#another theory to my list of theories

[antaresr]

I had been looking at the theories about what Sylus is, and I took it upon myself to use my nerdy powers to research, look for relationships between things and an explanation, this is still a theory, I don't have the absolute truth.

Caution contains spoilers

The first thing we have to take into account is the meaning of his name, Sylus is a diminutive of the Greek name Silouanus, derived from the Latin name Silvanus, from silva, which means "forest".

With this we can look for a root within the Greek mythology, among the myths there are two that we can highlight:

1. Cronos, Cronos is the name of the King of the Titans who dethroned his father Uranus and whom we know as "Father Time", who is represented with his relentless sickle and accompanied by a crow.

2. Apollo, Apollo fell in love with the daughter of a king, whom he courted and fell in love with and got pregnant, however Apollo had to travel and left his beloved but to protect her he left a crow following her everywhere, however the woman cheated on Apollo with another man and according to interpretations Apollo or his sister, Artemis, kill her but save the baby who was Asclepius, God of medicine.

However these are very noble associations for the Sylus Backstory, so we can also consider Hades or Ares.

In the case of Hades, crows were considered his faithful companions and guardians of the underworld. It was believed that these dark birds accompanied the god on his travels through the realm of the dead and acted as his eyes and ears in the underworld. Their presence was seen as a symbol of the connection between the world of the living and the dead. The crow of Hades was considered a symbol of protection and good omen. Its presence in the world of the living was believed to be a sign that Hades was watching over and protecting those who were loyal to him. On the other hand, it was also thought that the crow of Hades could punish those who defied the established order and dared to challenge the god of the underworld.

On the other hand, Ares, the god of war, also had a close relationship with the crows. These birds were considered his allies and were associated with violence and death on the battlefield. Their presence was interpreted as a harbinger of war and bloodshed.

Crows occupy a prominent place in Greek mythology as divine messengers and bearers of omens.

Now on to the favorite child, Mephisto.

Mephistopheles (also called Mephisto and other variants) is a demon of German folklore. Mephistopheles is commonly regarded as a minion of Satan charged with capturing souls, or else as a type character of Satan himself.

Mephistopheles is associated with the Faust legend of an ambitious scholar, based on the historical Johann Georg Faust. In the legend, Faust makes a deal with the Devil at the price of his soul, with Mephistopheles acting as the Devil's agent.

So we can think that Sylus, like Zayne, has some relationship with some kind of god, a god of death, war or time, which if we think of various gods there are many that represent more than one thing like Sekhmet who was the goddess of war, the drunkenness and of the medicine or the goddess Tiamat, the goddess of the creation and the Chaos, so we can consider that inside the universe of LADS The god representative of Sylus is the god of the time, the war and death and for that reason we are in a cycle of eternal reincarnation between to live, to fight and to die, and assuming that was the case it could be a matter of a fight between gods, Astra vs. The god of Sylus, both want the Aether protocore which has ended up in MC's hands time and time again. However Sylus like Apollo, fell in love and instead of taking the Aether from her, has protected her with Mephisto, keeping surveillance over her, but as Mephisto is in charge of always watching MC he knows everything she does where she goes and who she relates with, that way Sylus knew that MC was looking to enter the N109 and as in the legend thanks to Mephisto MC manages to make a deal with Sylus who would be like "Satan" or the "bad guy".

Within the game with Sylus reference is made to both things with Sylus, when "the monster with wings and horns" appears people die but for MC it is a symbol of protection.

And Sylus probably knows what is going on, in the last chapter they have released when MC tells Sylus that she saw something he deflects the conversation and doesn't give it importance, which is suspicious.

So we can think that Sylus, is some kind of demigod, one that being related to bad things like death and war is satanized as a demon, like Hades who in mythology did not do anything bad but in the present time if you look for a villain of Greek mythology it is always Hades, so this explains many things about Sylus.

[antaresr]

I was about to put this in the tags but screw it, my nerdy self needs to externalize this.

To complement

It's funny how everyone has demonized snakes just because Catholics/Christians decided to do it.

In Egyptian tradition, Atum, the first god in some myths, emerged from the waters of the Nun and became conscious, then created the gods, the sky and the earth, and humans from his tears.

In Mexico, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, went down to the underworld to get bones and create humans, and then he gave them music and singing and the arts so that life was not just about work.

There was also Coatlicue, known as the mother of the gods and her representation was a woman wearing a skirt of snakes. She was the representation of life and death.

This was because for the ancient snakes were related to water, one of the main elements for life in the world.

So if we go back to these aspects, the Bakuras are not the representation of evil that everyone thinks, they are the representation of the circle of life itself.

TKB represents pain, loss and death with its aspects, fury, hatred and sadness.

Ryou is rebirth, life, the opportunities that are to come, the happiness that comes after recovery from death

Yami Bakura would be the representation of snakes for the Christian monotheistic ideology, he was "evil", intelligent, ambitious, deceitful and treacherous.

Bakuras are like water, calm, gentleness, the beauty of life, but also chaos, destruction, death, they are the true representation of balance, Ying and Yang.

Thinking about. Snakes as symbols of treachery and evil. Snakes as symbols of healing and protection. Venom can poison, but it can also be used to heal (for example, by creating antidotes to snakebites). Snakes as symbols of rebirth and cycles.

Not coincidentally, I am also thinking about the Bakuras. TKB's ka was partially a snake, Zorc infamously had a gigantic dragon/snake dick, TKB's goal was to avenge the massacre of his village by going after the monarchy.

Ryou is the modern counterpart/reincarnation to TKB; he's a gentle guy whose main Monster World character was a healing and protection focused White Wizard, Ryou goes out of his way to protect his friends from the Ring Spirit who keeps controlling him when given the chance to do so. Snake symbolism all around.

[mattzerella-sticks]

Okay Okay OKAY.

I knew Dave had to be there. I KNEW - he was in the shop when the tape started, of course he'd be inside the action world. But as what I couldn't guess. I was going to let myself enjoy the ride.

But now...

Given what we know, about the Shadow Falcon protocol, the Archimedes Files...

I think Dave will do either of these two things

Rob the world and remain inside as the President for all time but also the emperor of reality given the abilities we've seen in the preview

Rob the world and LEAVE with all that world's money

I think number 2 might be more plausible than number 1 given how St. Jude had the belief that there was a new world waiting for him even after his 'death'. However, is it likely Dave lied to all the members of the Shadow Falcon protocol that he could take them with them, just so he can use them to further his own schemes? Possibly.

We also have to ask if Dave was ALSO aware of the power of 'Never Stop Blowing Up'. Because - think about it - how was Dave able to gather together the resources for a criminal conspiracy if he had only been in the world for the same amount of time as the others from Elsinore?

In fact... how has Dave been able to maintain a video rental store in the town of Elsinore for so long?

What if this wasn't the first time he's run this scheme? And the only reason the video rental store has survived for so long is because he's been robbing 'Never Stop Blowing Up's' inhabitants blind every time he enters the world? It would explain why he keeps Usha around, whose reticence for technology would mean an easier and less traceable way to funnel stolen funds into his pocket.

But because of Barsimian holding onto the tape for so long, he wasn't able to plunder the world for cash in time to pay the rent and has been FORCED to close the store.

It would also explain why he was so insistent on getting the tape back, despite it not making a difference because - why put so much effort into one tape when you're going to be dumping all your inventory anyway?

And if Dave and Barsimian were using the tape at different times, of course Barsimian was never aware of the Shadowfalcon protocol. He was enjoying the world, never questioning why - never wondering who was behind the drugs and the capers. It was all Dave.

And I wonder if there's going to be a connection between Dave and Wolfman Anne?

All things to ponder and I hope are explained in the coming episode.

[for-the-love-of-this]

An analysis of how the main theme of the amazing digital circus ties itself to the characters.

Heads up! This is mostly what I gathered from episode 4. Therefore, I only put my focus on Gangle and Ragatha (and Kinger for a general startup). Hold your horses for Jax's respective episode unless you guys can integrate him into this analysis at this current time. I personally believe we don't have that much information on everyone, but I worked with what we got.

First of all, the show is about understanding your identity.

As in knowing who you are, and valuing your self-worth.

This would explain why abstraction is confirmed to be a LOSS of individuality.

Here's a quickie on Zooble's case because it's already been spelled out for us in episode 3 that they don't feel right in their body. It's a literal identity crisis that hopefully will get resolved, even if it's gonna be a long road ahead.

Now, for an opposite to this scenario. Kinger is labeled as crazy. But that's further from the truth. Because he had his wife, and she helped him stay sane.

She's gone now, yes. The deal unfortunately came with her sacrifice, but she's the reason he learned to love insects. It's a quirk that had built his former character, and it's that connection to his wife that keeps him alive when consumed in darkness. So, in a way, he is already abstracted. Yet ironically, he's the one that has the most clarity. It's the light that drives him "crazy," but his individuality is still intact in the shadows, and he'll likely remain that way.

That talk he had with Pomni may have been a reflection of what his current state is, so if you put those words into perspective–

HE has a memory to hold on to. (Not a happy one, but one that he says he has control over)

HE is strong, and will get through it.

To put it simply, he has control over his inner self. This is why I find it hilarious that Jax said Kinger (and Gangle) is the most mentally stable character. He likely didn't mean to be, but he was right.

And now that I mentioned Gangle, her true self (as we see when she embraces the mask underneath the happy one near the end of episode 4) is the tragedy side. And that's the face she adorns for most episodes. Jax (and an NPC) unintentionally helps her true self come out, but because he breaks the comedy mask, it's by force and not her own will. She still doesn't have full control over herself, and this is further emphasized when Pomni was the one that needed to ground her back to earth–er the circus.

The tragedy mask being her true self is also why the comedy mask was doomed to fail from the start. Gangle has put up a literal mask to handle the struggles of "Spudsy's." We didn't get the chance to witness how stressful the "job" was, but it's likely because it wasn't the adventure itself that brought her to crumble. It was more from keeping up a fake identity, hence why she almost abstracted. Near the end, she has control over true joy for a moment, and basks in it before that confidence gets run over.

I'm getting ahead of myself here... but what if the truck, a gas-powered vehicle with blaring headlights, is symbolism for gaslighting? Gangle might have had many occasions where her joy/dreams (e.g. becoming a comic artist) were shattered. This is reflected onto her avatar, but the fragility of this character she is broken down to wear doesn't have to define her as a person.

Let's compare her with Ragatha, who is under the stupid sauce for most of the episode. This, in my opinion, is refreshing for her mental state. She's leisurely letting her guard down and being allowed her true feelings to spill out. I'm not saying it's a pretty picture to be cold-hearted, but it's the real her. Besides, she can still hold a conversation and shows interest in an NPC's backstory, so she's still nice deep within; and curious to boot.

However, if she had been switched with Gangle's situation (as in Gangle had a dose of that truth serum instead of her), Ragatha's irritation with Gangle's happiness would've not just increased tenfold, but it would fester up mentally and she would avoid at all costs to make it known.

If you think about it, everyone had a chance to abstract this episode, EXCEPT for Ragatha. The stupid sauce was an active ingredient to increasing sanity (in a manner of speaking). Everyone else is miserable for the most part, but they were able to manage with their own guide in the end.

Ragatha needed the extra dose. Because without it, she could lose her sense of self... and she still could when that relaxant wears off. Or worse, she'll get addicted to being "blacked out," and it then won't be any different from being engulfed in darkness/abstraction; losing her self-control completely.

As Gooseworx said, no character's personality is simply black and white.

But I wonder, why do they stand on black and white checkered flooring in the main room of the circus? There's also the cover image that Netflix decided to have for the show.

It's just another way of hinting that the circus is testing their individuality.

Don't you think it's ironic to use checkered flooring when a chess piece has the most stability to navigate the circus grounds? (Specifically in the dark)

And if you look closely, everyone is standing on a white tile, except for Jax and Ragatha. Jax is LITERALLY standing on black and white (likely because he's a gray character), while Ragatha is standing on a black tile. Basically, on the dark side. Make with that information what you will.

I know this is already super long but instead of a part two, I'm adding these last few notes here, because I let these notes sit for two nights before posting them and now I feel like there is something to say about Pomni's role in this take (even though I've already made a post about her name's possible significance as the main character).

She already said what she doesn't want others to feel in the circus; to feel like nothing. As the newest human trapped in the circus, there's really not that much of her identity to be lost quite yet. Of course, she forgot her real name, but she is labeled with a new one that means "remember/don't forget."

I'm sure everyone that arrived there was in denial of their predicament, but with time, they likely forgot how they used to act around others in the real world. Their memory loss of their names would tie with the loss of their identities.

Now they mold themselves to compliment their new names and bodies. But it's not their true selves. And there's a chance that Pomni is there to remind them of their origins–to remind them of their individuality.

And okay, I'll add Jax after all, but briefly.

Now that I considered Pomni, it reminded me that his actions have shown what HE doesn't want others to feel; to feel in control.

Being in control means (in this hypothetical theme) recognizing your identity. It's a polar opposite desire from Pomni's.

What he wants: "Funny" things happening to people. Blood. Death. Chaos. Guns.

It's a miracle that Caine has been gracious with the characters, especially him.

But... that's all I really got. I'm not sure how to elaborate on his problem with identity really, which is why I gave that warning at the start.

Feel free to add your opinions or your elaborations! This analysis got longer and longer before I knew it, so I hope this reaches enough people.

[cherryargus]

okokokokokokokok fanlore cooking here

SO what if the canary curse didnt transfer to lizzie, because maybe she was in the void? It transferred to MUMBO, due to his deaths always (until Wild) being after jimmy.

I also say this because for some reason Mumbo's pov felt a lot like Jimmy's limited life pov (the last time he had the canary curse before it supposedly broke)

like just the sheer desperation in him just reeekss of Limlife, though that's also because this season is built like limited. BUT ALSO MUMBO HAD LIKE AN EXACT DEATH his second to last death was FALLING FROM AN EXTENSION OF HIS BRIDGE TO THE GROUND WHILE LAUNCHING A TNT MINECART!!!! practically the exact same as Jimmy's last death in limited. not to mention that Limlife esq desperation i talked about earlier is like REALLY exemplified by mumbo's last death

Being so desperate to stay alive that he wasn't looking where he was standing when he put the tnt in the accelerator....

[dribs-and-drabbles]

The Thai Communal Wardrobe item #11

Short-sleeves:

He's Coming to Me ep 5:

Theory of Love ep 2:

You're My Sky ep 11:

Long-sleeves:

Even Sun ep 2:

My Dear Gangster Oppa ep 4:

+ bonus, Aof Noppharnach in the Romeo & Juliet shirt in Baker Boys

[crystalkitty1220]

Man I wonder where the leader of the fear realm could've gone, it's alMOST LIKE NEVIN HAS AN

[truecorvid]

ok reading might be so fucking back this year

[accirax]

min x eva x sasaki would be an unstoppable trio actually

the reason they’re in separate games is because they’d be too powerful together trust me :333 (/j)

... is sasaki a character from tetro? apologies, I haven't seen that one yet, even though I'd really like to someday 😅

since I'm not familiar with Sasaki, I originally read this as "Satsuki," AKA the Ultimate Clown from DRA. regardless, Min x Eva x Satsuki would still definitely be one of the trios of all time.

[garbage--account]

POV : for some reason, japanese stopped being the worldwide language in Lioccott

Imagine them tryna interact with foreign players 💀

[theflyingfeeling]

fanfic rambling in the tags, nothing interesting really, just me talking to myself lol, okay to ignore or read as you please ✨

[ale-arro]

ok essay loading about analysis of queer spaces as imagined communities, i.e. communities that exist because the people in them mutually agree that they have something in common, even though there is no actual inherent shared experience that unites everyone, and how exclusionist ideology is an (ultimately futile) attempt to make this imagined group more concrete, and how this ties into labelling (label policing, but even just an emphasis on labels as something with concrete definitions, which is its own thought that i've been musing about with the aspec community in particularly lately) as a desire to own something. thinking thinking

[roundaboutnow]

😮‍💨 aint that just the way

[mossworth]

Guys, queers. Specifically my fellow queers.

I work at a library. We do this thing where, every so often, we weed the collection. It hurts to see books go, but it's necessary to make sure there's room in the library for new materials.

I have seen so much support for the library in text, and I've seen folks pass around those beautiful "queer your library" flyers. Keep doing that. That's great. Nothing wrong with that. But you HAVE to turn your words into action. We MUST remember to actually go to our local organizations and libraries and actually, with our own fucking hands, interact with these materials we want to see more of.

My branch is medium-sized for a library, maybe a little small. We don't have as many materials as I'd like, but we have fundamentals. Tell me why, even with all the verbal support I've gotten from my local community for the library as a resource for our LGBT+ community, every single trans biography and a good chunk of our vaguely queer theory books were on the list. This isn't a scheme to take the books off the shelves, it isn't another bigoted American governmental push. The only thing we look at when we weed is how long it's been since the last time the item was checked out.

Three years.

No one in my community interacted in any meaningful way with the few books on trans life and history we physically had on the shelves for three fucking years.

I promise you the materials you want and need are there, but this isn't a horde. This isn't a static safety net. You have to use them. You MUST use them or, in the future, maybe in three years, they *won't* be there anymore.

This isn't a vague post, there's no one person I'm hinting at or calling out. I'm not even talking directly to anyone who's directly in my line of sight. I just want everyone to hear this. Big library, small library, whatever. Doesn't matter. Please, we cannot be losing our shelf visibility like this.

[asce-of-hearts]

more husband sukuna ooooo oooooo ooooooOOOo

Sukuna, your husband, was a menace to society to say the least. Not only because he was a dangerous, bordering on two meters tall, tattooed, muscular guard dog who's eyes would kill if they could, but also, because he was extremely judgemental.

Going outside with him was an actual nightmare. Always having critiques for everything. Food? Too salty. Drinks? Too watery. Places? Too dirty. Clothes? Too itchy. Everything in the world was fauled in his eyes. Specially people. The cashier at the store? Too slow. The waitress at a restaurant? Too ugly. That old lady standing at the bus stop? Too old.

But with you, with you it was entirely different.

Nothing you did could be wrong in his eyes. Of course you were perfect, after all you were none other than his wife. If he chose to marry you was because you were nothing short of perfect. Every part from your appearance to your personality was perfect in his eyes. And as such, his critical personality... softened.

And people tell you about it. His friends, your friends, your family. He was too critical of everyone, but you have never felt so. Not even when you were dating did you get a single complaint from his part... at least about yourself.

So you decide to test your theory. With a plate of deliberately salty pasta.

"It's perfect." He says while chewing, uninterestedly scrolling through his phone. And your jaw drops.

"It's salty." You say, palms clashing with the table, making it shake a little. And he takes another bite, staring right into your eyes, as if defying that claim.

"Is it now?" He asks, a satisfied grin over his face, canines showing as he chews, bites. "I think this might be one of the best dishes ever made."

"Sukuna!" You say, still in shock. And he chuckles.

"Sweetheart," He answers back, standing up, plate empty. He presses a kiss to the top of your head. "You'll have to try harder to drive me out of my mind."

TAG LIST

SUKUNA M.LIST

TAGGING: @sunnymmoon @lilithlunas @imvivian @purplechan9 @eroscastle @goldenglow149 @lurexin @stranger00001 @delicatelycraftedbambi @rania200527 @mizzhellsingsstuff @lakxcpsta @coolnekochan @notreallyablogger @lilyalone @oliviathatgirl @eeelieschariot @hannas16 @surelynotaspider @mimihaitani @raxshall @ayn-yurbestie @jellystar-star @janeisnotonline @sukunaspillow @architectofsuffering @mrstraffy @mikeysonlywaifu @w1tchyaurea @poopooindamouf @samstrav @yutterfly @staarflowerr @nanamiswife @majissunshine

[7frogsspeaks]

If you've never worked in a big corporate office you are missing out on half of Severance

Everyone seems to be talking about the setting of this show like it's a big mystery we're waiting on answers for, and I keep having to remind myself that this is the Unemployed Website because every single aspect of the severed floor is a direct parody of corporate office work. Some of it is pretty obvious to anyone (being a totally different person at work than you are at home, excessive surveillance, etc), but unless you've worked in one of these places there's a ton you're probably missing.

So, for those of you who (luckily) lack corporate office experience, here is a non-exhaustive list of real phenomenon Severence is referencing:

- Having absolutely no clue where anything is other than your department. A large corporate office truly feels like working in a brightly-lit, featureless labyrinth. You get lost so easily, and the number of turns and hallways in the opening scene is not that much more extreme than how I had to get to my department (which was over a 5-minute walk from the main entrance). It's common to draw new employees a map.

- Cult-like worship and constant quoting of the company's founder/founding family and core operating principles. Long-time employees will genuinely treat it like religious doctrine. It's scary.

- The relationship between departments. The different cultures, outrageous rumors, distrust, compete lack of understanding of who they are, how many of them there are, where they work, what they do, and generally treating them like a foreign country is barely even a parody. It's just really like that. Going to another department and seeing their equipment and work area (and being stared at by a bunch of people who don't expect a stranger to be there) might as well be walking into a room that's a hill with intimidating goat farmers.

- Other people's jobs being utterly incomprehensible. The department that had a room behind a wall next to mine apparently used it for filling backpacks with weights until the straps broke. Another department had someone whose job was to shine different lights onto pieces of fabric and record the color difference. One of my positions was measuring various pants 20 different ways and then taking notes while a specific person tried them on. Apparently a guy somewhere occasionally got paid to make watercolors of birds. Some people did finance. You get the idea.

- Only ever hearing from upper management (who are treated like a group of fickle, wrathful gods) through a nervous secretary and never hearing their voices/seeing their faces. You might know their names.

- Weird, uncomfortable, often ritualesque events that are treated like a big deal. The company I worked for, for example, would announce the employees of the year by having a committee of people with noisemakers and silly hats parade around the buildings until they got to the person's desk, and then take their photo to hang on the wall. People were not warned beforehand, it was a ~surprise~. This happened daily at random times for over a week each year, and long-standing employees got really into it.

- People genuinely fighting over all those meaningless, patronizing rewards like pizza parties, fancy pens, etc. Having an "employee of the month" mug, for example, is treated as an enviable status symbol. Presumably this is why corporations think this stuff will also work in the service industry (it doesn't because service workers are normal).

- Ridiculous conspiracy theories about the building, management, coworkers, or company history, peddled like gossip.

- New employees having a rough adjustment period where it feels like you're adapting to an alternate universe. Office culture is nothing like real life though it's closer if you live in white suburbia and have an HOA, so during most people's first time working in one they bump up against a lot of unspoken rules, weird taboos, and general culture shock. Most of this involves navigating strictly-enforced social hierarchies, verbal adherence to company ideals, and using only specific types of communication, and being chastised when you mess up. It 100% feels like being indoctrinated into a cult.

- Not understanding the purpose of the work you're doing, and only receiving vague answers, that it's "important", and that there's a big exciting deadline. No single department has access to the big picture for how everyone's jobs fit together to accomplish something, you'd have to work in all of them or in upper management to figure it out. The inner machinations and goals of the company are generally treated like a mysterious secret.

- Never seeing the sky. Window offices are a prized commodity since the buildings are so big, so unless you're a high-up manager or the company has gone to great lengths to add access to widows (most don't because it's really expensive) you likely won't see daylight until you leave, even if you travel around the building during the day.

And for the Lifetime Unemployment crowd, some more general job phenomenon:

- So. Many. Acronyms. And being expected to say them all with a straight face, even if they sound really silly.

- Coworkers effectively ceasing to exist the moment they leave the company, with zero explanation given for why they're suddenly gone unless there's a retirement party.

- Management giving ridiculously nit-picky feedback as a form of hazing/power play, especially to marginalized people.

- Upper management making sudden, drastic changes to your job expectations, physical workplace, or management structure with zero notice and penalizing you if you can't adapt immediately.

- The entire vibe of your job being dictated by who your manager is.

- Your coworkers acting like what happens at work is their entire life, and treating their home lives as something extra they do on the side.

- Having no clue who your coworkers are outside of work, and that information being largely treated as taboo.

- Being effectively locked in a sealed space with zero access to the outside world for the entirety of your workday, and being told that that's not weird or a problem– it's a benefit that helps you focus on your job.

Basically: There's no big mystery to the structure and culture of Lumon/the severed floor. Most of it is never going to get a canon "explanation" because the target audience already has one. It's all a parody.

EDIT: Reblogged with more office-specific ones and some photo evidence