ssboutros-blog

[x1702x]

Kai cenat is gonna play bloodborne im sorry but im gatekeeping

[arolesbianism]

Uh oh

[lucabyte]

thinking about the very specific reading of isat i had during act 3 for the most part

anyway yeah ill ramble here about this. since it actually explains my headcanons for what the disappearing island wish was

disclaimer: taken as a whole this is way too allegorical for what i'd consider a holistic reading of isat, but it was part of my running theories at the time.

anyway my guess for the real-world equivalent of the island ended up being French Polynesia by the end of the game. I had initially thrown a dart at siffrin being greek wrt europe, sisyphus allusion, enjoyment of plays and seafairing-- but the moment that little guy started getting real weird about stars and specified they were from an island i switched my guess to him being polynesian. And then that reading only really strengthened from there (and i was pretty close, tbf!)

but yeah during act 3, especially the king plotline, i started thinking about the themes of cultural erasure + lack of identity that the game has and how that plays wrt vaugarde's extremely welcoming and diverse nature.

reading far too much into it but it made me wonder if they are the results of a fallen empire of some kind. somewhere that gathered people from across the globe (as empires are known to do) before dissolving into what seems to be a localised theocracy of some kind?

like. vaugarde is basically the Good End for an empire. Fully demilitarised (they barely have use for police to the point where the defenders are surprised by burglaries, and almost CERTAINLY have zero army), extremely diverse, not caring where one comes from.

(either that or they've been a socialist utopia like, forever? and thus just aquired migrants perpetually... but ka bue is characterised as harsher by odile in a lot of respects so one can assume its not that the whole planet is Niceys All The Time.)

this lines up pretty well with the um. Whole France Thing. Boy do they own a lot of islands still that they maybe shouldn't. Also lines up with bonnie's word-of-god french creole dialect. So Vaugarde as the welcoming, ideal form of former-colonialiser-nation is like. one i vibe with if we're gonna read too hard into the worldbuilding as presented.

Anyway all this to say I did for a time wonder if the Northern Island wish was 'For The Island To Be Safe'. Assuming this world to have any level of inter-country conflict-- Wish craft is powerful stuff, and a singular island might not be able to defend itself against those seeking to take it by force. Hiding the island from the world would protect it.

... though that felt like an unusually cruel read. The implication that cloistering away like that is a 'valid' strategy for a culture to be safe (albeit with the splash damage of hurting any diaspora).

Plus, wish craft is superbly powerful, with evidently its use on the island only becoming more widespread after it was discovered how to make it work Consistently.

(i work here under the assumption that Siffrin's growing cloak is imbued with wish craft, assumedly the same as the king's armour? Since there's no way that was created at that scale...)

So it almost makes more sense, to me, for the wish to be to 'Protect The World (universe) From Us' or to 'Keep The Universe Safe'.

Wish craft being so second nature to the Islanders (See: Siffrin, favour tree), that a wish that breaks the universe is almost inevitable were the knowledge to become widespread and ingrained.

This too is an oddly cruel read, that a culture's rituals can be dangerous to that degree, but ... ? Dunno. Like I said, reading it as hard allegory makes it fall apart somewhat. Symbols can mean many different things at once until you flatten them for direct analysis like this. I don't think it's quite so 1-to-1, and it's honestly slightly too 'no story only lore' for my tastes, so I did push a lot of this stuff out of my analytical mind once I started getting to the back and of act 3 and into act 4.

Anyway. Not the most coherent explanation in the world, but still some thoughts I had mid-game that i figure i should put somewhere at least, even if I don't think they are really what the game is going for.

As a bonus, the discussions on what the island wish were in this context also lead my friend @samhainian to speculation on the colour wish that i really enjoy. Which is....

The wish that removed colour from humans perception of the world being something along the lines of:

"I wish the world was simpler"

ergo, removing colour as an invocation of Nuiance VS Black and White Morality. The world is simpler, easier to understand.

I think it's a fun headcanon! I like it.

Well anyway. A work is more than the sum of its parts and dissecting something so sloppily as this often does it a disservice. So don't take my theorising as anything more than a general rundown of where my head was at mid-game before i had all the pieces. The emotional core of the story is far more where it's at for ISAT sooooo. [Shrugs and scampers away]

[d3pressed-caffiene-addict]

Hazbin Hotel Ep 5&6 Oh My God (Major Spoilers)

I am having so many thoughts, this is just a brain dump

-LUCIFER. He’s so pathetic I love him

-Jeremy Jordan you fucking legend. I’m a big fan of a lot of his work and was excited to see him in this but I was slightly unsure if he was the right casting since I expected Lucifer to be more of a high and mighty/snobby figure, but with the way they characterised him HE IS PERFECT.

-“TAKE THAT DEPRESSION”

-The Lucifer vs Alastor rivalry is beautiful

-“Ha ha, fuck you.”

-Father figure Alastor

-HIS EARS GO BACK LIKE A CAT WHEN HES ANGRY I CANT

-MIMZY’S ARRIVAL. I know most of us know the lore about her and Alastor being developed as a couple before it was scrapped but I really like how they are in the show

-Even if it’s just crumbs I’m so excited to be getting snippets of Alastor’s lore. It’s wild to keep going back and forth between “aw he actually cares for and protects his friends” and “oh my god he’s a fucking psycho”

-Speaking of that the scene with Husk holy shit. Poor man looked terrified

-The confirmation that Alastor’s also stuck working for someone, it has to be Lilith surely. I know some people will call it predictable because a lot of theories are coming true but personally I think it’s from good worldbuilding/foreshadowing

-ALASTOR IN FULL DEMON FORM JUST ANNIHILATING EVERYONE and then he just goes “Ah that was fun, now back to it”

-I kinda like the parallel between Al and Mimzy & Angel and Cherri where they invite their friends to join them if they want to, even if neither of them take it up initially maybe we’ll see them join the hotel in the future?

-BABY CHARLIE

-I really expected Lucifer to be a dickhead and a shitty dad, but he seems to be an overall better guy than most people in hell

-CHERRI BOMB ARRIVAL! And she’s Aussie now fuck yeah represent

-I still love her and Angel’s friendship even if she is a terrible influence. Everyone’s got that friend who’s solution to a bad day is just self-destruction but they mean well at least

-DARREN CHRIS TOO, THE MUSICAL THEATRE/BROADWAY ACTOR CASTING IS STACKED

-Emily is so sweet I love her

-The Molly cameo is so sweet, I was waiting for her to appear somewhere but lowkey forgot she was in heaven. Honestly though how did she get there when the rest of her and Angel’s family got condemned for what they did together? Maybe she left the mob or something idk I just hope we get to meet her properly at some point

-Heaven’s real fucked up? Yeah not shocked

-VAGGIE?? FALLEN ANGEL REVEAL?? AND SHE WAS AN EXTERMINATOR???? I know most of us called it but holy shit I didn’t expect it to be confirmed this soon

-Adam is such a dick but he’s so much fun

-I love that Charlie was gonna start her court presentation with definitions like a high school essay

-“Consent is a good name for a sex club” the gentleman Husk truthers gonna have fun with this one

-Pentious hitting on Cherri is hilarious and totally not the same level of subtlety I flirt with when I’m drunk

-Hearing more and more about how Val treats Angel is so sad especially with how casually he talks about it since it’s just another day for him

-Him parenting drunk Nifty is beautiful

-“You wanna play with the kitty?”

-Valentino is my #1 enemy

-Seeing Angel stand up to him to protect his friends is making me feel feelings. Like he knows that he’s gonna be treated even worse for it but I think he’s reaching his tipping point and shits gonna go down soon

-Also I know there’s a popular theory that he’s gonna die soon and a lot of the theories are coming true so I am scared. I kind of don’t think this one’ll happen though since he’s the fan favourite and its just too soon to take that much of a risk. Plus Vivsie’s admitted he’s the best written character and it’d be such a waste of all that development

-More sweet moments between him and Husk, they’ve gotten me so invested in this ship so fast

-The fact that most of heaven didn’t know about the extermination?? Wild

-Idk how I feel about the timeskip between Ep 4&5, they’re only a month away from the extermination now. Yes it’s making the stakes feel higher but I do wish we’d been able to see more of that time for the relationship development, all the characters seem much closer than before and we’ve only seen bits of how they got there

-I really wish they’d greenlit more than 8 episodes to pace things a little better but I’m glad we have season 2 confirmed

-That last minute ‘reveal Vaggie’s past to Charlie, boot them out of heaven and then cut to credits before she can react’ is gonna torture me until next week

-I don’t disagree with past criticism that Vivzie’s female characters can feel a bit underwritten but I think it’s getting better

-“We’re coming to the hotel first” plus all the theories that someone’s gonna die are fucking stressing me out man

Anyway hope you enjoy the brain dump, this show has once again consumed my thoughts

[emmebearpaw]

Ok. I’m just going to say this is going to be a very long ramble about incredibly minor Genshin Impact lore and design choices that fill my brain. It’s loosely inspired by this prompt on the Genshin 2024 prompt meme, but this is not written in fanfic style despite being mostly headcanon. And Amber not being in it. And also a different belief in the world building of them than the prompt suggests. It’s a lovely prompt though if I ever think of how to make what I’m about to write an actual story I might claim it.

p.s: most of this ramble is just my genshin worldbuilding as related to wind gliders. Thus mostly textiles.

I’m obsessed with Wind Gliders. I fully understand they run on magic, and that attempting to design ones that don’t are nigh impossible (as explained in Sumeru wing’s). However I’m not interested in the magic that fuels them. That’s the hand waving. Necessary, yes, but boring. I’m interested in how they are made in universe.

Now. This is not something the game is interested in. So I’ve made. A lot of stuff up. I’m not surprised Genshin doesn’t really care, it’s an open world game. The basis of fabric production is something the game only lightly touches upon with the assertion that Silk Flowers can make fabric. It’s just called “fabric” in game but I am going to presume, based off its description of being “silky smooth”. That it’s silk. Which would make sense for the region of Liyue and silk has had use in parachute material, so I’m not going to rule out silk as a material wind gliders are made from.

However silk flowers only grow in Liyue, and surely Liyue is not the only country in Teyvat that can make fabric. So it’s time for my work of fiction number one. What kind of fibers are found in Teyvat? Despite everyone in this game looking like they have invented polyester, with its superior dying and fabric printing range, I don’t think Teyvat is a world that process petroleum. Only Fontaine has a level of technological development I would think would be conducive to oil and they have their own renewable energy source in indemnitium. So we will be sticking with natural fibers.

The major varieties of natural fibers that I think are most conducive to wind glider construction include: cotton, hemp (makes canvas and rope), silk, and flax (makes linen).

The locations in game these would be cultivated based on their real world cultivation histories (source is Wikipedia):

Cotton: warmer regions. Primarily Sumeru and Natlan (cotton is an old world and new world crop! We domesticated it more than once), maybe some around the chasm in Liyue but that region does not seem to be doing a lot of agriculture.

Hemp: Hemp is an old world crop. It was imported into South America but only grew well in Chile. Cultivation is a little hard because of the fact that Hemp is the same plant as Marijuana and is thus just sometimes illegal. Probably grows pretty much everywhere but is not commonly found in Natlan. Doesn’t seem like a lot of middle eastern countries grow a lot of it either, so probably not a lot in Sumeru?

Silk: Historically? Liyue and Inazuma. Sumeru has gotten into it more recently. This one is harder to think about though as a plant would have much different growing condition than insects. Plus Inazuma is a more similar climate to Sumeru jungle than Liyue. Honestly it’s 1 am I’m tired I’m not thinking about soil water logging right now.

Flax: Most prominently grown in Mondstadt and Fontaine (once again I’m not thinking about the water table).

Ok. So with the in game lore tying wind glider creation to Mondstadt the sail material being a linen originally would probably be the most likely. Sumeru’s wind gliders also specifically mention a history of attempting to create realistic wind gliders. Those would probably be cotton or maybe silk.

TLDR: different fabrics might be used.

——————

Ok but what about construction? Well to begin with, windgliders seem to have a construction style more similar to a parachute than a plane. This is evidence by the deploy animation! Go jump off a cliff in game and pop out those wings and you’ll see them bend upwards from the middle and then level out. It can also be seen by their shape! The wing tips point downwards a little bit. An internal frame would likely lead to less bowing of the wings, and is thus unlikely as part of the structure.

This, however brings us to the point that I think the wind glider frankly has more parts than they show us in game. If the wings have no internal frame, they would need strings to keep the wings level and to steer them, like a paraglider. Additionally, the game literally doesn’t depict a way that the glider connects to your character’s body. I personally think it is something similar to a parachute harness and that wind gliding posture leans far more forward. Almost horizontal instead of the near vertical posture depicted in game. Mostly because I don’t know how you could rig a vertical posture in and strap it to yourself without adding lots of extra weight.

Now onto production of wind gliders!

The basic wind glider Amber hands us at the beginning is basically the only style of wind glider that is produced ready for purchase. It’s basically only available in Mondstadt, as Mondstadt is the only region with a high enough rate of adventurers, a culture that promotes gliding and an environment conducive to gliding that is safe enough for most people to consider it a reasonable activity. Gliding is a sport in Mondstadt! Especially around the coastal cliffs, where updrafts can keep you airborne for long periods of time! In Inazuma it’s a thing insane people do (I can not imagine that a place with frequent unexpected rain storms and lightning as I imagine in Inazuma would think about a sport where if it rains people might die because the thing keeping them airborne absorbed water and got heavy). When not in the air they hang down. They don’t just disappear like in game, you actually have to pause and take them off and fold/roll them back up when you are done using them. The traveler just wears a backpack with big wings draping off their back like a cape a lot of the time.

The wings of first flight are pretailored, and can be purchased directly through the knights. It is up to the purchaser to adjust the attachment straps and steering strings as necessary to ensure they are taught and secure no matter a person’s proportions. They come in the brown and black we see in game, though color may vary slightly depending on when in the year the wings were produced as a different dye may be substituted. The color was chosen to be very visible against many surfaces, including the sky, the stone color of the area and even the soils most prevalent in Mondstadt! That way if an adventurer crashes and needs rescue they are the most visible.

There is a small craft factory that produces them by hand. They are not made directly by the Knights but are commissioned by them for sale to adventurers and sport gliders. In terms of production, there are two ways I figure gliders are made.

More reasonable due to their high variation in coloring, each “feather” is a separate piece of fabric sewn together (typically by hand, i don’t know how many places in Teyvat have sewing machines. Fontaine probably does). This style would probably have an inside fabric layer of a less breathable fabric, which is one solid piece and is the thing actually doing the work, and then a fashion layer surrounding it. More pieces of fabric sewn together introduces more possibility for air to pass through and cause a lack of drag. I figure most wings in the game are this style.

There is no inside + fashion layer. The glider is one layer that is 1-2 solid piece(s), decorated with decorative stitches and details along the center of the wings where drag production is less important. The Wings of first flight are the most likely to be this style.

“But what about other wing styles?” I hear you ask. Simple. I think those are all artisan one off productions made for the traveler. The Steambird commissioned a wind glider for you from a local artisan to repay you for helping out the city so much. They got you a wind glider because you, the traveler, are known for using a wind glider. This was less notable in Mondstadt but is much more notable as your travels continue. Yes I know the Fontaine wings description indicate you don’t know the source of them. I think the in game description of the wings is written in universe. The artisan who created your wings know things about the world and tell you things about the world in their backstory for the wings. This isn’t a great answer but this is just how I interpret it. The non reputation wind gliders I don’t know how to justify how you receive them in game. I also don’t know how the Frostbearing Tree gives you a craft project.

Anyways all this to say I still don’t actually have an answer for the prompt.

[sloshr]

After watching through Side Order... I have a Few Thoughts.

[Spoilers ahead]

My Review of the Side Order DLC - Its little more than Gameplay.

Initial Opinion

- - - - - - - - - -

Overall; I like the gameplay mechanics initially, but the story absolutely feels lacking to me, imo. It feels like they were really banking on Side Order being Hard but... multiple of my friends finished it on their 2nd or 3rd run through the Spire.

That in itself isnt a problem! But... everyone felt sort of unsatisfied? There were no developments in the story, as we, Agent 8, were just assigned the task to Get to The Top of the Spire -> The Player Does That -> You beat a Boss -> Credits Roll (?)

On my watchthrough I literally said Please Say Sike 😭 because, dont take this poorly, but they were advertising Side Order as;

• Difficult (stated Multiple Times in basically every Trailer)

• Story Driven (You Uncover things as You Climb)

• Character and Lore Intensive (as shown by the trailers with all the concept art as well as promo art)

I dont feel like it was wrong to expect more based on how it was advertised.

But... if you complete the DLC in 1-2 runs, which is Very Much Possible, no buildup happens at all. The story was banking on the player struggling, and putting all the content behind repeat runs, which falls through and Doesnt really work/feel satisfying if the main goal is achieved in such a short time. I Feel like anyone who regularly plays Salmon Run will likely have a similar experience. And I feel kind of cheated? Because what we got was something that was Tell Not Show rather than the Show, Not Tell formula. And in my opinion, it really doesn't work as well at all. It puts all the major lore that the game has set up behind repetetive climbs (which never change btw, despite each climb being generated differently, its the same after a while) and you get about 1 Sentence of Exposition, with a Modlog from Marina if you are Lucky.

Side Order was (to me), after watching it all;

• Not Difficult, But Repetetive Gameplay (This easily runs people down, which would be fine if the tower had more than 1 setup or phase)

• Inital Story Setup with no complexities or stages. You climb the first Tower, Save Marina, Climb the Second Tower, Beat Order, and the credits Roll. In its most complex, you could fit what Side Order's Story is in 2-3 Sentences. Rather than Lore being revealed During the story, it feels Pushed to the Side as all of it is either in Text the player may never see (different climbs) or care to read (Marina's Mod Log)

• Use of Character Drops with no explaination / mention (The Agent 4 Boss, Anyone?) (This felt very Bait-y, with No Payoff)

Rating

- - - - -

If I had to give Side Order a Rating

4/10. At Best.

I am a bit disappointed with this as I feel like I was promised more, Storywise, and honestly a bit gameplay wise. I think it fails where other DLC has succeeded Due to being Built in such a way where anything engaging is stuck behind barely changing gameplay. It is not built in a way where the experience cant fail to show you whats important to the characters and the worldbuilding. It relies too much on telling you whats happening rather than the world showing you. Its too Simple, and It Doesnt Work, personally, in a series that contains Octo Expansion.

Which is Sad to me!! It had so much wasted potential and I really hope this isn't the last we're going to see of the concept, we get to see ideas actually built into the story, and... maybe find Agent 4.

Conclusion

- - - - - - - -

Tldr; Side Order had a good concept, but failed in execution for being simple and gameplay dependent, which was ultimately disappointing due to it being advertised as something more for all involved.

It was an alright attempt. The experience will just be known to me as... well. Baby's First Rouge-like. Nothing worldbreaking.

(PS, this isnt meant to be mean spirited or overly critical, I just love the Splatoon Series so I give it Tough Love. This is just my personal view on the DLC)

Thank you for Reading! Feel free to share or add any thoughts!

[phightinghottakes]

i really hope this doesnt start an entire (ph)fight or anything but this is a hottakes blog so !?!?

i actually really enjoy the way phighting handles gender!!!!! i mean, its not even mentioned in-game at all so its not even relevant to the lore whatsoever but i think its really just. really nice to see? maybe even a little nuanced?

i might be biased since im non-binary but the idea of having no biological sex is SO COOL!!!!!!!!! and then literally finding your gender and preferred pronouns off of just?? vibes?? THATS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!

AND THE BEST PART 2 ME!!!!! IS THAT ALL OF THE PRONOUNS ARE TRANSLATED!!!!!!!! THATS SOOO COOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this implies that in the phighting universe gendered pronouns dont even exist!!!!! BECAUSE GENDER ISNT IMPORTANT IN PHIGHTING!!!!!!! RRRURHRGRGH ITS SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i love love love it so much it feels so natural for just the way the worldbuilding is set up!!!

and i know a lot of people (especially on this blog) consider the way gender works in phighting as really complicated and difficult to navigate but honestly as a queer trans kid i think its just really refreshing to see. this is obviously not to shame anyone who thinks its annoying or frustrating but i think just seeing it from a queer perspective makes me feel so?? seen???

i think we need to stop looking at phighting genders as girl or boy or male or female because their genders are so fluid! somtimes it feels like the criticisms of this aspect of worldbuilding come from a very,,,i dunno,,traditional perspective?? AGAIN NOT TRYING TO START ANY FIGHTS, OR TRYING TO SHAME ANYONE!

im sure i couldve worded this better but honestly, phighting genders are abstract and irl gender is really abstract. its a social construct thats beyond just whats in yo pants!!!!!

lastly, this is all from a really really really queer perspective and furthermore, a non-binary perspective! the way everyone perceives gender and especially their own gender is unique and different :]

(this, of course, does NOT in ANY WAY excuse the fact that there is a horrible horrible gender ratio. thats a really upsetting thing to me, but this isnt about that)

im so sorry this is so long

.

[1karuga]

LMK Story Ideas & Prompts + AUs

I have a bunch of ideas for AUs and various plots that like to bounce around my head like screensavers, so I'd rather share them online to maybe entertain or help give ideas to anyone that might like what I'm posting.

But this first idea is for an AU that I've been expanding on extensively for a while. It's a universe where after attaining Buddhahood, the Jade Emperor managed to trick Wukong and seal the Great Sage away in a realm hidden between the Mortal and Spirit Realm.

MK still becomes the Monkey King's Successor because he can wield the staff and has the Monkey King's power, but he never physically meets him and can only see him in dreams. But to expand on that idea, MK had dreams of meeting the Monkey King before the plot starts and is a huge part of his backstory then MK stopped having those dreams for years only for them to reappear once he gets the staff but they're not as clear as they used to be.

So with the staff in hand and the Monkey King's powers, MK decides to try and find a way to free the Monkey King and goes on a journey with his friends (and Red Son whom they forcefully take along) to find a way to break the seal trapping the Great Sage in the Hidden Realm.

This AU is going to also take some creative liberties with the addition of the spirit realm and its inhabitants, Erlang Shen is present and a major player in the story (along with his relationship with Sun Wukong), then Macaque is also very different from how he is in the canon.

There's also Guanyin, wrecking shop in the Demon Realm, a whole heist plot in the Celestial Realm, Nezha content, and just a lot of stuff concerning MK's backstory which will be the same but kinda different from canon.

I could honestly write an entire lore dump on this AU honestly, but that's because I'm a sucker for worldbuilding. I'll be posting more of these AUs every once in a while, or talking about story ideas that could be interesting, or expanding on anything if it's interesting enough.

I'd love to hear what y'all think, whether it's more info on this AU or anything else. So if you would like a Part 2... just let me know (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

[bricko-mcfisto]

So I wanna talk about Elden Ring, specifically about the final boss of its DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, specifically about some of the controversy and fandom infighting I've seen and some of my own thoughts about why they did what they did.

Obviously, spoilers beneath the cut.

So, instead of Godwyn we got Promised Consort Radahn and the reveal that Miquella had been thirsting for the Starscourge as his lord and consort since before he was even called the Starscourge, and some people are pretty disappointed about that, and honestly I am too, but...I want to take a stab at trying to explain why.

As youtubers like Zullie the Witch have started delving into Shadow of the Erdtree's lore and assets it's pretty obvious that indeed as has been said already, the content in SOTE was part of Georgie Martin's lore bible that he wrote for the game, and honestly I think this is the root reason for why it was Radahn at the end of the DLC and not Godwyn.

George RR Martin is a man kind of famous for his painstaking detail even where it's not always wanted, such as his notorious quote asking what Aragorn's tax policies were after Lord of the Rings, and Radahn's presence in the DLC answers a question that while maybe not important to most of us would have absolutely been something he'd have included in what he wrote for Fromsoft.

Why did Malenia and Radahn fight? It's a question we never get an answer to main game, I don't think we even get any real hints. Personally I didn't think it was that important, the entire point of the Shattering War was that it was bad and the demigods going mad with newfound strength so does it really matter what their specific supposed reasons were for annihilating the countryside?

However, George Martin absolutely would have included the details of why that war happened, what the goals were, the point of it even was, and thus...we see Radahn's place as final boss and Promised Consort.

Now do I know this for fact? Obviously not, I'm inferring based on my understanding of Martin's writing and the general level of historical detail in Elden Ring's base game and how neatly the rest of the DLC fits into the history and worldbuilding of the base game, and the fact that George kinda feels like the only explanation?

Promised Consort Radahn is kind of unprecedented in terms of Fromsoft's DLC boss fights. The closest we've ever come to something like this was in Dark Souls 2, with things like the Squallid Queen summoning Velstadt and the optional powered up, Cool Ranch flavored Smelter Demon, both of which don't even come close.

This would be like if the Artorias of the Abyss DLC in Dark Souls 1 had like the Four Kings again but more powerful and "in their prime" as the final boss instead of Manus. It would be like if the final boss of Dark Souls 3's last DLC was Lorian revealing that while he liked his brother he always thought Yhorm was super cool and wanted to marry him and you then fought them both together. Really the only reason I can think for why Fromsoft would do something this unusual for them is because it's what George wrote down when detailing the events of the Shattering War and why those battles happened.

[finalgirlgretchen]

cuckoo had a lot of things working against it in terms of audience reception (not least the fact that it was a neon drop immediately following longlegs) but i honestly think it was mostly just. its firm insistence on the sincerity of premises that a 2024 audience doesn't expect or want. like. the cultural obsession right now is a grief/trauma horror subgenre, and has been since babadook. and cuckoo tricks its audience into thinking it's going to be another entry into the trauma horror canon by allowing gretchen to have a dead mother, but then it swerves to be actually about queer feminism, white patriarchy, colonialism, and eugenics. it's a gotcha! they're having fun with genre expectations!!! and so it leaves the audience feeling stupid because they're unable to interpret the film through a trauma horror framework, which is what they went in expecting, and their only option when they feel stupid is to accuse the movie of being messy and nonsensical. but ALSO, even apart from that, cuckoo is. a monster movie!!! cuckoo is straight up just a MONSTER movie and we don't see all that many of those anymore!!! and not only that but its monster is so wacky and zany and bonkers and original that it's even further putting off an audience who ALREADY don't like monster movies. and so again they have to accuse it of being a disaster and its plot not making any sense when actually it's like. the plot makes total sense. everything relevant to the plot is answered by the film itself. there are maybe some worldbuilding or lore things that are left unanswered but they don't impact the viewing experience. it's just that cuckoo is doing something different than what audiences demand from horror in 2024. and i PERSONALLY think that's what makes it the best release of all time

[misc-obeyme]

I'm back with some more biblical lore >:'D

I've been thinking lately and noticed how similar Mc is to a Nephilim. In case you didn't know; Nephilim are the spawn from a union between a Human and an Angel. If lilith somehow kept her Angel DNA after being reincarnated as a human and MC being their distant descendant, chances are Mc is more Nephilim than human.

Another thing i would like to point out is; How powerful Mc is! The game even mentions that Mc is probably more powerful than Solomon (Twice mind you). In Lesson 62-19, Lucifer states that there are probably only a few demons who could pose a threat to MC due to how powerful they have become. And if i remember correctly in Lesson 76-19, Simeon stole the ring of light from the Celestial Realm without permission for Mc cuz they couldn't control their power. Now where am i getting with this? You see, a Nephilim is considered one of the most powerful entities in the universe due to being able to become stronger than its angelic parents. Nephilim are greater in power because not only do they possess the power of the Angelic parentage but a Human soul to enhance it, creating a supremely powerful being. Nephilim were also stated to have been quite destructive with their powers especially if they couldn't control said powers.

MC could be so powerful it could pose a threat everyone. Basically, Mc is capable to be more powerful than any demon or angel. Maybe this could be why the Celestial Realm (or Michael for that matter) kepts a close eye on Mc on all times.

Actually, i have more thoughts to do this but i don't want to spam you full with text. Until next time ✌🏻

-Angsty Anon.

Ah yes, nephilim, I am indeed familiar with this concept! I can't remember where I first heard about it. I'm pretty sure I knew about them before Supernatural had one in the later seasons... but I can't remember where I first heard it.

Anyway, I think a lot of this depends on how the ancestry works in the OM world. They don't tell us this information, of course, so it's hard to say. But Lilith is one of MC's distant ancestors, so her angel DNA by normal human standards would be extremely diluted at this point. Not gone entirely, but certainly not the same amount that MC would have if they had had one full angelic parent.

Which isn't to say that they aren't still a powerful nephilim. Since this is all made up, it just depends on whatever worldbuilding the game decides to go with. (If they bring this up at all, which they might not.) I mean in that they could say in order to be considered a nephilim, one has to have a fully angelic parent. But they could also say, it doesn't matter. The angelic DNA could be so strong and powerful enough that it manifests in MC just as strongly as it would if MC had a fully angelic parent. If they did go with that, though, I think there'd need to be some kind of special exception for MC specifically. Because otherwise every human in MC's lineage would also have had that same amount of power, possibly more.

I think it'd be interesting if MC's reason was honestly just... they came to the Devildom! That power was always latent in them (and iirc this is kinda how they describe it in the game too), but it isn't brought out until they start making pacts and befriending angels and so forth.

They definitely already have destructive levels of power. MC needed the Ring of Light in order to contain that power because it was fucking with the worlds without MC even doing anything. That's why it was like a matter of desperation that they sever their pacts and blah blah.

I think MC is currently a threat to the stability of the worlds, but because they have the Ring of Light, that keeps their power stable instead of going haywire all the time.

Anyway, MC is OP and whether that's due to just their life circumstances or because of their angel DNA, the game hasn't specified. Which means you get to make up whatever you want, which is always fun!

I was also under the impression that nephilim are often so dangerous that regular angels won't even suffer them to live. Like if they find out about it, they're gonna hunt that nephilim down because nobody that powerful should exist. Most stories seem to go this route with it. But here we got Michael bein like... I gotta watch this one, but I'm not gonna kill 'em. LOL. And I think that's an interesting aspect. They don't really interfere much at all, even when MC was an active threat.

In fact, they straight up punished Simeon for doing the one thing that would save the worlds from MC's power without anyone having to die.

I'm still mad about it.

Anyway, I will tag this as spoilers just in case, I know not everybody is caught up on all the seasons in OG.

But I like this concept! It's certainly interesting to think about and to consider all the different things that could go into it!

[angeart]

ok so I just finished binge reading (as well as staring in wonder at the beautiful art) basically everything about the fic and I just want to say. THE ART. THE WRITING. THE WORLDBUILDING AND LORE AND PLOT AND CHARACTER DESIGNS. THE EVERYTHING.

Their stories are so tragic and amazing and IM NOT CRYING YOURE CRYING *internally screaming and sobbing* >:C /vvvpos

also I’m super intrigued by the mimic??? Like, ohmygosh they’re such an interesting character and I feel so bad for them but at the same time HOW DARE YOU HURT MY CHILDREN </33333 im wondering if we’re ever gonna get any info on what their natural form (if they have one) looks like?? Or more mimic/hybrid lore, etc? but either way GREAT JOB ARGH this fic >>>>>>

I’m awestruck by both of your amazing skills, keep doing what you’re doing because you’re both gonna go great places, and already have and holy. I’m so invested in this fic lmbo. 🫵🏳️‍🌈🥺

-😸🫶🏼

waaa ohmygosh a new person! hi hello!!

i was confused for a second but i assume by fic you mean hhau! <33 their story truly is full of tragedy (just the way we love it hehe) and i'm so excited to hear you enjoyed looking through all the stuff and are now Invested™️!

also also!! it's great to hear you're interested in the mimic! when me and link made juni, we just had a What If Mimic thought one day and played around with it, and then it kept going and going, until it gained a life of its own. and, honestly, we weren't sure if people were going to like him by the end of his arc. he's complicated, he stepped between grian and scar, and he's made some very bad decisions. which, you know, is a tricky spot to put a character you want people to care about.

it always makes me so happy to know he's looked at with love and curiosity despite all the wrongs he's done rather than seeing his character just negatively and being glad he's gone, so thank u!! <33

juni doesn't know what his original form is. in a way, he doesn't have one anymore. he can't remember how to be himself, so he's just looking for someone to be. someone he can live with being, you know? identity is such a convoluted, twisted concept to him, but he's desperate to grasp it. to be his own, rather than just a thief or a coward or a traitor.

and maybe we'll get to see where that journey takes him. i hope that's something you'd look forward to see :3c

[evolutionsvoid]

I find your Fall of Ichor setting interesting.

You have a solid theme for it.

The body humors from medeival texts (blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlem), several other fluids that are based off myth (alkahest, ichor, eitr, etc)

Everything references classical myths, or more obscure bits of ancient concepts. (Like tbose bees). The more obscure things you reference are real,  but obscure and thus provide novelty. Clear passion for history and trivia.

Furthermore your monsters (somewhat) fill ecological niches recognizable to us. Its speculative evolution too.

On a whole it is a very strange setting.

But-whay you wrote is heavy on lore, but light on story. I get it. You’re writing this by yourself. I’ve done a little writing, and it’s tough. But I think if you got a few other artists on board, you could make something truly amazing out of it.

Thank you so much for your kind words! It always warms my heart to hear people enjoy my stuff! A good eye on ya for seeing all the things I get inspiration from, even the more obscure ones! It is a setting that is quite bizarre but a whole lot of fun to work on, which I hope shows in the stuff I post!

As for the lore vs story thing, I very much admit that that is a major problem of mine. Honestly, like 99% of my work is worldbuilding and the 1% is maybe kind story but written terribly. My obsession is in details, with fleshing things out. It is a thing in my mind where I have to lay the groundwork first before I make a story, but then I find no end to the groundwork itself. My mind is always stewing and thinking, trying to find new inspirations and things to expand. And since I find no shortage of things to make lore, I spend all my time on that. I do wish to make stories one day, but I will always fall back on my need for explanations and details.

I do see how teaming up with others could help with such things, but there in lies another problem of mine: I am a very particular person when it comes to what I make. Honestly, you could probably call me controlling or selfish. It's just that I am so eager to work on my projects and feel that I would be very reluctant to relinquish anything to others. I probably would be very difficult to work with, and I wouldn't want anyone to suffer for my issues. I certainly see my weaknesses and the areas where I lack, but I am kind of bad at actually doing anything about it.

I hope that I do not come across offended or angry of your suggestion, as I am not. I appreciate your advice and kindness in offering it!

Thanks again for your kind words and wonderful ask!

[ratcandy]

OH YEAH and yeah idk maybe the big skull fungus very well could be like, a god. that it could be like, the one god shroom. i remember people before sotf were wondering if the mushroomos infected sozo(nious) on purpose because of the implication that its a god was in the file name even before the lore tablets mentioned it.. i think. i havent seen them for myself either besides small glances IT ALSO HAS A WHITE STEM?? INSTEAD OF A BLACK ONE LIKE SOZO HAS?? like?? is it a different type? what if its from an ancient ancestor? whats going on, whats the relation of the mushroomos to these similar but different fungi? im honestly just as confused as you are. i think about these things about the game, especially with sozo, so often and im glad someone else also does just as much LMAO. at this rate ive posted 3 fucking anon asks in a row im so sorry

COTL DEVS ANSWER ME WHAT IS THE SKULL SUPPSOED TO BE

If it is a god shroom then everything explodes because It's A God Shroom it could do whatever it wants for any reason . In which Sozo has a god in his body/brain(???) and that's why it can drag him with it when it's revived. and that is a Theory I've proposed before but then it's like. WHY would a god shroom NOT infect more than just Sozo. Surely it wants to propagate right??? Otherwise why infect at all?? Unless it just wanted a vessel??

I mean fuck if we really want to go insane about it, the fungi that kills Sozo doesn't even look like the same fungi

and it split the one on his head in HALF so like. I assume it's the same fungi and it just spores in a strange way, because otherwise we're going into complicated ass hyperparasitism territory (parasites that infect other parasites) which we COULD do but like WHY, but i mean.

like. maybe this is a neverending spiral of endless fungi. who knows Throws my hands into the air.

AND DIFFERENT STEM COLORS YOU'RE RIGHT I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE?? COULD THEY BE DIFFERENT SPECIES THEN? BUT WHY ... Or is a maturity thing and maybe the one on Sozo is younger and will lose its darker colors as it ages????? I mean. And bear with me here, but. The shroom on the skull has fuckin age lines. So like. Old shroom? Old shroom gone white with age? Old? Shroom? Aged? Elderly shroom?

and don't even get me STARTED on the mushroomos who are themselves seemingly menticide (given they drop it when killed and sozo will eat them). like. the worldbuilding here is so fucked and I can only barely try to contain it into digestible boxes that make a vague amount of sense in my brain

[teeth-cable]

Worldbuilding Questions: The Sinners not being treated like trash in Hell.

1. They are responsible for the yearly cleanse which sometimes results in angels leaving behind their weapons which as proven by Striker isn't just a problem for sinners but the nobles as well.

2. Lucifer rebelled because he refused to kneel before humans and sure you can bring up Lilith but i honestly don't know which lore about her Vivziepop is going with because there's a ton of different versions with the main consistent thing being she's Adam's first wife who believed in equal rights. Like she defied god and his plans so I'm leaning towards Lucifer seeing her as an exception. Also its weird Lilith is drawn as white when she should be middle eastern (because that's where a lot of the bible takes place) or african (humans came from africa according to palentology).

3. Sinners cause chaos in their wake in just pentagram city alone we have territorial violence every saturday which would probably make Hellborn who travel to pride have a miserable experience.

4. Also why does Hell have its technology line up perfectly with Earth? Like since it takes several decades on average for people to die on average wouldn't that mean that tech geniuses who kickstarted a tech revolution wouldn't show up until much later to bring it to hell? And then you have to consider some of those geniuses might end up in Heaven instead. Plus they can't even leave hell like the Hellborns so they can't just swoop in and attempt to have any status via technological advancements even if they are a tech genius who died young because they lack something made within the last few years to reconfigure for hell. Like do you think a succubus is going to hand a sinner a phone she found so they can invent the internet or create cellphones. Also would hell even have the same materials to create the tech?

5. Wouldn't it be logistically seen as a bigger scandal if Stolas got with a sinner instead of an imp? Like Lucifer hates them, your existence as demons is designed to fuck them over, and those assholes could've gone to heaven.

Like I get Charlie and Vaggie were initially written as friends in the pilot but now with the currently known lore. Vaggie dating Charlie should effect Charlie's reputation significantly. Even if we go with sinners being middle class like in canon... Vaggie barely has powers/isn't an overlord, the question regarding royal heirs, and she is literally a being that Lucifer would think is below Charlie.

It just doesn't make sense for sinners to not be treated awful in Hell. The only reason why they're in Hell is because they were terrible in their human life and are supposed to be punished because of it so for them to get off scott-free and do whatever they want doesn't make sense. Also the additional problems the sinners brought in Viv's Hell. Sinners are overpopulating Hell and it will make the Hellborns hate them because now there is a competition for food and space and to make it worst because of the overpopulation, Heaven is now involved and have to do a yearly purging. So the sinners are draining resources from the local species and brought Heaven into Hell, Hellborns greatest enemies that the imps have to clean up after because the angels aren't cleaning their mess. How are sinners not get punish here?

Lilith, I don't think counts as a human anymore because she did betrayed Adam and God and turned into a succubus. So maybe Lucifer sees her as an equal because of their similar backstories and relationship with God. I get what you're saying with Lilith, it does makes sense for her to be middle eastern but I think it's a Jesus situation. Where they both came from Judaism and were very obvious not white in their original appearance but due to centuries of the church rewriting and whitewashing Judaism to fit their religion, the popular interpretation of Jesus became white. Heck, even now when it now public knowledge Jesus wasn't white and was Jewish, people still draw him the white version more. Still not an excuse but I can see why Viv made Lilith white when most modern interpretation of Lilith is a white lady.

If TERF wars were so common and violence to the point, they make it to the local news, you would think they would show that in Helluva Boss.

I guess you can make the excuse, imps and demons stole knowledge from humans to make their technology as advanced as their. Belphegor did trick humans into making machines with the promised it would make them rich or help humanity but when they’re done building, Belphegor stole their inventions. Again though it still weird Hell is technology advanced as humans when Hell has it's own culture and history different from Earth. Even if Hell and Earth do have similar cities and technology, there would still be major differences between the two worlds.

In another Hell show where the world building was planned and thought out well, yes, but in Helluva, Hell's ranks shows imps are below sinners.

The pilot was so unplanned. Even when people use the excuse, it's just an pilot and they will explain the lore in detail in the show, a pilot should still have a basis understanding of it's own lore and show it. Charlie and Vaggie's relationship, friends or girlfriends would still be conversational. Not only for the reasons you mentioned but also Charlie was in a relationship with Seviathan Von Eldritch, a Hellborn prince but broke it off. Knowing how Hellborns can be petty and mean, when they see Charlie hanging around with some random sinner after she broke up with a prince, rumors will surely be made. Charlie was secretly seeing Vaggie when she was dating Seviathan, Vaggie trick Charlie into leaving Seviathan, Vaggie trick Charlie into wanting to help the sinner, Vaggie is only friends with Charlie because she only wants to move up ranks. These rumors aren’t true but that doesn’t matter because the Hellborn will treat them as truth to feel powerful than Charile. If this did happened it actually provide a reason why the sinners in the pilot didn’t respect Charlie or her plan because the rumors tainted her reputation and sinners are suspicious about her motives to help them. It fleshes out the sinners and gives them more of a character than them being mean to Charlie because they’re asshole despite Charlie being the daughter of Lucifer and she can torture them for being disrespectful.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

https://www.tumblr.com/aspiringwarriorlibrarian/749672479143903233/this-show-focus-too-much-on-lore-and-its

I feel like 90% of online spaces need to have words taken away from them until they know how to use them right, because this kind of mentality where "X should not be here, Y should be here" is ridiculous.

Like, did it ever occur to them that maybe lore and worldbuilding aren't just there for them to ignore and disregard, but to help contextualize the way the characters act and think, or maybe even help to further understand the nature of certain events? Or that maybe the author is using these story elements as a way to dissect and break down the way we as people engage with narrative?

Because honestly, it feels like a lot of the time most complaints aren't built on any understanding of these things' roles in a narrative, but ultimately just "I don't like it, so it has no value and doesn't deserve to exist" except with flowery language slapped on it to sound smart.

I am a big advocate for the adaptation of language, but the blatant bad faith way all of it is used turned me off. But your last paragraph was spot on. Too many people mistake "I don't like it" for "it has no value" and then build their cases on that.