#JRWI riptide theories

[vtimbertiger]

RIPTIDE THEORY TIME BECAUSE I JSUT CONSUMED ALL PUBLIC MEDIA IN THE SPAN OF LIKE A MONTH

THIS BITCH BE A LONG POST BUT I SEGMENTED IT INTO DIFFERENT CHARACTERS AND WHAT I DEEM TO BE THE MOST CONCERNING PART OF THEM

Niklaus Hendrix

While he definitely holds a major role in all events that the trio have gone through, I think Nik is a red herring to what the bigger antagonist is.

Nik is a pirate first and he chases what he desires, and it is .. peculiar .. that his compass opened the Hole in the Sea, but then again Nik has the power to open pocket dimensions.

He wants something else in the Hole, maybe the power that the Entity contains.

Doctor Ooze

Straight up, I think he was the 8-armed man on Zero/Canella: poly-armed with an ominous omnipotent eye (tattoo) on his forehead, bald with beard. He needed a place to start his research and what better place than the beginning of where his new subjects started.

Legend Lore of the Black Sea Map

"A map that is a guide, and a key, / Passed around the hands of destiny. / It leads to Chaos Infinity beneath the seas. / The Guarding Giant, the Nameless Prince, the Unborn Kings, / All await to be inevitably free."

I don't think we have seen any of the 3 Unspeakables. The 3 Unspeakables are not free, implying they too might be sealed away with the Dark Entity from the prophecy.

It's been hinted at that Dr. Ooze is the Nameless Prince, as he has similar intentions to creating a single race and has been on a rampage destroying other worlds. Gillion(?) suggested that Jug the Tortle is the Guarding Giant. But im not fully buying either of these.

I think the Unborn Kings doesn't literally mean unborn or "embryo", but rather they themselves don't know their role and have yet to realize that in themselves. I'm inclined to believe Chip might even be one, with all of his struggles believing in himself to be a leader/captain/good person.

Potentially others of the main cast (trio & primary NPCs) may also be Unborn Kings in this sense. HOWEVER due to Jay, Queen, Earl, etc. have left the Black Sea, they are now excluded from this. Leaving Chip, Gillion, Gryffon, and Drey (though we lost Drey somewhere to the Hole).

The True Prophecy

"An Entity threatens the world of stability, / Caged in the deepest layers of infinity. / The seal remains locked by a key of divinity, its release in time an inevitability. // A Seagods last egg, The Chosen is born, / Underneath an eclipse, in the midst of a storm. / 'Foreboded calamity' The Chosen is warned, / the shape of all life shall take a new form. / It's choice to be made with no time to mourn."

On youtube during the animation, the "key of divinity" was shown as the black and gold egg, the same one as in the one-shot. However, I don't think the egg is the key, but rather the hands reaching for it. Gillion is our only known divine being of our main cast, and I believe he is the only one who can handle the egg without collapsing the pocket-realm (like what happened in the one-shot).

"Deepest layers of infinity" could be a very broad perspective of what life is inside the egg. Much like Gillion in the Luxbris Pearl, where he was falling for infinity in an enclosed space, the egg may be of similar ability.

We also know that this Entity, has been fought before. So if the egg is the cage, it could be a reciprocal(?) being (similar to a phoenix, or the water horse if you've seen that movie) -- something that either rebirths or something that births a 'clone' and then dies itself.

---- explanation of first battle flashbacks ----

"[The Chosen's] choice to be made with no time to mourn" -- Our boy Gillion is gonna have fucking rough decision soon, and potentially that decision is between the land or the sea (but I don't think so, that would be silly and a stupid prophecy because the one cannot survive without the other as The Tree said)

Faye & Jason Ferin

Jason is a fucking Clone Soldier like DoppelGillion was. We don't have dates or a time frame for when those experiments were happening, but it sounds like it happened before the Hole in the Sea.

That means it likely happened around/shortly after Ava Ferin's death. "My son is stable", Ava's death likely shattered him (as losing a child does). I believe Faye offered this to him as 'a way to heal' when in reality it was to keep his focus on his work -- which also ties in to how focused he became for the promotion, and started to disregard his family as a whole.

The only thing that doesn't fully add up is how he responded to Jay about her mother/his wife. I wouldn't think an obedient clone would call off a Navy objective for a (now) false family.

So alternatively, like Gillion, Jason was hooked up to the repression machine to block out the emotions he felt about Ava's death as to regear him towards work. But a side affect means that those emotions were connected beyond Ava and reached the rest of his family.

Captain Lizzie & the Navy Mole

John and Caspian come to mind first as they are generally the most involved NPCs of her crew.

However, Caspian had been a pirate and with Lizzie well before she became a captain. Caspian being the mole just doesn't make sense character wise -- but at the same time he would be who Lizzie would trust most and ultimately be the biggest aid to the Navy.

John would make the most sense logically as he was a Navy Marshal. The way he went about becoming a pirate seems too out there to be faked. Also, I would think a higher up (Faye Ferin) might have (discretely) pulled him before he was sent into the Block as he would have more information on pirate plans than what he would be able to message.

And that leaves Rudith, the medic. He was on Jeraldo Island passively listening to all pirates who came in for aid. Yes, he had a safe house for the Granberry Pirates & Friends under his clinic, but that information seemed to be easily attainable, and maybe even for a price had the moment came.

Maybe an undercover Navy went in as sick, observed, saw Lizzie & Co frequent the clinic, then strike a deal to protect Rudith & his patients (despite the patients being pirates).

[dumbass-entity-of-darkness]

Ok, hello, can we be friends???

Normally I don’t agree with “I’ve solved riptide” posts, but almost everything you’ve said lines up with what I’ve been thinking. Like Niklaus having a patron which is whatever force is behind the Black Sea, or at least drawing his power from it? Been thinking a lot about the connections there, however I never even thought about the genie subclass lol. Still not entirely certain he’s a warlock but i think it makes sense, he definitely made a deal to get him where he is. Also when he said “Freedom” I think that’s both freedom from whatever binds him to the sea and also wherever he’s physically located, as he hasn’t been seen in person since the hole in the sea right? (I also wonder about whether or not Arlin is alive in the egg, what if it’s just Niklaus? And he’s organizing all this so he can be freed?)

I also like the idea that it’s a god of night, and I think it adds layers to the Ferins, chosen family of the sun, choosing to use dark, chaotic magic for control. Makes me wonder if some of the Ferins are gonna lose their powers as the goddess denounces them in a scene that parallels Jayson denouncing Jay.

Also again, both Jay and Gillion having connections to the goddesses (I don’t think Gill is connected to the sun god lol, I think he just needs to still be the hero of the prophecy), well, aren’t they their chosen ones? And so does that make Chip the chosen one of the dark god? I think so.

And how the trio interacts lines up perfectly with the deities if we add in the chaotic deity of night:

Gillion/Moon: Pure, faithful, proud and selfless

Jay/Sun: Passionate, loyal, caring and strong

Chip/Night: Impure, corrupted/corruptable, cunning and resourceful and witty

I wonder if the choice Gillion will have to make will be between his friends, the chosen ones, and the world. This is kinda a side note though.

Anyways it just feels like the Albatrio are pawns in a cosmic battle between deities. Maybe night is the strongest so we need both goddesses to balance it out? Or maybe they all have the capacity to be “evil” and it just so happens that night is the bad guy in this millennia? I personally think that instead, it’s all the deities fighting to control mana themselves, and right now night seems to be the bad guy because it’s the one that’s winning.

I have so so many more thoughts about it but that’s all I can make coherent for now, op you seem really interesting and very similar to me lol.

i think i might've cracked riptide. or at least the black sea side of things

tl:dr (the rest is under the cut) - there's a third god in mana, a god of night, who's linked to the black sea, niklaus, kuba kenta, chip, and the entirety of my egg theory (search the tag on my blog for further reference). please do read the rest because i do think i've connected the dots here

i'm gonna start in an odd place and you're gonna have to bear with me for a moment but i promise it'll make sense in a second

kuba kenta. not a super relevant guy at the moment, but he's had his moments. he cursed both chip and gill to suffer nightmares that worsen each time you sleep, a curse which eventually kills you. it's spread via his claws or teeth when he mauls you, and the wound will become infected, leaking black ichor. where have we heard of black ichor before? mayor loffin, the blossom boss, the empress: basically anyone who's made a deal with niklaus hendrix and had bad intentions has had their deal corrupted and thus started coughing up black ichor

interesting connection, but they don't have much in common as characters. i mean, niklaus hendrix was a pirate, and kuba kenta is a vice admiral for the navy. but what else is kuba kenta? a demon. a demon summoned or at least found and enlisted by the navy. a demon who regenerates each time he dies and is now in captivity in the naval base in the black sea. who else is linked to the black sea? niklaus hendrix. bingo. but before we move onto him, let's stick with the navy for a moment. the navy who has a base in the black sea where they're up to all sorts of shady things including, according to a recording jay found, potentially expanding the black sea (or at least researching its expansion). weird. the navy's interested in the expansion of the black sea and they've enlisted a demon who curses people to suffer nightmares and leak black ichor. black ichor, black sea

niklaus hendrix. what do we know about him? well, he's a tiefling who used to be a pirate lord known as captain hendrix. he has access to the wish spell, allowing him to make deals with all sorts of powerful figures across mana, deals with mysterious prices, deals which are corrupted if the person has an impure desire, thus making them cough up black ichor. he marks his deals with the symbol of a crescent moon, filled in black, which jay learns symbolises corruption. interesting that this moon doesn't seem to be linked to lunadeyis, goddess of the moon. no one's made the connection in canon. we also know niklaus has direct ties to the black sea. he knows what happened to the black rose pirates when they disappeared there and accidentally created the black sea in the first place - he said to chip he knew that arlin was still alive, but suffering. he gives lots of special treatment to chip (technically he has three deals going with chip at the moment: the one to de-age ollie, the one with the deck of many things, the one with captain widow's heart), and says it's important for chip to save arlin but not touch anything in the place arlin is (heavily implied to be the egg - he specifically says "not you anyway" about not touching it, so i think that's what gillion's favour is gonna be. check my posts under the egg theory tag for more info). so chip's related to the black sea too (also have made more posts about this, check em out)

but there's one more thing about niklaus that's very interesting to me. when asked his desire, what he wanted, he gave the one word reply "freedom". my running theory so far is that he's a warlock for the entity trapped in the place beneath the black sea, and he was trapped into a deal long ago and is going to make gillion release the entity. but i'll get into the entity in just a moment. further evidence of niklaus being a warlock: there's a subclass called 'the genie' which pretty much describes everything i think he's got going on. seriously, i think that's almost definitely his class

okay moving on. time to get into the prophecy and the legend lore. because holy shit guys. okay. prophecy. i'm gonna go through it line by line. "an entity threatens the world's stability" which was represented in the animatic in the episode as a darkness. "caged in the deepest layers of infinity" well we know it was locked away, and it was trapped in the place beneath the black sea, where there's a strange city that seems to be frozen in time. this seems to fit with 'deepest layers of infinity'. "the seal remains locked by a key of divinity" the seal, i'm guessing, is the egg that we saw in the animatic and the black rose oneshot. the egg which caused the black sea's creation when drey touched it. now 'key of divinity' is, i think, likely gillion himself. he's the chosen one, right, and he's been shown to be able to unlock doors that no one else can, like on desire island when he was getting the compass (which niklaus made, so perhaps if he's the warlock to this entity, he made that door as a test?)

divinity obviously relates to aster and lunadeyis, the only two gods we've heard about thus far, of the sun and moon respectively. but isn't two gods strange? what about the rule of three, a rule which seems especially relevant with three protagonists, and even more so when two of those three are connected to the gods (gill to lunadeyis, jay to aster - yes i know gill is likely technically connected to both (or is he?)). a third god, then. a god of the stars? that completes the trilogy, surely. except no, that doesn't make sense. we haven't had any star symbolism or references. besides, aster, the sun god, has her name meaning star. and the sun being a star, perhaps she's already the god of stars. so back to square one. the sun. the moon. what about the night? a dark, corrupting, chaotic force. well, that fits perfectly, don't you think? and who is our god of night? why, none other than the entity threatening the world. why else would the goddesses themselves need to seal it away?

back to the prophecy. i'm actually going to skip a bit and go straight to the line about the conditions of the chosen one's birth. "underneath an eclipse, in the midst of a storm". eclipses happen when the moon covers the sun or vice versa. for drama's sake, let's assume it's probably a solar eclipse, so that also relates to darkness. storms are chaotic. so maybe gillion's birth conditions are related to this night god

onto the legend lore. "a map that is a guide and key" the map which appeared on the backs of drey, chip, and finn. surviving members of the black rose pirates. interestingly, neither lizzie nor roofus seem involved in this map business, but i'm sure there's a reason for that. it leads them to the hole in the sea and acts as a key to let them in. "it leads to chaos infinity" well, we know this is the entity, perhaps the god of night and chaos, and infinity references the prison it's kept in. "the guarding giant, the nameless prince, the unborn kings, all await to be inevitably free". i'm going to guess the guarding giant is jug, who used to be a member of the black rose pirates and clearly didn't make it out of the black sea. the nameless prince we've heard of before - or we've heard of a prince before, one who consumed worlds. it was referenced in the feywild arc, so it's possible this prince is the doctor, and either the doctor is the nameless prince or a completely unrelated prince. the prince could be chip, as i've theorised before, or niklaus (unlikely, i think), or the entity itself. prince could also relate to princes of hell, which links back to kuba kenta the demon, so perhaps the entity is a prince of hell type of god. we've heard of hell before in canon, as that's where filipe went. maybe there'll be a hell arc. maybe the place beneath the black sea is hell. who knows. "unborn kings" is the only one i don't really have an idea for yet. there was a mountain with a crown atop it carved into the spiral staircase the black rose pirates went down in the hole in the sea. there's a mountain (volcano?) on the opposite side of the planet to the big tree of mana. probably those things are linked somehow. either demons or dragons i'm gonna guess

so what do we have so far, as a summary. i think the entity trapped beneath the black sea is the god of night and chaos, who will be released by gillion under the conditions of niklaus' favour. niklaus is a warlock of this god, with the subclass of genie, allowing him to grant wishes but keeping him trapped in servitude and forcing him to set up this way for the god to be released. possibly this is why niklaus doesn't leave his pocket dimension very often. somehow, the navy is involved, either directly with niklaus or on a different branch, with kuba kenta serving the god of night and chaos (did i mention the curse he gives is very linked to night, with the nightmares, and is obviously very chaotic. also who do we know is capable of breaking the curse? clerics of lunadeyis (and possibly of aster, but we have no evidence of this as of yet) and the navy being interested in the expansion of the black sea. is kuba kenta serving as a messenger between the god of night and the navy? is this why he has such a high status? or is the navy double crossing him - as he's now imprisoned and doesn't seem best pleased with it. it's not clear if the navy is serving aster by attempting to destroy this god of chaos and night, or by attempting to release it? either way, they could be misguided and not reflecting aster's true wishes, after all she played a part in locking the entity away

there's a lot we don't know, and a lot i could pick up if i rewatched the whole campaign and took lots of notes (which i plan on doing once i'm done with uni for the summer) but this is what i've come up with so far. i'm not rereading this whole damn essay, so apologies if there are typos or parts that don't make sense

what do you guys think about this all? is a god of night plausible or has bee wings-of-flying done the connecting the dots meme

[inkfal]

Forgot I made this lol

Was originally a concept for an animation with What have they done to us from Arcane with Chip and Arlin but, I got bored.

[v-vain]

I have an awful angsty jrwi theory brewing in my mind and I need to put it out there

Upon finding Drey Ferin, he's lost his ability to use his arms and his (likely dominant) eye, meaning he can't shoot anymore, which was the most important thing to him.

In the same vain, Finn Tidestrider lost his intelligence and wisdom with his decaying brain, the most important thing to him.

I have a really bad feeling that Arlin, upon discovery, will have lost his humanity, the most important thing to him, and the riptide pirates, specifically chip, will have to kill the shell of his father figure, because in reality, Arlin's gone.

It would be awful if that happened (I NEED THE ANGST) but it's my running theory for when we finally find Arlin ^_^

EDIT: @saltedcaramelreblogs SAID THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ARLIN COULD BE CHIP AND THATS EVEN WORSE.

Also @kyoodledoodle said that this could be foreboding for the riptide captains and I'm not okay. The most important thing for them collectively is eachother :(

[here-there-be-drag0ns]

after that oneshot i need all of you to know the ferin aasimar theory doc is getting an update. stares at Rae Ferin. "your wings are magic. perhaps being a pirate has held you back." I FUCKING!!! CALLED IT!!!! YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!! (<- screaming with excitement)

[clownfire]

my insane interconnected multiverse theory

this is (mostly) a joke, but also I worked really hard on this

The magic system & pantheons in Judgement and Apotheosis are identical down to the 'cycle of aether' reincarnation system appearing in BOTH, to the point that the players themselves are theorising that it's the same universe. BUT judgement HAS to happen first, because there are still gods and ppl are still aware that usurping the gods is a thing that can be done (Zuen confesses to erasing that from the collective consciousness).

In Apotheosis, Ludite is a magical crystal-like material that rained down from the sky when the celestial realm was destroyed. It allowed mortals, for the first time in history, to wield magic without having to be 'chosen' by the gods. What's also a magic rock? Wonderous Coal.

The very top of the mountain of wonder is directly connected to Prime, as well as many other realms that seem to be converging. Alystr Cross also lives in Wonder (while I'm inclined to believe this is a different version of him, he does reference prime and heroism in a way that to me is meant to imply this is the same Professor Cross from PD). Another character from Convergence that appears in a different campaign is Kasper (referred to as Mr Kass). He travels the multiverse with this pocket-dimension that the carnival is.

We also know that Riptide is connected to Wonderlust - a pirate world does make a brief appearance - and is thus also connected to Prime Defenders. But as further support, I'd refer to the two non-canon what-if crossovers.

Another character from a different campaign also makes an appearance in Riptide; Green is clearly meant to be an older Taxi (Green Needle is was his tabaxi name in fated). Wild theory, but hear me out: the world of Mana in Riptide is the same Mana from Fated, in a timeline where Ungarou won and flooded the world (or at least was defeated after large parts of the land were already lost beneath the tides).

Now that is SEVEN campaigns that I can red-string together through explicit cross-over happening.

I could also connect PD to The Suckening through the taxi driver that Arthur meets who Charlie gives a similar voice to William Wisp, and say that he was that universe's version of him. From there I could say that BITB and TS could feasibly exist in the same universe, on the merit that they are other-wise 'our world' settings, and BITB's story is self-contained to Galloway. There's nothing saying that they couldn't take place in the same universe.

[skunkiez]

Take this goofy ah gillion react.

Was made in like 30 mins so no quality😔

Okay so, here is a theory I have for Riptide, obvi spoilers. Also I'm not like, a super genius for theories but my dad and I are crazy good at randomly guessing plot twists so here is my jab at it. Again, spoilers for Riptide‼️‼️‼️

I think edyn is possibly the traitor, here's the thing tho, I think the fish girl that gillion and everyone is talking to, is not actually Edyn. But a plant by the navy, idk if this theory is too out there and I have literally no proof. But, the modify memory spell as teased by our great dm overlord could be used here (ofc take this with a grain of salt tho cause this was told to us on april fools day). But Gill hasn't seen his sister since childhood, and the navy has communication with the under sea so maybe that's how they know about Edyn. Maybe this is already a common theory? I haven't seen it elsewhere tho! Lmk.

[yoiurboi]

JRWI X SU: GEM PLACEMENT GUIDE

Forewarning: my handwriting is kind of ass.

A few (like two) of you have asked about this and I am happy to oblige. Apologies in advance for the shitty doodles, I did this on my laptop as opposed to on my PC like I normally do.

First and foremost, I'm going to explain how Gem Placement Theory works. Obviously, if you've no knowledge of Steven Universe, this will make little sense. But to put it simply, the location of the Rocks on these Gem Aliens can tell us a little bit about their characters!

This one's gonna be a little long, so strap in!

For general gem placements, I use a body map like this:

Different regions of the body hold different meanings. The head: brains, intelligence, mindfulness. The chest: emotions, the heart. The naval region: sentimentality and kindness. A few of these have been confirmed to be SU canon. In an interview once, Rebecca Sugar implied that Roses' gem is on her stomach because she is sentimental, or something like that.

I tend to focus on these meanings and then apply them to my gem OCs and Gem AU characters. Gillion fits into this category. However, sometimes gem meanings can be even more specific.

Two big examples of this from Steven Universe are Aquamarine and Jasper. Aquamarine's gem is placed (and shaped) to resemble a fake tear drop. It's sort of ironic because of how uncaring she seems to be. Also it looks like one of those prison murder tats but I don't think that's on purpose. And Jasper's placement was explained (I think in the SU podcast?) to be a reference to being "hard-nosed". Gem Jay and Chip sort of fit into both this and the last category.

I use both the specific meanings and the body regions when making gem designs. But, I generally gravitate towards the first one. Now onto the actual designs.

Gillion is "The Strong One". At least, that's what he wants you to think. Actually, at one point Jay had more HP then him, but that didn't stop him from tanking hits to keep his friends out of harms way. Paladins are also generally more associated with being physically strong than rogues and artificers. So that's one factor, after all, you puff out your chest to feel stronger. But also! Gillion is PASSIONATE! He loves his friends and has all sorts of big emotions that come from being new to the Oversea! And the chest is where the heart is. Finally, and don't take this too seriously, Gill is a little stupid. They all are, actually. There's a reason the Albatrio aren't know for their brains. That's what Edison Kingdom is for. But out of all of them, I think Gillion is the most "Feelings over Thoughts" kind of guy, mostly because he's the least emotionally reserved.

Now Jay and Chip are a little less about where the gem IS and more about where it ISN'T.

Did you know that the right eye is the Eye of Ra? The Egyptian SUN god? Obviously the, Ferin's have connections with Aster, with Jay's "Hot Sun Dreams" and all that. Whether or not she's some Sun chosen one like Gill is to the Moon, I'm not sure. But regardless, she's got a glaring link to the big, bright, fiery lady in the sky. Jay's got some eye stuff going on in general. As do the other Ferins. Her gem is specifically over the one that DOESN'T turn orange, though. Mostly, so it'd still be visible without affecting her gem. Also, people tend to close one eye when aiming.

Chip. Chip. Chippy Chip Boy. Did you know that the left eye is the Eye of Horus? Did you know this eye can be associated with the moon? Did you know Fish and Chi-

Okay, but seriously. His open eye is the left one, which can be associated with "protection from malevolent forces". He survived the Hole in the Sea, which one might say is a malevolent force, relatively unscathed (well, not emotionally, but at least he's not still stuck in there like Arlin is). And of course, there's the shit with Niklaus. A little ironic, as he is DEFINITELY not safe from that guy. Plus undead are often considered to be evil, and well... you know. More irony.

I also wanted all their gems to be symmetrical for when I draw their fusions (I already have technically, just not in Clip Studio).

Additionally, Jay and Chip are sort of two different kinds of traditional "smarts". With Jay being more tech-y/book smart and Chip being a cunning street smart kind of guy.

BONUS! A bunch of doodles I did for other characters in this AU. I think the Black Rose Pirates (and pirates in general) are like the Crystal Gems, and then the Diamond Authority would be the Navy. So, just know that even though I didn't draw him, Captain Rose will probably be either a Desert Rose or just straight up Rose Quartz.

[tagiscool]

Sorry im going to throw up at these lyrics from hole in my heart and their parallels to chip in the later seasons

"No escaping what you did to me" and it's price making him kill for the first time.

"You can't live your life in a fantasy" the fact that he holds onto the hope that arlins alive no matter what.

"Caught up in desire, but that hole in your heart will lead to the end of you" and it's him going into the black sea and the hole because his only want in life is his dad back.

As the prophecy says "the seal is locked by a key of divinity" and it's chips heart and humanity. The key of divinity is jay and gillion. 2 people born of the sun and the sea who showed him that people can be kind.

"I know you think it was meant to be, so go on pretending you want to be" and it's jay and gillion and how they have pretended to want the life that was shoved on them. Chip saying that he wants to be a pirate despite the fact that it's glaringly obvious sometimes he just wants his dad back. Is this anything at all or have I just reached like terminal levels of Autism brainrot

[asterrise]

spoilers for jrwi riptide btw

okay guys this might be actually INSANE but what if chip isn’t actually chip

idk if I can call this a theory bc I don’t even believe it myself but I’m listening to episode 115 and when bizly asked if he would remember being stuck up on the mast and grizzly then said “if you remember that then that’s what you remember”. WHAT IF CHIP IS A CLONE? What if baby chip wasn’t the same chip as we know right now, and something in the hole cloned him and made him live again for some purpose? What if we go into the sea and find Arlin fin and drey but instead of the ones we know it’s the ones that have aged correctly? Modify memory is an insanely powerful spell. Modify memory used on the members of the black rose to remember something different, OR THEY DONT REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN THE HOLE BECAUSE OF MODIFY MEMORY!! NEW THEORY HOLY COW THATS WHAT GRIZZ MEANT. MODIFY MEMORY WAS USED ON DREY AND FIN TO ERASE WHAT HAPPENED IN THE HOLE. CASPIAN IS NOT A TRAITOR. REEEEEEEEEE

[wings-of-flying]

i've yet to research this and check if it's at all possible, but... there's an abandoned city in the hole in the sea, right? and the map to it plus some of the riddles inside were written in celestial. and we know the place was used to seal away whatever the being of chaos is. who lived there initially? well, beings like angels, celestials, aasimar and demigods can speak celestial according to this one website i checked real quick. so what if they sacrificed their home to seal away the chaos being, and fled across mana? i'm gonna say some crazy shit now so bear with. what if their monarch had a child who was sent away and separated from the rest? what if that child was chip, a nameless prince? idk. it would make him on a similar level to gill and jay from a meta perspective, and would potentially explain why the place beneath the sea welcomed him home

[inkfal]

GUYSGUYSGUYSGUYS WHAT IF IN THE NEW EPS OF RIPTIDE, JAY AND THE GRANDBERRY PIRATES HAVE TO FIGHT THE NAVY AND

What if, while they are fighting, Jay is out kicking ass, her fiery hair ablaze as she takes down soldier after soldier when suddenly, Lizzie hears « OPEN FIRE »

And suddenly she’s back to when she was fighting with Ava, as she watches as a bullet lands square in Jays chest as she collapses to the ground, her fire hair returning to normal then scorching black as she bleeds out. And Lizzie is over there to help faster than she can realize what’s happening, and whilst she’s getting Jay to safety she keeps looking down and seeing Ava, then she blinks, back to Jay, blink, back to Ava.

Like guys, imagine the possibilities

[skywerse]

RIPTIDE THEORY!!!!!!

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS IN GENERAL

Have you ever wondered why Chip, Jay, and Gillion—a wannabe pirate, a soldier in training, and the champion of the Undersea, respectively—form such a fucking random assortment of people? The only thread connecting them seems to be their association with the Black Rose members.

Their meeting feels like destiny, doesn't it?

What if I told you it's not destiny at all, but rather the aftermath of Captain Rose's failed deal with Niklaus?

Join me on my yapping as I put together a theory that I wrote in my notes app at 4 in the morning!

Firstly, let's look at everything in a grand scale of things.

I believe that the world of Mana, at its core, is fuelled by desire that got corrupted by the darkness that slithered its way from the abyss into this world. For millennia or centuries, these same desires have driven its cycles, repeating history in one way or another, compelling many generations to follow suit to ensure the safety of their world. Keeping the darkness at bay. 

What if I told you that the prophecy isn't solely about Gillion? Instead, it’s about thousands of other chosen ones over centuries, all destined for the same purpose: to protect, to fight, and to avenge the darkness.

The descendants of Aster, children of the sun, were also born to always follow the same mission— to seal away the darkness.

Regarding the descendants of elemental casters, it's VERY speculative since we don't know enough about them. However, I believe they were destined to control the darkness, to take hold of it.

And for as long as this entity, this darkness, had such an effect on Mana, they joined forces to seal it away and safeguard their world.

But what if those cycles of history get suddenly shattered? Perhaps due to an unfulfilled deal, or maybe a deal never meant to be fulfilled… What if one of the descendants of the sun, blessed by Aster, who was meant to seal the darkness away, inadvertently unleashed it? Causing a disturbance in the universe, so violent and so unpredictable that it changes everything?

This disruption could make those united against the darkness to turn on each other, inadvertently allowing the darkness to thrive.

Rather than sealing the darkness, the descendants of the sun are harnessing it for destruction.

Instead of engaging in battle, the Tritons have retreated to the ocean's deepest depths, selecting a sacrificial lamb who would single-handedly play the role of a protector and bear the burden of this fight alone.

While the knowledge about the casters is limited, judging by this pattern, they likely grew weaker, most likely losing their ability to control the darkness altogether. It's probable that it became concealed. 

(May explain why Chip's powers manifested very late—they were hidden away.)

Now, consider this. Jay Ferin, a child of the sun and descendant of those olympians, blessed by Aster; Gillion Tidestrider, a descendant of the Tritons or the Leviathans, blessed by Lunadeyis' light; and Chip, likely a descendant of the elemental casters mentioned in the prophecy, capable of grasping the darkness…

They stand as the ideal heroes of the story, maybe one of the only ones with the original, uncorrupted desire still burning within them, the ones to single-handedly save the world.

It makes a good story, doesn't it?

The sun, the moon, the elements.

Descendants of the three main bloodlines.

The unborn kings?

Now, let’s move to Niklaus for a moment.

Didn’t he say that he likes a good story? 

But first, I'd like to believe that in the grand scheme of things, Niklaus is merely a vessel, born in the abyss, for this entity, this darkness that threatens the world. He is bound to be the one to further its corrupting influence. And maybe with all this power in his hands, many centuries ago, he even self-proclaimed himself as a prince.

Didn't Niklaus once describe himself as a storyteller? What if this storyteller is fated to witness a tale that endlessly repeats itself? Such repetition can grow tedious and mundane. So eventually, a simple desire emerges—to instigate change, to sow chaos, and perhaps to find an opportunity to break free from the chains binding him to this world.

A vessel for darkness, born in the abyss,

Bound to spread corruption,

A nameless prince:

Niklaus.

And then we have the guarding giant, still clinging to his original desire,

Holding the darkness at bay for as long as he can:

Arlin.

Does it make more sense now?

Now let’s take a look at things on a much smaller scale.

Have you ever wondered why Chip, Jay, and Gillion—a wannabe pirate, a soldier, and the champion of the Undersea, respectively—form such a fucking random assortment of people? The only thread connecting them seems to be their association with the Black Rose members. And their meeting feels like destiny, doesn't it? What if I told you it's not destiny at all, but rather the aftermath of Captain Rose's failed deal with Niklaus?

(Was the deal intentionally unfulfillable? Was it by accident? I dont fucking know!)

We know that whatever deal Captain Rose struck with Niklaus aimed to leave behind a legacy that would change the world. However, Rose failed to uphold his end of the deal, leading to his corruption and transformation into a goopy yucky—essentially, his deal backfired.

You might wonder, in what way it backfired? What better way to leave a lasting legacy than to trigger an event so impactful that it halts the endless cycle of history, disrupting the very mechanism that powers this world? To plunge the world into chaos, only to mend it once more, by bringing together the remaining group of individuals to retrace the steps of their ancestors—different people bound by the same desires as those that came before them.

Yes, the same desires.

The last thing Arlin, Drey, and Finn heard after releasing the entity from the egg was,

"What do you desire?"

What did Arlin James desire most?

I'd have two guesses.

Firstly, while discussing their desires on the staircase, Arlin expresses his desire to find the rest of the crew. Later, after Drey kills Rose, Arlin's words are: "There's still others that need our help [...] Adventure's not over."

Secondly, Arlin clearly wanted the best for Chip. He wanted to be there for this scrawny kid with no family or home, offering him something solid to hold onto.

Why do I bring this up? Because Arlin's desires have been passed down to Chip.

Firstly, hasn't Chip been chasing this his entire life? To locate the members of the Black Rose Pirates, to reassemble the crew, and to relive the old days.

Secondly, the dynamic between Chip and Ollie mirrors this relationship. While Ollie might be more like a brother to Chip and vice versa, it's evident to me that Chip cared for Ollie much like Arlin would for him. Just as Arlin gave Chip a coin, Chip passed that same coin on to Ollie.

What did Drey Ferin desire the most?

I believe he yearned to prove himself—not just to be another Ferin, but to establish his independence, to carve out a name for himself. Maybe he harboured hopes of achieving something significant, something that would make his father proud upon his return home.

Why do I bring this up? Because Drey's desires influenced Jay.

Jay Ferin ventures out with a mission: to uncover her sister's killer and exact justice upon the pirates that are responsible. And in doing so, she hoped to earn her father's pride. Maybe she also sought a sense of freedom and independence, desiring not to be entirely under the navy's influence.

What did Finn Tidestrider desire the most?

GAY SEX /J

Finn yearned to leave the Undersea, to broaden his research, and to witness the wonders of the world above first-hand. He aimed to dispel the notion that the surface was as intimidating as the Undersea made it out to be.

Why do I bring this up? Because Finn's desires influenced Gillion.

Who wouldn't, after years of rigorous training to become a champion—enduring beatings, breaking under relentless training, and being moulded into someone you're not—wish for it to cease, to break free and see the world for oneself? Upon witnessing the Elders negotiating with a human, perhaps it was that sight that pushed him over the edge. Maybe it was an impulsive decision, or perhaps it was his destiny all along. And once on the surface, Gillion's curiosity becomes evident. He wants to learn, experience, and judge for himself. Perhaps he also wishes to someday show his people that the surface isn't as menacing as they've been led to believe.

Niklaus was aware of all of this; he knows far more than he ever lets on. That's why, even before arriving in the town on Loffinlot, he was already trailing Chip, Jay and Gillion—the supposed heroes destined to save the world, or maybe aid him in fulfilling his own desire for freedom.

Closing thoughts? 

This might be a load of bullshit!

I'm going to take a nap!

[rodentjazz]

Tarot cards based on my Lunadeyis and Aster designs

[clownfire]

queer reading riptide number bajillion or whatever:

Finn's writing on relationships on the oversea, after leaving behind his research career to join a pirate crew, reads to me as somewhat analogous to the stories of older people who come out as queer much later in life, after already starting a family. Entering a new exploratory period of life.

Rose-tinted glasses being part study, part semi-autobiographical treatise on relationships, compared to the stricter norms of Trench. And his explicit (notably overtly queer) work being locked away in a trunk.

[here-there-be-drag0ns]

Okay I have had this theory for months but I never actually laid it out before now. However it's well past time I actually do that considering episode 115 all but confirmed its truth (theres still wiggle room for me to be wrong, but honestly not much)

THE FERIN FAMILY ARE AASIMAR, AND HERES WHY:

The thing that originally made me go Hey Wait A Damn Minute was the visions of the original prophecy and its history that gillion got from that tree: "Another flash, and you see these red-haired olympian looking humans and elves and all kinds of different races that are flying with their own wings". And I heard that and thought about how much that sounds like aasimar, and then the weird dreams jay had and then captain widow insisting she has powerful blood and then star saying she sensed divinity on jay and then the whole ferin family's affinity for fire magic and everything just clicked into place.

Then in episode 114 we got the recording of Faye Ferin saying "hail the solar mother" and i was like no fucking way- BUT i set it aside because it felt like I could be reaching with that evidence. It could just be a religious phrasing, not necessarily something literal.

Then episode 115 happened and I got confirmation of my theory.

Grizzly doesn’t outright say "yes the ferin are aasimars”, but he gives us all the last few pieces of the puzzle.

Here's a link to the episode that should start where the confirmation is - the two tablets: https://youtu.be/M9ig9XCUrvU?si=oYdisYFxTqx6ogbb&t=868

Transcript of the tablets: Tablet One: Shards of the divine, these words are for you and you alone. We are descendants of the sun. Thus, we are the light - the beacon that will eradicate the dark. We are the flame to which all will yield. We are the shining justice that will always prevail. Our steps illuminate the way forward and our hands spark the tales of history. Tablet Two: Shards of the divine, these words are for you and you alone. Know your kin, recognized by the manes of flickering flame, wings that rival dragons, the golden suns in our eyes. Unity is the key to prosperity. Our elders will raise generations that burn with vigorous radiance.

NOW ON TO MY EXPLANATION!!

The thing that confirmed it outright for me is literally the line "We are descendants of the sun", because there are no ifs ands or buts about it - aasimar are descended from celestials. The aasimar entry for Monsters of the Multiverse states "Whether descended from a celestial being or infused with heavenly power, aasimar are mortals who carry a spark of the Upper Planes within their souls." the tablet Jay stole from her grandmother is written in celestial, and says they are descended from the sun(aster), ergo, descended from a celestial.

Next up is the whole "Thus we are the light - the beacon that will eradicate the dark. We are the flame to which all will yield. We are the shining justice that will always prevail." bit. The entry for Protector Aasimar (the subrace i believe Jay fits best) in Volos Guide to Monsters reads "Protector aasimar are charged by the powers of good to guard the weak, to strike at evil wherever it arises, and to stand vigilant against the darkness."

Then there's "Our steps illuminate the way forward and our hands spark the tales of history." Which then in the MotM entry it says "aasimar are mortals who carry a spark of the Upper Planes within their souls. They can fan that spark to bring light, ease wounds, and unleash the fury of the heavens."

THEN THERES THE REAL FUCKING GIVEAWAY!!! THIS LINE: "Know your kin, recognized by the manes of flickering flame, wings that rival dragons, the golden suns in our eyes."

MotM says "They resemble their parents, but … often have features that hint at their celestial heritage." and VGtM says "They are a people of otherworldly visages, with luminous features that reveal their celestial heritage."

OF THE CELESTIAL FEATURES OPTIONS OFFERED BY MOTM, ENTRY 2 IS "METALLIC, LUMINOUS, OR DARK EYES" AND ENTRY 3 IS "STARKLY COLORED HAIR". THE FERINS ARE WELL KNOWN FOR HAVING BOTH.

The tablets are, of course, not my only evidence.

the ferins arent born with The Ferin Eye as revealed by Jay having to earn hers and Drey talking about when he got his. "now icarus," i hear you say "wouldnt that mean they dont actually fit the celestial features requirement?" and to that i answer "NO! IT IN FACT FITS IT BETTER!"

In discussing aasimar celestial features, MotM says "These [features] often begin subtle and become more obvious when the aasimar gains the ability to reveal their full celestial nature." Jay didn’t have the Ferin eye until she earned it and its subsequent abilities. And we all remember how she earned it, right?

A weird ass fucking dream.

Now let’s look at that. According to VGtM “An aasimar, except for one who has turned to evil, has a link to an angelic being. That being … provides guidance to the aasimar, though this connection functions only in dreams. As such, the guidance is not a direct command or a simple spoken word. Instead, the aasimar receives visions, prophecies, and feelings.”

In Jay's first sun dream (Juice Roll With It // Episode #88), Grizzly describes the sun and says "You feel like its presence is trying to reach you. And as you notice, you feel almost like you want it to.”

And then the core of the dream itself:

Grizzly: “Do you think Jay can withstand this impossible heat of the sun as you get just barely one step closer?” Condi: “I’m gonna say no… but she would try anyways, if that is, like, what the feeling is kinda giving her, you know?” Grizzly: “This powerful presence, as hot as it is - you can’t help but think of your sister. You can’t help but think of your friends. But then, you think of your mother, and then you think of your father, and then you think of your grandmother” (makes condi roll con save with disadvantage, condi got an 11) “with an 11, you take that step forward, but this overwhelming pressure, anxiousness, fear, handcuffs your spirit, closes your mind, and you just feel the heat of the sun overcome you. And you are jolted awake back in the reality. … but you know that in this dream you lost. You lost to the heat.”

Then the second dream (Happy Wife Happy Life // Episode 102), where the sun is hotter and larger than before and excruciatingly painful:

Grizzly: “You just can’t help but stare at it with both eyes wide open. And behind you you feel another heat.” (Condi asks if Jay can see this heat or if Jay is too focused on the sun) “You know that this heat signifies that backing away and falling is not an option this time. But as you look at the sun, you once again think about your family: your mother, who said she was sick; your father, who called you naive; your grandmother, who threatens the safety of your friends. You think of your friends. So I ask again, this time: do you think Jay can withstand that heat? That pressure and that fire?” Condi: “I think as Jay is staring up at this sort of immense fireball that represents… obviously her pressure, and she feels that heat at her back… I don’t think she would look at the heat as, like, something preventing her from stepping back and falling anymore. But in this metaphorical sense - since a lot of this is a metaphor - she’d probably look at it as what she basically can’t turn her back on, what she can’t leave behind. Basically like her new hope. You know, what she wants to protect. So she’s in between this and this giant fireball. Um. And I think with that in mind she would take a step forward and, um. While maybe not fully confident in herself, she would jump into the fireball with all her might, doing her best. ... I think she can handle it. She thinks she can handle it.” Grizzly: “Fair enough. That’s all I asked. You jump in- go ahead and roll a con save with advantage.” (Condi got a 19) “You leap with almost like a raging fire of conviction even if you doubt yourself, jay. And the sun almost seems to open up to welcome you in. And at first, the searing pain of the fireball’s heat feels like it’s melting your skin. You scream until it feels like it’s melting away that doubt. And then, all of the pain subsides. There’s a calming sense that kind of overtakes, jay, in your subconscious. And it’s all white at this point - your whole vision.”

So the sun reached out to jay through a dream, as aasimar’s celestial links tend to do, and gave her a test of strength that she had to figure out for herself (“as such, the guidance is not a direct command or simple spoken word. Instead, the aasimar receives visions, prophecies, and feelings.” - VGtM). She only passed it by remembering she had people she needed to protect (“Protector aasimar are charged by the powers of good to guard the weak, to strike at evil wherever it arises, and to stand vigilant against the darkness.” - VGtM). And when she passed this test given to her in a dream: “speaking of your vision, you begin to feel a warmth behind one of your eyelids. And the next day comes as you’re the first to wake at the very crack of dawn. The sun rises, and you rise with it. And you blink a few times - you feel something different. … This time, you look into a mirror and, just like your dad, just like Drey, you see this bright orange glowing eye on one of the sides. And you feel whatever that was: you passed it.”

This, therefore, perfectly fits Jay into the aasimar’s celestial features description that “these [features] often begin subtle and become more obvious when the aasimar gains the ability to reveal their full celestial nature.” Jay had to prove herself to the goddess to earn another celestial trait.

And once more, “Icarus!” I hear you cry. “You keep saying Jay fits the Protector Aasimar subrace, but don’t Protector Aasimar have incorporeal wings that come from their celestial heritage? Jay’s wings are from a tattoo! That doesn’t work!” To which I say, “Are you sure?”

The Protector Aasimar’s subrace ability is called Radiant Soul and allows the aasimar to “unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing your eyes to glimmer and two luminous, incorporeal wings to sprout from your back.”

Jay’s wings come from enchanted tattoos with which she can cast Fly. These were a deliberate choice Jay made and are not celestial in origin. However, in the first sun dream, when Jay reaches out for the sun Grizzly says “You begin to feel the tattoo on your upper back sting.” When condi asks to clarify if it’s the Niklaus tattoo, Grizzly only says “Just the upper back.”

This, of course, leads me to believe that those dreams will or already have affected her wings in some way - perhaps leaving space for her to unlock more of her celestial heritage and power as she earns it. It’s something we’ll just have to watch and see for.

Either way the Ferins are aasimar, Jay's gonna be the first one in generations to earn their true celestial power from Aster, and i will Die On This Hill