#BEWARE!! BOOK 4 SPOILERS AFTER THUS

[qwakque]

been thinking abt book 4 again,,,

[welshoot]

Genshin Impact Timeline: Analysis and Theory (Part 1: Ancient History)

Genshin Impact Timeline: Analysis and Theory Master-List

So the timeline of Genshin Impact lore is questionable at best and straight-up confusing at worst. However, I’ve been working on a fic series thingie that may never see the light of day that required me to do some digging, so here I am. I put the rest under-the-cut because it gets rather lengthy. Also this is all largely theoretical and gained from the process of analysis. I used the game itself and the Genshin Impact wiki to help me along. I will possibly add to this as updates with new information or information that corrects past misunderstandings crop up. There are definite spoilers below for pretty much all of the Genshin Impact storyline  and this is a VERY long post so please beware!

The Seven Sovereigns

So, apparently at the start of everything in Teyvat, there were the Seven Sovereigns which apparently were the seven strongest elemental dragons for their respective element [Book: Byakuyakoku Collection Volume 2]. As a heads up, we do not have names for the majority of these dragons. These Seven Sovereigns had a king (who was first introduced as a plot point in Nahida’s second story quest) known as King Nibelung. (It is worth noting here that the name “Nibelung” likely comes from Wagner’s opera Der Ring Des Nibelungen but is also a name that appears in Norse legends and Germanic myths). These dragons ruled Teyvat and had elemental ‘Authorities’ until they were defeated by an individual referred to as the ‘Usurper’. It is highly implied that this ‘first usurper’ is the Primordial One. Notably, the Primordial One is often implied to be the Heavenly Principles, though, so far as I know, this has not been confirmed, though it is not a bad theory. Supporting this theory is Neuvillette’s comment that the first usurper (i.e. the primordial one) was the one who bested the seven sovereigns, while Focalors said it was the Heavenly Principles that stole the Seven Soverign’s authority. However, for the sake of simplicity, I will continue referring to this character as ‘The Primordial One’ rather than ‘The Heavenly Principles.’

The Primordial One apparently appeared out of nowhere and is highly implied to be an outlander, and as Nahida suggests at the end of the Sumeru Archon quest, the First Descender and thereby from another world, similar to the Traveler. A scribe in Enkanomiya used the name ‘Phanes’ for them and described how “the eternal throne of the heaven’s” appeared at the same time as the Primordial One [Book: Byakuyakoku Collection]. No matter where they came from though, they did battle with the seven sovereigns for what is implied to have been a lengthy period before they at long last won and, upon doing so, took part of the seven authorities from themself and their ‘4 shining shades.’ (NOTE: The best I can figure is that these ‘shades’ were created by the Primordial One from the Primordial One and are thus aspects of the Primordial One, though it is mentioned in some sources, such as the Byakuyakoku Collection, that the Primordial One would work the shades, implying that perhaps these shades were more like children, or helpers to the Primordial One.) These shades are/were able to operate separately from one another, as evidenced by Istaroth, a shade who held dominion over time and wind, coming to assist Enkanomiya when none of the other’s could hear the cries of the people of Enkanmoiya [Book: Byakuyakoku Collection Volume 2]. Additionally, these shades are implied to be of a ‘higher power’ than the Archons with Istaroth being labeled as a ‘higher power' than Raiden Makoto in Ei’s second story quest. Additionally, these shades may have even helped create at least some of the archons, as the thus far unnamed Shade of Life* assisted in creating Egeria after the Sovereign Dragon of Water was defeated [Item: Fontaine Wind-Glider]. 

Seemingly, in the course of the forty year war between the Primordial One and the Sovereign Dragons, the Primordial one emerged victorious[Book: Byakuyakoku Collection Volume 2]. Most information states that, after the Seven Sovereigns were defeated, the Primordial One created heaven and earth in preparation for humanity [Book: Byakuyakoku Collection Volume 2 ]. Humans apparently came onto the scene approximately 400 years after the first appearance of the Primordial one and made a covenant with them [Book: Byakuyakoku Collection Volume 2 ]. The contents of this covenant are unfortunately unclear, though it is mentioned that the Primordial One had a plan for humans and that there was apparently one taboo: Succumbing to temptation. Interestingly, volume 2 of the Byakuyakoku Collection also mentions that the path to temptation is sealed. It is possible that ‘temptation’ refers to forbidden knowledge or something of that sort.

The Second One Who Came.

At some point in time, while Enkanomiya was still part of a single unified human nation that spanned the entire world and after the creation of humanity, but before the Archon war, ‘The Second One Who Came’ (also referred to as the ‘Second Throne in Heaven’) came from ‘beneath the firmament” [Book: Byakuyakoku Collection Volume 2, Artifact: Flower of Paradise Lost- the Amethyst Crown]. It is worth noting here that the second one who came is referred to as ‘Invaders’ indicating a plural group rather than a singular person in the Amethyst Crown artifact from the Flower of Paradise Lost set. It is possible that, since Apep implies Nibelung was revived or returned after defeat, that the Second One Who Came and King Nibelung joined forces against the Primordial one and that this is when the divine nails were used for the first time, but that is merely conjecture. However, we do know that King Nibelung apparently gained access to Forbidden Knowledge and seemingly introduced Forbidden Knowledge to Teyvat in an attempt to beat the Primordial One and “gain the right to shape this new world” [Nahida’s second story quest, Book: Byakuyakoku Collection Volume 2]. While The Second One Who Came ended up fighting the Primordial One for unclear reasons, this war ended up ravaging the heavens and earth, with the Primordial One apparently ending up victorious. It was during this war that Enkanomiya sank beneath the waves [Book: Byakuyakoku Collection Volume 2]. After emerging victorious from this battle, the Primordial One used Divine Nails (like the ones in Dragonspine and the Chasm) to heal the land from the damage done by the Forbidden Knowledge. This could be when the divine nails were sent into Dragonspine into the ancient civilization of Sal Vindagnyr, the Chasm, Tsurumi Island, and the Eternal Oasis. However, if that is the case, then Khaenr’iah would have been appearing around this time since the ‘Scribe’s box’ item from the Dragonspine quest mentions ‘a new nation without gods’ and Khaenr’iah is the only nation without gods that is known to have existed [The Scribe’s Box: Dragonspine quests].  Interestingly, during this war, the Primordial One’s Authority that had been initially taken from the Seven Sovereigns ended up getting damaged, making it so that they could no longer suppress the original order of the world. In order to “continue to subdue and control the resentments and loathing of this world,” the Primordial One was forced to create the gnoses with the assistance of someone referred to as ‘the one who came after’ [Neuvillette’s Character Story: Vision]. It is worth noting here that it is unclear if ‘the one who came after’ is the second one who came or yet another descender, possibly the third one whose body has been suggested to have formed the gnoses [Fontaine Archon Quest]. Interestingly, the people of Enkanomiya did attempt to return to the surface, which is when they learned the Primordial One had been victorious. However, they also learned that the Primordial One had supposedly placed a ban that sealed Enkanomiya from the surface. An NPC in Enkanomiya called Eboshi asserts that the Primordial One/Heavenly Principles did not want anyone who knew the true history of the world to be on the surface, hence the ban. However, the ban is only referred to as a ‘heavenly order’ and the Second One Who Came was apparently connected to the heavens as well, meaning the order may have come from them rather than the Primordial One.

*EDIT: After the release of the 5.6 update archon quest "Paralogism" we now know Shade of Life's name is "Naberius." please note that this name, much like the archon names and the name 'Istaroth' come from the Lesser Key of Solomon: Ars Goetia and is a name of a demon.

[thedramabinger]

Serendipity’s Embrace (우연일까?)

I was really excited about this show for a while since it was advertised like crazy and I love Chae Jong Hyeop and Kim So Hyun as actors. After watching this show in one night, I have to say I’m slightly disappointed with how the show went. I expected over the top cuteness, since it was advertised as a pure romance yet I finished a little unsatisfied. Keep reading this post to find out more about the show! 

My Rating: 6.5/10

Episodes: 8

Country: Korea

Genre: Just Romance

Aired: July 22nd, 2024- August 13th, 2024

Cast: 

Kim So Hyun plays Lee Hong Ju

Chae Jong Hyeop plays Kang Hu Yeong 

Yun Ji On plays Bang Jun Oh

Kim Da Som plays Kim Hye Ji 

Lee Won Jung plays Kwon Sang Pil

Hwang Sung Bin plays Son Gyeong Taek 

Synopsis:

The synopsis of this show is so misleading on MDL (MyDramaList) so here is a proper one. Lee Hong Ju was seen giving love letters to Kang Hu Yeong, but don’t be mistaken, those love letters were from Hong Ju’s bestfriend Kim Hye Ji. They keep coincidentally meeting each other and interacting, and Kang Hu Yeong slowly forms a crush on Lee Hong Ju. However, he ends up moving to the US without telling anyone. 

10 years later he is back in Korea for business, and he somehow stumbles across Lee Hong Ju again at a cafe during a blind date. Thus continues their story 10 years later and we wonder if Kang Hu Yeong’s first love will finally come into fruition? 

This drama was adapted from the webtoon “Uyeonilkka?” (우연일까?)  which was written by Nam Ji Eun (남지은) and illustrated by Kim In Ho (김인호). 

Beware of Spoilers Moving Forward!

What Episode did the Main Couple Start Dating?

Hong Ju and Hu Yeong start to date in Episode 5. Hu Yeong confesses and kisses Hong Ju in Episode 4, however, she’s extremely flustered and keeps trying to avoid him. Hye Ji and Hong Ju talk in episode 5 about how making relationships complicated isn’t necessary since you never know what will happen and what will hurt them, so they should go for it. Hong Joo also has a dream that night where she sees Jun Oh is leaving and she tells him to stop showing up in her dream, and then Hu Yeong enters the dream and he says he’s going back to America and that she won’t stop him, and then he asks one last time if he really wants her to go. After this dream is over, Hong Joo decides she should just go for it, and tells Hu Yeong that she doesn’t want him to go back to America and kisses him. 

Hong Joo’s Past

I thought they would elaborate more on this. However, the plot point is just there to show her fear of being abandoned. They don’t add any more to this topic. I was hoping to see why her mom abandoned her, and what her aunt and uncle did after one of the scenes where they show them talking about what to do with her because the aunt is pregnant. Yet, they never go back to it. It felt disappointing to be honest that it was never explored more. 

Misunderstandings?

There are some misunderstandings between Hong Ju and Hu Yeong in episode 7. This is when Hu Yeong’s mom stirs up shit saying that he changes girlfriends too much and she’ll end up getting hurt if she stays with him. Hu Yeong also finds out that she might be working on Jun Oh’s animation project for his book and was butt hurt that she never told him. Yet, Hong Ju gets mad that he was mad about that because she doesn’t believe that he should care or that he saw how much she liked Jun Oh. 

This gets solved literally a few scenes later when Hong Joo watches two students escape from the bushes, that Hu Yeong was there during the time she escaped school to go to confess to Jun Oh and saw her cry and dread over him before. Hu Yeong also learns that she has a fear of people who leave her behind without telling her why or saying goodbye, which is why she kept putting her distance from him and always saying goodbye, since he left the last time without saying bye. 

Love Triangles?

LOL. This show is a fat love triangle/ square/ pentagon? Hong Ju likes Jun Oh, but Hu Yeong likes Hong Ju, and Hye Ji likes Hu Yeong and then I’m pretty sure Kwon Sang Pil likes Hye Ji. However, it's done very decently and doesn’t make it a big deal, if anything it just makes it more amusing. 

A little love for the 2nd Couple

The 2nd couple in the beginning I didn’t care for. However, by the end they stole my heart. I actually enjoyed their story more than the main couple because I was giggling, kicking my feet and flailing my arms in the air when Gyeong Taek finally confessed to Hye Ji. It was such a funny, yet cute moment for someone who struggled with showing his feelings outwardly. His stuttering and hiccuping and then screaming I love you three times, was just so cute. 

Then, when he finally agrees to let their relationship be known and he puts her heel on her feet, and grabs her hand and looks straight into her dad’s eyes to say “Abbu-nim, I'll take her”, and her dad at first says in a half angry voice “my daughter?” And then says super happily, “take her” and he picks her up princess style and runs away giggling that the dad accepted them, was just so funny and cute. 

Serendipity’s Embrace Ending

The show ends with a sweet scene of Hong Ju meeting Hu Yeong at the airport to accompany him on his trip to America. She uses up all her vacation days she has saved up to go with him and be with him for a while as he settles his score with his mother regarding the lawsuit. 

Serendipity’s Embrace Review- A Very Generic Romance Story

I give this show a 6.5/10. It is sweet and I love the actors, however, the storyline is overdone. The overbearing mother who is trying to force the ML to go back to America because she wants to be controlling? The FL who fears being abandoned? The Ex that left her without giving her a reason and comes back and wants her back? The romance that is all based on fate/ coincidence? It’s all over-done and has been seen before many times. Therefore, the ideas and concepts didn’t feel fresh at all. The romance itself was also not something I was super excited by, which made it a bit more disappointing. It was just a sweet watch, however, nothing felt unique. 

[kingdomcarrots]

So whatcha think of that khdr ending 👀

Okay, beware everybody SPOILERS TIME.

Ngl I expected the worst sooo the ending was fine to me! I expected everyone to die except our chessboys but maybe not that ruthlessly. Thanks gods there was this long waiting so my heart was in peace. I don’t think I’d have been that calm if they had released the chapter one by one like before fjgkfkf

Baldr was no a surprise too. How a clingy baby boy like him could have coped so easily the lost of his sister? Nice move Darkness!

I’m happy that Nomura says that he want to tell more about the upperclassmen in another media ‘cause…

THEY ALL PERFECT. WE SEE SO FEW OF THEM BUT I LOVE THEM VERY MUCH AAAA

ESPECIALLY YOU HELGI.

Do you sense that strong himbo energy? AH! DELICIOUS.

Very fond of Claude Vidar too. The Pre-Xehanort! Heart too soft to go this far for summoning Kingdom Hearts, you tried babe! So, that’s why he shares some features with Xehanort? Dark skin, almost gold eyes…? Eh. [shrug]

I’m glad we know who was the mysterious dude on DI, raising a child by their own one a tiny island (btw, didn’t DI has MAIN ISLANDS? I know “to protect from Darkness“ blabla but srly? It’s a PLAYGROUND FOR KIDS. So then -gasp- the caban and so on were their doing and not Sora and co… omg it gonna be meta again. We built OUR PLAYGROUND) buuuut I’m also a bit disappointed haha I liked the “WE WERE XEHANORT ALL ALONG“ thing 8D

Thinking that I was joking about that very page in the Ultimania book back then “aww what a nice family portrait!” L O L Thanks Nomura for the hint. Now, BRING US MORE ABOUT ERAQUS TOO. He’s like what he says: There’s more to light than meets the eye. I knooooow iiiiiit.

Pretty sad about Xehanort hearing ��you’re the Child of the Destiny“ “you’re the Chosen One“ to realize that no, you’re not, it’s Sora the Chosen One. And thus, bequeath the X-blade to him at the end of KH3. You’ve followed the dark road sweety, thinking it would be the only way. Maybe you could have been that Child following the other way… Like Anakin and Luke. The father failed but the son succeeded. The son was the real hope. …father and son… [shakes her head to get the idea out of her brain]

AND WHAT ABOUT THE HAIR?

Well, headcanon the Dark road made him bald still lives for me but with the help of a razor LOL What a dramaking.

That sadness in Eraqus’ eyes [fist clinched] The sadness of a man knowing what he must do. No one can stop me thinking that he’s somehow worst than Xehanort cause he trained and sacrificed his apprentices to stop his ex-husband. The true Champion of Light. Who can make sacrifice for the commun good. Speaking of Light…

POINT FOR VANITAS. It struck me back then after my second or third run of KH3 which coincided with the end of KHUX. When you defeat Vanitas he does this gloomy talk about I’m Darkness blabla yeah yeah I get it poor little emo meow meow. But he IS LITERALLY DARKNESS. Then, Xehanort truly saved Ventus by draging out them of Ventus’ heart to defeat him without hurting Ven (well he tried at least thus giving him to Eraqus to heal him) cause… he’s one of the friends he used to dream about.

Could Sora be able to do that with the Lost Masters too? To save them and annihilate the Darkness at the same time? We all know he will do that.

OMG I ALMOST FORGOT THE RAT.

Well. I knew it. Damn you Luxu LOL

Ok, one last question remains… If we break the Internet, will the 4 trapped Darkness release? _(:3 」∠)_

[gently hold those tiny old men on my heart]

[lost-in-yujikiri]

My version of SAO "Everyone Lives" AU

I need to get out my ideas of what would happen if most of SAO's Major Character Deaths got averted before Lycoris is released (except the villains and Sachi & the Moonlit Black Cat guild's death, there is just no way to erase it without undoing Kirito's development in Aincrad). I know SAO Gameverse/ Lycoris wouldn't follow any of my ideas, so I just want to share my view. Who knows, maybe this will become a huge fanfic some day.

Note: This post is full of multishipping/ non-canon shipping pandering headcanons/implications (the biggest ones are Eugeo/Kirito/Asuna & Bercouli/Fanatio/Dakira), as well as obvious heavy Alicization WoU and Moon Cradle spoilers, please beware. I also lightly included some game-only Alicization characters (Eydis and Medina) because I like them.

1) Cardinal is alive and she has high authority enough to install kid Alice Zuberg into a free Cube to make her a living entity separate from Alice S30

In most recent live Q&A Reki said that while writing Alicization the first scene he wrote is the scene of Kirito and Alice S30 climbing back into Cathedral and Kirito convinced Alice S30 to his side, he mentioned Alice's Synthesis is an irreversible one and it aligns with my reasoning of how Zuberg & S30 are different Fluctlights so I'll keep the same settings in here. So how would this affect everyone's treatment to the 2 Alices?

- Kirito would be glad that he doesn't have to "kill" any Alice just to keep one;

- Selka would be extremely confused, but I think she would eventually accept happily that she has 2 sisters now;

- Eugeo... would have even more complicated emotions than anyone, even more than he imagined. From my own experience, during university period, I went to a class reunion full of friends from middle school, and I reunited with a classmate friend whom I used to like a lot as a person. But for some reason I couldn't like his adult self as much as his middle school self even if he still isn't a bad person. To me he changed way too much in how he behaves and how he presents himself that I can't like his adult self like his middle school self, and I was shocked that puberty could change a person that much. Same to myself, I have changed a lot in my puberty too, and he also said I'm not the same as before any more. Back to my AU, I feel like Eugeo and Zuberg might mirror what I felt when I reunited with my classmate. Eugeo used to describe Alice Zuberg like the sun on the blue sky and that image of her is his source of happiness whenever he's sad, while Alice S30 is so unapproachable and cold like ice. Eugeo being indifferent to S30 is one thing, but to Zuberg it's like reuniting with a friend in elementary school who stayed the same and both would be shocked as Eugeo's the one who changed so much due to puberty. In ARS game Zuberg even said that while being jailed in Cathedral's ceiling, Eugeo (and everyone else) grew so big while she stayed the same and she's upset.

So I think in the end Eugeo would still end up letting Zuberg go instead of forcing her into the fantasy he held up for so long. Interestingly Eugeo himself already muled over this in LN when he was reading books in Cardinal's library, that the best outcome they could hope for is to give Zuberg back to her body and send her back to her family happily while he continued his adventure with Kirito because they're being chased away by the Church.

2) (Super self-indulgent) Bercouli/Fanatio/Dakira

Dakira: "Fanatio-sama is so amazing and dazzling and I love her, but she has Commander Bercouli so I can only be her subordinate and admire her in silence..."

Fanatio: "Dakira is so hardworking and loyal, she has so much potential I love having her with me but then what would Commander think..."

Bercouli: "Don't worry I'm cool with it, take care of our Sub-Commander, Dakira. And it's not like I can stop my knights from flexing their gayness..." *eyeing Eydis Synthesis 10

Super spoilers: Even if Bercouli didn't die in the War I think he would eventually unfreeze his age and find an ending for himself when he thinks he's lived too long and done enough for the Knights many years later. He would entrust Fanatio and her son with him to Dakira before he passed away, and Dakira would become Berche's 2nd mother (instead of Fanatio taking care of the kid alone in canon).

3) (Super self-indulgent) Eydis S10 x Alice S30 and Medina x Sortiliena

I could never imagine I would like any gameverse girls before but ARS and Lycoris manga have sold me Eydis x Alice S30 and Medina x Sortiliena OMG so I ship them hard in my AU.

4) Super self-indulgent Eugeo/Kirito/Asuna

(You guys who have stayed with me for years should have known already ara ara)

I don't feel it would not be that different from this excerpt from HR manga (seriously this artist really vibes with me I wanna have a drink with him sometimes).

Everyone: "Don't you think they're just too close? Aren't you afraid Asuna?"

Asuna: "Yeah I should, should I? But like Kirito seems so happy with him around like no others could and I feel he's a good boy so I can let them be"

We also should have more Eugeo & Asuna's interactions of chewing on Kirito's bad habits XD. I also feel like they can find solace in each other being fellow victims of sexual exploits from adults, in some aspects that Kirito can't fully understand that only fellow victims can.

4) Yuuki is alive and comes into UW as Goddess Lunaria

Poor Moon Goddess Lunaria, she's the 4th God of the Human Empire but even Reki forgot her in WoU and only mentioned her more in Moon Cradle. Anime and games also made it worse for leaving her out completely :(. So I want her to get her role in my AU as the Goddess of Dreams. Yuuki extremely fits her role, not to mention she cosplayed the Moon Princess in MD before. More Stacia Asuna x Lunaria Yuuki interactions are here of course.

5) Eugeo and Lunaria Yuuki participate in WoU with everyone

- Lunaria would be an amazing fighter of course. I feel she would be even more deadly than normal now that she has to start fighting with human souls on the line, whether they're real or artificial.

- Eugeo would be a huge AoE Life Absorber and Healer and also becomes destructive sometimes borderline death. But fighting with others will help him start seeing his own values and gain his own will to survive for others. And he'll become the first proper Knight in UW without going through Synthesis.

6) WoU changes and outcome in my AU (huge spoilers)

- Kirito got unconscious and damaged for a while, but without self-destructing his own Fluctlight from guilt of Eugeo's and other comrades' deaths because Eugeo is still alive and took care of him, so he eventually healed, at least quicker than canon;

- Asuna, Sinon and Leafa came to UW at once to help heal Kirito. There is no facepalming Asuna vs Alice fights since Alice didn't develop some level of Florence Nightingale effect towards Kirito (according to Wikipedia: "The Florence Nightingale effect is a trope where a caregiver falls in love with their patient, even if very little communication or contact takes place outside of basic care. Feelings may fade once the patient is no longer in need of care.");

- Sinon won against Subtilizer instead of the anti-climatic outcome in canon;

- Kirito & Eugeo fought together to win against PoH while Asuna and other girls kicked ass to huge armies;

- When they won the War the acceleration ratio of UW was changed to 1:1, Human Empire and Dark Territory made peace with more trading, labor & technology exchange treaties that benefit both. Alice S30 & Eugeo came to real world through Ichiemon & Niemon robots and chilled in ALO while Kirito beat up Kikuoka for hiding from him the actual purpose of Alicization project, and thus Kirito forced him not to use his friends as war soldiers.

- Alice S30 chose to go back to UW in the end since she finds her most values as being a Knight, coming to events of farce in real world is not her thing, and she wants to spend time with her Zuberg family. Meanwhile Eugeo already parted with his family after dumping on them a big bag of his Knight's salary money, saying that they can live prosperously without him working his ass off for them now, and he never comes back. He still comes and goes from real world to UW to do duties as a Knight who helps connecting real world & virtual reality, and sometimes visits the Zubergs with Kirito & Asuna. In real world he lives as an all-purpose robot in Kirigaya resident, while ALO he lives in the log house and takes care of Yui whenever Kirito & Asuna are busy in real world.

THE END.

[peachdoxie]

Aliens? Please explain

If you’re reading this, beware of MAJOR SPOILERS for the entirety of the Stormlight Archive so far, and brace yourselves for a massive infodump. Also I tried to put this under a read more but for whatever reason tumblr put it inside the ask itself.

Yes, there are many aliens or descendants of aliens in the Stormlight Archive. First, though, a bit of an astronomy lesson...

Stormlight takes place in a dwarf galaxy, with a series of planets orbiting different stars. This is known as the “cosmere,”  Some of these planets are known as Shardworlds, meaning they have been Invested with magic energy (called Investiture), which manifests differently from Shardworld to Shardworld.

The cosmere is comprised of three Realms: the Physical Realm, the Cognitive Realm, and the Spiritual Realm. The Physical Realm is much like ours, though it has magic in it. The Cognitive Realm is the Realm of thoughts and minds, where ideas - how something thinks of itself - exist in pseudo-corporal forms (the exact metaphysics is unknown). The Spiritual Realm is the Realm of souls and how they Connect to each other. Note: everything has a soul, even non-living things. All three Realms exist universally in the Invested parts of the cosmere.

The Cognitive Realm is the most important of the three Realms in this discussion. While the Cognitive Realm roughly maps to the Physical Realm, distances aren’t quite the same, meaning that some things that are physically far apart are closer together in the Cognitive Realm. Some things have more cognitive presence than others (think humans vs a rock) and this corresponds to the size of their manifestation in the Cognitive Realm. Since there is very little cognitive presence in outer space, due to it being a vacuum, planets end up very close to each other in the Cognitive Realm.

It is possible for a person to transition between the three Realms at certain spots, called Perpendicularities, provided that that person is aware of how the cosmere works and/or is Invested enough to transition between Realms on their own. From here, they can “physically” navigate through the Cognitive Realm, using the shortened distances between planets as a way to “worldhop.” People who worldhop are called worldhoppers. Worldhoppers are the cosmere equivalent of extraterrestrial life.

Every book in the four main cosmere worlds - Stormlight, Mistborn, Elantris, and Warbreaker - have featured at least one worldhopper, though you have to be rather cosmere-aware to spot him sometimes (I’ll give you a hint: he often takes the form of a beggar or storyteller, and thinks himself very witty...). In Stormlight, which takes place on the planet Roshar - also the name of its only continent - there have been at least 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...plus another 10.............a lot. Big things are happening on Roshar, cosmere-wise, and a lot of people are making their way there, mostly for unknown reasons.

But this is in present-day Roshar, and not actually that big of a spoiler. This information is all part of the behind-the-scenes story of the cosmere that we get glimpses of through the various books and short stories. So what’s up with the big plot twist that most of the characters from Stormlight are descended from worldhoppers, aka aliens?

Well, for that we need to turn to some theology: specifically, Vorin theology, the main church in eastern Roshar that many of our beloved Alethis follow (or outright reject, in one case). Vorinism’s basic cosmology is as follows:

Humans once lived in the Tranquiline Halls, a world of peace.

The Voidbringers came from Damnation and drove them out to Roshar.

The ten Heralds fight the Voidbringers during each of the Desolations, a time of cataclysmic destruction that wipes out nearly all of humanity. They are accompanied by the Knights Radiant: normal people given the ability to Surgebind, or the ability to manipulate Roshar’s Investiture.

In Ahariatiam, the Last Desolation, the Heralds finally forced the Voidbringers back into the Transquiline Halls, where to this day the Heralds continue the fight against them.

Humans, when they die, return to the Tranquiline Halls. If they excelled in their Callings - what they are best at and devote themselves to developing - they will join the Heralds in their fight against the Voidbringers. Normal people just sleep, waiting the day when the battle is over.

The exact nature of the Tranquiline Halls is never explained, nor how the humans were expelled by the Voidbringers, but since it’s where human souls return after they die, it’s not a physical place so much as a metaphysical place. It’s like Heaven on earth. It’s not a physical place you go to so much as a non-physical place where your soul goes. This is how the Tranquiline Halls and Damnation (basically Hell) are treated in the Stormlight Archive by the practitioners of Vorinism.

Quite frankly, the average Rosharan doesn’t seem that concerned about the nature of the Tranquiline Halls. That’s a matter for the ardentia, the monks of Vorinism. Instead, Vorins are more concerned about Voidbringers. Though supposedly they’ve been trapped in the Tranquiline Halls with the Heralds, there are many folktales and superstitions about the Voidbringers still existing on Roshar. Knowledge about what, precisely, Voidbringers were is hard to come by. It’s been 4500 years since the Last Desolation, 2000 years since the Knights Radiant abandoned their oaths and betrayed mankind (an event known as the Recreance), and 500 years since a group of ardents known as the Hierocracy attempted to take over all of Roshar, purging as much information as they could of the Knights Radiant and the Recreance. This included much of the information about the nature of the Voidbringers. What _is _known is that they were extremely powerful and very dangerous, bent on destroying humankind after chasing them out of the Tranquiline Halls.

In the first book of Stormlight, Jasnah Kholin, the foremost scholar in all of Roshar (and avowed renouncer of Vorinism), discovered the origins of the Voidbringers: the parshmen. See, humans are not the only sentient humanoid species on Roshar. There are the parshmen, people with hardened carapace instead of skin, who are slaves to most of the kingdoms of Roshar because of their obedience, endurance, and low intellectual ability. Jasnah theorized that, at some point since Ahariatiam, humans figured out how to enslave Voidbringers into parshmen. This is quite the startling realization, because Jasnah, among others, believes that the Voidbringers are coming back. The Last Desolation may not have been so final after all....

In book two, the Voidbringers return. Enough parshmen who weren’t enslaved and retained enough intellectual ability to function (known as the Parshendi) summoned the Everstorm, a cataclysmic hurricane from their god Odium that returns to parshmen their ability to think, thus freeing them from enslavement. And it turns some parshmen into Voidbringers, and each pass of the storm returns more and more of them. The disgraced Knights Radiant have also begun to return, supported by their god, Honor, in order to fight the Voidbringers and protect mankind.

All of this changes in book three, Oathbringer, in chapter 111, “Eila Stele,” towards the end of Part Four, over a million words into the series. The Eila Stele is the oldest known written document on Roshar, carved into a stone and believed to be from before the Desolations began, rumored to be written by the Heralds themselves. However, until Oathbringer, it was written in a dead language called the Dawnchant, for which translations have been lost. Through a specific use of Investiture, though, Jasnah and her scholars are able to translate the Dawnchant and provide a translation of the Eila Stele, which reads:

They came from another world, using powers that we have been forbidden to touch. Dangerous powers, of spren and Surges. They destroyed their lands and have come to us begging.

We took them in, as commanded by the gods. What else could we do? They were a people forlorn, without a home. Our pity destroyed us. For their betrayal extended even to our gods: to spren, stone, and wind.

Beware the otherworlders. The traitors. Those with tongues of sweetness, but with minds that lust for blood. Do not take them in. Do not give them succor. Well were they named Voidbringers, for they brought the void. The empty pit that sucks in emotion. A new god. Their god.

These Voidbringers know no songs. They cannot hear Roshar, and where they go, they bring silence. They look soft, with no shell, but they are hard. They have but one heart, and it cannot ever live.

The original Voidbringers were not parshmen. They were humans who invaded Roshar after destroying their home planet, likely escaping through the Cognitive Realm and emerging into the Physical Realm on Roshar, the nearest planet.

The first and last paragraphs are where we find the proof of this. “They came from another world” is fairly clear, as is “They destroyed their lands.” The last paragraph is where we learn that the Voidbringers were humans, not parshmen, who actually call themselves the “singers”. The references to the Voidbringers bringing silence is due to the fact that singers are attuned to the Rhythms of Roshar, a cosmere-wide series of vibrations throughout the Spiritual Realm, though singers are the only ones able to feel/hear them. Humans cannot, and are therefore “silent.” They also are “soft, with no shell,” referring to the fact that they have skin instead of carapace.

The tl;dr of everything else is that after humans fled to Roshar, they were given land by the singers, who took pity on them. However, humans then tried to conquer other parts of Roshar that belonged to the singers. The singers’ gods (spren, aka parts of Honor) betrayed them for the humans, and so the singers turned to Odium - who had followed/chased/been brought by humans to Roshar from their original home - for help in order to fight back against the humans. In response, the Heralds worked with Honor to trap Odium’s soldiers in Damnation, ushering in the cycle of Desolations. The term “Voidbringer” is associated with Odium, and so basically anyone who’s allied with Odium, and thus became associated with the singers, as they were the soldiers of Odium. Eventually, the humans won. Or so they thought. Now, Odium and his soldiers returned, and humans once more are fighting to defend themselves from the Voidbringers.

This is where our beloved characters find themselves: fighting another war against Odium and the Voidbringers and facing another Desolation. Except this time, the rightfulness of the war is brought into question. Are the humans right to be fighting against the people who were just trying to defend themselves from humans in the first place? Previously, the humans had Honor on their side to ensure them of the morality of their battle, but Honor was killed by Odium shortly after the Recreance, when the Knights Radiant gave up their oaths upon learning the truth about the Voidbringers. Humans have no God to guide them anymore.

We haven’t yet seen the fallout from the translation of the Elia Stele. Pretty much immediately after the translation was published, an Everstorm approached, with only hours to prepare for a massive battle in which Odium made his first major overture of war. The book ended shortly thereafter. We will have to see what happens in book four, which comes out in November.

So yes. The biggest plot twist of the Stormlight Archive thus far is that it is actually a story about dealing with the effects of an alien invasion in which the aliens won but then forgot they were aliens. In book four, there our heroes will have to grapple with the dubious morality of their way and the themes of the book will include discussions about postcolonial theory and decolonization. In this essay I will

[mermaidsirennikita]

September 2018 Book Roundup

If you’ve read any of my posts you probably know that I have high-functioning depression and sometimes dip into episodes that are worse than the rest of the time, and I’m definitely dipping into one!  Which means that it’s getting hard for me to focus on anything, including reading.  :(  But I did read some good books this month!  The high of September book-wise was definitely Kendare Blake’s Two Dark Reigns.  If you haven’t tried her Three Dark Crowns series yet, please do.  It’s very, very good.  Hopefully, October will be full of dark and creepy reads!

Mirage by Somaiya Daud.  4/5.  Amani is a farmer’s daughter, her people dominated by the brutal Vathek.  On the night that she’s to reach her majority, droids descend and take her to Ziyaana, where she discovers that she’s the double of the selfish and cruel Princess Maram.  As Maram--born of a Vathek conqueror and a native Andalaan mother--is hated by her people, Amani will be trained to be her double, standing in for Maram at important events.  There are two problems: for one thing, Maram’s fiance Idris connects more with Amani than he does the princess.  For another, Amani’s proximity to the crown makes it all too easy for her to become the target of rebel plots....  This book has a lot of atmosphere, and is inspired by Moroccan culture.  It’s firmly sci-fi, but feels very fantastical in a lot of ways.  The most important and compelling part of the novel--besides the general world--is the relationship between Maram and Amani.  Maram is truly awful, but she’s also truly human.  While the main romance is a bit meh and the climax doesn’t feel like much of one, it’s an entertaining book and I’m look forward to the next installment!

Toil and Trouble ed. Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe.  4/5.  A collection of short stories with one thing in common: witches.  This a nice anthology, with all the urban fantasy your heart could want.  There’s a good bit of representation--Latina witches, black witches, gay witches, bi witches, I *think* some trans man rep though it wasn’t very explicit so I can’t say for sure.  My favorites included Afterbirth by Andrea Cremer (a good, old-fashioned Salem witch trials type of story involving a midwife’s apprentice, a dead patient, and a mysterious baby), The Well Witch by Kate Hart (think like... a shoot ‘em up western but with a part-Comanche witch at the center) Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths by Jessica Spotswood (about a witch trying to trigger a vision she saw in which she and her sisters survived a curse on their family) and Love Spell by Anna-Marie McLemore (about a bruja who falls in love with an acolyte--so romantic and so very good, McLemore is an amazing writer).  A great read for Fall. 

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake.  5/5.  The third installment of the Three Dark Thrones series sees Katharine on the throne and Mirabella and Arsinoe hiding on the mainland.  Fennbirn is caving in on itself, the mist meant to protect it striking out against its people--who, in response, grow hostile to Katharine.  Meanwhile, Arsinoe is being sent visions from the Blue Queen, a legendary ruler of Fennbirn whose ghostly presence may spell disaster for the island.  Kendare Blake knows how to write spooky shit.  She knows how to write sad shit.  She just knows how to write.  I never want to leave the world of this series.  This book was actually better than the last, expanding on the intrigue and mythos of the world.  I still don’t love Jules, and I really don’t really like more recent addition of Emilia--but their storylines are compelling, and I love Katharine and Mirabella and Pietyr and Bree and so many other characters enough to overwhelm the characters I’m not as big a fan of.  This book left me dying for the next.

Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison.  4/5.  Teenage Mindy is an up-and-coming champion skier, looking to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.  After she breaks her leg, it is revealed that she has leukemia, sending her loving parents, Lauren and Jasper, into a spiral.  The only hope they have of saving Mindy’s life is through a stem cell transplant--but when Lauren and Jasper are tested, it’s revealed that neither of them are biologically related to Mindy.  This is a fairly dark thriller that doesn’t simplify the issues it discusses, and certainly doesn’t pull any punches.  Will you see the twists coming?  I did, though not immediately.  But that’s okay, because it was less “failure to twist” and more “something set up pages ago paying off”.  The book was a bit long and padded for the story it told, but I have to say that I loved the ambiguity of it all.

Queens of Fennbirn by Kendare Blake.  4/5.  These two Three Dark Crowns novellas are bound together in one edition--The Young Queens tells the stories of Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine before Three Dark Crowns begins,during their childhoods; The Oracle Queen explains why oracle queens are drowned at birth, through the story of the “mad queen” Elsabet, who allegedly murdered innocent people based on her visions.  I’m not surprised that The Oracle Queen was more to my taste, just because I want to know the backstories of literally every queen in this world...  (I mean, I’d take a companion book chronicling every queen in this country... easily.)  But The Young Queens was still a well-done story, and added a lot to how I see the world of the series.  A must for fans of the books.

Rule by Ellen Goodlett.  2/5.  Zofi, Akeylah, and Florencia (”Ren”) all come from vastly different backgrounds.  When King Andros summons them to palace, it’s revealed that not only is he dying, but that all three are his daughters, and the only potential heirs he has left after the death of his only son. The girls are thrown into court politics and training, though Andros can only select one to be queen.  Each one has a secret, and someone is out to expose them--so who will come out on top?  Basically, I loved this idea and the execution was beyond blah.  The politics were way too light. The magic system was cool, but not enough to save it.  Relationships were shallow.  Romances were dull.  Very little  time was spent on the idea of the girls developing relationships with Andros OR each other.  Again, the world was interesting but the characters didn’t work.

Wildcard by Marie Lu.  3/5.  After discovering the truth of Hideo’s plans, Emika is set against the man she fell in love with.  As she seeks to take Hideo down, she gets drawn into the world of the mysterious Zero--the only person who can protect Emika now that a bounty’s been placed on her head.  Aaand as this is a sequel, saying anything more would mean giving away big spoilers.  I loved Warcross, which is why Wildcard was a bit of a letdown.  Honestly?  It felt like Lu was trying to cram two books into one.  I thought I’d see more of Emika trying to take Hideo down, and the push-pull between them that I frankly loved in the first book.  The truth about Zero’s past?  Very compelling.  The ending?  Kind of anticlimactic.

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer.  3/5.  Nita dissects unnatural creatures so that her mother--usually their killer--can sell them on the black market.  Unicorns, mermaids--Nita has dissected everything, though she herself isn’t all that natural thanks to her ability to heal herself.  After her mother brings home a living boy with the intention of cutting him into pieces, Nita suffers an attack of conscience and frees him.  She wakes up at the Death Market; once a part of the trade, she’s now for sale.  A lot of 3 star reads kind of bore me--this one didn’t.  It was super engaging.  The concept is super cool, and I want to see more of this world.  Nita’s relationship with her parents, and particularly her horrifying mother, is interesting.  I’m happy with the grayness of this world.  It’s just that the writing is a bit awkward.  There are a lot of creepy grins described over and over.  Nita’s seemingly cold nature isn’t described very well, to the point that what should come off as human hypocrisy that she learns from reads more as self-righteousness, especially regarding one plot twist.  One thing did distract me a bit--a creature that essentially gets off on pain and is thus a great torturer.  Technically, they feed on pain and therefore must torture people to live, theoretically.  One: these creatures are treated as super valuable in organized crime families, but I don’t really get why they’re needed as skilled torturers exist already.  Their powers are vague.  And they’re called zannies?  I don’t know if these are obscure magical creatures I don’t know about, but to be honest if they are the author needed to use another name.  Zannie/xannie is slang for Xanax.  That always popped into my head when they were mentioned, and it was very distracting.  It doesn’t ruin the book, but it is kind of weird to me that nobody caught that in the editing process.

[huskybcake]

I love the Julian story but...hear me out

I really like Julian as a character and am sincerely interested to see where his story goes. In fact, it's the first book I bought out of the three. Because Julian is adorable and I would like to continue until a full on jumping takes place (I'm not thirsty, you're thirsty!)

BUT It's a lot of suspension of disbelief to ask for in order to get through the last scene.

Hear...or read me out. Beware thar be spoilers ahead.

Think about it, at most you have 4 interactions with him prior to this meeting.

FOUR.

the first one is him breaking into your home, and threatening you for information. When he realizes you recognize him he says, "then you know the trouble your in." One assumes that MC knows him as a convicted murderer at this point. Thus, he has threatened MC's life. Of course, we as the player know the meta and know we won't be hurt, but MC does not.

The second time, if you skip out on bread (but seriously, why? It's spiced bread. It is, in fact, the OTP) MC sees him in the market. No matter what you pick he runs. Not helping the guilty card there. But again, that happens IF you skip bread.

The third time is another IF scenario. You may have wandered outside the palace and in so doing meet him at the tavern. MC's first reaction is to hide. Because all MC knows is that this man is a convicted/potential murderer and he has broken into the house and made a threat on MC's life. The tavern scene is probably 1, maybe 2 hours, at most. And 2 might be pushing it. The only info MC gains out if this is that he's a flirt, dramatic, and has bought MC a beer. It hasn't actually put aside the fact that he's potentially dangerous, or whether he did or did not commit murder. But we move on. This tavern scene is really the only reason MC has to doubt if he's a killer based on personality. And that's not a solid reason to begin with. Again, this is IF MC decides to leave the castle, and in turn, the search for Asra's card.

The fourth time MC meets him, he has broken into the house AGAIN. So now he has committed two crimes against the MC personally. Breaking and entering gets bumped down to trespassing once we discover he had a key along. However, would you be happy if a stranger kept coming into your house uninvited and snooping around your shit when you're not home solely because your roommate gave him the key? I wouldn't. MC can also infer that Portia and Julian are siblings and does confirm this with her. However, as much as I love Portia, this does not clear someone of murder charges.

And now we arrive to the lovers book. To be brief: a slip, a fall, a bite and a healing dooblie-doo later, and Julian has saved MCs life. Cool, thanks DOC. oh right, he's a doctor. Why wouldn't he try to save a life? Oh right, he's a possible murderer. Cool.... Thanks, doc? And after only another few minutes we're on the run again. Oh, and here's a reminder. MC does not need to run. Why should MC be scared of the guards? MC is a guest of the castle. Regardless, we meet the best, sassiest old lady ever, and move right along into the kiss scene. Depending on the options, you either get a tender, sweet kiss, or a sexualized, "I'm practically straddling you" kiss.

Now, briefly, let's recap.

Depending on the choices you've made, MC has spent anywhere from 30 minutes to 2.5 hrs with this man and had gotten no good answers out of him.

He has trespassed into your house, threatened your life, bought you a beer, trespassed again, saved your life, and is making you run from the guards.

.... Why are we making out with him?

I can almost justify the sexualized one: this has got to be a pretty decent adrenaline high for MC. Almost dying, running away from the law with your savior has got to have an effect on those endorphins. And he's attractive and clearly wants to tap that (bow chicka wow wow). Why not jump your dashing, but-possibly-a-murderer, hero? And then to dominate as well? Sure, I can buy that as an effect of the nights activities and the high MC must feel.

But the sweet tender kiss? Kind of confused me.

As a player, I know he's a romance option. I know he won't murder MC (at this time...??? Dun dun duuuuun). I know some backstory on him from the dev Q and A's.

But MC does not. MC has only spent brief snippets of time with this man. Only knows a very small amount about him. And, depending on the story, may have only spent 30 minutes, max, with him. And half of those 30 minutes he threatened you, and all of those 30 minutes he was uninvited in your home. Or MC spent 1-2 hours with over the course of time in which he hasn't proven his innocence or guilt.

So to be so tenderly drawn into a kiss with a practical stranger left me gobsmacked. This kiss had more conscious thought and less primalness behind it.

I get it, we're a thirsty audience, and I too am thirsty. But would you lovingly kiss someone you've only know for a sparse couple hours who, while having saved your life, had also threatened it and may or may not be a murderer? I don't know.

Ultimately, I'm sticking with the sexualized kiss. Plus it was hella fun.

I love this game, and will continue to pour my time and money into it. But holy disbelieving fantasy romance shenanigans Batman! That was a hell of a confusing play out on that option.

[jacquettamatias-blog]

The One 'Activity From Powers' Theory You have actually Been Overlooking.

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