#lads speculation

[littleglutton]

per aspera ad astra

— "through suffering to the stars"

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Astra, a young god, who saw you for a fleeting moment and instantly fell harder and faster than any other.

You were the first mortal he ever met.

Astra, a devoted god, who loved you deeply enough to give you his own heart so that you could stay by his side when he learned your mortal heart wasn't strong enough.

Astra, a broken god, who lost you too soon because even the gods could not stop the threads of fate from weaving their tragic web.

Astra, a mourning god, who broke the rules of foresight to find you again and watched in despair as you fell in love with another and not him.

Never again would it be him.

Astra, a desperate god, who sought to keep you, even if it meant keeping your sorrow and your disdain. Even as he witnessed his own fate of a love unfulfilled. Unrequited.

He would take your hatred over your absence.

Astra, a jealous god, who would mark each lover who would ever cross your path with tragedy and pain.

Astra, a bitter god, who gave an onerous gift to one who would love you in many lives, making sure that love would never bloom.

Astra, a petty god, who encouraged a young sea god to chase after a love that would doom his very people. 

Astra, a malevolent god, who answered the prayers of a desperate prince with a double-edged sword, offering him the path of his people's salvation, only to trap him in a gilded cage.

Astra, a spiteful god, who delivered the last dragon the catalyst of both his freedom and demise.

If he could never have you, no one else would.

Astra, a vengeful god, who tore the heavens apart to keep finding you through every rebirth and timeline, not truly understanding the chaos he brought to humanity's doorstep.

The deepspace tunnel was never an accident.

Astra, a fallen god, who was stripped of grace and reborn into a prison of human flesh; made to atone for everything he had wrought upon you and those who dared love you.

Astra, no longer a god, who had no memories of his past divinity, only an ache of rage and agony that manifest in the form of a relentless and destructive energy coursing through his entire being until he is bursting with it.

Astra, no longer a god, whose torment becomes the power of storms. Energy builds beneath his skin until even the air is charged with a metallic tang. With a surge, that energy becomes tangible, and lightning visibly cracks across his hands and fingers. The evol fills his eyes with a silvery, otherworldly glow.

Your very fear had become his strength. 

Astra, no longer a god, rails against his fate with every breath and fiber of his being, not knowing why it feels as if the weight of eons is crushing him into oblivion. All he knows is that for as long as he can remember, it felt as if he were born with a broken heart, with the jagged shards that were left digging themselves into his very soul.

He wishes he could rip them out, one by one.

Astra, no longer a god, who has yet to meet you in this life but has already begun the machinations of your destruction. He doesn't know you, doesn't understand why he does what he does, only that he must stop the eternal ache of the void in his chest from swallowing him whole. Whatever it takes to stop the pain, whatever he needs to do to fill the empty hollow, he vows to find it.

Time passes.

The search becomes an all-consuming obsession. One he builds his life around.

Always. 

Ever.

Astra, no longer a god, hears about a strange girl. Her heart is an anomaly, but it's strong. She survived the experiments. There's something there; an unseen power lying dormant in her heart.

If I take her heart, maybe I could survive too.

Astra, no longer a god, plays a pretend god.

He casts his web of chaos and destruction with your coveted heart at its center. Without ever meeting you, your life is slowly and meticulously picked apart by his hands. Tragedy befalls you again and again, close to breaking you.

Astra, the pretend god, shatters your family with a single, unfeeling order.

Bloomshore was never an accident.

This is enough to break you.

He plucks the one closest to you from the edge of death and offers him the chance to stand by your side again in exchange for control. 

He doesn't need to say it's control over you that he's after.

He learns your motives. Memorizes your tells. You move exactly where he wants you to be as if he positioned you into place himself like his very own doll. He can almost taste the victory of it filling the gaping maw where his heart should be.

He's so close now. The endgame is in sight. 

Everything is set.

Everything.

Ever…

“Will you love me forever?”

The words are whispered against his chest, softly, sweetly… but your voice is weak, fading. He can feel your life waning, slipping through his fingers like sand in the wind. He clings to you tightly, arms trying desperately to secure what could never be held. 

“Forever and ever and ever. For eternity. Until time itself turns my bones to dust and gives my very soul back to the stars, I will love you.”

Astra meets your eyes for the very first time in this life and remembers everything.

And so it seems, do you.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

[love-and-deepspace-wiki]

Random Details: "11/1992"

In chapter 5 of the Main Story, the protaganist looks through the documents that Grandma Josephine had left behind. One of these documents shown (the "AC Fluctuation Test No. 12") containd test subject details about the protagonist when she was 7 or 8 years old. In the upper left corner of this document, there is text that reads "11/1992".

Speculation:

As of this moment, I'm unsure what (if any) significance this detail has. Personally, I'm skeptical of it truly being a date. Because, if November 1992 was truly the date this document was created and the protaganist was 7 or 8 at that time, this would mean that at present (year 2048) the protaganist would have to be 63 or 64 years old?? And that doesn't seem to line up with the storyline, at least not strictly within linear time.

Imma be honest, this detail really threw me. Putting this here more as a bookmark of sorts in case it comes in handy later. But if anyone has any thoughts or leads, I'm all ears!

[causalityparadoxes]

The Pantheon of Discord | Doctor Who, The Legend of Ruby Sunday

[mapsthewanderer]

Caleb’s sigil/crest- Tomorrow’s Catch outfit

What tf is that crest?!

- Another myth speculation

Yes, I’m talking about THAT sigil/crest. Aside from the obvious, which is that there are wings on the outside of the centre of the sigil:

I have spent too much time trying to figure out what tf those thingy’s are.

WELL LEMME TELL YA

FIRE TONGS! Not fire POKERS, BUT TONGS. WELL?! THEY LOOK LIKE BIRB CLAWS TOO omfg

A broken clock is right twice a day, right?

Please, anyone. Tell me that I’m seriously delulu, but this further confirms my suspicions on Caleb being some kind of fiery birb *breaks*

BECAUSE:

While fire pokers aren’t specifically a mythological tool associated with creatures like the Vermilion Bird or Phoenix in Chinese culture, fire tools in general do hold symbolic significance in fire-related rituals and spiritual practices. The Phoenix and Vermilion Bird, both deeply connected to the element of fire, metaphorically align with the ideas of transformation, rebirth, and renewal—concepts that can be associated with the act of tending fire using tools like fire pokers and/or tongs.

THAT CROWN THO

The crown throws me off bigtime, but I have concluded with the following:

There isn’t a direct or widely known historical connection between a three-pointed crown and the phoenix (Fènghuáng, 凤凰) or the Vermilion Bird (Zhūquè, 朱雀) in Chinese mythology, but there are some interesting symbolic parallels:

1. Three as a Sacred Number

In many cultures, the number three represents balance, harmony, and the connection between heaven, earth, and humanity. The Fenghuang and Vermilion Bird are both celestial creatures often associated with cosmic balance, so a three-pointed crown might symbolically align with them in that way.

2. Crest and Feathers

The Fenghuang and Vermilion Bird are often depicted with elaborate, flame-like crests on their heads. A three-spiked crown could metaphorically resemble this, especially if stylized to look like feathers or flames.

3. Imperial and Divine Associations

The Fenghuang is an imperial symbol, often linked to empresses and nobility in Chinese culture. Crowns, particularly ones with three points (which could symbolize heaven, earth, and the ruler), could conceptually fit within that framework.

Okey, so am I cooketh or cooking who knows but I will cry if he turns out being some kind of salty pirate. Jkjk I’m happy with more Caleb content BUT seriously…

If anybody out there have another opinion on what tf those thingies are, please let me know.

[yantao-enthusiast]

one of the funniest things to me in the few weeks in my lads fandom adventure is the weirdly frequent complaint i’ve seen about sylus girlies is that they aren’t kinky enough. like i don’t think i’ve ever encountered this problem before. i think it’s so funny. hold on ma’am the sex with this fictional man in your mind is too vanilla. this fictional man who runs the crime syndicate of the crime syndicate zone and is massive and also is a dragon should do kinky shit with you in your head because i said so. how dare you imagine him being gentle with you even though there’s multiple instances in the game of him having a soft spot for the mc. what the fuck is wrong with you. idiot.

[grabby-smitten]

I just found out that they have been hanging out together and exchanged fashion tips. I can’t believe Zayne is a bad influence on Sylus…

[bildads-shoes]

I feel like Crowley has often played the role of 'philosophy teacher' in his dynamic with Aziraphale, and I think this is probably what ultimately led to most of the backlash against Aziraphale immediately post-Season 2, especially from casual viewers.

The Resurrectionists episode is super obvious about it, big Philosophy 101 energy, but it's of course a big running theme in the show, often addressing the classic philosophical/theological question 'if God/Heaven are all-loving and all-powerful, why do they make us suffer?'

In these situations Aziraphale is often needing to learn to break free of his black and white thinking. Of course, we, the viewers, agree that morality is not black and white, so we start trusting Crowley's ability in the teacher role.

And it happens again in the Final Fifteen: we cringe at the stark oversimplification of 'you're the bad guys', we agree that Heaven and Hell are 'toxic' with their rigid rules and roles. Having seen so many examples of this dynamic at this point, this can instinctively feel like a continuation of Crowley's 'morality is not black and white' lessons. Therefore it makes sense to me that the instinct can be to agree that Crowley 'understand[s] a whole lot better' than Aziraphale.

I could go on for days about why I feel Aziraphale's character is so much more nuanced than that, but I want to focus on Crowley here. When you start trusting someone in that 'teacher' role, it's easy to assume they have it all figured out. That's why the whole 'Crowley is an unreliable narrator when it comes to his Fall' confirmation always had me so intrigued.

It seems (to me at least) that Crowley probably made some very complex, grey choices as an angel (choices that were not as bad as Heaven feels, but not as good as Crowley likes to think, to paraphrase NG) and he is yet to accept the reality of those actions. To me, it feels like he's coped with that cognitive dissonance by entirely detaching from that identity at times, almost as though those were the actions and experiences of another person (the angel you knew is not me) whilst returning to the first person in moments of vulnerability (I only ever asked questions). Judging by the hints at Angel!Crowley throughout S2, I think (hope) we'll learn more about the Fall in S3, and thus see him finally need to internally resolve this

I think it'll be very interesting to finally see that dynamic flip, to see Crowley in the role of the student, trying to solidify his moral code and sense of self as we have seen Aziraphale do throughout the show.

I suppose I hope that in potentially having Crowley's own struggles with morality becoming more explicit on screen in Season 3, the broad attitude towards Aziraphale and Crowley will become a bit more balanced again. I think it'll be lovely to see them grow in their understanding and acceptance of themselves and each other, and finally reach a place of joy and freedom as individuals and together. We'll always have our own personal character interpretations, and I think that's wonderful and fascinating to hear about, but at the end of the day we're all rooting for their happy ending, and I can't wait to see them finally get it.

[ari-rina]

6th LI Speculation

So while on the lads discord in the caleb-chat (I love you girlies!), we started bouncing off ideas about what the 6th Li could be, and I had a LOT of thoughts that I want to write down here. This is my personal opinion on what is 1. plausible and 2. cool in my opinion, so it will in the end differ from what we discussed in the server a bit. However, we bounced so many ideas off of each other that I want to give credit to @z8ynesnowman and @toukhi-0li. It was a blast chatting with you <3

First of all, it will most likely be a Rival to Rafayel, as we already have Xavier vs Sylus and Zayne vs. Caleb. A lot of my speculations hinge on this very same point to see what dynamics the other rivals show and make conclusions as to how 6th Li would be contrasting Rafayel.

As we can see with the other four, the hair color of the rivals is very similar to their rivals: Xavier = platinum blonde & Sylus = silvery grey and WILD Zayne = black & Caleb = dark brown/black and STRAIGHT So we can safely say that with Raf = purple and CURLY, the 6th Li might also have red (or other more fantastical hair color) and CURLY hair. As for eye color, looking at the stellactrum colors in game, which are also six, only Yellow or Green are left for grabs, depending on how you interpret Zaynes's eyecolor. At it looks mostly green to me it means 6th Li will have Yellow-ish eyes, maybe Amber?

As for the Background, we have 2 Aliens with present-day Sylus and Xavier 2 Childhood friends with Zayne and Caleb 2 Mythical Creatures with Lemurian/Merman Rafayel and 6th Li. I personally lean towards the fae for him because forest/land vs. sea. Although, we could also go with a more asian-inspired version of the fae with a spirit or a demon/oni, I can see that just as much because the folklore is fairly similar in a lot of ways. Both the fae and asian spirits also have this ambiguous morality and mythical danger that compliments the siren myth of Rafayel. Unfortunately, we don't have any indication towards other mythical places/creatures in the game so far as it had been with Lemuria, so it seems like a long shot at this moment to me. Maybe the game will only have these unlocked once the 6th Li drops, but I personally hope for pre-drop foreshadowing/hints. If we mix and match instead, I have a better proposition for him: 2 Mythical Creatures with dragon myth Sylus (because he remembers his past life imma count this) and Lemurian/Merman Rafayel 2 Time Travellers with Xavier and 6th Li. If Xavier is from the future, I suggest the 6th Li is from the past. It would also contrast very well with his rival Rafayel since Rafayel waited hundreds of years to be reunited with MC, whereas 6th LI would have decided to skip the waiting time and time-travel right to the time where MC is alive to see her again.

Myth-Wise we also have 2 Fairy Tale characters with Prince Xavier and Dragon Sylus 2 God-Defyers with Zayne and Caleb, as I am highly suspecting Caleb's myth will either be Adam/Eve or Fallen Angel, possibly with another appearance of Astra as the antagonist. And 2 Gods with God of the Sea Rafayel and potentially God of the Sky or God of Time for the 6th Li. God of Time would work well with the suggestion that he's a time traveler from the past, though I personally also like the idea of a more traditional-coded god. With Lemuria being the game's version of Atlantis, I could see the 6th Li ruling over the game's version of Olympus or Valhalla as a Zeus- or Thor-like figure. Since Rafayels Myth is more Greek/Roman Mythology coded, I think it will be either another Greek/Roman or another Western (Norse) Mythology for the rival.

This brings us to his EVOL: Again, we have a bit of something going on with the rivalries, at least for Xavier and Sylus: they look like light and dark, even if Sylus is actually energy. We also have ice and fire covered, as well as gravity. As a rival to Rafayel, I personally feel like lightning could be a good alternative. Considering there's also lore that could play a role here, I'm also throwing Time into the mix, though it might be too wonky a concept to put into the game (though I can easily imagine a resonance skill that adds 30 seconds to the time-limit fight). I'm personally leaning more towards Lightning, because we already have 3 non-elements with Light, Energy and Gravity, but only two elements with Fire and Ice.

Now, let us speculate on personality and other tidbits: Xavier, Sylus, and Zayne are all very calm and collected; they don't easily show their emotions and don't have emotional outbursts in general. Caleb and Rafayel, in contrast, are very expressive and wear their hearts on their sleeves to a degree. So, to even the numbers, I suggest the 6th Li will also be quite expressive with their thoughts and feelings. But since both Rafayel and Caleb also tend to keep things from MC, I do not expect him to be honest! He will probably hide behind a facade of approachability and teasing just like those two do! Furthermore, we have the following stereotypes: Cinnamon Roll + Serious with Xavier Mafia Daddy + Patient Girl-Dad with Sylus Reserved + Brat Tamer Zayne Manic Pixie Dream Boi + Tsundere with Rafayel Yandere + Social Butterfly/Jock with Caleb Notably missing is the Hothead, the Bighead, and the Playboi. As I don't think that Playboy persona will come to LADS since it's always MC as the focal point for the lore, I think 6th Li will be a Hothead who thinks highly of himself and has a massive Ego (which would fit well with red hair according to Anime-rules, and would connect well with the "god of the sky" usually being the ruler of gods). We also have Coworker/Hero with Xavier and Mafia/Villain with Sylus Doctor/Sweettooth with Zayne and Military/Likes Sour Food with Caleb Artist/Employer with Rafayel. Potential Careers that go opposite of that would be something with Finance, Business, or my personal favorite, IT/programming. And since Raf is the Employer, for the sake of opposites, maybe MC will hire him as a hacker to get some info on her past or on Ever? Just throwing that out there.

That's it for now! I know there is a lot of speculation about the 6th Li being from Ever or Astra, and while I enjoy a good enemies-to-lovers arc, I personally am not a fan of any LI being connected to Ever. As for Astra, I'm too much of a fan of this theory right here to ever want anything else.

To anyone who came this far: Thanks for reading all this! You're welcome to share your thoughts in the replies or reblogs ofc.

[apathy-crossroad]

New LI

Felt like speculating a bit, mostly about his age and Birthday

Just about how it would make sense with events and how they could reasonably time their calendar

Also, if you have any, please tell me

I'm having so much thinking about it!

First thing I think:

Infold doesn't place their birthdays on chinese holidays and not 2 Birthdays in a month, is this a rule? No, but it's what they've been doing so far

So let's take alook at their year:

Jan - New Year

Feb - New Year (depending on the year)

Mar - Rafayel

Apr - Sylus

May - [-]

Jun - Caleb

Jul - [-]

Aug - Qixi (Valentine)

Sep - Zayne

Okt - Xavier

Nov - [-]

Dec - [-]

With November and December completely empty, as well as part of January that would make a good time to put a Birthday

And it would also allow for us to celebrate all 6 LIs Birthdays this year

Now to Age and narrowing down the Birthday:

Age, Name, Birthday, Zodiac

"23", Xav, 16.10, ♎️ 🌬 c

24, Raf, 06.03, ♓️ 💧 m

25, Cal, 13.06, ♊️ 🌬 m

26, "X",

27, Zay, 05.09, ♍️ 🌱 m

28, Syl, 18.04, ♈️ 🔥 c

Our Candidates for new LIs sign:

♏️ 💧 f - 23.10-22.11

♐️ 🔥 m - 23.11-21.12

♑️ 🌱 c - 22.12-19.01

Infold seems to have a Vendetta against fixed signs, so I'm just going to say he's not going to be a Scorpio

The personality associated with Capricorn would be Zaynes stoicism on steroids, so I'm just personally going to vote for a Sagittarius ♐️, specifically a December one

I also think he's going to have eyes in the range of amber/orange/yellow

Why? Take a look at my notes:

[love-and-deepspace-wiki]

All About Xavier

Age: Unknown. (In 2033, he claims to be 23 years old. But other interactions with his friends/acquaintances suggest the truth of off by at least 200 years)

Evol: Light

Astrological sign: Libra

Birthday: October 16th

Height: 6 ft. 1

Occupation: Deepspace Hunter

Workplace: Unknown

Residence: Building 9, Unit 602, 309 Garden South Street

Details:

Known for having unusual sleeping habits/patterns

Canonically terrible at cooking when it involves fire or electrical appliances. Often burns things.

Has children's chewable calcium tablets at his house because he likes the way they taste

Wears "Meteor" brand shoes

In 2033, he worked for Bloomshore District's Evol Special Task Force, on Team 013

His Evol Special Task Force designation number was ST-0110

Previously, the Captain of the Order of Lightseekers

Crash landed on earth on Traceback II with Jeremiah

Notable Character Connections:

Evol Special Task Force, Team 013

Arthur: Captain of Team 013

Tommy: Member of Team 013

Luke: Member of Team 013

Backtrackers

Jeremiah: owner of Philo flower shop.

Noah: former member of the Backtrackers. Fell in love with Bella from Sweetie's Cake Shop.

Unknown Connection

Ulysses: Frank/Frankie's father. Mentioned being "fooled" by Xavier in the past.

Frank/Frankie: a 7 yr old boy who was doing a paper about hunters

Isaiah: former acquaintance referred to as a "traitor"

"Scary-looking old man with beard": the man behind the counter at a bookstore Xavier and Frank/Frankie visit. He smiles at them. Frankie notes he speaks to Xavier like they're old friends

Speculation and Theories:

Jeremiah and Noah are the same person:

They both have an established/known dislike for Earth food

They both reference Traceback II, the Backtrackers, and refer to Xavier as their "Captain"

They both speak of a connection to Bella and Sweetie's Cake Shop

They are both known to have dealings in new identities, assuming them and providing them to others

[causalityparadoxes]

A morsel for my lovely Rogue!Master truthers

[calebslittleapple]

God of Tides Rafayel as the trial companion for Abyssal Chaos????

🤨🤨🤨

SUSPICIOUS!!

[mapsthewanderer]

Caleb’s future myth - fiery birdboi

A speculation and why I think it will be connected to

The Vermillion bird, Phoenix and The Fenghuang

As I described in an earlier post, I have reason to suspect and speculate that the devs have dropped us several hints and hidden messages in Caleb’s tattoos in the current banner, Tomorrow’s catch 22. To sum my ramblings up; they point to Caleb being connected to the Vermillion bird, the Pheonix or The Fenghuang using Chinese homophones and meanings to numbers.

The meaning of this post is to give an overview on how hints from his others memories and the current event banner can also point to the same direction.

Brief overview of the key attributes to the Vermillion bird and why it fits Caleb:

The Vermilion Bird (Zhuque, 朱雀), as one of the Four Symbols in Chinese mythology, is primarily associated with fire, passion, summer, and the southern direction

Fire and how it connects to Caleb:

In café interractions he will comment something like «I’m burning up, you say?»

His main stellarium is red, representing fire(?)

Red apples, red strawberries (in the tomorrow’s catch event story). Both fruits have a strong connection to summer too.

Red red red red. Dude is red.

Description of his CNY outfit «Sunlit splendor»: Golden thread weave through bamboo as the crimson radiates warmth. Hello? Fire, crimson, warmth. Dude is fire. Guess what grows after being cut down? Bamboo. Just like the Vermillion bird represents rebirth and renewal.

If you touch his lips, he’ll comment on the MC starting a fire on his lips, and that she’s playing with fire.

Passion and how it connects to Caleb:

No further explanation needed. If you’ve started to read this lengthy text, you’re already aware of how this guy is both the thirstiest of the lot and has an unyielding passion for the MC and also flying or any other interest that catches his eye.

Summer and how it connects to Caleb:

His name in Chinese straightforward means summer. Xia Yizhou(夏以晝/夏以昼). The same interpretation applies to his Japanese name. No further elaboration needed. Guy IS summer.

His one memoria memory named «Endless summer»

His date of birth, 13th of June

South and how it connects to Caleb

In the current banner, Caleb and the MC lives in the southern district as children.

If Caleb indeed is the counterpart to Zayne (who represent the north, cold, blue stellarium, ice and frost), it’s natural that think that Caleb will be represented by a mythical creature that is directly connected to the south, aka The Vermillion bird representing warmth, fire, red stellarium.

There might be more hints towards the southern direction. I’ll come back and update if I find more.

Why must he be a birb and not some other summery, hot mythical being, you might ask?

WELL LEMME TELL YA

Exhibit 1

How the Vermillion bird can represent Caleb’s homecoming

The Vermillion bird is often associated with resurrection and cyclical rebirth, rising from flames. This could symbolize the return to one's origin, much like coming home to a place of comfort and familiarity after a period of growth or transformation.

In a personal sense, coming home after facing challenges or experiences of change aligns with the Vermilion Bird's power of regeneration—finding solace and reconnection with one’s roots or origins, even after a process of burning away or transformation.

If this description isn’t our favorite explosive boi, I dont know what is

Exhibit 2

Warmth and Security and Caleb’s homecoming:

The fire element associated with the Vermilion Bird could be tied to the idea of home as a place of warmth and comfort. Home is often seen as a place where one feels secure, protected, and nurtured, much like the fiery energy of the Vermilion Bird provides vitality and life.

Fire also provides light and warmth, which are essential aspects of making a space feel like home. The Vermilion Bird's fiery energy could represent the hearth or the center of a home, the place where people feel both nurtured and alive, reflecting the emotional warmth found in a home environment.

Exhibit 3

Harmony and Balance and how it might connect to Caleb:

The Vermilion Bird is a symbol of balance, especially the balance between Yin and Yang, which could symbolize the equilibrium or peaceful energy that a home provides. In relationships, the bird’s symbolism of harmony between opposites (e.g., masculine and feminine) could reflect a harmonious homecoming, where different forces come together in a balanced and peaceful way.

Lastly, we’re playing an otome game, peeps. The question we want answered is: IS FIREBIRBBOI A GOOD KISSER?!

Why is the Vermillion bird a good match for Caleb romantically?

1. Passion and Desire:

The fiery red feathers of the Vermilion Bird immediately evoke feelings of intense passion. Just like fire that can ignite a flame, the Vermilion Bird symbolizes the spark of romantic attraction and desire. Its association with fire reflects how romance can burn hot and intense, yet it also suggests the transformative nature of love.

Can it be more obvious? The friggin yearning have us all sat 🪑

2. Renewal and Rebirth:

The Vermilion Bird’s association with rebirth after death is highly romantic. Much like a lover who goes through challenges and emotional transformations, the bird’s ability to rise from flames mirrors the way that love can grow and evolve even after hardship.

This can symbolize the healing power of love and how relationships, despite difficulties, can emerge renewed and stronger, just like the phoenix-like cycle of the Vermilion Bird.

Yup. If this isn’t MC and Caleb, I don’t know what is.

3. Energy and Life:

The bird’s vibrancy and energy are often linked to the passionate energy that accompanies romantic love. Just like the warmth of summer, the Vermilion Bird represents a high point of emotional connection and shared vitality between lovers.

Its vitality reminds us of the excitement and adventure that can come with love, especially during the height of passion.

Our genki boi Caleb, right?

4. Freedom and Liberation:

The majestic wings of the Vermilion Bird represent freedom—in romance, this could symbolize the freedom to love without restrictions. The bird's flight may represent lovers who are free to explore their emotions, and the freedom within a relationship to grow, evolve, and express love authentically.

Additionally, its elegance may signify a love that is not just about physical attraction, but also about deep emotional connection, beauty, and respect in a romantic partnership.

I’M SAT. THIS IS THE MC AND CALEB.

Also: The description of Caleb’s newest outfit «Caged Wings»: No cage can restrain a soul that craves freedom. CAGED. WINGS.

And if this doesn’t convince you, please note:

Dude is a pilot. HE FLIES.

If you poke his back in the cafe he’ll comment on growing WINGS🪽 «Just because I can fly, doesn’t mean I have to grow wings»

His outfit in tomorrow’s catch, specifically the wings here:

Fire pokers?

Speaking of that exact sigil. I have reason to believe that the crossed thingies are a Chinese fire poker that has been opened up. Try to google 火钳 and tell me I’m wrong.

While fire pokers aren’t specifically a mythological tool associated with creatures like the Vermilion Bird or Phoenix in Chinese culture, fire tools in general do hold symbolic significance in fire-related rituals and spiritual practices. The Phoenix and Vermilion Bird, both deeply connected to the element of fire, metaphorically align with the ideas of transformation, rebirth, and renewal—concepts that can be associated with the act of tending fire using tools like fire pokers.

Unanswered yet:

Why doesn’t the fallen angel/Lucifer theory resonate with me? Because I just find that there are an overwhelmingly amout of hidden stuffs that point us to the firebirbs (they are also of eastern origin on the contrary to Lucifer)

I WILL ADD MORE if there is more, trust me x_x

Oh and thank you for all kind comments and suggestions! If you have anything pointing to firebirdboi, let me know. Love ya! ✨

[pikaberi]

LADS Speculations

The Light vs. Dark LIs are very evident at this point.

Xavier - Sylus

Zayne - Caleb

Rafayel - ???

Could Rafayel's counterpart be the mysterious guy he was talking to at the nest?

Cuz... that character model does NOT look like a side character.

Watch, we find out that the guy is Astra (maybe also EVER CEO), and it's gonna become Water God vs. God!

[raayllum]

anyway not totally back yet / am still processing stuff and probably will be for a while, but i am pleased to say that, perhaps ironically enough, i am steadily feeling happier, freer, and more comfortable on this blog & in this fandom space than i have in at least 4 if not 5 years, and that's Really Nice, honestly

[soli-nepenthe]

On Sylus's 'true' name/some thoughts: *spoilers below*

N.B.: These are just purely speculations of mine fueled by my minor knowledge of linguistics/historical linguistics that I took in university and unfortunately, I am not fluent in Greek either, still at a beginner level. I am just an amateur. If I was a philologist, especially one that specializes in Classic languages, that would be cool, but, alas, I am not.

In terms of the localized English version (I cannot speak for the original source text in Chinese, but I bet there is more nuance as a tonal language; there's more room to play around with meaning) but the way the dialogue was presented made it seem uncertain.

As we can see, her response to hearing his "faint" words is unclear, and it appears that Ancient Philosian is presumably a 'dead' language that is no longer studied/used in the everyday life of the people.

(I wonder what the reasons were that caused that to happen, considering the inscription of the dragon's defeat in the Sanctuary is in Ancient Philosian, thus the language must have been used by the educated elite for a time, but I digress...)

It would be fair to assume that there is a Greek influence in this blend of Eastern/Western or xuanhuan storytelling, with the name of the world phílos deriving from the Greek with the meanings of "beloved, dear", coming from the Greek verb philéō "to love".

Even the name that she gives him, Sylus, has Greek and Roman connections being a diminutive of Silvanus, derived from the Roman god of forests meaning "of the woods", in addition to it's possible connection to the Hebrew name Saul, meaning "prayed for".

As for his true name, I was wondering if it would be fair to say that it would also have a Greek influence, with consonant clusters being common in Greek, especially with the beginning of 'st' in his name.

The ending of his name might also offer some clues, if the '-us' suffix is an alternative form of "-eus" which is derived from the Greek suffix "-εῖος" with the meaning related to location in the sense "of" or "from". But this is used to form adjectives, so someone from the place Elis could also be called "Ἠλεῖος" to show where they hail from.

It could be that his name indicates where he is from/or possible origins, or it might not. The first syllable of his name could hold the key meaning of his name.

If his name had a patronymic suffix, like "-ídēs," in Atreides, sons of Atreus, referring to either Agamemnon or Menelaus, then it could also point to a clue of his origins or identity.

Once again, just to clarify I am not a Classics major, but I really am curious to what the actual Philosian word is for his name, and if the localization team will reveal that in a spelling that more or less resembles the phonology of the language they are using as inspiration, in this case, Greek. It also might be Latin.

I apologize if any of my guesses are completely wrong.

If anyone has stumbled on any clues of their own, please share!

( Note: I know that Greek isn't the only language with consonant clusters, there are others like Czech, Slovene, Polish, Georgian, it even occurs in English...but for the specific cultural influence of Greek for Philos, I supposed Greek would be the logical choice.)