and most importantly....

If weird grey masked entities doing influency heebeejeebie void stuff...

Why?

[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)

[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.