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rafayelogy · 3 months ago

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DEBUNKING SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT RAFAYEL’S LORE + THEORY

(may contain spoilers for rafayel’s myths “sea of golden sand” and “forgotten sea”, his main story branch “land of secret flames”, his third anecdote “siren’s song” and the memories “fragrant dream” and “your fragrance”)

• “lemuria was destroyed after the sea god’s ceremory”

this one is a very curious one to me since his myth explicitly states rafayel saved lemuria and the kingdom only sunk many years after his death

• “rafayel betrayed his people by choosing mc over lemuria”

ok, here is when i feel people get a little confused about what really happened with lemuria in the three different timelines (main story, forgotten sea and sea of golden sand)

i think it’s very complicated to take what we are presented in “sea of golden sand” at face value since what we see in the “forgotten sea” myth directly contradicts what we learn from it, for years lemurians believed mc stole the sea god’s heart in the coming-of-age ceremony what we know isn’t true and rafayel was the one who offered his heart to her

the true is we don’t know why the seas dried out, we don’t even know if mc really has the sea god’s heart since the myth invites you to follow rafayel’s skeptical perception on lemurians legends

we aren’t supposed to believe these legends, so we cannot really tell what rafayel did that angered the deep sea since, in “forgotten sea”, we only have the mention of a lie rafayel told the deep sea to save both lemuria and mc

i’ve seen many fans saying that rafayel is facing the consequences of his actions, however the main story lacks sufficient information about what happened to lemuria in that timeline, but one thing we can be sure of is that rafayel was just a child when it disappeared

claiming rafayel betrayed his people for mc isn’t just a simplification of his personal conflict but isn’t even canon accurate since not only he was just a little boy but the text clearly hints ever may be involved

• “rafayel had his scales and tail cut out by mc”

i keep seeing this being thrown around as a “sad rafayel fact” and i don’t know where people got it from

what i think happened is that people mixed information from two very different sources (rafayel’s “siren song” anecdote and the “fragrant dream” memory)

in his past, rafayel met a detective who is convinced he’s a merman seeking revenge after being deceived by a human woman, however, these claims are purely speculative and there’s no evidence to support the idea that this actually happened in any timeline

there’s also the 4 stars memory “fragrant dream” where mc has a dream in which she becomes a sea witch and rafayel appears to her in his merman form and requests a potion that would transform him into a human, the dream is heavily inspired by “the little mermaid” tale, making it difficult to fully discern which parts were merely a dream and which ones were based on real events

i personally believe it the dream could also be her brain processing trauma from when she was stuck as ever’s lab rat since the “ingredients” she asks rafayel are the same substances extracted from lemurians during the experiments and we know rafayel was also one of their victims

whatever the dream is complete or partially fictional, there’s one thing we can be sure of: mc never harmed rafayel, he’s the one who offers his scales and blood to abyss witch mc to be used in the potion so he could turn her back into human

+ my interpretation of their bond

in “forgotten sea” we learned that the bond serves two purposes: igniting the temple’s flame and allowing the sea god to access the tome of the sea god, where lemurian prophecies are recorded

since we know rafayel successfully ignited the flame and we saw him and mc using the bond to read the tome in both “sea of golden sand” and his main story branch, we can only assume rafayel and mc concluded the ceremony that day, they are bound, mc is the sea god’s follower

but then, what happened to anger the deep sea?

well, i believe mc was the one meant to give up on her freedom and autonomy to stay in lemuria with rafayel, however he fell in love with her and wanted her to be free as he himself felt trapped there, directly mirroring princess mc’s feelings in the “sea of golden sand” myth

his resolution to save his people and not condemn the woman he loved to a life of subservience was to pledge devotion to her, sacrificing his freedom for hers and his devotion to her was what ignited the temple’s flame

the lemurian bond symbolizes their love but also symbolizes control, in rafayel’s “siren’s song” anecdote, the detective who accuses his of being a siren and the responsible for the man is the audience’s death, he references something that seems to be similar to rafayel’s chest mark as an indicator of lemurians’ influence on humans

due to rafayel's love for mc, the sea god is now subordinate to a human woman, what obviously would displease the deep sea since we know from his main story branch, the deep sea spirit can take over rafayel’s body and mc is able to bring him back to himself through their bond

as long as their bond exists, the deep sea will never be able to use rafayel as its sea god, this could explain why the sea is angry at him and wants him to kill mc in “sea of golden sand”, their bond is the only thing granting rafayel freedom from the influences of the deep sea

(late editing because i just forgot crucial information ????)

tidal embrace, mc’s weapon that comes with god of the tides as companion has the following description: “a scepter symbolizing the power of sea god. it is unknown to all that the god had gifted his heart and authority to his eternal follower before leaving the temple.”

#🫀 — my meta Ꮺ.ᐟ #love and deepspace #love and deepspace lore #love and deepspace analysis #love and deepspace theories #lads rafayel #rafayel qi

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taylorklosscomeout138 · 2 months ago

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Maybe that's because yalls side of things view everything so painfully surface level with the forced removal of the ever present layer of Kaylor that still persists in 2025.

Let's get into this rundown of evidence and bare with me because there is ALOT...

If you dove even slightly deeper you would have figured out that the poster isn't a random person, she is Ruby Rose's ex girlfriend and she deliberately drew attention to the part where Karlie is shown by cutting the original clip right after, just to proceed to like and reply to every comment about Karlie and Kaylor lore.... yeah in the big year of 2025

It's almost like Kaylor isn't a thing of the past.

You would have also found that this is Harley the poster of the July 4th vid, Ruby Rose, Cara, Gigi, and Taylor is laying across them. Like Taylor clearly knew Harley who again has proven to be a KAYLOR herself.

But that's not all. Because you would have also discovered that Harley implied numerous times that she was not allowed to release this footage till now because she signed an NDA and had just been given permission to post it, including her responding to myself about the NDA.

Which based on her Kaylor activity it becomes very clear that Taylor gave the green light AND had her specifically cut it off after Karlie is shown.

How do we know this for sure? Because this morning Harley deleted her video of the second half of the footage, which LOUDLY indicates she was not allowed to release any more of the video than she originally did. The second half shows Karlie's beard with his alleged actual boyfriend Mikey Hess. This is likely the reason she had to take it down.

Also this is her implying that the timing was intentional

So let's look deeper into this, because it all revolves around KARma.

So this 4th of July insider clip was posted yesterday on the 13th, let's keep in mind that party took place during the Karma era.

Well at the same time that these clips were being released what was TN up to? Fueling that Karma is real and posting about Karma

They also posted within this "you can't spell Cats without TS" which is reminiscent of "you can't spell awesome without ME" from the Lover era... I think this callback is extremely intentional because get this...

In the KARma MV during the hourglass scene, the outfit Taylor is wearing looks exactly like Taylor's 2019 AMAs outfit which was around the failed Lover era coming out.

I believe this scene implies that the time has been ticking between the 2019 AMAs and the 2025 AMAs. Because there is a very obvious connection between this year's AMAs and the Karma MV. They both will have premiered on May 26th....

So to bring it back to the Karma era 4th of July video, it makes perfect sense that it would be planned to be released on the 13th, 13 days before the AMAs which has direct correlation to Karma no matter what you believe and what way you look at it. It is irrefutably connected.

It is also rumoured that Taylor will make an album announcement at the AMAs and some of my friends have previously speculated before Harley even posted that that Taylor would release this album on July 4th. Which would make even more sense if true as to why we got a July 4th video from the Karma era.

I also think considering how Taylor released Speak Now TV around July 9th because of the Last Kiss lyric that it would make sense for her to release Reputation TV July 4th because of the Endgame lyric.

In which I cannot stress this enough, IN the video Harley posted we see both ED SHEERAN and KARLIE KLOSS at this 4th of July party and it can generally be inferred that Endgame lyric is written about the exact same party, hence Ed featuring on it.

So if you ask me none of this is a reach or Kaylor lore of the past, this is literally all present activities. In which I want to remind everyone that it has always been obvious KARma was for KARlie but Taylor doubled down and made it more obvious in the actual Karma MV.

Because in her Vogue 73 questions interview Taylor says her favorite song lyric ever is "I had a dream there were clouds in my coffee" from You're So Vain by Carly Simon, this is right before she proceeds to go outside and tell a man to take his wife to Big Sur for their honeymoon.... and right after that we see framed pics of Taylor and Karlie at Big Sur

Well in the KARma MV at the very end, the camera pans up and flies into the clouds, in which after traveling through the CLOUDS we come back out through a steaming cup of COFFEE. Which is quite literally a visual representation of the Carly Simon lyrics.

And everyone knows who was named after Carly Simon, the modern Carly Simon to Taylor being named after James Taylor, yup you guessed it. KARlie, on a song called KARma, in which in general Karlie has said all the people close to her call her KAR.

The proof is in the art, I didn't put it there, Taylor did, I just found it because she wanted it to be. And it's beyond silly to ignore all these blatant signs right in front of us

#karlie kloss #kaylor #gaylor #gaylor swift #taylor and karlie #friends of dorothea #lgbetty #taylorkloss

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novantinuum · 1 year ago

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jen's "Hard-Light Hybrid Steven" headcanon dump

Okay so I'm just making this its own post, because frankly at this point... the original post is so hard to get all the pulp out of due to the headcanons being spread over multiple reblogs and half of it being in the tags.

So here we go. Self indulgent headcanon time. This is how I'm now personally interpreting things within the realm of my own fic work and the post-canon storylines that live in my mind. This is NOT, however, a work of meta- I am by no means suggesting this to be what I see as "canon," only having some fun playing around with ideas I think are cool on a speculative fantasy anatomy level. Take it as you will basically, lol. This is ultimately just for me.

With that stated:

"jen what the fuck do you mean when you say hard-light hybrid Steven, what are you even suggesting"

Essentially I am proposing that Steven becomes progressively more hard-light based in form as he ages. When he was born he was two almost entirely separate halves mashed together- organic and gem- and those two halves slowly but surely merge over the years (hard light replacing organic matter) until one day they are literally inseparable, and Steven is one permanently cohesive being... entirely hewn from hard-light, but with a level of anatomical complexity that still makes him a complete anomaly amongst Gems and humans alike. Instead of the innards of his body being solid light, he is still formed of cells- only now, those cells are entirely hard-light.

His gem is somehow mimicking the form of organic matter with a level of detail that's absolutely unobtainable by shapeshifting or tailored reformation alone. Steven has become the single most complex hard-light system to have ever existed.

Some more specifics on how I imagine this merge working:

Much of the "merging" is natural over time, basically his gem branching out new bits of hard-light circuitry within his body as it integrates within his system.

However, this process is sped up significantly by all the spills and injuries Steven deals with throughout his childhood... because his body's instinctive response to injury is simply to replace damaged cells with hard-light analogues. An almost instantaneous patch job.

Steven's component halves being so distinct early on is a large reason why he takes so long to harness many of his powers.

This is also why Steven's (mostly) organic half is so weakened during the split in Change Your Mind- at that point there's a lot about his anatomy that's been converted to hard-light, so it's basically as if White Diamond yanked the power source out.

(Same idea for why he's so weakened during the movie when his gem's on the fritz... his gem's connection with the rest of his body got partially severed for a time, which. Is not Good for someone who at this point is more hard-light than not hard light.)

At a certain point post-canon, it becomes impossible for Steven's organic and gem halves to be separated. They are so tightly integrated that attempting to remove the gem would only poof him.

Now, here's the thing though...

Steven does not realize that Any of this is taking place until the blunt reality of his strange new anatomical nature is put on display for all to see... when he actually DOES poof.

Here is how (in my own post-canon musings, which I have simplified here because y'all don't live inside all the intensive lore that jangles about my brain) I envision that taking place:

So, Steven would be in his mid to late twenties at this point. He's married to Connie, and they have an infant son.

Recently, there was a fairly severe Gem incident that left Beach City and Little Homeworld pretty damaged. Things are still being mopped up from that.

Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl head out on a quick mission one day to intercept one of the last few supporters of the Gem who attacked the Crystal Gem's hub of operation, and at first it seems like it's gonna be a straightforward trip.

Then, Steven sees the Gem in question pull a destabilizer wand on Garnet, and- unwilling to watch her to get ripped apart like that again- throws himself in between. He can take it, he thinks. These things never hurt him one bit as a kid

He cannot take it.

He poofs.

His gem unceremoniously falls to the ground, along with the clothes he was wearing and whatever he had in his pockets.

Cue the others going "what the actual FUCK" because based on everything they've ever witnessed and known about him no one had "Steven poofs" on their bingo card.

The insurgent Gem is captured and dealt with, but now... oh, boy. There's literally no playbook for this. Nobody knows what to expect.

Steven's gem is quiet for WEEKS. During that time, the Gems end up consulting the Diamonds on Homeworld to ask for intel on diamond reformation, but none of them are much help- Rose and Steven are the only ones who have actually poofed. Beyond them, this is completely unprecedented.

In a very vague sense, Steven is aware of what must have happened during this time... (even if a part of him wants to deny it, because How???)

He can pick up vague snippets of what's happening just beyond his reach... catching voices and what must be faint sensations of familiar people handling his gem, but beyond that he has no awareness of the passage of time, and he has no means by which to reach out to them mentally.

It takes almost two months for him to finally reform. When he does, his gem quickly shifts through its previous three forms and then just... outright h a n g s for a while on the new one... as if what's trying to "load" up is so complex it's goddamn buffering.

(my brain can only think of This image uyhjfsdbyuhjfg)

No one really knows what to expect but when he finally reforms, he... looks mostly the same? Still rather human in appearance, externally? The only notable difference is that his irises are pink now. (But with no diamond pupil- not unless he's going Full Power Mode.)

Steven also reforms WITH an outfit much like a Gem would.

The second he's back, he runs to embrace Connie (who is sobbing in relief) and asks how long he was out.

And he did NOT anticipate that answer to be two months.

As it turns out, he missed quite a few baby milestones while he was gone, and he feels horrible about it- it's not his fault of course, but he feels so bad that Connie had to go that long without his support, and that there's all those special "firsts" with his son he'll never get to experience.

This whole incident marks Steven's final "retirement" from participating in real combat- he outright tells the Gems to not involve him in any other combat situations unless the whole ass planet is under threat, basically. The potential risks are just not worth it now that he knows how long he'd be out of commission, should he poof once more. He can't put his family through that again.

Now, with all that outlined...

Ways that Steven is Weird now:

He looks rather human- his hair looks like hair and his skin looks like skin- but after he reforms, literally every "cell" of his body is fashioned out of hard-light.

However, if one were to theoretically slice him in half (which I PROMISE I am not going to do, this is only a thought experiment ahahah-), his internal anatomy would glow much like the Gems' do. (See below image for what I mean.) The "human-like" appearance of his skin and hair and other externally visible features does not extend very deep.

He "bleeds" pink now- but it's only surface, and is all just excess hard-light. No real blood.

His body would no longer show up on a radiograph- just the gem.

Many of his anatomical features (not all of them, though) are now vestigial in certain ways-? Like, various functions have overtly been taken over by his gem... he doesn't need to breathe or have any lifeblood beyond light pumping through his system, so his heart and lungs serve no necessary purpose anymore... but all of these organs still "exist" as like an echo of what once was, perfect mimics of their organic form but hewn from hard-light.

That being said, Connie enjoys the reassurance of his heartbeat, so he retains that function while conscious.

(Not to mention, "breathing" is literally just a habit for him by this point.)

HOWEVER, when he sleeps (another thing he technically doesn't Need to do but does anyways) his breathing and heartbeat stops entirely and it kinda spooks Connie out. The literal only evidence she has that he's still kicking during these times is the soft hum of his gemstone.

He does not have a biological NEED for food or water anymore and can fully operate on exposure to light alone, but he still really enjoys eating and drinking anyways. In fact, he's still able to absorb energy from food... so it's basically like he's over-charging his battery or whatever. He also still experiences taste (so still posesses some form of taste receptors) and instinctively feels "hungry" at meal times, so like... the running theory is that he must have hard-light analogues for all these receptors and neurotransmitters and hormones that communicate sensations like hunger in his system even though their function is entirely redundant with his gem powering everything.

Furthermore, his memories and sense of self and everything one might refer to as "the soul" is stored exclusively in his gem now. Which means, if one could manage to analyze his brain like one could with a human brain, there would be entire sections that simply... don't light up the way that others (such as the parts of the brain that govern motor control, as an example) do. This is because all the "data" once stored there has migrated.

He can fully shapeshift now, if he wanted to.

He can also still visually "age"- it's all based on his mental state, same as before.

But despite being hard-light in nature now, he can still interface with organics in fusion because his form is still so organic in shape and function. He's still the bridge between humanity and gemkind. I like to think that... theoretically... a Gem might be able to fuse with an organic too, but the sheer burden of trying to shapeshift and maintain such cellular complexity is what stops this from happening.

Steven, though? His very existence as a hybrid acted as a template by which hard-light could learn to understand organic life. He is still an intensely unique being, even IF he no longer consists of any actual organic matter.

I am sure I will probably add something to this later, but for now, those are all my musings.

Anyways, thank you for taking a brief visit to the deepest recesses of my brain, where I am chewing at the drywall and bouncing around the room like a cat who has just devoured the goddamn motherlode of catnip. Good night! !! :DDD

#su #su future #steven universe #jen rambles #or... jen thinks so hard about speculative anatomy that they get the zoomies for three straight days

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liztuxiemacks · 3 months ago

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If you haven't played or seen any of the memories from the tomorrow's catch 22 event, particularly Zayne's/Galen's, beware of spoilers. ( I actually wrote this a long time ago but posted it late, haha)

I'll get straight to the point, here's my steamy Zayne analysis

Each activator is in their respective memories:

Sylus : His right eye

Caleb: Behind his left ear

Xavier: Close to the base of the spine

Rafayel: Adam's apple /throat

Zayne: ... Yes you guessed it correctly. And I have proof.

There are many subtle hints before she presses "it" with the tip of her boot or knee (depending on camera angle).

There's also many theories explaining that it's on his lower chest, somewhere close to his abdomen. That's where MC'S knee is placed but if you look really close- her knee doesn't touch his chest at all.

There's also a few clues suggesting where it's placed through dialogue. To make it SFW, i wouldn't include any of the dialogue in this theory and instead, use hints.

First hint: His concern expressed through dialogue for MC contains multiple hints. Suggesting its somewhere obscure, it's something delicate and indecent.

Second hint: He's always in calm and collected and remain in control, despite MC injecting the frenzy enhancer. To fight off the effects, Zayne distracts himself by kissing MC.

Third hint: Have you noticed only Zayne's got a cheeky response to MC? Zayne: "why don't you… and find out? He knows where its placed but acts coy to tease her. Besides luring MC into the cage, none of the other guys invites/allows MC to touch them. ( Sylus doesn't openly invite her to touch him but instead her not to press it. MC's hand momentarily disappears off camera when he's on the floor causing him to loose control.)

One more fact though. The activator was placed long before they actually meet in this scenario so it doesn't have anything to do with MC. It's a personal choice.

Fourth hint: In all the other memories, MC announces (to the player) where each of the activators are placed on the guys. But for Zayne, she only mentions this: "so that's where the activator is…" If it's on his chest like plenty claim, why won't MC say it?

Fifth hint: Everyone's activator has a red dot indicator. Zayne does not. There's a reason for this. Its hidden. For those saying it's on his chest, look closely- its a reflection. he doesn't react at all when MC openly touches his entire chest and abs.

Watch where her left hand travels down to off camera after he compliments her technique with "impressive". We can't really see much with how fast it is in dim lighting. But if you slowed it down… Zayne pulls her close, effectively blocking the player's view before we even get a chance to see where it's hidden. We see MC leg's obviously shielding his lower half.( in every other scene with the boys, after finding the activator , it glows red. The most obvious being caleb'sleft ear, Rafayel's throat and Sylus's right eye. In this scene , it's left to the imagination.)

Her left hand returns to his chest to prevent herself from loosing balance. Zayne breaks the chain and temporaily looses his self restraint with one exception- he shields her head and back from the hard floor.

In my opinion, Zayne's and Sylus's memories are the steamiest compared to the others.

This is purely speculation but i believes it fits with his character. In the ending, he says 'You can't leave me' is his way of admitting that he's always been in love with MC. This also suggests that Zayne still has some level of control to continue the conversation after.

If you get the failed bad ending, when Zayne bites her, he can't forgive himself for hurting MC so his final goodbye, the only way he believes he can truly atone, is by dying or removing himself from MC's life. Which is consistent with his lore.

Want to support me, tip here

I'll post another steamy zayne theory soon.

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darkclouds-rainsounds · 2 months ago

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Recently in trying to come to a logical comprehension of the abstractness and esoteric narrative of ENA, I eventually came to speculate that all episodes' Enas are different ones. I even mention this in the tags of this post that I chose to not add and instead screenshotted them to preserve them.

The reason I came to speculate this is simply because I'm the sort of person who tries to make the incomprehensible, comprehensible. If something appears to have at least enough sense and continuity to it to not be complete 'nonsense', then I will persistently attempt to break it down into something that makes logical sense and unearth a "true/concrete understanding" (much to my own chagrin and annoyance. Motifs and patterns and connections-making brain is too used to doing this that I can't really "turn it off"). I am also aware that that's not what ENA is about— at least not initially, given the hourglass dog unlockables in DBBQ make mention of "lore" within the ENA universe (but even I'm skeptical as to how the word "lore" is being used, because I'm doubtful it's used to mean 'a canon' of sorts).

But ENA as a narrative is more akin to Hylics than something like your standard JRPG: there's a world and a relatively understood comprehension of how the laws of it work (to an extent) and things like entities and recurring people, but there's no real overarching plot to them— though Hylics doesn't exactly fit 1:1 with this description as both games do have a sort of plot, but the first game's is a lot more mere happenstance and not something like a "god-given quest".

Or in short, things really happen just to happen. DBBQ is to ENA what Hylics 2 is to Hylics.

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Anyway, why exactly I speculated that all the episodes' Ena's are different ones has to do with my having attempted to understand when Power of Potluck takes place.

I've already theorized how PoP possibly fits chronologically into the ENA series as a whole in two instances, but temporarily gave up out of acquiescing to the highly probable case that ENA just isn't something that a comprehensive timeline is necessary for or was even considered in the making of it.

To summarize my tags in the first link, based on a post someone made about how Ena in PoP is missing the middle strap of her suspenders which matches how she looked in Auction Day (where for Extinction Party and Temptation Stairway she has the middle strap), the op theorized that PoP chronologically occurs before Auction Day. I misremembered when they said PoP possibly chronologically occurs as before Extinction Party.

This time placement still matches up if PoP is placed in the gap between the two since Ena only has the middle strap in her design from specifically Extinction Party forward, so reasonably, any time before then she could have not had it yet.

(And as an aside, due to the possible achronological nature of Ena, it's also reasonable to speculate that the episodes in the order they were released also didn't chronologically occur in that order.)

But that's not my point of discussing this, just that I misremembered and that in my tags, were Auction Day to be put in place of my mention of Extinction Party, my point would still stand.

As you can see, I tried to come to a logical understanding of how PoP fits in with the rest of the series— not just because of that post pointing out the possible timeline placement— but because it doesn't make sense what with the ending of Temptation Stairway.

Sure, maybe one could offer the argument that the Great Runas' wish fulfillment wouldn't be permanent for one reason or another (ala "you can't just wish away your sadness; as an emotion, it will inevitably come back and this wish will only offer temporary solace at best"), but Ulysses literally tells Ena that she's trapped within the Divine Door until it next opens, which won't be for a long time, so how is she in Power of Potluck?

Maybe she really did just wait out the whole time and is still alive (how one would even figure out a life expectancy for a functionally immortal and achronological entity like Ena, I don't know), but this feels like a stretch.

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That was then that I considered "what if it's not just PoP Ena that is a different Ena, and Auction Day; Extinction Party; and Temptation Stairway are all one Ena, and DBBQ is yet another Ena, but that all of the episodes have different Enas?"

This is actually implied within the series itself with Rubik in Extinction Party and Shepherd in Temptation Stairway addressing Ena as though there existed multiple of her.

Some people have taken this to mean that Ena is a species rather than that there are multiple of specifically her. Put another way, multiple of the same entity (as is shown in the Holy Code with multiple blue/yellow Enas frozen in place and intermittently glitching into mannequins).

If it's already established that in some form there are multiple Enas (regardless of if being a species or just multiple of one person), then why not take it a step further and speculate that the Ena in each episode is also a different one? Why assume that the Ena we watch through all the episodes is the exact same one?

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What really made me seriously consider this was that, going based on this theory, it makes what was going on with Ena in Temptation Stairway make sense.

In Temptation Stairway, the whole way through, Ena's voices don't match the side they're typically assigned to (male voice coming from sad and female voice coming from happy). Sometimes they match, others they don't. Sometimes for one sentence from sad, it's the female voice but for the immediate subsequent sentence it's the male voice, creating this weird dissonance.

In Auction Day, Extinction Party, and later Power of Potluck, this mixing of the voices never happens. For those episodes, happy is always the male voice and sad is always the female voice.

Going into Temptation Stairway with the belief that its Ena is the exact same as the Enas in the prior two episodes creates dissonance and confusion because she never had this 'issue' before, so why are her voices so mismatched now? But if one goes into Temptation Stairway with the belief that each episodes' Ena is a different one, then that clears any possible dissonance and confusion because then it'd just be this one instance of Ena in particular that's all weird.

This also in turn, makes Power of Potluck's events even happening make sense since Ena shouldn't have been able to leave the Divine Door until it next opened (is it possible for her to transfer herself to a different mannequin on command? Like, without dying first? And if she were to be transferred to a different mannequin, would the Great Runas' wish fulfillment still be in effect or would it be null since she's technically a different entity (mannequin, not Ena) than the one who made the wish?). If the Ena in Power of Potluck is a different Ena, then that could mean that Temptation Stairway's Ena could still exist simultaneously.

Though, that's if one's interpretation of "multiple of the same entity" is the straightforward "clones"-type understanding. It's possible that while there are multiple Enas, there is still actually only one of her.

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That's where the theorized achronological aspect of her comes in. Many different timelines/chonologies overlapping each other at different points to create the 'illusion' of there being multiple of her, but there is still only one of her in the strictest sense.

But then there's also the "one person can be in two places at once" thing.

To explain it as simply as I can and how I understand it, Ena basically functions like Celebi from pokemon, but like, a bit more convoluted.

This understanding of "Ena is multiple of the same entity" contradicts how Power of Potluck works— depending on when it occurs.

On one hand, if Power of Potluck chronologically occurs after Temptation Stairway, then it doesn't make sense since all Enas are actually just one entity ever but there's some timey-wimey shenanigans going on with her thus making her "multiple", and if Ena is trapped behind the Divine Door and possibly can't get out even by using a different mannequin because it'd possibly nullify her wish, then how and why does Power of Potluck occur?

Her wish was fulfilled, and while Ulysses says "desires are never fulfilled nor quenched", given the many Enas floating motionless in the Holy Code, glitching, the rest of the events of Temptation Stairway implies that this Ena actually succeeded whereas all the others failed.

(And this also makes the events of Temptation Stairway very interesting when viewed with the belief that there is only truly one Ena but there's time overlap going on. Because, as Shepherd implies, she has met Ena before. Ena has entered the Divine Door before. she has tried to make her wish to the Great Runas before— and as the many instances of her in the Holy Code show, she's tried this many times. And it was only during the events of Temptation Stairway itself that she (seemingly) succeeds.)

So if Ena is stuck within the Divine Door and wouldn't have been able to leave for a very long time and her wish was fulfilled (for a literal god, I find the idea of the Great Runas' wish fulfillment not being able to stick disappointing and portrays the genies as not all they're cracked up to be. That they don't deserve the reputation they have if their powers are naturally impermanent and there's nothing they can do about it), then why does Power of Potluck even happen? Why is Sad back?

And of course, I have to address the elephant in the room that is Moony having reverted back to her normal form than the cursed humanoid form she got as per her wish in Temptation Stairway.

Again, this is only really a snag if one views Power of Potluck occurring chronologically after Temptation Stairway, if it's viewed as having occurred prior to T.S, then there's no issue.

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But that then leads me to what I theorized about the nature of PoP in relation to the rest of the series: Power of Potluck is an alternate timeline of Ena where she failed in having her wish granted by way of not making it to the Divine Door in time.

It can't be her having failed some time after having entered it because remember, the Door closes right after she and Moony enter it and she can't exit it until a long time later.

And as I stated in my tags above, I find Power of Potluck chronologically occurring after Temptation Stairway— just in general— rendering T.S redundant since... what was the point of all of that and Ena having her wish fulfilled in having her sadness removed if it just comes back in the next episode?

People try to logically explain it as "the Great Runas' powers probably aren't permanent or weren't permanent with the nature of Ena's wish in particular (and Moony's, I guess)", but that feels like a stretch since for all how glorified and praised the Great Runas is, I've no reason to reasonably believe that it was exaggeration— or that the nature of Ena's wish was incompatible with permanence (the Great Runas is literally "Run As". As in "run as administrator". I kind of doubt something with that level of power could be so easily undone. It's literally a metaphysical rewrite).

But if Power of Potluck is a different timeline altogether where Ena failed to even reach the Divine Door— and Moony is still a moon rather than humanoid, meaning she also failed to reach it— then PoP makes sense, as its existence doesn't conflict with Temptation Stairway.

If one ascribes to the flavor of "Ena is multiple of the same entity" theory where she's all just one entity ever but there's achonological overlap, how Power of Potluck occurs would alter the nature of this take on Ena into something even more convoluted. That being, each Ena, rather than assumably all being from one timeline and occurring in the past or future from when they're supposed to be— creating the illusion of there being multiple Enas— is actually "every 'instance' of Ena is an Ena from a different timeline".

And that with each Ena being from a different timeline but they're able to cross over to other timelines and also have the same aforementioned achronological format, then shit gets really confusing.

Basically then, only Ena would be able to "jump" timelines but not any of the other characters. That way it's still only one Ena but it's Ena from different timelines.

(Technically, this is also the same take as how I explained "each episode's Ena is a different one, which explains what was up with the voice dissonance with T.S' Ena", as each episodes' Ena actually being from a single timeline is literally just the same as the take that the Ena in all episodes is the same exact one.)

If one ascribes to there literally being multiple Enas (not a species, just multiple of the same entity ala "clones"), then Power of Potluck almost makes sense. Because, while this does account for the conflicting existences of PoP's Ena and T.S' Ena, it doesn't account for Moony still being a moon rather than humanoid— and we don't have any reason to realistically believe that there are also multiples of Moony (and possibly every other character).

So, in the end, the most sensible explanation for Power of Potluck occurring without being in conflict with Temptation Stairway is that PoP occurs in a timeline where Ena and Moony failed to reach the Divine Door (which in itself is inherent to believing that each episodes' Ena is a different one).

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Now, having established that every Ena seen is a different instance, how does Dream BBQ's Ena fit into this?

My first theory was that she too, was a different Ena but still originally was blue/yellow Ena that somehow became how she is now, and while I still think this, there's now more to it.

While I did reblog and found much of the theorizing in this post agreeable, when it came to DBBQ Ena being implied as being Temptation Stairway's Ena, that... sort of didn't register properly in my brain...

It's like "water is wet, yeah." then going "OHHHH. Water is wet!" like, ?????? it didn't??? click right??? in my brain??????

Understanding but not true understanding?

It wasn't until I started doing this theorizing completely separate from that post that I organically came to the same conclusion.

As per my tags from different DBBQ analyses:

With things from the series literally being referenced in-universe, I don't think it's meant to just be a "wink wink, nudge nudge" for the player, but is actually something that has occurred in-universe. Emphasis on "occurred", past tense.

And with Worker Ena during the end of chapter one having technical difficulties in loading into the mannequin at the hub where she blips through her "hangover form" and even blue/yellow Ena for a single frame, I think it has actual bearing in-universe. That it's not just an easter egg, it means something.

I phrase it in the first post's tags that "she has been blue/yellow", but that was postulation for the sake of fitting within tag and tag character limits. It has not been proven that Worker Ena once was blue/yellow Ena, but evidence throughout DBBQ heavily implies this to be the case.

And even Worker Ena's 'bugging out' at the end of chapter one is just my interpretation of what was going on: that she was being loaded as past states (like... a computer. Save states, system restore, etc) before she was properly loaded back as Worker Ena.

I interpreted it this way based on the appearance of Hangover Ena being a completely unique state of Ena (as opposed to the emotional extremes which aren't unique states since they're just emotions from a blue/yellow or cream white+blue-grey/red Ena) and viewing the single frame appearance of blue/yellow Ena with knowledge that the events of the series have already happened (because I've seen some people speculate that DBBQ is a prequel?? No???), it lead to me thinking that the appearance of blue/yellow Ena during the 'technical difficulties' alongside Hangover Ena was that these two states of being have something in common.

She has been Hangover Ena. She has been blue/yellow Ena.

So, how does this tie into Worker Ena potentially being Temptation Stairway's Ena?

Since I have established my belief in the theory that Worker Ena isn't a completely separate "type" of Ena (along the lines of the "Ena is a species" theory) and instead formerly was blue/yellow, I can properly start explaining.

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Referring back to this analysis, this is the only analysis I've seen that makes any mention of the wish option Ena could make to Theodora about "punishing the moon".

Things like aspiring for a blissful life or eternal happiness can be understood within only the context of Worker Ena as we know her in DBBQ (completely divorced from her being series Ena) given how overworked she is and how much she hates her job and outright states she no longer has personal agency.

Aspiring for Frank's forgiveness on his behalf is also understandable— especially since he's 1. one of the few characters (as of chapter 1) that is genuinely kind to Ena with no backhanded compliments or remarks about her and 2. pronounces and spells her name correctly as ∃NA.

He is the most respectful character thus far to Worker Ena, so her aspiring for his forgiveness on his behalf being because of his genuine respect for her makes sense.

Then there's of course the aspiration to get rid of the smoke, the entire reason Ena even came to have an audience with Theodora.

But then there's the option at the bottom.

"Aspire for the punishment of the moon." The heck does that mean?

Well, as this analysis theorizes, Worker Ena isn't just any random instance of Ena, but is specifically Temptation Stairway's Ena.

To quote said analysis,

"But if Runas was in fact the murdered Genie, then there is one suspect in particular that pops into my mind. Someone who has met Runas. Someone who was... unimpressed. Dissatisfied. And found herself trapped inside his domain for a long, long time."

This aspiration only makes sense in the context of Worker Ena being the same Ena as in Temptation Stairway.

Why? Why would it specifically have to be Temptation Stairway's Ena and not a different one? Aspiring for the punishment of the moon doesn't really convey a form of specificity to the events of Temptation Stairway, theory that the Great Runas was killed and Ena was blamed for it/being punished on behalf of Moony or whoever did it or not.

Well, there's several reasons.

The first being the constant mention of God that Worker Ena has ("bless you for your business", "worry not, you're still a child of GOD", "GOD knows the rest") makes the most sense with Temptation Stairway's Ena— though this can come across as confirmation bias.

Another reason is that DBBQ Ena is overworked, stressed, and one of her sides is literally anger and anxiety, and that Worker Ena was formerly blue/yellow but Something Happened. That one of her aspirations to a GOD is to "punish the moon"; Moony would have had to have done something absolutely horrific to Ena to have led to series Ena becoming the way she is now and first chance she gets at reaching a wish-granting god is to punish Moony.

Yeah, I think the reverence of God despite Meanie remarking she "doesn't believe in anything" and upon Worker Ena meeting a wish-granting god like Runas who doesn't grant wishes without limit unlike him, is to aspire for the punishment of "the moon", I think they're connected.

Basically god/genie-based trauma about what was unfairly taken from her (after so many instances of her failed).

Also, "punishment" as a concept has only been spoken of in some form by only four characters thus far across the series and DBBQ combined.

Moony in Temptation Stairway

Ulysses in Temptation Stairway

Taski Maiden in Chapter 1 of Dream BBQ

Theodora in Chapter 1 of Dream BBQ

What's interesting is that the instances of punishment being mentioned in the webseries are in Temptation Stairway.

But Moony's mention of punishment when viewed under the lens of her having done something to Ena— whether directly or indirectly— that eventually caused her to become Worker Ena is... extremely worrying.

The full context is:

"Pay the debts of the loser." "Rude entities like you get punished for the sins of others." "Aspire for the punishment of the moon." and Theodora's response.

.......

Anyway.

Postulating this to be the case, that would mean that for "Full Happiness" Ena to have become Worker Ena, then the Great Runas' wish wasn't impermanent (again, like it naturally faded over time or that it was incompatible with the nature of series Ena's wish), but was, well... more akin to the type of wish fulfillment loophole trickery that genies in other media are known for (not that I think the Great Runas tricked Ena, but that he fulfilled her wish exactly and other negative emotions eventually arising was just a consequence of lack of foresight on Ena's part in not specifying she only ever wanted to be happy).

Yes, Ena's sadness was removed, but there was nothing that specified a different emotion couldn't take its place.

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This reminds me of my analysis on someone's post about Worker Ena regarding how Meanie is specifically cream white/very pale yellow. How, with the way Anxiety is displayed on Meanie by default looks like shading and given how abstract and wacky the characters in ENA are, the shading peculiarly being completely absent on Salesperson's side isn't that odd.

It's not until the Purge Event that during the phone call with Froggy, Ena's sprite during the call visibly shows the "shading" creeping down her face, revealing that it wasn't just weird shading that only applied to the Meanie side, but was actually a whole third color.

And if Anxiety, as a third color, was cleverly disguised as being weird shading that isn't out of place for something as bizarre as ENA, then Meanie being cream white/very pale yellow rather than a stark white could be along the same lines. That Meanie being yellow-tinted isn't "just lighting", but is also something more that's cleverly disguised.

I stopped thinking this to be the case, but now upon theorizing that Worker Ena is Temptation Stairway's Ena and that the Great Runas' wish fulfillment is strictly still in effect, that perhaps there is merit after all in Meanie being comprised of formerly Happy and Sad (I'm still holding out on it out of residual skepticism, though).

Though, it wouldn't really be "Sad" since that side of Ena was removed.

Anxiety is blue-grey rather than a pure grey. It is not a pure blue like Sad was. Anxiety is not the same emotion as Sad.

Like I said, the Great Runas' wish fulfillment is still in effect: Ena is still rid of her Sad side.

But if Worker Ena really is Temptation Stairway's Ena, that informs the specificity of what T.S' Ena wished for. That it did not include her always and only being Happy, just that she wished to be rid of her sadness.

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But wait! There's more! This also ties into how Worker Ena being Temptation Stairway's Ena affects how Power of Potluck exists as it does.

Temptation Stairway was stated by Joel G. to be a "season finale". This on its own means that Power of Potluck is the first episode of the second season. Joel G. also says Temptation Stairway was "the end and the beginning of something".

There are several comments he replied to and two in particular caught my interest.

Given that Dream BBQ's trailers exist before Power of Potluck, and PoP Ena is along the lines of how she's already been depicted in season one, it's safe to say that he was referring to Worker Ena here.

And then... this.

"One of these characters will stay with the new look on [sic] the future".

Obviously this doesn't apply to Worker Ena since she looks completely different from Full Happiness Ena.

But we haven't seen Moony yet in Dream BBQ.

He said one of them will "stay with the new look", so there's little reason to believe he changed his mind— especially since we have not seen Moony yet to confirm whether that is the case or not.

Regardless, until more episodes and chapters come out, I'll still just view Worker Ena as "connected to blue/yellow Ena" but that's the extent of it. I'm not banking on this being The Singular Truth and then it warp my perception of Worker Ena into "oh poor Temptation Stairway Ena" when that hasn't been confirmed despite there being a lot that supports that theory.

It's too early to be making calls like this when there literally are only four episodes (three episodes in season one and one episode in season two thus far) and a single chapter of the game. Still think it's worth speculating on, though.

#【𝙿 𝚁 𝙸 𝚂 𝙼】#ena #ena joel g #∃NA #ena dream bbq #ena theory

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bantersnatch · 5 months ago

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welcome back to the madness, friends. as i do every time we get an appearance from bianca, i'm going to break down the new lore -- which is a lot more than usual, this week. not only did we get our first spoken lines from our favorite producer, we got a lot of information about her dad and her home life with host!vic. so... let's get into it!

i'm actually going to start out with an inventory of all our new information about bianca's father, aka the host's husband:

his full name is "david michaelis". this means i have something to write on the dolls i'm burning in effigy! yay.

he travels a lot for business -- he was a small business owner, but he "sold to a bigger business". this seems to confirm my speculation about the host's husband being wealthy.

he is one of ta'tania's regular suitors/clients (and thus cheating on the host in spectacular fashion), and has a thing for ketchup/squished tomatoes; he has talked about the host to ta'tania as well as requesting ta'tania dress in a suit like theirs during their sessions. i am violently holding myself back from kink-shaming this man.

the host has not seen him in six months. six months.

about bianca, we've learned:

she "hang[s] out all the time" with ta'tania. (learning this distresses the host to the point that their professionalism slips substantially; even hearing about their husband's cheating didn't prompt such a strong reaction, interestingly.)

the host has asked bianca to spend time with them, including a trip to new york city together. she has repeatedly declined -- despite planning her own trips. she and the host are sufficiently divorced from each others' schedules that the host had no knowledge of her trips to nyc (despite the fact that they live in the same house. alone with just each other. again, for six months).

bianca has explicitly asked the host to only use her full name rather than the familiar nickname "b".

we now have a clearer sense of the dynamic between bianca and the host: the host seems desperate for a closer relationship (perhaps in a bid to resolve the curse they received in season 1?), but bianca repeatedly and firmly shuts them down with thinly veiled irritation.

below the cut, i'll outline some of the questions raised by this episode in the interest of getting people's theory-brains going. do i have any answers...? nope.

so -- there's a lot going on here. let's take a look.

what is the nature of bianca and ta'tania's relationship? is bianca a suitor of hers? are they friends? if they met through david, is his relationship with ta'tania tight enough that he wanted her to "meet the family", or did he instead refer his favorite dominatrix to his daughter?? is it all a coincidence and this nyc-based fairy just happens to be particularly popular with this la-based family?

what specific kind of business is david in? when vic gets vague, i get suspicious that they're hinting at written-down lore.

six months. that's so long. this isn't a question i just feel like it bears repeating.

why does bianca dislike and reject the host so strongly? is it just a matter of them being an abusive boss with terrible politics and a personality that is, and i say this affectionately, bad? well... maybe. maybe. but with vic michaelis and talia tabin, i don't know if anything can be that simple.

if the host's investment in bianca liking them is motivated by trying to fix their relationship and thus the curse, how is the curse concretely manifesting? the episode where they receive it hints at a "crumbling life" and a monstrous transformation, and we certainly are seeing the former -- but it also seems like the host's life has been in a state of complete disaster and ruin from childhood to now, so i'm not sure if the current state of affairs would feel too new to them.

that's all i have for this post! if you have anything to add in terms of analysis, theories, or details i missed, please feel free to add on.

#vip #very important people #vic michaelis #bianca vip #bianca jocasta #dropout #big week big week the bianca stocks are BOOMING.#i should make a tag for my bianca theory posts so people can find those on my blog without having to see like . memes and shit. huh #let's do #bianca loreposting #i'll go back and slap that on other similar posts

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nobodysuspectsthebutterfly · 6 months ago

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re: being unable to predict twow and maybe being upset it doesn't do what fandom wants it to, were there any things in adwd you remember being surprised by and that went against common fandom interpretation at the time? :3

I'm not quite sure what was common fandom interpretation at the time, since after I finished AFFC in 2005 I tried the westeros.org forums and was extremely repelled by them and their hate for my favorite characters - and indeed, most female characters - and avoided them thereafter. (And somehow I never thought to check the Livejournal communities at the time, alas, which would've been more up my alley.) I did devour worg's Citadel (their pre-wiki, including the So Spake Martin archive) and fanart collection though lol.

But of course I was still surprised by things in ADWD. Like, I had no expectation whatsoever that Bloodraven was still alive, let alone that he was the three-eyed crow. Or heck, that the children of the forest definitely exist and appear on page as actual characters! I did not expect a Varamyr prologue POV in the slightest, or his warg/skinchanger lore reveals. And I did not expect the Aegon reveal at all, though checking the SSMs afterwards (as well as this ancient pre-AFFC FAQ) showed me that some people had been wondering from day 1 if he had survived. And for that matter, Jon Connington's survival was surprising (at least my memory is very good, so the griffin thing and Tyrion's suspicions of him being a Westeros lord had me leaping back to Jaime's conversation with Ronnet), as well as Jon's POV (including his sexual orientation) and the greyscale thing. Oh man, the whole stone men scene was all new fascinating worldbuilding.

As for existing POVs and known plots, I certainly never expected Theon's state as Reek (tortured, yes, but not reduced to that, though I probably should have), or that he would be a POV again, or that I would find his narrative so heartwrenching or that he would become a favorite character. (From reading a bunch of pre-ADWD fanfics, I don't think the fandom expected Ramsay to be so abusive of Jeyne either, but for that I have no idea why.) I was surprised by Cersei's walk of shame, though I probably should have expected some sort of religion-based sexual humiliation. (Actually, I don't think most people expected the returning AFFC POVs because of the book split, though I'm glad GRRM chose to update us on some of its cliffhangers - like, at least Brienne is no longer hanging from a tree!) I did not expect Tyrion's POV and mental state to be so dark, but again, I probably should have. I also didn't expect him to link up with Jorah (I don't recall what I imagined Jorah to do in his exile but not that - maybe lurk around the fringes of Meereen?) or the slavery plot at all.

I think the fandom in general expected more... plot-advancement, I guess, more battles involving KL again, more movement of Dany towards Westeros, though they always have, lol. (There are ACOK-era theories that she'd come to Westeros right away, marry Robb and destroy the Lannisters together, etc.) I'm sure some expected Stannis conquering Winterfell and getting the Boltons out, though at least there they were mostly right, as the battle of ice (as well as the battle of fire) got cut from ADWD last minute. As for plot advancement expectations from me, I personally hoped that Marwyn would reach Dany in ADWD, though considering he leaves at the end of the last chapter of AFFC and the distances involved, I really should have known better. But I did expect to hear at least a little about Rickon, and Davos learning he's on Skagos (and getting sent to retrieve him) was a pleasant semi-resolution there.

Anyway, hope that helps! If/when we get TWOW, despite the fandom doing like 15 years of speculation and theories (not to mention the show), I'm sure there will be plenty of surprises, both positive ones and disappointments, as well as completely unexpected things.

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mintharabaenrelore · 7 months ago

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Today we're analyzing Minthara's appearance.

(This post contains a lot of screenshots. Thank you so much to all the people who took them!)

Height

Drow, on average, are smaller than other elves, shorter and thinner, with "wiry", "athletic" bodies.

"Reports varied on the physical differences between the drow sexes. Some purported that females were generally bigger and stronger than males, while others claimed that males had superior strength. Both sexes varied in height from 4 feet and 7 inches to 5 feet and 5 inches (140 to 170 centimeters), averaging at 5 feet (150 centimeters). Males weighed between 87 to 157 pounds (39 to 71.2 kilograms), averaging 109.5 pounds (49.67 kilograms), while females were a bit lighter, weighing between 82 to 152 pounds (37 to 68.9 kilograms) and averaging 104.5 pounds (47.4 kilograms)."- Forgotten Realms Wiki.

@krembruleed made a lovely height comparison between of the companions based off in-game models.

Astarion is a good reference, as he is canonically aproximately 5'11. Larian has confirmed he is only 5'9.

I'm just speculating here, as (I think) Shadowheart, Jaheira, and Minthara share the same heights and the same body model.

According to lore, though, Minthara is quite small, and this is backed up by the scene directly after Act II, when the whole group is gathered. She looked significantly shorter than the others there, in my game.

It also makes sense genetically- take Triel Baenre, who was less than 5 feet tall, or Jarlaxle Baenre, who is rather slender.

Hair Length

Her hair has to be long. Have you seen the size of that bun?

(Picture above by @northernolddragon!)

(Picture above by @swordopera!)

Drow generally keep their hair long, often decorating it with pins and webbing made of precious medals. Also take note of the color of her hair, as drow women's hair turns pale yellow with age, and this is a useful clue. (Canonically, she is quite young, Emma Gregory says this herself, so I personally think it's white and just looks yellow in certain lights.)

When you click on a mirror as Minthara, she says, "Not a hair out of place," so I assume she has a reason for keeping her hair as it is- that reason being practicality. If her hair is anywhere near as long as I think it is, fighting with it down would be a hassle!

I think there is also some psychology to be found in her hair, though. Her choosing to keep it as a messy bun could be seen as an act of rebellion, when compared to elaborate Menzoberranzan hairstyles such as Triel Baenre's... or it could be seen as her holding onto her past.

(I can't get enough of seeing pictures of her with it down, though.)

Scars

Before we discuss her scars, I just have to mention that she has freckles. I love her freckles.

The wonderful @mogruith checked out Minthara's unmodded face and did not see any noteworthy markings.

It's hard to tell what are sunspots/freckles and what may be scars, but I did my best.

I looked at a screenshot by @missgamerin and circled what seem, to me, like scars.

That potential scar on her cheek can also be seen in a screenshot by @ilikedetectives.

Eyes

Drow eyes could be of any color, with bright red being the most common. [...] The color of a drow's eyes could also be indicative of their current mental or physical state; drow eyes reddened when they were angry, and turned yellow when they were sick, poisoned, or under some negative magical influence."- Forgotten Realms Wiki

This information suggests Minthara's eyes should have been yellow while under the Absolute's control, and perhaps even all the time, as she doses herself with poison. I haven't noticed her eyes changing color during the game, but perhaps you have?

Tattoo

We've reached what I deem the most fascinating part of Minthara's appearance- the tattoo on the right side of her neck.

(The picture above is by @exehtml!)

(The picture above is the same one you saw earlier, by @ilikedetectives!)

Her tattoo, as I assume you know, is the seal of House Baenre, her family and the First House of Menzoberranzan.

"A drow house insignia was often crafted as a brooch with a sculpted image on it. This image was the glyph of the noble house the drow was attached to. [...] A drow house insignia's powers could only be safely employed by someone who received an attunementspell, which was part of the attunementritual, which was a well-known fact among priestesses of Lolth. The powers of an insignia were activated by touch with bare flesh while concentrating on which power was to be activated or with a command word. [...] A drow house insignia was a reliable way to locate an individual, provided the diviner was taught how to trace it—usually by the Matron Mother, High Priestess, or House Wizard. This was because each insignia was slightly different, even those from the same noble house] The wizards, who were also the insignia's creators, were capable of protecting themselves from such tracing."- Forgotten Realms Wiki.

A drow house insignia is a magical item, and I have never seen a mention of a tattoo functioning as one. Uthegentel Del'Armgo, as @lunastrophe says in a post on Minthara's tattoo, which I highly recommend, wore his house emblem pinned to his bare neck. That still isn't the same as it being part of his bare neck, though.

In Menzoberranzan, is it truly safe to flaunt your family's status on your neck?

"Drow took special care to keep their drow house insignia safe. Only the nobles from the First House wore them openly while all others wore them in ways known only to their households."

Minthara is a noble from the First House; this could explain it. I personally think it is a mark of pride, as- based on how often Minthara quotes her family's saying and discusses how powerful they are- Minthara is, or used to be, very proud of her heritage. Is it the wisest decision? No, but Minthara herself has said she is aware of her flaws, and knows pride is certainly among them.

What are your theories? I hope you enjoyed this post!

#Minthara Baenre #Baldur's Gate III #BG3 #Minthara #House Baenre #Drow #Lore #--Minthara Baenre Lore 🕷️💜🕸️--

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 3 months ago

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hooo boy, i watched miraculous when five or six episodes of first season aired (i was aware of it when it was only two)! it was really cool to see magical girl superhero in Paris, who has a (semi-related) crush to his classmate, who's also a superhero and partner to her superhero persona - who said crush HAS A CRUSH ON SUPERHERO SELF! i remember when theories flew on identity of Hawkmoth and who could possibly be (wiki was also ambiguous on that, based on the factor of the same va, which - i mean, one va can do multiple voices, that was earlier practise for budgeting reasons)! it was nice to see heroes thru everyday lives (well, how much normal is up to debate), everyday strugles, akuma of the episodes, ways how the main heroine solves it, and (some debatable) lessons of the day - girl magical show, y'all! (even tho it was called Tales of Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir)

and then the lore at the end got complicated at the end of seasons! and we got a little more of lore building, and different vibes and dynamics according to that! we got more lore on some episodes, but still not rocking the main status quo story of the season!

and then S4 and S5 happened.

to me, the problem was there undefined, until, in your previous posts, you put the name on it: the writers are incapable of juggling and merging stand-alone episodes and overarching story. they started with stand-alones, but saw that the continuous plot had more success with older audiences (c'mon, scrambled episodes were partialy their tactic, whether the actual s1 scrambling was their intention or truly an accident of tv broadcasts).

and since most of the audience are online, they think that providing additional and vague explanations and lore can - let's be frank, cover their asses. (which, hello, one show with overarching plot did almost the same with their actual lore, and only the hardcores picked up on it - bad idea if you want to make deeper sense to the story)

they tried marrying the storytelling formulas (stand-alones and overarched) in S2 and S3, but it wasn't noticeable, remarkable, and didn't raise the fandom's ire too much - still not rocking the actual important boat, which is offline view on the actual show (kids stand-alone, just turn your brain off and enjoy!) (which, in fairness, Thomas worked on Totally Spies, and that show had some success). it was egregious when it became obvious and contradicting (bc tying all the episodes's lore details is REALLY the true detective work), WHILE STILL WORKING WITH STAND-ALONE FORMULA! (some speculation on my part: some leaks didn't help with the writing process; different writers for different episodes (good idea for brainstorming, bad idea for the core characterisation and story); and... well, they certainly aren't good, or at all, detectives, or long-time planners - i mean, you plan several seasons, but not the finer details? the devils are in them, not in investors whims and wishes in order to get money).

but the desperate hope, masochistic curiosity and the endless possibilities of lore and story are already deep in our brains and hearts that we have to see thru the actual chaotic dumpster mess of the show and how it ends - some love it, some hate the ride, some cope with fanfics, some with rants, and some left the train and are somewhere else. the rest who remain... well hello there! make sure you get enough rests, snacks, beverages of your choice and some meditations (any kind) to witness all!

anyway, that's my pov.

The writers apparently always wanted to tell a more complex story, they just couldn't early on because they'd sold the show as not having one:

So Sebastien sold the Miraculous series to broadcasters as a formula show. A person gets angry, is akumatized, then marinette transforms into Ladybug then frees the person from the akumatization and… The End. It's also for this reason that Marinette tries to confess her love for Adrien in every episode, but is unable to do so. But he tried to go against what he had planned with TF1, by slipping little extra stories into certain episodes. Audiences were receptive to these slightly hidden stories. The TV channel even asked Sébastien if there really were hidden things in the series, but he denied everything. Thanks to the positive reception from the public, TF1 agreed to develop the characters of Marinette and Adrien and flesh out the universe a little more.

My tin foil hat theory is that this conflict is at the heart of Miraculous' problems. The writers keep trying to make the show they want to make instead of the show they can make within the limits set by the higher ups and so you end up with the worst of both worlds. A show that's too serious to just turn off your brain and have fun with, but a show that's also too underdeveloped to tell a serialized story well. (Supporting evidence for this theory: the script for Chat Blanc getting rejected for being "too dark" leading it to be in season three instead of season two.)

I get the frustration of being held back from telling the story you want to tell, I really do, but I'm of the opinion that you should tell the best story you can within the limits you set instead of trying and failing to tell the darker grittier story that you really want to tell, but can't because no one will pay for it.

Context for that last bit;

So Sébastien started working with Thomas Astruc (the man who wrote and created the "Ladybug" project). At first, he didn't want to work on this project because he found it complicated. Thomas wanted to make a series for adults, but at the time, it was very complicated to make a cartoon for adults. What's more, they didn't have enough money to take on such a project. Sébastien finally agreed, but there were some changes to be made, which Thomas accepted.

(Note this is from the same interview linked above.)

#ml writing critical #ml writing salt #anon ask

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pupmkincake2000 · 3 months ago

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And interesting take.

But

this is a logical fallacy. Brown is not just an actor, he is playing a character, and if there had been a clear paternal dynamic in the script, he would have reflected that in his performance. The fact that Clancy Brown explicitly stated that Hank does not view Connor as a son suggests that in his perception of the character (based on the script and performance), there was no such connection. This is an opinion supported by canon, not a "misunderstanding due to personal experience."

How not giving a room for any romantic interpretation proves a fatherson bond? How them being canonically mutual friends and buddies proves they cannot be romantically involved? It is also funny, how people choose Dechart/Williams/Cage's words as a proof while gladly ignoring Clancy's.

Also, how Clancy being a father proves hankcon cannot be a thing? All of this above is nothing more than speculation.

That doesn’t mean Hank didn’t feel fatherly

Which also didn't mean Hank did feel fatherly.

Age gap argument will be always invalid. Because

Their age difference is Hank's age minus three months. Would you no longer feel weird about it if Connor had been designed to look like he was 50? Same personality, same everything, but he has wrinkles and gray hair?

A father/son relationship would require a maturity gap at least, Connor has never once been in need for a parental figure, he’s pretty much fine on his own, while Hank also doesn’t seem the type to “mentally adopt” some guy that he worked with for like less than two weeks, they have good chemistry and their relationship is canonically established. However, we can say it’s up to the player to decide how their relationship will EVOLVE, not how it already is, because if we’re gonna stick to canon then they’re just good co workers and that’s about it.

If devs wanted me to know they were intended to be ''father and son'' then devs would have put that in the game, if I have to dig up story-impacting lore from somewhere not directly in the story, then it's not actually canon, if a tidbit is that important to the lore then you include in the plot, not after the fact.

It is important to understand, however, that these opinions, while interesting, are not supported by the context of the game itself. There are no overt indications in the game that Hank views Connor as his son. Instead, we see a more complex, nuanced relationship that develops out of professional interactions and personal experiences rather than paternal love.

As for Cage, as with Williams, these statements are more of a personal reflection on the creators' part than a canonical interpretation of their relationship. Players can choose how to interpret this relationship, but the fact remains that the game does not portray it as a direct reflection of a father-son bond.

We can say the same about romance, can't we?

Found family is one of my favorite tropes, but can your partner not be your family? Is your partner not your friend, your confidant, and the person that helps you heal and uplifts you? Those things aren’t locked to just platonic or familial relationships.

What truth?

Fan opinions and cast and creator interpretations aside, within the context of Detroit: Become Human itself, Hank and Connor's relationship is not that of a father and son in the traditional sense. Rather, it is a dynamic and complex relationship between partners that goes through stages of hostility, trust, and mutual respect. They do become emotionally close, but that closeness is more of a partnership than a father's love. Their bond is not one of family, but of understanding and professional work.

The opinions of Williams and Cage, while interesting, do not change what is depicted in the game itself. In the official canon version of the game, Hank and Connor are not father and son. Rather, they are partners who become important figures to each other through shared experiences, but their relationship does not reach the level of a family bond.

Also, there was a take

Pedro Pascal and Troy Baker prove the difference

Meaning that Hank and Connor are like Joel and Ellie.

How an actor may interpret a relationship does not affect canonicity. For example:

If Troy Baker feels a father-daughter bond between Joel and Ellie, it is supported by the TLOU plot because it is literally written in the game;

Hank and Connor have neither the recognition nor the direct care that Joel and Ellie have.

So the analogy with other actors only works where the script supports it.

How do people know that? It is still a speculation, not the canon.

And I don't understand the need for people to prove otherwise. If you want to see them as father and son, go ahead. But why are you so vehemently against romantic relationships, as if it were the most problematic thing eve while it really doesn't hurt anyone??

First of all, if people see Williams/Cage/whoever's words as the truth, they should deal with the fact, that Clancy's words have the same power. Him being a father still doesn't mean he couldn't see Hank and Connor as lovers, or juts as who they are, which is friends. Because Connor isn't human.

would it feel fine to you if Connor had been engineered to look 50? Because you understand he's a different species that is born knowing about and comprehending the world, right? He's not three months old in a human sense.

I still don't understand the need to prove to anyone that shippers are wrong and have no right to ship Hank and Connor romantically. Shippers often begin to prove their vision only when they are bombarded with hate simply for daring to see Connor and Hank (who are two adult fictional consentin men) as lovers.

Th fatherson bond, while appealing to some fans, is not a canonical part of the game and does not match what is shown in the game. Hank and Connor go from hostility and resentment to a partnership, but it is a partnership based on respect and empathy, not paternal feelings.

Also

��The Beauty of Found Family” - Fan Perspective

Yes, "found family" is an important and touching theme. But in Detroit: Become Human canon:

Connor is not trying to become Hank's son;

Hank is not trying to adopt him;

Their emotional connection develops through the player's choices, and may not form at all;

In one of the endings, Hank can kill Connor if he sees him as a threat.

Clancy spoke as an actor who had read the script and gotten into character. His words reflect an interpretation based on the game's materials. If the game had framed this relationship as a father's, he would have voiced it. In TLOU, for example, the actors talk about the parental dynamic because it was written into the text.

Conclusion: What does the canon say?

There is no clear paternal dynamic in the game canon;

Relationships can develop into partnership or friendship, but not into fatherson bond;

The words of Cage, Williams, fans, or actors are interpretations not supported by the game itself;

Hank does not say that Connor is his son;

Connor does not try to become one;

Endings with Hank's betrayal, death, suicide contradict a strong paternal bond.

Fan interpretation ≠ canon The fact that fans feel paternal warmth in this relationship does not make it canon. It is an emotional experience, and it has a right to exist, but it cannot be used as an argument against the text of the game itself. If the game says: "This is a partnership, perhaps friendship," then an attempt to impose paternity is already an out-of-game romanticization that does not correspond to the material.

#hank anderson #dbh hank #dbh rk800 #hankcon #dbh connor #connor x hank #dbh #detroit become human #detroitbecomehuman #detroit: become human #detroit rk800 #connor rk800 #rk800

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 1 year ago

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Yo! Good morning/evening, hope you are fine^^💝. I wanted to ask you a question but I was afraid that it may bother you or something (you know..that feeling when you are scared that you might disturb someone or being an unwelcome person) but yeah I will ask you since i was serious about your answer for some time now so I hope I'm not annoying you or something *feel free to answer only if you wish^^. You seem to know the characters pretty well, you are quite capable and great at reading and understanding them, one of the things I'm serious about is what do you think would make someone qualified enough to be with malleus? Do they have to be of the same species?certain Reputation, stature or traits?(sorry can't help it since I can't rest until I know everything about what interests me and figure it all out😅). Thanks for giving me some of your precious time I really like your blog, you're amazing💜

No worries, you’re not bothering me at all ^^ I love to talk about my hyperfixations www

Now, I know a lot of fans (particularly on the EN side) like to ship Malleus with their OC and especially with Yuu so I want to first make it clear that my response is NOT meant to invalidate those Malleus shippers. Whatever I say here is based on my own interpretation of canon lore (and let’s be real here, TWST won’t ever confirm if anyone is romantically interested in Yuu because it might not work with how some players view their own relationship with that character). In fanon, anyone can be with anyone, but in canon there are very specific in-universe rules and expectations laid out for Malleus so these are what I will be referring to.

I also want to emphasize that the final traits I discuss in this post do NOT reflect Malleus’s personal tastes or views. He has little say in what kind of an individual his spouse would be, so his own preferences are not speculated about or taken into account here. The traits I will be bringing up are based on what I believe the lore implies are the desirable traits for those marrying into the Draconia royal family.

We got it? Good 👍 Read more below the cut!!

Firstly, I’m completely disregarding the ideas of “Malleus can love whoever he wants to love”, “Malleus can scare people into accepting who he loves”, and/or “Malleus can change the law so he can marry who he loves” (a la Sultan from Aladdin or through some other Disney magic or logic). Here’s why:

In general, those solutions for “high stakes issues” are too simple, and that has never been how Twisted Wonderland tackles complicated problems. Just look at every single OB boy’s backstory. They’re so complex that they aren’t totally resolved by the end of their books; these problems persist and are long term things each of them are working on addressing. This is also true of the politics TWST introduces to us; Leona for example explains how there is social pushback and resistance to the idea of infrastructure reform because the culture of the Sunset Savanna stresses harmony with nature. This has made it difficult for them to adopt new technologies because real politicians in their world have to seriously weigh their cultural values with their health and societal progress. The only time there are really easy solutions are in events or vignettes where the emotional stakes are not super high, but who Malleus marries is, in fact, super important since this will entirely change the life of a main character and his country.

With that first bullet point in mind… No, Malleus cannot love whoever he wants to love. Certainly, he may feel affection for another but he can never truly be with them. He is royalty and the only heir to the throne of Briar Valley. It follows that he is expected to marry for political reasons/to better his nation. This is a non-negotiable obligation for him.

Rather than saying, “Malleus cannot scare people into accepting who he loves”, I think it’s more accurate to say Malleus knows he probably shouldn’t. I mean, yes, he may be upset about his S/O not being accepted by his people but I feel that is discrediting a lot of the loyalty he has for his own country. As a kid he may have thrown tantrums when he was upset and potentially harmed staff, but as a 178 year old he has a much better understanding of decorum and maintaining it in spite of his own grudges. For example, even though he may find Leona abrasive he still commands Sebek to apologize to him because, at the end of the day, this could harm Briar Valley’s relationship with the Sunset Savanna. That’s not to say that Malleus can’t be petty (he definitely is)—but implying he would be petty toward basically his entire country just because they would disapprove of the one he loves?? (We know this would likely be true because Sebek’s parents faced similar backlash when they got together.) I feel like his own sense of awareness and responsibility for his country, crown, and people would override that. As an example, Malleus states that he has never been in a car before because the senate would be against it and often kept Malleus in the castle. Someone of his power could easily ignore them and sneak out and do whatever he wanted, yet the dialogue implies Malleus didn’t. He obeyed his political advisors even when he was younger and arguably much more immature. Malleus might not like certain decisions made about his life but it sounds like he ultimately complies with them.

Continuing from the previous point, let’s say for the sake of argument that Malleus does scare everyone into line. What about his public image and the mental health of his S/O? Maybe Malleus can frighten people to not talk out of turn to his face, but he cannot control what people whisper about him behind closed doors or to treat his S/O well or like they actually like them. Not only would they be alienated (away from their own home and forced to adapt to a new one) but they’d be treated oddly by others too. What kind of reputation is that for Malleus? To be a tyrant king who throws a hissy fit anytime someone talks about his partner in a way he doesn’t approve of? With a spouse who is not at their best mentally because of the constant ostracization? (This is similar to what Leona experienced in his childhood.) I don’t think Malleus would want to subject anyone to that kind of life, especially not one he loves. And again, this attitude would be the vast majority of his people. It’s not like it can be avoided or resolved in an easy manner, especially when the people of Briar Valley have proven to be against change.

Lastly, Malleus would not change the law so he can be with whoever he wants to. To begin with, I doubt this is a unilateral position the senate would approve of. But okay, let’s accept that Malleus is royalty so his power overrides the advisors’ power. So he effectively just changed a law for a very selfish and personal reason rather than changing something to actually benefit his people. That doesn’t feel in-character for him, not when Malleus seems to understand that it is the duty of those in higher status to help those below them rather than themselves (see: Riddle’s Suitor Suit vignettes). Malleus has acted selfishly before, yes (who remembers Endless Halloween Night? His Dorm Uniform vignettes? I do.)—but never at the cost of changing the status quo of his country. (Book 7 is not included here because he’s in a very distressed emotional state then; this “new law” scenario posits that Malleus is in a normal state of mind.) This is a major change—change which Briar Valley, its people, and most importantly, Malleus, are not ready for. You think there wouldn’t be social pushback against this? From a society that has become complacent with its own way of life and is still isolated from the rest of the world? That Malleus, someone who struggles greatly with accepting life changes himself, could enact such a big change so easily? (On a more technical level, you don’t just pass a law and it instantly becomes tangible or real, there is a process of approval and then implementation.)

Additionally, it’s made clear in Ghost Marriage that “[Malleus] cannot enter into an engagement lightly”, which is why Sebek goes in his place. Eliza, the Ghost Bride, is royalty (er, albeit dead) but it seems that royal status is not enough to qualify as his partner. Maybe this is because she’s dead and doesn’t have anything of value for Briar Valley (no land, no people, no political power), but it could also mean that the partner has to be given the thumbs up by other parties.

All that being said, here are some of the conditions I think would have to be met for Malleus’s future spouse:

Has to be someone of equal or at least high status. This means they also have to be a royal or at least of nobility. This appears to be true of Malleus’s dad, who is referred to as a duke.

Because of how self-contained Briar Valley is + nocturnal fae having beef with diurnal fae, I imagine his partner would have to also be a nocturnal fae. This would also solve the MASSIVE lifespan difference between fae and non-fae because at least fae would be far closer to each other even if their lifespans fluctuate but subspecies.

Someone suited to rule by his side. Being married into any royal family is no joke—it comes with the expectation that you will contribute somehow, and the partner should be fully equipped to enter the world of politics with him.

Piggybacking off the last point, I think mental fortitude is also a prerequisite. This is because being a politician (navigating the social climate both within your country and outside of it, keeping your people and colleagues happy, maintaining public approval, managing laws, dealing with potential attempts on your life, etc.) can be very stressful and can hurt those who are faint of heart or not prepared for the responsibility. Leaders have to make tough calls at the drop of a hat, and they have to be ready for it.

Has a lot to offer in terms of benefits to Briar Valley as a country. This could be in terms of resources, connections, and/or political savvy. This appears to be true of Malleus’s dad, who acted as a diplomat for Briar Valley.

Vetting and formal approval from the senate. lmao good luck with that

Has to be able and willing to have a child. They at least need an heir to the throne to succeed Malleus. (However, knowing how exclusionary and conservative as heck the senators are, I doubt they would accept anything but a biological child, especially since the Draconia’s claim to fame seems to be from how strong their line is 💀)

Preferably someone with powerful magic or is skilled at magic already so as to lessen the chance of “tainting” the bloodline with a weak mage or a non-mage.

I believe that Briar Valley would prefer someone with old fashioned values like them, not someone pushing for massive reform. They have a culture that is resistant to change and a history of fighting for resources with outsiders, so if Malleus’s new spouse tries to introduce a bunch of technology or open its borders to other countries (even if they have good intentions), the people + the senate may oppose them. His father is implied to be open-minded, but he at least understood that such change isn’t reasonable without time and effort dedicated to the endeavor.

All that being said 💦 I think that this topic is actually less about what Malleus as an individual wants and what his country, his people, and, yes, even his asshole senators, want. This is basically an arranged marriage situation so that their country can maintain power and relevance. It’s about the collective and what Malleus must do for their perceived security and prosperity.

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