#n3 theory

[tulipsnflowers]

I don't think you know what you just did @call-of-the-wayward-wolf

Obviously, we have to cover the gap between n1 and n3 because, he is for some freaking reason, not in n:e

So first things first, that one post JV made about him being the Landlorn in n:e when housing was a think. Or how he worded it, "It was supposed to be a Nexolord with a mustache". Considering I'm pretty sure he said something about housing in n3 I am keeping my fingers crossed. Please JV it'll be so fricking funny.

I don't want to derail this to be about where James is in n:e, ask that if need be, but that's not what this is. But if he's just casually the landlord that implies that either a) Sols revived him or b) he was alive from the start. Which. Press X to doubt on that one. I don't think he's the type to be all quiet n stuff who does he think he is.

Or, like I'm head cannoning, protag in n3. This has no base other than black hair with a blue streak = normal type with blue streak = James. Legit none. I think not even the eye color matches. But it would be really funny if he was tbh, he sucks at being a villain so bad he became the protagonist

Or, he's on the antagonist team. It's to nobody's shock I think Deena might be evil, and if they're on the same team that's very fun. Like cmon give it to me. Plus it might potentially be him against all of his siblings. JV be damned those guys care about him so I'll grab popcorn.

Or, a secret 4th thing, being that either the protagonist or the other girl character with a blue streak are somehow related to him but he isn't there. Which I doubt but hey, would be fun.

Or he's just not there at all. None would shock me but I would be shocked if it's none of those

[pb-s-corner]

Smile and how he got his scars/tattoos

Which theory do you think is most plausible?

[sarrf]

[pinkheart22]

New Orleans Night 3 Announcment?

Something defientley happening tonight at New Orleans Night 3

Oct 27 = 1 year anniversary of 1989 Taylors Version

13 shows left on the Eras Tour

NOLA = NO LA = No Los Angeles Post for the Sofi Stadium dates where 1989 TV was announced

1989 TAYLORS VERSION HAD THE SNAKE S In Taylors Version

ET TU BRUTE = Julius Caesar = Caesars Super Dome

RED REP OUTFIT, GOLD REP OUTFIT, NOW SILVER REP OUTFIT?

Taylors Nails STILL painted GOLD like LWYMMD video with Sabrina Carpenter at New Orleans Night 2 AND SHE WAS WEARING ORANGE not a new multi-color surprise dress

Today is the 1989 1 year anniversary + SHE HAS BEEN FILMED BY A CREW 5 NIGHTS IN A ROW, so she's leading up to something that she wants documented

136 shows today Oct 27 in New Orleans BUT IF Vienna shows hadn't sadly been canceled, then that would make today, New Orleans Night 3 139 1+3+9= 13

Taylor's google vault tracks puzzle game had THE ERAS TOUR STAGE as the KEY to the VAULT. And there is a Door at the End of Karma and Her Vault is still locked with Reputation Vault Taylor in the Glass Box for LWYMMD

6 NIGHTS since Black / Gold Rep Outfit Debuted

They have been playing Karma, Bejeweled and I Can See You behind the scenes music videos AT the ERAS TOUR. all these videos / songs are about her reclaiming albums

AND the Fortnight music video behind the scenes. In there she says 'Til nobody noticed my new aesthetic !!! Her Instagram feed doesn't use TTPD greyscale filters anymore

TAYLOR NATION POSTED THIS: Only 13 Shows LEFT

They Used A Yellow Heart and Taylors instagram feed is all lined up in yellow, and she wore ALL YELLOW at Night 2 New Orleans + An Anniversary of 1989 to Celebrate tomorrow - NIGHT 3

She's been singing debut x reputation mashups

shouldve said no x i did something bad - Miami Night 2

our song x call it what you want - New Orleans N1

then tonight she CALLS Sabrina on the phone - New Orleans N2

the old Taylor cant come to the phone right now (CALL it what you want) ....and our song has THE phone in it

Toronto & Vancouver are last stops = TV = Taylors Version so she will make everything become Taylor's Version before the end of the tour finally Coming out in a THIS IS TAYLORS VERSION shirt for RED

THE NEW DRESS IS 1989 to REPUTATION ORANGE

The New Outfits are blue / white (like 1989) and orange and pinks like reputation

1989 was/is the album before the supposed "lost ablum" / "karma" and Reputation. Which means its only fitting to do something around the time of the 1989 taylors version.

Her new aesthetic has been yellows / pinks / oranges and plaids + jean / denims

OR just could be an announcement for more TTPD, DOWN BAD MUSIC VIDEO, SO HIGH SCHOOL, or ERAS DOCUMENTARY / ADDITION OF TTPD TO DISNEY+ FILM.

@taylornation @taylorswift

posted oct 27 2024 1127am

[pivsketch]

went to the art store last last weekend and of course picked up some new items. tested them out by drawing wrestlers on (incompatible) sketchbook paper. i didnt want to digitally edit any of these but i caved specifically on that topmost mjf because i really didnt like it lmao. included the before/after at least

[player-1]

Been thinking about the Abyssal Tyrants (shocking I know), but I love the implication that the main Tyrants are more of a threat to the Guild while they're basically 10-15 years old before the main story in Extinction. Of course, the Abyssals were still a threat for a variety of reasons and/or paranoia, it's kinda overshooting the fact that they were alive for a very long time; not as long as the Children of Omnicron of course, but still.

But going through the "family timeline" theory again, it's hilarious in hindsight to think that Braccus probably had the time of his life destroying what he can before becoming the hulky bulldozer he is (about 200 years before the main story) but Kroma had to suffer with the idea of wanting to destroy one specific person (ie. Eliza) around the same time and long before their real target was even born, only to get absolutely destroyed by Deena when she finally had the chance to fulfill her mission (also around 20-15 years before the main story so it's common knowledge for the Guild too)...

Long story short the Abyssals had all the time in the world to wonder why they were made/created as they were, just waiting until the time was right for their goals to be fulfilled, until they figure about that they might've been created to be glorified cannon-fodder in the grand scheme of things (even if they would've gone through that existential crisis or not)...Also I refuse to believe that the Abyssals wouldn't have run into each other at some point and figured out that they have nothing better to do but wait to be killed after completing what’s literally their life mission. Maybe they avoid talking with or about each other at Precursor Mountain so it doesn't hurt them anymore than it should (or conflicting goals making them distance themselves despite their origins being the exact same). Also letting Venefelis/Salem figure out that she has "siblings" running around the place would definitely help with their cabin fever, I'm sure of it :)

[froidefille]

I've read someone's theory on Threads that she's left those intentionally.

You know, making a blank space ? In the middle of 1989 set ? 😅

you’re the loss of my life

[stars-and-the-min]

☆ the wrong way to hard launch (5) | OP81

summary : oscar's girlfriend is a walking pr problem for literally everyone (including herself) social media au

pairing : oscar piastri x zhou!fem!singer!oc

a/n formula 1's 'newest' WAG makes her race debut and gives her cousin a headache

i did actually screech like a parrot watching this race and then immediately adjusted some of my predictive writings

masterlist | last part | part 5 | next part

TWITTER

F1 WAGS @f1wagnews · 3h Selina Bui spotted around the paddock!

pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 2h the royal couple of australia (i don't make the rules 🤷‍♀️)

↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 2h why... did she wear blue...? she knows basic color theory... right??? ↳ pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 2h i completely missed that... SILENA??? ↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 2h HER ASS IS NOT ENDING UP IN THE PAPAYA GARAGE IN THAT DRESS 😭 SHE'S NOT THAT DUMB IS SHE???

MANIFESTED OSCALINA | LONDON N3 @12m0red4ys · 26m SCREECHING RN we used to dream of these days

↳ lina bui x2 grammy winner @urdaisea · 25m '2-time grammy award winner' HELL YEAH SHE IS ↳ MANIFESTED OSCALINA | LONDON N3 @12m0red4ys · 26m the most employed wag in formula 1 🫶 (lily is a close 2nd)

oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 13m HELP HAS ANYONE ELSE SEEN THAT CLIP OF LINA AND THE CHINESE INTERVIEWER 😭 ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 13m [translation] interviewer: this is your cousin's 3rd f1 season, how come you've never come support him? lina: he said he doesn't like my nagging interviewer: then will you be supporting zhou guanyu in shanghai? his home race could use some family support lina: even if he asked me to visit, there's nothing i can do, i'm in shenzhen performing a sold-out concert ↳ clovie @ luvyouvie · 7m she's so done lmao what can she do if zhou doesn't want her there ↳ emme @flowersforcami · 5m lina: i'm fucking busy too, have you considered that??

INSTAGRAM

selinabui just posted to their story

(translation: Brother Yu [Zhou Guanyu], come and save me)

TWITTER

rubyyy @piastriworld · 2h oh wait shit she's cute as fuck what ↳ rubyyy @piastriworld · 2h fyi this is abt lina bui ↳ rubyyy @piastriworld · 2h i was kinda expecting a full-on rockstar but she's super soft???

piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 1h the same woman not even 12hrs later

clara @ zgy24 · 37m i do actually think it's insane we got an 'oscar piastri's partner' graphic before we got a 'zhou guanyu's cousin' graphic ↳ clara @ zgy24 · 37m selina dear, we know you can't stand him but we're sure he'd appreciate it if you popped by the kick garage on your way over 🫶 ↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 17m you sound like my mother but i'll have you know he sent me this:

很油腻 directly translates to 'very greasy' but it basically means 'ew' or 'cringe'

↳ clara @ zgy24 · 15m LMAO OH MY BAD ↳ xixi²⁴ ⁴⁴ @grandegrid · 14m the sheer amount of info you get from these two ss 😭 like ofc they use wechat, zhou guanyu sounds like an annoying older brother, she calls him 鱼哥, she trolls the emperor nickname, THE PURE SIBLING DYNAMIC IS EVERYTHING ↳ ZG24 future WDC · @zhoupdates · 14m zhou cousins crumbs 💚

lina !!! @EB_selina · 29m mistakes were made, the blue dress and orange-- sorry, PAPAYA headphones are not a look 💀 ↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 28m wonder if it's too late to sneak into the sauber garage... ↳ pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 12m i'm actually wheezing at this bc that's EXACTLY what my oomf said when ur pics first dropped ↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 10m well i wish ur oomf gave me a heads-up before i left the hotel

INSTAGRAM

selinabui

liked by zhouguanyu24 and 112,385 others

selinabui went on a tour around the paddock (finally visited the man racing with my number 🫶) tagged: zhouguanyu24 and logansargeant

pi4str1 babygirl, i think you wandered the wrong way

pastry81 oscar's girlfriend meeting oscar's boyfriend

zhouguanyu24 我给了你一个愿望 trans: i gave you one job/i had one wish ↳ selinabui @ zhouguanyu24 你是不是我的亲表哥！ trans: are you even my cousin!

logansargeant This feels like an achievement ↳ selinabui @ logansargeant it is, stay slaying cap, so glad to see you race today 🫶

no2argeant logan getting a double feature over her cousin mhm those are mutuals via oscar frfr (loscar and oscalina and... lolina?) ↳ selinabui @no2argeant we use selogan but lolina is 100x cuter

TWITTER

piaa⁸¹ @papayaeightyone · 3h HELP SHE ACTUALLY SNUCK INTO THE SAUBER GARAGE

xixi²⁴ ⁴⁴ @grandegrid · 2h both cousins are equally unserious bc why did i remember the 'who's the most famous person in ur contacts' thing kick sauber did and why did zhou say jj lin when his very famous GRAMMY WINNING cousin seems to regularly bug him on the daily ↳ pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 2h he probably forgot lmao it's like she's not famous in his eyes "oh lina? u mean my annoying little cousin? oh right, she's a rockstar or smth"

oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 2h ok i'm convinced she's gonna stay in the williams garage now like it's almost guaranteed she's not headed back to mclaren ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 2h oscar, honey, come over and remove ur girlfriend from the williams garage, she's yapping with logan ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 8m I JUST SAW LINA'S POST 💀💀 y'know she's right, lolina is cuter than selogan but now i need to know how much logan's been 3rd wheeling

kayla @luna_apocolypse · 16m oscar checking his socials and it's his fans debating on the best ship name for his girlfriend and bestie

MESSAGES

from the phone of selina bui

TWITTER

oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 1h realising that lina being at the race means we're probably not gonna get her entertaining af f1 live-tweets

↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 1h no joke, we missed out on aus gp live-tweets bc she was flying to jakarta but the saudi gp tweets gave me LIFE

INSTAGRAM/MESSAGES

from the phone of logan sargeant

TWITTER

oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 39m red flag??? already??? we just started??? ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 34m they cut to lina in the mclaren garage and i'm wheezing she looks so amused by the turn of events 😭

jess @OPIXSTRI · 3m oh they knew what they were doing cutting to selina bui after zhou guanyu retired ↳ jess @OPIXSTRI · 3m new f1 reaction pic just dropped guys, perfectly summarises the kick sauber saga

↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 2m obsessed with her refusal to wear the orange headphones genuinely think she would rather go deaf than have those pictures circulate the internet

xixi²⁴ ⁴⁴ @grandegrid · 5m we got the zhou guanyu's cousin graphic but at what cost

↳ Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber @stakef1team_ks · 18m We're sorry to let you down 😔 ↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 17m i don't care which long-suffering intern this is. get out. ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 20m lmao lina's sauber pit stop tweets vs oscar's f3 drs tweets, fight 🤣

INSTAGRAM

selinabui Suzuka, Japan

liked by eb_jonno and 200,371 others

selinabui loved the experience, will not be going to another one bc i'm 94% sure i jinxed EVERYONE i hold dear in this sport - stay safe out there 👍 see y'all in seoul in 2-3 business days <3 tagged: mclaren and oscarpiastri

logansargeant You did *not* jinx anyone ↳ selinabui @ logansargeant logan, honey, i'm a bit depressed about you but sure man, whatever you say :'(

ninisf1diary how'd you find your first ever live race? ↳ selinabui @ninisf1diary very fun, loved the bit where oscar got to hop back into the garage after the first lap

mclaren Are we still gonna see you in Imola 🥺 ↳ selinabui @ mclaren i think oscar is gonna drag me over kicking and screaming but i guess i'll be there

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

taglist @ririyulife @ashy-kit @fionaschicken @namgification

[serendipnpipity]

Hello hello fellow phannies, welcome to the last week of TIT!!!

If you remember the phanspiracy section choices from TIT at:

Brighton N1

Birmingham N2

London N3 (matinee Jan 26)

London N4 (night Jan 26)

Newcastle

Manchester N1

Manchester N2

Click each city name to navigate to that part of the masterlist and add your show's conspiracy theories. Thank youuuu ^-^

Stats will be analyzed at the end of the tour! @phanspiracymasterlist (will update soon)

[yourlocalbadgerscales]

@taylorswift both my tumblr dash and my life will feel so empty in the absence of your Eras Tour.

I hope you say and do everything you want to say and do tonight, and that the last show Vancouver N3 is everything you wanted it to be.

Even if you prove me wrong and you don’t announce the double album, with the rep Vault tracks being songs from the lost Karma album, I’ll be so proud of you nonetheless. Even if whatever you have planned for tonight still doesn’t convince the Hetlors, I am convinced. Gaylors are sooo sure! And we aren’t going anywhere.

We’ve both been lurking on gaylor tumblr far longer than we should have, I fear. Let’s make the gaylor theories a part of Taylor Swift truth, yeah? Let there be Taylor Swift truth and Taylor Swift™️ downfall. It all happens tonight. Or maybe tonight is only the beginning… let’s see.

Thank you, and I love you! Good luck! xx

[todaywasamaritale]

i’m so glad you asked

what do YOU think taylor's last surprise song(s) will be?

[tulipsnflowers]

Ok everyone crack theory about n3:

The Nexolord (James) is the protagonist, actually

Evidence? None really. Except the fact both have a blue streak of hair

And if Protag has to be male, I see no other reason? Like, personality isn't linked to gender??

So preexisting character. Aka James.

... This will absolutely not happen but, copium

[scclangen]

Moon 25 pt2 - stay confused /hj (this moon is gonna be long..)

I'd say y'all start formatting some theories because n1 this is gonna take a while for me to explain in the story and n2 i love seeing your theories teehee and n3 yes, this moon is gonna be a bit long and I might struggle a bit getting back on track with making the moons

[craetor]

Bill Cipher symbolism analysis

I don't know if this has ever been said, since most online theories are buried under piles of internet activity since when the show came out and me being the mean, internet unsavvy age of 11 then couldn't contribute. BUT. I need to talk about the constant mention within official Gravity Falls media of Bill collecting teeth.

Bill's main channel to wield his influence over the people he's looking to use is, notoriously, through their dreams. He has little to no means of interacting with anyone who is not in N3 unless he has gained power over them from within their mind previously. His goal when entering someone's mind in that state is without exception to infultrate, influence, manipulate and control them.

Now, tell me why I just realized that a common symbol of people who feel a loss of control over their life and general uncertainty and doubt in their actions and decisions is dreams where they are losing their teeth...

The sense of a loss of control would, of course, be a triumph to Bill, who, after making his person of choice feel like they have found a guide in him, will strap their submissive mind up to do his bidding. Of course he would collect the teeth they're losing in their dreams because of him.

I have faith in the meticulous type of writer that Alex Hirsch is and that this constant shoving Cipher's teeth obsession down our throats is with one very definite intention. His creativity is above reusing the same bit of shock value for 10 years, I'm certain.

[tulipsnflowers]

I accidentally deleted the post trying to edit it. Welp, sorry for the notification spam, here I go yet again:

It's about Deena. Is anybody surprised, did I actually ever post something that wasn't this plant deer.

.. Anyway. What I am noticing is she's always.. On the losing side? In quotation marks. But she always is one a side and then betrays said side.

Like, when she betrayed Omnicron, she was a nexomon she done that. But then she also just, kinda stabbed her siblings in the back too. Weather or not she helped Ulzar I think remains opinion (He doesn't recognize her in immortal or is helping her cover depending on what you pick), but at the very least emotionally?

Like, they had to be hurt by that. And she had to be, too. I refuse to imagine they don't care about each other (bonus points if Metta just doesn't show up again because with the main developer hating him there's a chance which is like, more layers)

And in n2 she for one died for it. Which may have made me cry in the past, but she also.. Kinda threw the relationship with her kid to the side, too.

Not that I think she wanted to, nor do I think it's irreparable(I mean look at Fenrir he agreed to her dumbass plan he does somewhat care now, so she's got that going) but she did.

But her standing against the guild was because of her helping slay Omnicron which was because she made the choice of betraying her family back then.

... And I think she's going to keep this cycle going. Because she lost so much at this point that, if she in n3 or n4 or n1938 or whatever actually just stops, then, what was all of it for in the first place?

She made a choice and now she has to continue making it. Including in n3, I just fear what comes next..

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk for the second time

With the Abyssal portions defeated, time for the final thoughts on Nexomon Extinction.

The Abyssals are exactly what I wanted out of the Tyrants.

My biggest complaint story-wise for this game was that the Tyrants themselves really didn't matter much. There's a thousand-year war among the Tyrants going on, that pushed humanity so far that one Guild leader created a cult to revive Omnicron, and their successor created artificial dragons to hunt Tyrants, an artificial Tyrant to command them, and then another, bigger one when that plan failed. But despite how significant this war was...all of the Tyrants we meet are pretty inconsequential, and most are associated with a human who does most of the talking and planning to begin with. I understand that this game is the human errors side of thing after the last game's presentation of the threat of Nexomon, but it's still kinda rough to go through all these story segments with the Tyrants not producing anything substantial. You get to postgame where you can hunt them down, and they're all a pain in the ass to find, with nothing drawing me to them.

The Abyssals, though? This is what I wanted. A thousand years ago, the first Abyssal arrived. And their first act? Killing Hilda. Another is stated to have made an attempt on Eliza's life. These are a much more pressing, salient threat. Sure, Tyrants destroyed cities, but we've never seen them do anything. The Abyssals have personal connection.

Despite their power, the Abyssals are odd in that they never aimed to become Sovereign of Monsters, and they seem immune to Solus' influence as the current Queen. What's presented is a pretty interesting mystery that builds up more questions than it feels like it wants to answer. What's the deal with these weird engravings? Why are Abyssals so weird? Apparently each is born with a clear goal from its creator, but this creator is unknown to them, and their specific goals are incredibly simplistic, with no known overarching goal. They're super unusual.

By gameplay, the Precursor Island is really fun. It might be an odd comparison, but it reminds me of the bonus dungeon of Ib a bit. There's a central location, and your goal is running around everywhere to collect the things you need to progress, solving puzzles that sometime intertwine a bit. It's a really fun system, finding each of the Abyssals and solving their puzzles. The only annoying ones were the flying one (Inominox) and the electric one (Volcel). The rest was really fun. Even the weird maze puzzle was fairly clever, though the final solution was a little...obvious but still hard to figure out the hint.

I think what really sells me on the Abyssals...well, two things. The smaller one is design. The Abyssals are just really cool concepts. Venefelis shows up and is immediately incredible, being super imposing but kinda goofy, and stated outright that he shouldn't be strong enough to pull off the nonsense he has. Kroma is my absolute favorite, and she's set up as super imposing given her drive is killing Eliza, only for Venefelis to rant about how incompetent Kroma is for being the only one of them to fail in her mission. Then there's Screaming Fire Velociraptor, who is hilarious in concept. And Inominox, who is such a coward that it won't face anyone with more than one Nexomon, and that one Nexomon needs to be weak to Flying. Or the soup for Volcel. There's Caelesa, who ran across the world, and was attacked by the Guild for little reason other than paranoia, since she hurt no one in her efforts. There's Pluvian, whose entire goal was to show up, scream, and then get killed by the Guild for no clear reason. There's Rotrimus, who you try to order around, and initially agrees, but is intercepted by the force of their creator bending its will back to refusing your call. It's a really interesting and dynamic group, that apparently has no clear association. Many of them insist they worked alone. They had a creator, but they themselves don't even think of themselves as a unified group. Only Venefelis seems to confirm that they have association.

The other is that this group is delightfully aligned to the themes of the game. Nexomon Extinction has two general themes I can identify. The first is a bit more obvious and repeatedly stated: second chances. The children of Omnicron refer to their support as their redemption, the entire plot is Deena attempting to grant a second chance at saving the world, your resolution of the central conflict is trading the destruction of your direct enemy into granting them a second chance at life. There's an ongoing importance to the idea of getting a second shot at things...but a second shot isn't necessarily going to mean doing better. The former hero comments that your actions amount to the same thing she did, and despite the failures of the dragons, Amelie's second chance is doubling down on a decision that worked out poorly. This leads into the second theme, and the one I like a lot better: the limits of personal agency.

The former hero is a good lens for this one. Repeatedly throughout this game, their actions are referred to as if it was a huge mistake. They themselves talk about it as a mistake. Deena outright calls it stupid decision made by her moronic friends. Even Ulzar, who is more sympathetic to the situation, talks about it as if it were a mistake, if an understandable one. Absolutely everyone treats their actions as something that led to the present problem, and thus was the wrong decision.

But...we were there. Omnicron was going to completely destroy the world. You can argue that the destruction of his soul in the netherworld wasn't necessary, and that was the mistake. But it's well known that he'll come back time and again; it'd be pushing the problem out to the next generation. And Omnicron could follow through. When you fail to destroy him in the Netherworld, Omnicron devastates an area so badly that entire maps are wiped out of reality. This was done in hours. Omnicron tells you outright he could've annihilated the planet in a day, but he stopped solely to challenge his rival, the strongest human, as a matter of pride. This wasn't an idle threat. It was an active, immediate devastation looming on the horizon.

Faced with that, what choice did you really have? Yes, there was a technically a choice. But who could choose the alternative? When humanity is faced with its destruction through the war of the Tyrants, yes, you had a choice to make those dragons or not. But faced with the destruction of multiple cities and further looming threat, what choice did you have? When those failed, you had the choice to stop. But then the destruction of the Tyrants continue unabated. Who would choose to stop? Vados embodies this. He's a creation of Amelie, born to hunt Tyrants to protect humanity. The thing about Vados is that he has agency and beliefs of his own. When told to destroy Petram in spite of the Laterians interfering, he refuses to harm humans. But we know that will happen anyway. We're told repeatedly that the Tyrants will continue to rise, until Vados has destroyed so much that the world is inhospitable to humans as well. He has his own agency, his own desire to protect humanity and protect the world. But he'll betray that through his own actions, regardless of what he wants. He was made to hunt Tyrants, and so he shall, til the end of days. The only way to avert this is to refuse to fight every Tyrant, to refuse to wage this absolute crusade. And that's the only choice he cannot make. He doesn't get a choice.

The Abyssals continue this theme. Like Vados, the Abyssals are created for a singular purpose. They are born with a goal, and that is all they have. They have their own personalities, but few of them seem interested in the specifics of what's going on. Kroma doesn't seem particularly interested in killing Eliza, she just has to. Pluvian doesn't seem to function as a willing sacrifice, but she does it anyway because that's her goal. Regardless of what they want, they will carry out their goal.

Unlike Vados, though, they have no overarching philosophy. Nothing that specifically guides their actions beyond the immediate. Caelesa runs around the world, but she doesn't seem to understand why. So when their goal is accomplished, despite getting a second chance at life...none of them know what to do with it. So they just sit around, completely docile, until you strike them down again. What other choice did they have? They never knew what they were aiming to do in the first place.

Except for Venefelis. The first Abyssal. At first, he had no idea what his point was. He had a goal, carried it out, and got sealed within the woods forever. Not ideal, but mission accomplished. Then 300 years later, another entity like him appears, carrying out a similarly short-sighted goal. Then 200 years later, another. And another 100 years after that. They appear faster and faster, until we get two within ten years. And as the only one to really survive, even if just as a spirit...you recognize the pattern. After all, Venefelis understands Caelesa's goal better than she understands it herself. She thinks it was just running, but Venefelis identifies it as a scouting mission. You know there's a grander design here; a purpose. But you can't figure out what. Because no one will tell you. You creator, the one guiding your motions, won't speak to you.

What else can you do but try to divine their intent? With nothing else to go off of, you watch their actions, and notice only one thing stands out. Kroma failed, and following that, no other Abyssals were created. Maybe your creator quit. Maybe it's because of Kroma. You don't know that, but what else could it be? You don't understand your purpose, but you desperately want to understand it; to know why you're still here. What choice do you have but to force a second chance on her? To enforce your creator's will, regardless of what she'd want? What choice does she have but to obey?

The twisted thing is, there really is nothing else for them. Rotramus shows this definitively. When you attempt to issue a command, he thinks about it, and passively decides sure, I'll help. It's not the resounding success of an authority check commanding its allegiance. It's someone making a choice, as if it has nothing better to do and no reason to argue. But its creator's will forces it to refuse. Even with its goal accomplished, and no reason to refuse, they interfere, denying your freedom. Quite literally, you have no other choice.

Everything that happens in this arc is driven by Venefelis' desires. His agency, his desire to understand his creator, drives everything forward. No one else even understands why they're here. They didn't have much choice either way. He brought them back, gave them a second chance they had no use for. But what else could he have done? To see what he wanted done, all he could do was solve Kroma's failure by pushing her into another attempt. And it wouldn't have even worked. It was entirely for nothing. But what can you do but try? You technically have a choice. You finished your goal, you could just let it all rest. But faced with the dread of an eternity devoid of purpose, who would choose any different?

Despite how many open-ended threads there are, and how many mysteries we're left with, this does feel like a self-contained story. We don't know what the point is. We don't know what it means. But neither did they. And the result of that ignorance, that impossibility, is they existed unable to live for themselves, and no second chance could get them to defy that fate. Which really resonates with me. I loved this side story a lot, and these open questions have really gotten me interested in the sequel game. I've heard they officially announced its existence but not a release date or any details. I can be patient. But I'm really invested in this one. They really hit a sweet spot here.

[tales-of-kaylor]

You said you're going to the shows in Vienna right? Who are you going with and are you wearing costumes? What are your dream surprise songs? Sorry for all the questions, I swear I'm not trying to be creepy lol

Yes! I‘m going N1 with my wife (still can’t believe I get to call her that 😱) and N3 with my wife, my best friend, my brother and his girlfriend. My brother and my best friend gifted me Loverfest tickets for my 30th birthday and I was heartbroken when that got canceled 😩 I’m a little sad that we won’t be able to sit together because there was a purchase limit of 4 tickets BUT I‘m so excited I finally get to see Taylor!

For N1 I‘m recreating/combining Taylor‘s garden gate outfits. I‘m wearing a similar dress (but mine is yellow - because ☀️ ☺️) and a heartshaped purse.

I also found these eye theory inspired earrings that I‘ll wear. @9w1ft might appreciate those.

For N3 I‘m not sure if I‘ll dress up but I have a hat with a daisy on it ☺️

As for surprise songs, I don’t really know. I love them all tbh. Cornelia Street is one I‘d love to hear live and it’s fun because C & S are my wife‘s and my initials. King of my Heart would be great too because I love the bridge and my wife and I have been arguing over who‘s the king in our household for years 😂 And today I randomly listened to The Great War and Change and think that would make an amazing mashup.

But I know nothing about music and I‘ll leave it up to Taylor to choose (as if my blog was big enough to actually be on Taylor’s radar 😂). I just hope she chooses songs that she really wants to do and doesn’t just do them because that’s what we want. I‘m there for the fun and her story - whichever way she chooses to tell it 💛