#the second is an interlude the rise of the new god and Paradise and the damnation of the Earth

[calowlmitygoddess]

I was going to oc-fy my ffxiv characters bcs of the cool plot bunny i had but then i realized that instead of having to create a whole ass new fantasy world i could really easily fit them in Tanza with some changes and would fix my Lack of a choesive Second Arc. The problem now is that this new cool idea is now smack dab in the middle of my two unwrittenable uncohesive overcomplicated story arcs and i cant do shit aboit it

[reginrokkr]

→ Study 𝐗𝐕: New light onto sapphire nails.

Ever since I managed to read the artifact set that talks specially about the Goddess of Flowers, there was something that made me confused at first that with time has been clarifying for me and that ultimately became clear after revisiting a certain description of a weapon. The topic in question is the premise that the celestial nails we've seen in Dragonspine and the Chasm thus far were, actually, thrown by Phanes.

And apparently there is a legit reason for these nails to be there (or at least the Chasm's, I'll elaborate later why I say this one and not Dragonspine's) despite the chaos they must've caused at the time and the destruction they must've brought to humans too. Said reason are better described as:

It was a faraway time of calm and peace. Divine envoys spoke openly with the people then, bringing them the word from the heavens… But, in time, invaders descended from beyond the firmament, bringing with them destruction, overturning rivers, spreading plagues… And though the invaders brought war to my former kin, they also brought about illusions that could break through shackles to the land. But the master of the heavens, consumed by fear for the rising tide of delusion and breakthroughs, sent down the divine nails to mend the land, laying waste to the mortal realm… We then suffered the torment of exile. Stripped was our connection to heaven, to our powers of enlightenment…

                                                                           —Amethyst Crown: Flower of Paradise Lost.

In the original world, the barriers were torn down, and the dark poison had penetrated the earth. To heal that fragile, sad, and imperfect world, the spikes descended and pierced through the earth's crust.

                                                                                                        —Staff of the Scarlet Sands.

To make a brief recapitulation: 7 Dragonlords existed in the vishap world before Phanes was born, he defeated these sovereign dragon kings and remade the world as well as he created humans. To some point, The Second Who Came arrived to Teyvat and this one seemed to have been victor against the ensuing war. Presumably, it's because of the Second Who Came that this poison permeated Teyvat to begin with, poison also known as forbidden knowledge but also as abyssal energy or Marana.

So apparently, dropping sapphire nails to Teyvat was part of a remedy to heal the world from this poison.

There is a but to this, however, and it's the fact that in Dragonspine specifically it is known that the nail of retribution descended because the people of the old Sal Vindagnyr started to doubt the authorities of the heavens who stopped answering to them as they used to do before (I've mentioned this before, but I think it matches with the Era of the Saints when gods and celestial envoys walked the world alongside humans and then this sudden change happened due to the Second Who Came), they allegedly found a way to reach Celestia and in doing so, the nail was dropped and this caused great destruction to the civilization. Unless this story is incomplete and there is something we lack, this conflicts with the original use of the sapphire nail which was intended to heal the earth from this poison.

As it may do partly with the Chasm's nail. While in this place the scenario of healing the earth from the poison is more likely if we look at those underworld-like souls that sought to bring harm, there is also something fishy about the nail here which we've encountered in the Interlude Chapter of 2.6 where we learn about what happened to Bosacius among other interesting facts. And it's the prospect that it is still unknown what caused the group to be stranded there without a feeling of time passing. Moreover, the story surrounding the nail as the Star Wisher in which the miners wanted to blow it up because it made them have illusions which were highly dangerous because of the abyssal exposure that existed there. There is one more detail about this which is that the Abyss Order used this nail to propagate the miasma of the abyss and if we're to think about this nail's true purpose, it's highly interesting that they knew that they could reverse completely the purpose of the sapphire nail.

For the illusions part which we also saw in the Interlude Chapter of 2.6, I'm tempted to think that by itself it isn't a bad thing. However, what may make it a bad thing is the collision of two kinds of power that existed in the Chasm as Dain worded it, which happened to be the energy that came from the sapphire nail + the abyssal energy.

To conclude this, I think that there are still remnants of what the "old Celestia" dwelled by Seelies, the Saints and other gods and heavenly envoys in the present day. These remnants (the sapphire nails for one) were intended to be beneficial for the world in truth, but there are high chances that Celestia as we know it are using them for more nefarious purposes. Mainly as we know, to hide all knowledge that existed in the past before their arrival as presumable the Second Who Came. Looking at Rhukkadevata now and this serious need to erase all trace of what existed before their arrival is also a means to get rid of heavenly beings potentially capable of using this energy for good purposes on their own accord without being controlled by Celestia, which all things considered might be feasible all things considered. This may or may not extend to Visions also, but that will remain as a topic of conversation for another day.

[dreamwithinthisnightmare]

My casual track-by-track Synthesis commentary.

Finally the time has come for us fans to listen to the much-hyped and super-exciting Synthesis by Evanescence. The project was first announced many months ago, and since then we’ve been so eager to hear some of our favourite songs from the bands past being reworked into something that promised to be beautiful. Synthesis means to combine separate elements to form a whole, therefore the concept of the album is to celebrate the relationship, and contrast, of the organic, classical orchestra and the computerised electronic beats and sounds. Tonight, I listened to Synthesis for the first time and was so excited, I could not wait to writer about it and share it with you guys.

1. Overture 

Named after our Lord and saviour, Overture the goat God.

“An orchestral piece at the beginning of an opera, or play”, this definition kind of hints at just how seriously Amy and the guys are taking the whole ‘classical’ thing. When I saw there would be an “overture”, and not just an “intro”, I was honestly over the moon. The gorgeous piece opens with a slow piano on a single note, before being accompanied by building strings. The beauty and tension rise before coming to a clashing close.

2. Never Go Back (From Evanescence)

Straight from the overture, Never Go Back opens with intense piano. The melody was originally used as the bridge in the original version, and the strings are so reminiscent of Good Enough, I got really excited about this! Everything quietens for Amy to make her first appearance on Synthesis. The tension continues to rise until suddenly the electronics make their debut and suddenly Synthesis takes it’s true form and just blows us the fuck away. And the way she sings “home” at the end? Shit a brick.

3. Hi-Lo

The first of two brand new songs to appear on the album, this song was originally written by Amy many years ago with the intentions of appearing on their self-titled album in 2011. The song, simply put, is fucking awesome. It builds quite slowly, but beautifully with the orchestra and electronics working so well in harmony. And then.. the guest appearance from Lindsey Stirling is absolutely phenomenal. Never has a collaboration sounded so sweet, I just wish she was credited on the actual song title, but then I suppose that’s separating her from the orchestra. 

4. My Heart Is Broken (From Evanescence)

Oh my god what a way to rework a song. Amy has never sounded so beautiful, her vocals here are absolutely astonishing, as we all know from the original song anyway. She sings things ever so slightly differently here, but what absolutely slays me is the second “goodbye” in the bridge, when she matches the melody of the music.. It’s something I always thought would sound beautiful and she bloody well did it. Also, check out the gorgeous harp and piano mini duet.

5. Lacrymosa (From The Open Door)

One of my favourite songs from the band that I would have been seriously PISSED about if it didn’t make it onto Synthesis. Luckily, we don’t have that problem. But I’m still salty about Cloud Nine, Haunted, Whisper and New Way to Bleed. The song has a lovely alternate little intro whilst still staying faithful to the original. I absolutely love the lack of a first chorus also. The ending absolutely slays me, Amy’s operatics in the last few moments send chills up and down my entire body. 

6. The End of the Dream (From Evanescence)

Arguably my favourite Ev song of all time, I may have screamed like a 5-year-old child at a birthday party when I saw it was on the tracklist. The song opens so slowly, but it has this gorgeous dark and creepy atmosphere, until the first chorus arrives and Queen Amy the first takes her place on the throne of her enemies. Her voice is so flawless, and the build of the music as the song progresses is perfect. And then.. the absolutely epic orchestral part between the bridge and the final chorus.. It’s something straight out of a superhero finale when the hero takes down the big baddie after almost losing the battle. It’s epic beyond proportion and I can’t believe I have it in my life.

7. Bring Me to Life (From Fallen)

Well it had to be on there didn’t it. I definitely appreciate this more now that I’ve heard the rest of the album, but there really are better songs that could have been here in it’s place. It fits in well and sounds super epic, especially that movie-credit ending. I still don’t like that rap part though, it sounds like the bliss mix where Paul’s vocals have been removed, and it’s obvious that something’s missing. I kind of wish they cut that bit out altogether, but alas here we are.

8. Unraveling (Interlude)

Now THIS is something that should be celebrated. Amy obviously took a page from her own book on writing movie scores because this came straight out of a Victorian gothic horror. Basically Voice From the Stone. Absolutely gorgeous, and it leads perfectly into...

9. Imaginary (From Fallen)

Another example of how a song can be reworked absolutely perfectly. It’s amazing how this version can sound so different to the original, despite literally being the same song. If I was to choose a song from the album that represented just what Amy wanted to achieve on Synthesis, this would probably be the one I’d go for. They absolutely nailed this and I’ll be listening to it a lot on repeat over the coming months.

10. Secret Door (From Evanescence [Deluxe Edition])

Now I admit, this got an eye roll when I saw it on the tracklist. I like the original song, but I really couldn't see how it could possibly be reworked to fit in on Synthesis when it already features some gorgeous electronic and orchestral work. Wow, was I wrong. The song makes the original sound like a demo. Imagine Secret Door meets Swimming Home and they had a baby and gave it loads of steroids. That’s basically what we get here. Also, shoutout to the fucking GORGEOUS vocal work at the beginning of the final chorus.

11. Lithium (From The Open Door)

Another eye roll. I couldn’t see how this would be remade effectively. When the song opens I considered myself wrong, with a gorgeous new intro I thought “oh, this sounds promising!”. Then Amy starts singing and I’m waiting for that true Synthesis moment. It never arrives. I’m left feeling like pretty empty inside. Lithium is without a doubt a waste of absolute space on here, and I’m angry it wasn’t booted in favour of another song. It’s literally just Amy, a piano, some strings. No electronics worth mentioning, no epic climax.. it’s so so so so disappointing. It is not Synthesis, and it makes me so sad. 

12. Lost in Paradise (From Evanescence)

Yet another eye roll, I was hoping Amy wouldn’t choose the obvious ones for the album, but here we are with one of the most Synthesis-obvious songs in Ev’s catalogue, due to it already featuring heavy orchestra. Thank God I was proven wrong. Amy’s voice is reminiscent of the AMP Acoustic performance of the song, which I bloody love. The song’s emotion is quadrupled and the earlier entry of the band compared to the original is stunning. Definitely a later-album highlight.

13. Your Star (From The Open Door)

Another one of my all time favourite songs. I was so thrilled to see it on the tracklist, and then I realised there was no way it wouldn’t have been. The electronics at the start are so gorgeous, and then Amy full on belts the word “star” with this awesome effect and just like that I’m high. Gorgeous, hypnotic rendition of one of their best tracks. 

14. My Immortal (From Fallen)

Going to whiz through this because my opinions on it being on Synthesis are less than favourable. Ironically it sounds exactly the same as Lithium but I’m not as offended by it. This version is definitely superior to the earlier versions, Amy’s voice has aged beautifully, and that showcased well here. 

15. The In-Between (Piano solo)

This is a gorgeous piece, most notable because it samples Hello!! I’m so so so happy that Amy incorporated that gorgeous song into Synthesis, even though it’s only a cheeky little nod in it’s direction. I love how this piece builds and builds with the strings coming in just before we hear.. 

16. Imperfection

An absolutely gorgeous and epic close to Synthesis, Imperfection is a wonderful, could-be-iconic-if-the-world-cared-more-about-Evanescence track. I love what it stands for, I love what it aims to achieve, and I love it’s soaring chorus that basically makes me weep. 

All in all I want to thank Evanescence for:

- Giving us an album that shows us just what they’re capable of; their limitless beauty and talent.

- Giving us the goat.

- Being so passionate about their work so much to make an album as special as this. 

- Making me so confused I no longer what my favourite versions of each song are (apart from fucking Lithium), let alone what my favourite album is.