#warframe analysis

[gillyeowalters]

Xaku and the Entrati family

Just a small analysis I wrote a couple months ago. [Spoilers for Heart of Deimos] I love how Xaku's background story is a reflection of the Entrati family's situation. Of course, there is a direct connection between them and the family, as Xaku is composed of three Warframes that were asigned to the Entratis, but there is also a more emotional connection.

Let's put it into simple words, to compare: -> something is lost to the Void -> as a result of that, something breaks -> through another's influence, broken parts become something new, damaged and changed, but whole again

Xaku: -> the three Warframes were lost to the Void -> they broke while in the Void -> they were fused back together (either by the Void itself or some other force) into Xaku, a broken Warframe Entrati Family: -> Albrecht Entrati is lost to the Void -> Mother's grief over loosing her father breaks her family apart (definitely there were other factors, but this seems to have been the main catalyst). -> the Tenno helps them grow back together as a family. They are damaged, emotionally and physically by the infestation but seem to slowly become a unit again.

Also, notable is the theme of Mother dismembering Father, quite literally breaking his physical form. We have three Warframes becoming one and three family generations (Grandma/Parents/Children) coming together. Xaku's deluxe has the art of Kintsugi as its main theme (putting broken ceramics back together and painting the cracks golden, not only repairing it but elevating its status). Why does a fixed plate hold more value? Because someone found it worth fixing. It was valued. The same goes for the family; after saving the Heart, the Tenno could just leave, but they instead decide to run errands for the family, helping them come together-finding value in them. What would have been the other option? Indifference.

[chronicler-of-narrative]

If you think about it, the gameplay dynamic between Stalker and Jade is hilariously absurd. On the one hand, we have this mixture of dps and support with entirely newly-minted abilities the likes of which we've never seen before. And then you pan over to her boyfriend who has 3.5 recycled abilities and unlike his wife, who just blows everything up, just dinkily executes enemies one by one.

Actually, now that I think about it...Are Jade and Stalker not representative of Warframe's change in design philosophy over the years? From the fact that Stalker has been around for basically a decade compared to Jade being shiny and new, to how Stalker is more stealth-based like early Warframe was, with Jade just blasting everyting to kingdom come with no remorse while ALSO supporting her team like how most new frames are like. Not to mention how they use literally the same weapon classes, except Jade's all have unique and cool effects, while Stalker's just kinda...kill stuff.

Damn, DE thought this through much more than I thought...Kudos to them!

[cardinalgoldenbrow]

This analysis of the Tales of Duviri from its author's perspective is pretty delightful. Euleria's almost unique among the Orokin in that her answer to the sort of void manifestations of their emotions (like in the Lua void conjunctions) wasn't to fight them with better warframes and bigger Vessels, but to build emotional intelligence and exercise self-control. Which is a pretty foreign concept to most other Orokin. So even if she was pretty imperfect about practicing it, she's still impressive.

Tales of Duviri is a storybook written by Euleria Entrati for the purpose of teaching children how to handle the manic flood of emotion that comes with Void exposure.

I pose a question: why does Euleria feel so strongly about this?

Her interactions with her own children are... let's call them wanting, and dialog implies that the negative aspects of their relationship--her denigrating, controlling nature, the distrust, etc--did not begin only after the Infestation brainrot set in.

We also know that she holds her father in extremely high esteem, but Albrecht did not think much of Tales of Duviri (see: him talking about his previous disdain for it in his own Duviri notes). Euleria put resources into writing Tales of Duviri instead of more traditional science, and Albrecht did not think much of it.

So why did Euleria write Tales of Duviri?

Let's rewind a step. Void exposure-induced mania, the whole thing Tales of Duviri is written to help manage.

How was that discovered and studied? It clearly was studied, enough to be a recognized condition and for the Orokin to build the iso vaults and for Euleria to write Tales of Duviri. But who would they have observed this mania in if Void research was an abandoned dead-end line of study?

Perhaps...the man obsessed with the Void who'd survived an unshielded Void dive?

Euleria had patient zero of Void mania sitting at her dinner table. Albrecht is the character who's undoubtedly had the most Void exposure.

Albrecht himself must have exhibited the Void mania and mood swings that Tales of Duviri exists to teach caution of.

And that's why Euleria wrote it; she had this gyroscope of a mood swing at home. She admired Albrecht too much to consciously deride his lack of control as irresponsible and so she channeled her energy into writing Tales of Duviri instead.

The emotion spirals of Duviri are loosely based off of what Euleria witnessed in the Entrati household and particularly Albrecht himself.

I don't believe that any courtier is a 1:1 translation of a member of the Entrati household, but more that their toxic interactions and dramatic heights reflected things that Euleria herself saw--or lived.

This reading of the Duviri characters and story--that they mean things to Euleria specifically--gives us a fun new lens to look at all of the chapters with.

For example, Mathila.

"Two children, and no memory of her husband. Poor Mathila."

Two children like Euleria herself, eh?

Mathila loved her husband. He also textually does not exist. He's not on the screen or in the text. He is a memory, and one that Mathila herself cannot even remember. There is no portrayal of their love.

Pivot to a writer's perspective. You need to write a loving relationship. You look to real life for inspiration, right? If you're a married woman needing to write a married woman in love, you naturally look to your own relationship.

And if you can't find anything to base that love off of? Well...move that character offscreen. Just tell about the loving relationship, don't show. Actually, do you even have anything to tell about? Well. Move the entire loving relationship offscreen, then. She's got amnesia. Nobody needs to talk about the love to sell it or make it feel real now. The narrator can simply mention it as a fact and it need not be challenged. Euleria doesn't have to imagine a loving family life between a husband and wife and their two children and question why that's hard for her. There. Problem fucking solved.

Another parallel that fairly started screaming at me once I started considering that the Duviri courtiers had meaning to Euleria specifically: Luscinia.

"I was created to be Sorrow, written into being, to serve as a lesson... can that change?"

Luscinia knows that she is a tool. As much as she dreams of being more, she knows very well that she is a tool--both a literal narrative element to teach a lesson and within the story itself Thrax's servant (his personal songbird).

Is there anyone in Euleria's life who might have some angst over their position as a tool? A servant who wants to escape the limited definitions of their role?

And so... here I am, back to my old role. The diligent servant. Albrecht would have smiled at that, I think.

Loid. It's Loid.

Luscinia: "This structure and I share much. Both of us once useful, both of us discarded, both of us now derelict. Both forgotten." Loid: "How might this relic make himself useful today?"

Both Luscinia and Loid are also capable of surprising amounts of ruthless violence. Luscinia has no hesitation telling you to kill the Dax or otherwise wreak vengeance on her jailers. Loid's Necramech lines feature him ranging from being excited for ensuing violence to coldly promising the Murmur regret.

The Duviri Tales were a subconscious form of therapy for Euleria herself as well, allowing her to write a story where emotional explosions were a problem that must be addressed rather than a social struggle to be suffered through at the whims of the more powerful.

[themanwhomadeamonster]

The 1999 combat theme and its foreshadowing because the autism got to me and I spent too long trying to figure out this soundtrack

Jumping off from @brokenjardaantech's WITW music analysis post here - go check it out, it's very insightful and lays the foundations for what I'm about to talk about! And thanks to @theterribletenno for the burst of inspiration by giving me a massive oh shit realisation in the most chilling way possible LOL

Spoilers under the read-more; TL;DR at the end :'^D

To preface, the soundtrack is structured in an ABC structure with bridges between A and B, as well as another between B and C that borrows from A. The key starts in Cm, briefly modulating to Gm in section B then back to Cm during the second bridge, and settling on Em for section C. In-game for WITW you most likely will only hear up to the first bridge since the Technocyte fight only goes for around a minute long

Sections A, the bridges and partially C feature genre similarities to grunge rock with fuzzy guitar chugging, whammy bar, and palm muting, while the drums are notably sharp snares (except for the first bridge, which are clean bass kicks that gradually distort transitioning into section B's style). Musically, it sounds like a typical fighting soundtrack meant to hype you up - the melody is confident and likes to push and pull its rhythm. But in section C it notably become emptier in its layering while keeping the distorted drums, placing emphasis on the lyrics (which I'll get to below lol). Heavier syncopation and polyrhythms are also introduced.

Section B however is the main outlier. This section is where it most strongly resembles industrial rock: rhythmic synth layers begin to accompany the melody (a pedal point line that plays every semiquaver/sixteenth note), synth drums replace acoustics and the guitars drop the fuzz that is characteristic of grunge and steadily strum every quaver/eighth note. Compared to the push and pull rhythm of section A, this section is steadier, less chaotic than the other sections, it wants you to focus on this section.

Notably, the lead guitar introduces a familiar leitmotif: This is What You Are (which @brokenjardaantech goes more in depth regarding its use in WITW). Here, though, its second chord becomes flattened (Dm -> D♭m) and introduces a diminished, dissonant sound. To me this was the first hint that the song may actually be about Arthur's downfall. This is What You Are is a musical leitmotif that recurs in moments of vulnerability, especially when someone is at risk of losing their sense of self, their identity and what they are. It plays during The Second Dream when we discover the Operator, during the New War when Eidolon!Lotus just lost herself to Ballas and can't recognise the Tenno, and in WITW during the Vessel "fight" when the Tenno is forced out of their Warframe.

I was prompted to actually dig more into the lyrics because I saw @theterribletenno bring up something really interesting

In this specific song, the leitmotif is diminished, it's corrupted. "Surrender to the corruption" - this is what Arthur is afraid of. I brought up earlier that section B had a genre shift. The contrast of the music is important, it's highlighting something, and together with the musicality of the leitmotif, it's making a sense of urgency and danger. The leitmotif is a warning to Arthur.

Section B sings these lyrics:

Break it, break it, Break it open!

Compared to the desperation in the other lines, these two lines are sung mockingly. The Infested are trying to break Arthur, and are succeeding. Their voice is becoming his. But there are actually two vocal lines in this section - you can also hear muted backing vocals in a much less aggressive and lethargic tone warning that "Disillusion". Arthur is trying so hard to keep his own voice and stay clear-minded but it's being drowned out and he's nearing his breaking point, and Albrecht, based on the Codex Fragments you find, is well aware of this.

In section C, while the layering is less intense it's noticeably more heavily syncopated and polyrhythmic, and introduces new (accompanying) echoing and dissonant synth layers reflecting the confusion and disorientation that Arthur begins to feel (these synth layers are actually introduced in the second bridge, but are more easily heard in section C). Section B and C also keep the synth/distorted drums that section A and both bridges lack (at most it's a reverb in those sections); the industrial sound of the song becoming associated with the increasing influence of the Infested over his humanity.

So I tried deciphering more lyrics for each section; I haven't figured all of it out and most of it could very well be wrong because of how heavily clipped the vocal line intentionally is so I don't want to make anymore assumptions than I need to, but I can understand enough of it to realise that the song is foreshadowing Arthur's corruption to the Infested. In green are the lyrics I'm confident are correct:

A:

Sting it, sting it, sting it! Sting it, sting it, sting it in the flesh!

Bridge:

I don't understand! It brings more disease!

B:

Break it, break it, Break it open! (Disillusion)

Bridge:

Sting it, sting it! Sting it in the flesh!

C:

Who's dreaming? Who's the [???] It's a vision[?]!

TL;DR: the grunge/industrial genre hybrid represents Arthur's humanity/Infested respectively, and the song becomes increasingly industrial as the song progresses, most noticeably through the increasing distortion of the drum sound. Section A sets the stage, section B serves as a warning to Arthur that he's losing his sense of identity as the Infestation drowns out his "voice" while a dissonant version of This is What You Are plays, and section C is him experiencing confusion and disorientation as the Infestation continues to corrupt him.

[zeroaccord]

ANALYZING A SONG (Sakuran) AND HOW IT WORKS REALLY WELL FOR SHERATAN, ANSHI, AND MIRA

Sheratan is not owned by me but is made by @voruna-warframe. regardless, she's still important to anshi's and mira's story by being her partner and the main reason why the events happen in the story.

Lore info for sheratan:

"For what I have for her, she's stuck in a time loop (I made this based on what I thought what Duviri's spirals were when they announced how Duviri works) and she's aware of all the deaths and whatever else she's been through, I was thinking it could be linked to something about Eternalism. Since her exposure to the void, she has more animalistic features. She has beast-esque hands/forearms due to using her void powers the scars spread kinda like how it does on the Zariman, and the void also spread from whatever injuries she got from the void jump. The horns and pointed ears are also from the void, but I haven't really come up with a reason why yet asides from "lol void shenanigans""

With this in mind, I want to add a little context regarding her character before I talk about the song.

Sheratan's timeloops begin and end with death, so upon her dying it all resets. Sheratan uses this to advantage to find a good timeline where she's happy, the people she loves is happy, and she doesn't have to worry about fighting. The only issue is with this, is how years and years of yearning took that naive hope of happiness and turned it into a desperate obsession just to be with her partners. (think homura from Madoka Magica) She's quick to turn to self-destructive habits the moment a timeline fails for a while before hopping again.

With that being said....

THE SONG

HEAVY TW for mentions of death, obsession, manipulation, substance abuse, and coping with loss. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Info under the cut!

"I clutch my past with a patient gaze To protect mythical stories of lies"

Sheratan keeping to herself to prevent people from knowing what happened to her; she does not want people forming parasocial connections with her as some mythical hero.

"So distressing, Your voice has become so alien" "I want to mute it so badly"

Sheratan being unable to deal with having to slow burn the relationship with her anshi and Mira. They can't remember the last timeline they were in, So she can't act on what she's thinking, unlike past timelines that are further down the line.

"Listening closely for that fleeting sound" "A ghastly nightmare to curse my enemies"

could be Sheratan remembering mira's voice while fighting (aka, her singing or "fleeting sound") or it could be grieving mira, thinking about her voice and her grief is so strong it's 'a ghastly nightmare to curse her enemies'

"Those deceitful words will be devoted somewhere else"

A failed timeline where anshi/mira has left, meaning their words of love would be 'devoted somewhere else'

"No wonder there is no trace, For it has never existed"

Timeline hopping makes things restart to when Sheratan first wakes up from Lua. When she saves anshi and mira, she has to restart her relationship with them. Their time together 'has never existed'

"The night is audience to my tale" "And I long for tranquility in my dreams"

Failed or fresh timeline, Sheratan resorting to self-destructive ways to cope with her losses, causing her to stay out more at night and gamble @ the index or drink. She's dreaming of a timeline where she can finally be free from her curse and be with her family. Ideally, She does not want to fight anyone anymore.

""Today" that kindly chose to visit me," "Please don't go yet"

Sheratan is a. not literally talking about a day, but one of her partners that she was able to get back in that timeline. She's begging for them not to leave her alone. Or b. She's relishing in a timeline where it's the most ideal, She's finally with them and it's been a little bit. Maybe out of the blue, that little nagging feeling of being alone again bites at her.

"Torn away from my future"

Being forced to kill herself/her dying and resetting/etc in a good timeline

"Compromised with the harshened love"

Scared and afraid of her partners leaving her, after her attempts of making them stay only drives them away. She would likely resort to more upsetting ways to make them stay, even if it means hurting them in some way. These timelines most of the time always end in sheratan killing herself out of guilt for that timelines anshi/mira.

"I tremble in awe of immutable time"

What it says on the tin. Even if she can timeline hop via killing herself - she still is afraid of time.

"The dawn precedes the day, Without heed for my sigh"

Her general tiredness of having to loop. She just wants a timeline where her family can be safe without her having to manipulate things.

"Just like a lukewarm juice" "I resist that bland warmth"

She refuses to give up, even if it'd be the most healthy thing she could ever do for herself and for them. She refuses to even think about them without her in the image - so much as shutting down anyone - including her partners that reject to her timeline hopping.

"Before I knew, It became stagnant under the sun"

Sheratan feeling justified in timeline hopping by small things that ultimately don't mean anything. Feeling that stopping now would make her efforts for nothing, even if it's impossible to find a timeline where her family and herself can be happy.

"Vivid scenes fade into distant memories"

Happy memories she's across timelines start to fade until they're all gone.

"I can't muster a smile facing that thrilling night"

(note: a more accurate translation would be "I just can't laugh, I tremble in the night")

She's physically unable to really smile from her face having years and years of damage on it. But what makes her unable to actually smile? The sheer amount of pain in her heart at all times.

(regarding the more accurate translation - the part with "I tremble in the night" would just be about her serious, deep depression about every single thing. Every mistake in every timeline causes her to squirm in her bed.)

"Though I still drag my lethargy behind myself"

Forcing herself to continue despite her pain. She's tired and breaks down at almost everything, forcing herself under a 'I have to do this even if i can't take it anymore' mindset

"The 'today' that granted me mercy, I beg you," "Please don't abandon me"

Same point from the line ""Today" that kindly chose to visit me," "Please don't go yet""

She's talking about a person or an actual frame of time. With it being an actual person, She views their love for her as undeserving in good timelines. She's scared of them leaving her at any point of time, for any reason. She even goes as far as to get on her knees and while crying to beg them not to leave.

With the frame of time / day, She overthinks the amount of good and bad times she has. She thinks when she's having mostly good moments or bland ones as a kindness when she's able to be alone with them. Being able to be around them and love them is a 'kindness' for her pain. The thought of its kindness abandoning her scares her.

"Humming a soft and cunning tone"

Singing the song that mira sings to give herself comfort.

"With an identical look to a cold corpse"

She sucks at masking her pain's effect on her body overtime, neglecting herself to rush and get them home safe.

"I kick away that whole lot of discomfort so hard"

Again, she fails to mask her pain. She doesn't see herself as the same as her partners. Any shown sign that there is something wrong is replaced with a cold, fake reaction.

"'I'm not a handful' I laughed and I laughed mirthlessly"

With some of the same points above, she views her partners on another level. She can't believe them when they say she's not a handful. To her, She hates herself for what she does.

(These parts get kind of repeated. I'll still repeat them. Just refer to the above points)

(Repeated) "Torn away from my future" "Compromised with the hardened love" "I tremble in awe of immutable time"

"Ignoring my lament, the sight of dawn foresees another day"

This is two things

She's forcing herself to continue until she eventually dies and loops again in a doomed timeline. The sight of dawn foresees another day since even if she's killed herself before, she's still afraid of dying. There's still that voice in her head that tells her 'just stop here'

She still presses on looping. She ignores her 'lament' in her grief and forces herself to continue yearning for them even more.

[shdwtouch]

everyone doing rp stuff on the dash: me, coming back from a break to discuss warframe lore:

[thatbeeperson]

I wish cringe culture never got to me and I could enjoy the things that made me happy without that guilt of "you're being cringe and childish stop enjoying things" back when I had that vigor and love for the fandoms I was in

And I am so glad that Tumblr has given me a place where I can go "hell yeah I'm gonna make a picrew and take a personality test and get really obsessed with this one character and overanalyze every bit of this comic and never use punctuation and overuse parentheses because it makes me HAPPY and y'all are going to LIKE IT" I'm going to re-do my childhood I robbed myself of just because having hobbies was cringe when I was growing up

[stealtharchaeologist]

@ritasanderson

[valaglarios]

the amount of "deep analysis" the warframe fandom has produced that boils down to "quincy is mean and aggressive, arthur is a sweet angel who's never done anything wrong, amir is a hapless baby who needs to be protected, eleanor is a delicate motherly waif, and aoi and lettie frankly just don't exist" is just astonishing. there is no way we have been watching the same gameplay and listening to the same dialogue because there is no way you could possibly be so wrong if we did.

quincy is not 'hot-tempered' because he got annoyed at arthur once or bc he hates the guy who medically experimented on him. arthur is not free from scrutiny over being antagonistic to the other hex because he's a Sad Emo Boy Trying His Best. him being a dickhead is kind of the crux of his character and most of this community has just been projecting traits HE exhibits onto quincy because they can't comprehend quincy not being an Angry Black Man stereotype.

amir being reckless and having trouble acclimating to his powers does not make him less of a mature adult. arthur is also renowned for his volatility and being a "loose cannon" as stated in his dossier, but nobody infantilizes him like they do the man of color who's heavily coded as being auDHD.

eleanor suggests herself to have been a bruiser type who loved fighting before she was infected. she's not anyone's fucking mother. sometimes women care about and protect their friends because They're Friends, not because she's Channeling Her Maternal Instincts.

there is just as much you can glean from aoi and lettie's interactions as you can from everyone else's, about their mindsets about being infected and their present priorities and goals and their relationships with the other hex, but nobody mentions them except in passing. aoi is passed off as air-headed and vapid and lettie is silently labeled a Mean Latina and forgotten about because she's not palatable enough.

like honestly if you're gonna drop long-winded tirades about the hex in the main tags you should at least take the time to understand the most BASIC personality traits that define them cus some of this stuff is so flagrantly just an assortment of antiblack, ableist, & misogynist stereotypes that it's just embarrassing to read

[gillyeowalters]

Warframe Design Notes

Hei, so today I want to start my mini series on Warframe designs in which I will try to analyse the visual design of all Warframes and find out what they potentially are based on. Today I want to start with an easy one, Ash. Ash is the classical ninja. Like many early Warframes, his design is heavily influenced by japanese design elements. The stereotypical ninja outfit we know out of popular culture is based on the kuroko from kabuki theater, stage hands dressed in all black. The tabi/toe shoes and the legwraps are directly taken from these outfits, although kuroko would have worn a different type of head dress. The arms are covered by chitin plates that are made to resemble sode armor plates-they even include the ropes holding the plates together. Why chitin plates? Because Ash is also based on insects, which is easily proven if we take a look at the names of his variant helmets (Scorpion, Locust). He even has mandible like parts on his helmets-it also explains its color theme; historical ninja's probably weren't dressed in black anyways and the brown and beige hues give him a beetle like look. Beetles apparently (please correct me here!) are symbols of rebirth and transformation in Buddhism, which matches the themes of the game. And they are small, barely noticable-perfect for a character that is supposed to be stealthy.

Please correct me on any mistakes I have made, I only have an old french book on fashion and the internet at hand to help me with these analysis and I do not want to be culturally insensitive.

[chronicler-of-narrative]

Also, me and @alteredsilicone were discussing how the Orokin viewed relationships and stumbled upon a much bigger realization:

At its core, Warframe is a game about love.

Yea, sure it sounds kinda weird that a game about commiting space war crimes would be about love, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense, no?

After all, every single antagonist, every single faction, even our own characters, have motivation that is founded on love. For the Grineer its their built-in love of the Queens and of each other, for the Corpus its their undying love of Profit and just overall Desire. For the Infested, well...Need I say anything?

Like you can apply this to basically everyone. Ballas, the sentients, Wally, hell even us (our love of Space Mom). Its love all the way down. Which for a game as strange and bizzare as Warframe is actually, really charming.

Oh yea, and the homosexual allegations (or in Ballas's case, bisexual allegations) we just received in the form of the Proea Prime trailer

[stealtharchaeologist]

do you think Solaris United know the tenno is a child?

do you think Ticker heard her Stardust stumble through a physics concept or mess up a word and thought, little one, you may be as displaced in that body as I am in mine.

Not necessarily understanding the mechanics of it and not especially caring. Just another luvvie who needs her help.

You're one of us now, and I take care of my own.

do you think Eudico put her faith in Sparky only for it to hit her, in the middle of her work in the back of her head, why the tenno don't quite behave like other soldiers? Did the guilt make her fall to her knees? Legs, the Ventkids, just more kids I am putting in danger.

When she realized that Little Duck knew all along, did she lift the spymaster up by her lapel and raise a fist, only for the Business to gently intervene?

do you think Roky put it together second, after Ticker, because obviously a grown-up wouldn't hang the k-drive like that! Confused at why the other Solaris are so upset, because why wouldn't childhood be anything but a mad dash for survival? That's all she's known.

do you think Zuud keeps the tenno at an emotional distance on purpose? So she doesn't build another family to lose? But the guns will still keep you safe. I know my guns.

I'll tell you what I think: Nef Anyo could encounter the tenno time and time again, and never connect the dots: he didn't get to where he is by now by putting his enemies at eye level.

[xeilon]

Heyyy, do you want to read Party Of Your Lifetime lyric analysis / speculation / vibe check that would make any sensible literature teacher weep (not necessarily for good reasons)? Hi :)

"Party of your lifetime" -> So title, obviously menacing, you WILL die after this. Very cool 10/10.

"We're On-Lyne" -> Not just announcing the bands name but also alluding to the fact that they have the technology based Techrot. Also, infested, hivemind, online, got it? Gotta love it.

Bit of a theory, if the Techrot was a thing before Y2K but Y2K is still a threat, it could be argued that the Techrot would/will become more powerful once the clock hits 0:00, especially if the computers are not turned off. We know how fans are, if your faves name is On-Lyne you will keep your PC on going into the new year, as every true On-Lyne fan should. So their name's also a tactic to make sure they spread as far as they can.

"Step into the night, where all the stars are bright" -> Stars, celebrities aka. On-Lyne, also stars make up the night sky, they are a 'unity' could allude to the infested hivemind, also also, manipulation, "You can become a bright star just like us, you just have to 'step into the night' / become infested."

"We're back again to do this, and we're gonna do it right" -> This song is On-Lynes big return, but also could mean that the infestation is here. Also could mean that the Techrot isn't just 'infestation that started in 1999' but the infestation we know and love from the game, that Albrecht brought back from the future to make proto-frames that is now spreading far and wild in 1999. This would also explain why the Techrot / Coda Technocyte managed to evolve into Liches while our 'basic' infestation couldn't. Because they are the basic infestation that had ages to evolve.

"Something wild's in the air, I just know it" -> Infestation obviously. I'm also gonna say that this line has a double meaning, and is a warning to the listeners.

I think this song, other than being a catchy indoctrination 'hymn' of the infested is also a warning by the original On-Lyne members. Throughout the song the heat as motif pops up multiple times usually followed by / following references to fighting / winning. There are also some lines that makes the song feel like a bit of a tug war between consciousnesses, a fight for control, I believe between the Techrot and the band members, which is actually a pretty common theme in Warframe, see Umbra, all the Warframes, Ordis, Narmer, the Holdfast, even to some extent Drifter in Duviri and Stalker in his recent quest.

"Now we're moving quicker [...] there's no turning back" -> Again, obvious infested reference, the "Once we hit the scene, there's no turning back" being another double meaning warning, that once the concert happens something will change forever. I believe this would be the Techrot taking complete control over On-Lyne.

[Chorus starts]

"Gonna bring that feeling, gonna feel the heat, On-Lyne is in town and we can't be beat" -> This is again the Techrot spreading, little shout out to heat damage that is effective against them except, no.

If my reading of this song being sang by 2 opposing forces is right this is probably one of the coolest lines here. So if this is On-Lynes big return this could also be the first time they're preforming this song live. Now the Infestation and most likely Techrot too, are weak to heat, so it could be that it's influence gets weaker the higher the temperature is. And this will be a concert. Do you see the vision?

"We come alive moving under the neon glow" -> And what a follow up, someones "coming alive" moving (generating body heat) under the neon glow (lamps probably also generating a lot of heat).

"Everybody rock!" -> Again as reminder that this would be a stadium filled to the brim with people. Also a call to make people move, sing, etc. which is also could and probably is a tactic of the Techrot to get people more in sync.

"It's the party of your lifetime" -> Love the title.

"The signal's strong can you feel it in the floor?" -> This line gives me the vibes of both a cover up, like the Techrot moving under the crowds feet and so giving a reason for it, "Yeah that's how loud we are!" but also as a warning again "Can't you feel the floor moving???"

"It's the party of your lifetime"

[Chorus ends]

"Now that you can see there ain't no stopping me, The city's on 11 it's two thousand degrees" -> Again with the heat motif and fighting, this line to me has the double meaning, the infestation can't be stopped, it's 11, almost midnight, and shit is soon hitting the fan, but also could be a call out OF the infestation, "Here we have some control, it's HOT in here, like 2000 degrees"

"Something big is coming, but it's just the beginning (this is just the beginning, just the beginning)" -> This is one of the 2 lines that made me believe this theory, because while this could just be the infested cheekily telling us "Hey hihi shit is gonna happen soon, lol" it's right after the line that can be read as 'going against the infestation' and while this line could be read as a warning, we can't forget about the background vocals. Let's consider the difference between the lines 'It's just the beginning' and 'This is just the beginning' the first can be said by someone who has nothing to do with something, very general, while the second says THIS, THIS thing that I'm doing, THIS thing that is happening. The way I read it the front vocals are sang by the actual humans that the Techrot is controlling, and the background is the Techrot.

"Neon lights flicker, DJ spins the track, the boys are in sync and there's no turning back" -> Notice how right after the last line we get a sharp switch to 3rd person story telling, as if the Techrot just managed to get control back? This is obviously telling someone that these people are now under control and this is something that can't be undone. But whom? This sounds just like "There's no reason to fight now, everything is lost anyway." Also the line "Neon lights flicker" is painting a scene that usually alludes to something changing / bad happening.

"Now that you're invested, we're turning up the heat, Everybody sing together on the one, two, three" -> This is the line that is being called out as famously mishear for 'Now that you're infested', for good reason, but again, notice how heat and fighting (albeit well hidden) come up again in the song, 'You're in(f/v)ested so we're turning up the heat, and everybody should sing along now, (which is again something that would make the stadium hotter from moving -> body heat.

[Chorus]

"Floating higher as the stars align, here on the edge of 1999" -> This could be meaning that as Y2K approaches they are getting stronger 'floating higher', just as it could mean out of body experience, aka. losing control.

"All systems go in this moment like you've never known (you've never known)" -> This is the line I'm gonna cling to as the biggest clue to the Techrot going crazy at the New Year. Also why I think On-Lyne encouraged their fans to not turn their computers off before midnight. I'm not sure I really believe this but this line could be the reverse of 'Something big is coming' with the boys singing in parenthesizes 'You've never known what's happening' to the crowd.

"Join us embrace us, don't ever erase us (On-Lyne's in the house)" -> So subtlety is out the window, we're bringing in the chanting until-

"Stop" -> And this is the line that made me write this whole post. Just. Why? Why would the Techrot put a stop to the chanting? Except if this isn't the Techrot but there is some humanity, something, anything remaining from the people they infested, that is for one last time fighting back?

"On-Lyne's in the house to bring the party of your lifetime" -> So this is purely speculation but I do believe that from this line forward it is the actual On-Lyne singing right until the end. Why?

Right after this line the music stops, like a moment of clarity, that could be so much. It could be the infestation wrestling back control once and for all, but I don't believe that that would be the case, from the lyrics that follow.

[Chorus] -> So I already explained that everything in the chorus could be interpreted as either the Techrot or On-lyne singing it, but after it comes

"We come to life, we come to life on the floor, This feeling's what we came for, The beat is strong, we can feel it in the floor" -> 'We come to life on the floor' can be interpreted as the Techrots control loosening which is the 'feeling that [they] came here for' and it's not the infested moving underfoot, but the beat they will feel in their last moments as the song ends.

"Party of your lifetime"

"[distorted] Party of your lifetime" -> The Techrot singing, trying to imitate human sound probably.

"Party of your life. Time." -> The moment I think the Techrot won was right after 'life' but it couldn't stop the 'time', because Warframe is at the end of the day about love, and hope and all that good stuff and so I refuse to look at this in any other way.

So anyway, this is just a random theory / analysis that I thought of after listening to this song too many times. I think the themes of battling for control over our lives fits Warframe perfectly, with the quests that we had in the past few years, and so I wouldn't be surprised if our new fan favorite boy band had a similar story to tell.

[alteredsilicone]

Reddit Post

"Glast is still Corpus, he still cares about profit, he's not going to turn down a trade when it doesn't directly conflict with his goals. His problem with the Corpus isn't that they are the bad guys, or too greedy...it's that they've become so directly obsessed with greed and ruthlessness that they've stopped being businessmen and have basically just turned into pirates.

For example, in the Glast Gambit, Nef Anyo almost destroys a long standing trade agreement between a colony and the Corpus because he only sees the value in what he can steal...not what the trade agreement itself is worth.

This is what Glast really hates...it's not about morals...it's about good business. Glast tries to push the system back towards stability and order, but it's not altruistic...it's because he believes that is the route to most profit and that Parvos is holding the whole of the Origin System's economy back by constantly sabotaging and stealing."

"Heh as a moral code. it's just one that directs him into believing in a sustainable ecosystem rather than a burn everything down and sell the ashes because after I'm gone fuck you approach"

Direct quote from the game (Nightwave Season 3, The Glassmaker):

Opportunity and Acuity, Protocols of The Perrin Sequence."'Create a problem then sell the solution!' No. To embrace Fraudulence is to embrace Idleness. Idleness creates dull minds. Dull minds fail. No. Opportunity is our watchlord. Opportunity and actuality."

"He is an entity that understands that war is often wasteful and force destroys the things you want."

Anyways, I am glad that once in a blue moon I see actual good analysis and understanding of what Ergo Glast and the Perrin Sequence stand for. He is Corpus, yes, but his whole shtick is that he sees creating artificial scarcity to exploit vulnerable people as a bad thing, unlike Corpus who are basically soft-Orokin in their desire to strip the world of every valuable it offers, consequences be damned. Corpus canonically sell materials to Grineer who then craft weapons to facilitate a never-ending war between the factions.

Ergo Glast believes that peace could be achieved through trade and negotiations, peaceful ones, where both parties benefit. The Perrin Sequence Railjack crewmate even muses that once you understand the language someone else speaks, it becomes much harder to plant an ax in their face. Thus - communication is key to peace.

You can dislike it because you dislike capitalism or whatever, but I still want people to at least try to understand his philosophy and not just dismiss it due to their own prejudices. It also doesn't have to be the Correct solution to the Origin System's problem, but it is a solution. Warframe's universe is the perfect opportunity to see what sort of ideologies might spring up after the fall of the Empire and what ways of life might eventually prosper.

As for his attitude towards Parvos: Glast might like Parvos and see the original Corpus doctrine as something the current era Corpus have strayed away, but I also like that OP writes that Parvos would see Glast as sentimental, which in his eyes is a moral failing. Though Glast stands his ground because he knows what he's about.

When we visit the Mycona colony, the first thing Glast urges us is to not cast judgement on the Myconians for living a lifestyle that might seem bizarre to us. So this sort of tolerance and open-mindedness is something that definitely would stem from a post-Orokin society that no longer values strict hierarchies.

Ps. the "how they would actually talk" is funny because both of these men are very sharp-tongued and quick-witted and they would definitely have some godly banter. I can imagine Ergo even bringing up Nef as a dig at Parvos.

[technocite]

Finding a 1999 fanfiction with a fun premise but opening it and the author delegated Quincy to ‘flat aggressive asshole’ archetype is like biting into a sandwich and finding a rotten piece of cheese in it. It just clashes with my own own interpretation of him because he seems so much cooler than that and one of the reasons I like him as a character is that he very clearly has flaws but his flaws are not what is being depicted and it’s like. Ripping my hair out.

Quincy reads to me as a man who holds himself and his peers to extremely high standards (sometimes unrealistically so) because he understands that you have to be the best of the best to get into the position and skillset and situation they are in and recognizes the others in his team as extraordinarily competent and exceptional individuals and is perpetually frustrated that they don’t seem to rise to the occasion like he thinks they should (which is not as realistic as he thinks because everyone is still human and in an extremely high stress situation and dealing with the reality of effectively living in an infested war zone and being acutely aware of their body horror transformations into warframes and so on. Like he’s going through this shit too but he’s doing a better job at repressing and hiding it so they should be too and they’re not and it’s driving him up a wall.)

So like, yeah, no duh, everyone’s not going to be at their best and totally put together emotionally/psychologically and also he’s in denial that he’s also struggling himself, because that would be admitting vulnerability and that he was Wrong about his take on the situation. And I think that’s the real root of his issue with “respect” (he feels the others don’t respect him, he doesn’t respect them back, it’s a vicious cycle) and his alienation from the team and I can see how a big part of his character arc involves putting his pride to the side and allowing himself to be vulnerable with the others and being more forgiving given the circumstances because at the end of the day deep down he DOES like the rest of the Hex! He holds them to high standards because he genuinely thinks they’re capable of great things! He really wants them to like him back! But it’s all wrapped under this matryoshka doll of ego-defensive coping mechanisms and learned bravado and also made one billion times worse by the helminth infection. He could be such a cool character. I want to grab people by the shoulders and shake them because like this could be so much much much more interesting and cool than what you’re putting out why limit yourself by ingrained societal perceptions and unexamined racism and shittt. If you’re going to depict Quincy as an asshole at least have an understanding of why he is that way. At least do a little bit of character analysis and work from what we’ve got. I promise it’s really really fun. Take my hand we can do critical character analysis together

[themanwhomadeamonster]

the entire quest of witw is processing loss and grief which is in line with the rest of warframe's themes, and has its roots in the second dream. you've said all that needs to be covered about the witw soundtrack and how loid's theme is medleyed with the soundtrack of the indifference + this is what you are, so i wanna piggyback and say:

i love that the this is what you are motif has become associated with moments of grief and vulnerability, where people begin to fear they've lost their way and sense of self, and the motif comes up like a reminder to hang in there, and that we're here for you. it's why we also hear it in the new war where eidolon!natah is slowly dying and can't recognise the tenno

the motif is also heard in the 1999 combat soundtrack except the chord prog is diminished which i don't think means anything symbolically? but rather for effect it hits the sense of urgency and danger of losing one's self, given the motif's typical symbolism + if we're jumping off what into the void is about + what we know of what the void and infestation does to their hosts

a very un-professional analysis of whispers in the walls' soundtrack because i think they deserve a special mention

my feelings after completing whispers in the walls (spoilers hidden below)

ik a lot of people have already screamed about old men yaoi so i won't repeat that here and instead scream about the soundtrack. my memories are fussy so pardon me if i get anything wrong and feel free to correct me in the comments/reblogs.

don't get me wrong, warframe has always (to me, at least) had a dang good soundtrack. from the new war's 'F - C - G A♭ B♭' and the obvious mockery/corruption of 'we all lift togther' into 'for narmer', to the terrifying screams of the angels of zariman, then to the tranquility and peace of drifter's intrinsics, and finally to the wailing operatic(?) soprano of the orowyrm fight. DE knows how to use music to facilitate storytelling.

whispers in the walls is no exception.

the login music being the same as the music played when you first step foot into loid's laboratory? the sense of mystery and meloncholy behind the notes and the vocals? (i would dare say, as if it is loid's lament?) the throat singing in the combat music obviously connecting the murmur to the man in the wall? the this is what you are leitmotif playing when the operator is forcefully transferenced out of their warframe? magnificent. but not just these.

you know how, towards the end of the quest, the operator transferences into the vessel(?) in the lab and reaches out for the other vessel (i presume to be inhabited by the man in the wall)? and when the vessel in the lab touches the other vessel's face i.e. when the qte is done, the music suddenly changes from the combat music to the lab's theme? the lab's theme which, to me, sounds like loid's sorrows? the gestures of the vessels are the exact mirror of the very first cutscene of the quest. in the initial cutscene, it was albrecht caressing loid's cheek and loid leaning into his touch; with the vessels, it is the vessel in the lab caressing the invading vessel's. and you can kind of see the moment the invading vessel no longer carries the man in the wall but albrecht himself: when the vessel's face changed from anger to disbelief, then to the obvious relief as he leans into the lab vessel's touch. that's when they hit us with the harmony, the second voice that is distinct from the original one from the login theme or loid's lab, weaving the notes together with the original as the invading vessel finally closes his eyes and rests. loid and albrecht seeing - or at least feeling - their love for each other again after albrecht's departure since void-knows-how-long. also, the fact that the voices are singing together in the last line(?) of the soundtrack, and the camera is focused on loid, the man himself? (like he finally, at long last, got the final piece of the puzzle and realise that albrecht truly loves him back and wants to be with him?) i don't have words for the emotions sweeping through me apart from quietly sobbing and screaming into a pillow. i would say 'beautiful' but it's far more than that. it feels intimate; the sadness is still there because albrecht is still gone, but i feel like there's also hope that just one day, albrecht will break through, and he can go back to this world without threatening loid with the presence of the man in the wall.

a person with proper musical training can probably analyse the soundtrack much better than me. probably. but even without it, the way warframe utilises their soundtrack as part of the storytelling and play with our heartstrings - and not just to pump our blood during combat - is marvellous. i would even say that without the soundtrack being composed and arranged like this, the emotional impact of the quest wouldn't have been the same, so bravo + standing applause + thundering footsteps for those who worked on the soundtrack, and extra applause for the people in charge of the vocals. the soundtrack is a work of art.

and DE please release the soundtrack soon please i'm begging you. you bet i'll be looping the shit out of it in my orbiter.