#Theory post

[canidgirlfangs]

the funny thing about a lot of online alterhumans (especially on tiktok) being pretty young is it creates this idea, at least that i've seen, that not being human is just a thing teenagers do and they'll age out of

(and absolutely no worries if you do, that doesn't make it any less real at the time)

but like. i'm walking around my college campus swinging my tail n shit. bark bark bitch. gay little canid getting their degree. they let dogs do anything these days.

it's like some cold war type shit. alterhumans are in your community and you don't know who they are. we make it to adulthood and get jobs and pay taxes and get into relationships just like everyone else

[theboredasexual]

WHAT I HOPE HAPPENS IN SEASON 7

Alright buckle up because this might get long. (also if somebody else has already made this theory I apologise)

To start, let's recap a few Important Events in season 6.

Rayla promises to kill Callum if he gets controlled by aaravos again.

Callum does the cleansing thing, and is told that if he does dark magic again he will be consumed by it.

We already know aaravos can control dark mages.

It's been said many times by many people that there is a lot of foreshadowing for Callum using dark magic again in season 7 to save Rayla, and therefore 'being consumed by it' and/or falling victim to Aaravos's control once more. In this scenario, Rayla has promised to kill him (and we all know Rayla refuses to break her promises).

There's a lot of takes on this. Some people say that Rayla will, for once, break her promise and refuse to kill Callum; but I frankly hope this DOESN'T happen, because i think it'll be wildly unsatisfying.

I've seen other people point out that there is one remaining Quasar Diamond, and it'd be an INSANE chekovs gun (or whatever the phrase is) to leave that unused. The general theory goes like this:

Callum uses dark magic to save Rayla

Aaravos controls Callum

Rayla kills Callum

Rayla uses the Quasar Diamond to bring Callum back to life

But here's the thing (and correct me if I'm wrong, ofc) isn't the Quasar Diamond unable to revive someone who's actually passed on into the afterlife? Aaravos was stuck in a prison similar to the coins, just made with primal magic, and the COINS were explicitly stated to be a plane between life and death where spirits got trapped. When Rayla's parents passed on, the left they coins but didn't return to mortality like Runaan.

So for the singular Quasar Diamond to revive a dead Callum, something ELSE would have to happen first...

Here's what I imagine in my dreams of Season 7:

At some point in the season, maybe Rayla or Callum has learnt the spell that Viren used to trap people in the coins (we know Callum has studies dark magic...I find it easy to believe that he could've written down the notes for it in his spellbook). I'm pretty sure the Staff of Ziard is required for this spell, so lets just say we have that as well. This will come back in a bit.

Rayla is in some dire moment, about to die, and Callum remembers their conversation at the ship - he remembers promising to choose the greater good over Rayla if it came to it. But he just can't. And somehow, who knows how, he has the opportunity to free her...but only by using Dark magic a third time.

It's no choice for him, of course. He does the spell and Rayla is saved but now Callum is corrupted for good and Aaravos possesses him again (or he just does something villain-arc-y idk). So now Rayla has to fulfill HER promise and even though she's beyond angry and heartbroken with Callum breaking his, she's not about to stoop to his level.

There's a dramatic-ass fight scene between warrior and mage - spells flying everywhere, Rayla battling with swords and arrows and all sorts. But eventually she overpowers him (because of course she does) - shoots an arrow through his heart or stabs him in the chest or something like that. And as he's there, bleeding out in her arms from a wound she inflicted, she gets an idea. A horrible, awful idea but its her only chance to fix this.

Without thinking (because how are you meant to think AT ALL when you're one true love soulmate is DYING-) she picks up the Staff of Ziard, finds the place in Callums book that lists the spell, and digs Runaans blank coin out of her pocket.... and suddenly Callum's dying body is gone and the coin is no longer blank and Rayla. Has. Done. Dark. Magic. GASP-

Anyway no idea what would happen after that but I just really like the idea of Rayla using dark magic and understanding Callum being unable to let her die. I feel like it'd be a GREAT moment and a really confronting and horrifying thing for her and daaammnnnnnn......

[spaceprinceencie]

I think about Nagito’s death at the end of SDR2 a lot. There’s so much symbolism and meaning in it. His death reflects a lot of the other deaths from the first game, which is a cool easter egg, but the meaning of that also kind of blows my mind. 

The symbolism of how he’s embodying so much of the despair from the first game, compiled into a single death. How he’s depending on his luck to burn out every last ounce of despair from this death game, while also embodying every ounce from the last one at the same time. He - intentionally/consciously or not - is embodying as much despair as he can so he can burn it all away and bring hope. 

But most recently I’ve also been thinking a lot about the spear. 

Because there’s two major ways you can interpret Nagito’s luck cycle: either luck is a real supernatural force that exists in the DR universe, or Nagito is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Personally, I do think it’s hard to argue that everything that happens to Nagito throughout the series is totally unrelated to some greater supernatural force. But I also think it’s so tragic to think of his luck cycle as just a bunch of psychological tricks. So a little bit of this is a “what if”: even if it’s not the most likely explanation, there is a way of arguing for it and I think that’s interesting. He believes with all his heart that he’s cursed by this luck cycle. That good and bad will happen to him in extremes, in waves. Confirmation bias tells us he’ll pick out that pattern easily, searching for evidence that supports his understanding of the world, and then presenting what is essentially cherry-picked evidence to other characters. Which is often what we see of his luck cycle: the narrative he has constructed. Then, throw in how he’d subconsciously make decisions and put himself in situations that further supports his view of himself and the world. He might purposefully put himself in precarious positions when he thinks there’s bad luck due. He might do something like hang a spear above his own head. That act, metaphorical or literal, is then, also sort of his essence, isn’t it? Nagito hangs spears above him, poised to kill him, and waits for his luck - real or not - to use them. And when the spear falls, because if you keep hanging spears above your head eventually they’ll fall, he calls it intentional and purposeful. He calls it part of his luck cycle. But how much of it is really luck, and how much of it is that he’s just hanging spears and waiting? How much of it is that he really believes he deserves bad luck or pain or hurt? Honestly, we don’t know exactly if the poison killed him before the spear did. We can certainly assume it did, since Monokuma rules Nanami the killer, and because the spear was supposedly released upon Nagito’s death (and the nature of the poison). However, I think there’s enough doubt in there to argue that, even if its unlikely, the spear did kill him. Monokuma could’ve lied, there was no one and no way to prove him wrong after all. The poison could’ve weakened Nagito just enough that he wasn’t dead until the spear impaled him. 

Just, think of the potential symbolism of the fact that we can only assume- based on incomplete and biased observations - that the poison killed him. That Nagito’s luck killed him. From that biased assumption, we are led to believe his luck is cyclic and intentional. Just like everything Nagito does and says could be seen as a biased presentation of evidence that leads us to the same conclusions. But realistically we can also assume that Nagito just killed himself by hanging a spear over himself and waiting. We can also assume Nagito's luck isn't as drastic as he claims. What if, in reality, he just keeps hanging spears above him and waiting, maybe even hoping, they fall?

[sufferboypizza]

if the newly released episode titles are real, I think episode 6 is a reference to a wrinkle in time!! ESPECIALLY considering there is LITERALLY a picture of it in this post on ross's instagram:

since this is a classic sci fi novel it makes total sense for it to be referenced in the show!!

if you haven't read the book, camazotz is a planet in the story that houses a mind-controlling entity called IT, that essentially brainwashes/controls all its residents (if this is a very shallow explanation I apologize, I haven't read it in a while). this is very interesting to me as the idea of an entity controlling/haunting/brainwashing people is also used in stranger things as we know with the mind flayer & vecna. to me, it seems likely that at least this title is real! at least I hope it is, because I love this book and it would be a perfect fit

"escape from camazotz" is a very interesting title too, as to me it feels like that would mean escaping some sort of purgatory or hellscape, which likely refers to the upside down in this context

if anybody else has theories relating to this lmk!!!

(also sorry if this has already been said)

[daja-the-hypnokitten]

Consent Culture: What it is and isn’t

In some of the hypnokink discord spaces I’m in, I’ve noticed a worrying trend. People saying other folk can’t talk about a specific topic, or use certain words, etc, because they “didn’t consent to that.” It’s a weaponization of consent culture to force *purity* culture, often, and I’m really tired of seeing the culture I fought so hard to help establish be used to silence folk just trying to talk about things they enjoy!

So. Let’s all have a little chat about what consent culture is and means, what it isn’t, and what any given individual’s responsibilities are in a consent culture.

Being in a consent culture means not *doing things* to other people without their consent; touch, sharing information about them, in my community’s context hypnotizing them or using/attempting to use triggers on them… things like that. It also includes giving people space where they can feel comfortable disagreeing, saying ‘no’ to requests, and so on. Respecting other people’s boundaries, and not always demanding their time and energy. It involves making a good faith effort to respect not only the letter of the rules, but the *spirit* of the rules in a space, as well.

It is not, however, shutting down anything that causes anyone in the space discomfort. We’re all adults here, as this is a kink space. As adults, we SHOULD be able to handle a little discomfort. And if something is truly upsetting to you? You can ask something like “hey, can we change the topic,” of course, but if the others don’t want to? Or, if, say, you’re in a public play space and someone is doing a scene you don’t like? That’s when the rule of two feet comes in.

For those who are unfamiliar with the rule/law of two feet, it’s a concept taken from a meeting style called “open spaces” - and loosely what unconferences are based around.

A businessman named Harrison Owen, involved in spaces that promote this philosophy, sums it up thusly:

“Briefly stated, this law says that every individual has two feet, and must be prepared to use them. Responsibility for a successful outcome in any Open Space Event resides with exactly one person—each participant. Individuals can make a difference and must make a difference. If that is not true in a given situation, they, and they alone, must take responsibility to use their two feet, and move to a new place where they can make a difference.”

What does that mean in kink spaces? Well, it’s less about productivity/making a difference, and more about finding the right comfort level. Is a class covering topics that you don’t enjoy? Or is the demo a bit more graphic than you’d like to see? Step out (whether for a moment or the rest of the class) and get some air, going back in later if you want to see if they’ve moved to something you find more comfortable. People talking about a kink that you find squicky or that triggers negative emotions? Walk away for a bit, or stop reading the channel. On places like here, on tumblr, mute a tag/word. Let people enjoy the thing and rejoin them when the topic changes.

Because that’s your responsibility in a consent culture - advocating for your own comfort *in a way that lets people enjoy the things they enjoy.* Sometimes that means you miss out on time with people you like, yes. But it’s better than making people dislike you because you keep telling them that they can’t engage with something they enjoy!

Also? Because it bears calling out, though it’s a bit tangential here? Disgust is not and never will be a gauge of immorality or unethical behaviour. Plenty of people are disgusted by the concept of rape play - but that doesn’t mean that consenting adults engaging in rape play are acting unethically. Some things are both disgusting AND unethical, of course - actual rape, for example! - but if your main reason for saying something is immoral or unethical is “it makes me uncomfortable” or “I find it disgusting”? Probe harder and consider that your aversion may just be distaste, and it isn’t a moral judgement.

Bystander consent is a different topic for another day, mostly, but I do want to note - it tends to come into play when the Rule of 2 Feet doesn’t really work, such as in places of business where employees cannot walk away.

I also want to take a moment to discuss the distinction between consent and having boundaries.

Consent is about things being done to or by you; boundaries are about other people’s actions that are not directly involving you.

So “don’t pull my hair” is a consent line. “Don’t talk about X around me or I’ll stop interacting with you” is a boundary.

“Don’t talk about X around me” without a consequence is just a rule, and outside of power exchange dynamics where the ability to give rules is negotiated? Rules in relationships typically just breed resentment.  But also, if you disagree with a boundary someone is trying to draw for you, and you’re willing to bear the consequences? That *is not* a consent violation. That isn’t what consent is for. Having said that, a violation is a violation - whether a violation of boundaries or of consent - and either can hurt just as much as the other.

And claiming otherwise? Is weaponizing consent culture to manipulate people, whether intentionally or not. And we all need to do better than that.

[ophanim-vesper]

So... what did Titans actually look like?

Upon examining the murals, King, the Titan Trappers and Papa Titan himself, there seems to be inconsistencies with how Titans actually looked like when they were alive and grown.

So, I’ve gathered 3 theories to help explain this!

The Murals Are A Demonization Of Titans

This theory seems quite likely, of course a collection of murals, made by collectors, would depict their enemies as demonic and evil-looking creatures. 

I believe the spell the Collector used to make the Archive House is one created and taught by the Archivists, therefore the murals are according to the Archivists’ tastes and biases.

I mean, look at this mural. The Titans here are portrayed as skeletal beings (likely based on their now deceased appearance) and their wings are portrayed incorrectly (being on their arms instead of on their back). Plus the Titan Trapper in this mural is portrayed as heroic and valiant, further vilifying the Titans here.

One problem with this theory is that, in a world like the Demon Realm that has Snagglebacks and horrifying Teeth Fairies, it wouldn’t be too outlandish for the Titans to actually look like this, even if they were benevolent.

Plus, the mural in King’s birthplace still shows the same image for the ‘Titan’. Either the mural in that place is reversed (The actual Titan is the one throwing the spear, while the skeletal being is the enemy), or Titans did actually look like this.

(Interesting detail is that the giant monster here looks more like an otherworldly alien with a star on their chest, the patterns kinda look ‘space-like’ too. Makes you wonder what the Archivists actually looked like).

2. There Are Two Types Of Titans

This was a theory I believed in back when For The Future first came out. We didn’t know much of collectors and titans and the Collector-Titan war, so this made sense to me at the time.

The theory was that one of the Archivists fell in love with the Demon Realm and wanted to live there, so they became a Titan, specifically a ‘yellow-eyed Titan’. This created 2 Titan variants, the red-eyed Titans (the true Titans), and yellow-eyed Titans (Collector-Titans).

I mainly believed this theory because of the triple parallel it implied. Luz, Caleb and the Collector-Titan were all foreign beings who wanted to live in the Demon Realm, even if it was forbidden, or meant the disapproval of their peers/family members.

Also, I believed King was a descendant of the yellow-eyed titans, seeing how the Titans in the murals had red eyes instead of yellow eyes (though this could’ve been another instance of demonization). Though if this was true, it’d be cool if King turned out to be related to the Collector. One of the Archivists becoming a Titan could also explain why these murals only have 3 collectors instead of 4, one of their siblings was missing and they assumed the Titans did something to them, leading them to wipe them all out.

However, this theory can easily be debunked, as the mural where a Collector turns into a Titan could just be the origin of the Titan Trappers. Still, this is a nice thought and would make the entire story of the Owl House so beautifully poetic as these 3 separate narratives all carry the same theme.

3. Titans Can Change Their Form

This is the theory I currently believe in the most (though the second one is still my favorite overall). It makes the most sense, is the most realistic, and was somewhat shown in the finale ‘Watching And Dreaming’.

I believe Titans can change their size and shape, going from a more averagely-sized Titan (more closely resembling the Titan Trappers), to a colossal behemoth that resembles their depiction in the murals. I mean, when you live on a planet that you can take up nearly 15% of, it’d make sense that you’d want to change size so you could actually live on the planet. Also, Papa Titan kind of showed this in the finale, when he went from dad mode to bad mode.

So, much like Globgor from SVTFOE, Titans can simply change from a smaller form to their true colossal form. I imagine the colossal form is when they’re at their fullest potential, so they stayed in this form a lot while fighting the Collectors. The collectors saw this form of them the most, so they assumed this is what all Titans naturally looked like.

But those are my theories, what are yours? If any of you even paid attention to these ‘inconsistencies’. I’m probably just overthinking all of this and there were no inconsistencies, but still. Anyways have a nice day and keep watching and dreaming :)

[ask-the-totally-real-peppino]

Looks at Pep's profile on toyhouse:

Oooh, interesting stuff here! Also lots of sadness in the links! More thoughts below:

<"–and even being rescued himself in a few situations.">

<"- he and Porto helped me home when I was struggling to move, let alone keeping my form together -">

<"Porto, and Bello, found me when I wasn't in the best place, and very vulnerable">

My first thought was imagining Pep in 'Sopping Wet Creature' form being in either Porto or Bello's arms, but it's more likely him having a panic attack and both of them helping him get home.

<"but I realised what they needed, and I gave it to them - I still have that scar... I didn't even know I could get new scars...">

Wait, what do you mean new scars? And hmmm, clones don't really have blood (at least not like regular blood), but given what we currently know (or at least theorize) about Pep, perhaps he was the only one that could've helped Mirtillo.

(On a related note: Mirtillo being purple and considered to be Pep's baby. And a certain picture with a baby wearing purple. I'm not saying they're the same, just that maybe there's some subconscious connections here. Maybe the loss hits harder because he has lost his child before. It's twice now that he was taken away from his family.)

Also the dramatic irony of having an idea of what exactly happened to his family hurts! And every single one of Pep's links being one-sided thoughts! I'm over here making myself sadder theorizing that the last parts of each one are the exact thoughts he had while searching for them! That even though he was able to see the world outside the tower, he couldn't fully enjoy that freedom because in the back of his mind he's thinking that he failed them, that he was too weak and couldn't protect them–

He hopes that maybe, just maybe, he could find them. To be able to hug them again, hold them all in his arms and never let go. He would never ever lose them again.

Okay, I'm done for now.

On happier thoughts, Happy 1 year to this askblog! (It's March 1st where I am) Thank you for sharing this story with us! We appreciate all the love and care you bring with your designs and writing.

Always remember to take your time and have fun with it! Take care of yourself, Bean.

(Shy Theorist)

(AUGH, Shy Theorist Anon, must you sucker punch me right in the heart on this joyous occasion!!! (silly/lighthearted)

But you bring up various points! And I will provide context for others where applicable, like right now;

[Pep's updated reference on toyhou.se] and the [links where he shares his thoughts on his fambily members]

First point about [Porto] and [Bello] rescuing Pep I actually hope to touch on soon! Well, 'soon' as in 'within the next few story posts' - when they will actually be up is yet to be determined jfgksgd - but you're not too far off hehe

Second point about Pep getting a new scar - this is a little confusing since I don't draw scars in my cartoony style (for some reason that I do not remember) - unless it's like [Halloumi's] missing eye scar, which is just a big 'X' - but a lot of the characters do have visible scarring!

We just gotta hit them with the unsilly beam, like this;

And there they are! Although Pep's 'scars' are just markings to mimic Peppino's scars - except for one - while clones do not typically scar due to their healing/regeneration factor, it is possible

[Mirtillo] and [the baby in that 'certain' picture] both being purple babies might be intentional, or it might be bc I have a bias for purple, I'll never tell - but I do confirm they are not the same being, since Mirtillo has been depicted as a newborn clone (the 'gummy bear' stage) and clones made out of human cadavers do not have this stage

And yes!!! Pep doesn't know what happened to any of them, and he misses them all so much!!!

But they just might be closer than he thinks...

... Any way, thank you so much! Your kind words really mean a lot to me, and I always love hearing your thoughts and theories - even if I am a coy bastard about them sometimes, fkgfksdf

I know I keep saying that hopefully we get back to it, and I really mean it, but it in the meantime I just do what I can, and drop a few crumbs now and then hehe)

[sparkytheflame35]

you know what?

i think this might just be something

[monosanimegenericzone]

Hunter x Hunter: Pain Packer pt 2

so there's the idea that's been on my mind that pain packer can also feed off of feitan's emotional pain which is arguably much more potent than physical pain for him.

this point is great because i have thought about it before but now its manifested in something im going to call Pain Packer: Mortem Vindicta. aka Revenge of the Dead.

so hear me out okay. feitan is a very emotionally constipated little man and the most we've seen him show is anger and frustration. i believe this has to do with his past, specifically with his fascination in torture- which is a very different story.

emotional pain will probably only ever come if someone he cares about gets hurt or killed, and he's able to shut that pain off if the needs of the spider come first. see, feitan's willingness to sacrifice chrollo so that the troupe wouldn't suffer any more losses.

i dont doubt he mourned paku. he has her memories and her reasonings and he'll give her the respect even if he doesn't agree with her.

shalnark on the other hand or if something happened to phinks, i think he'd lose all of that rationale. i also think the more brutal the death the more he cares. since he values pain, he'd know how much it hurts to die in certain ways.

tldr: he feels very differently about shalnark's death than he does paku's or kortopi's. they both died quickly.

so mortem vindicta is him taking inventory of how the ones he cared about died. maybe even just the members of the troupe that died- since we know there were six total members that have died since its foundation. maybe even seven if we want to include sarasa. and this is a one time move that he will pull out based on all of that collective suffering.

maybe something like imitating the wounds on himself and then letting those perfectly built walls come down. the one time ever that feitan will let himself show sympathy for the fallen and it's to take the ultimate revenge on anyone of his choosing, but i feel like if he DID have this power he would choose his target wisely.

HOW it would manifest is something i did not think about but id love to hear some ideas.

grrr feitan....

[tarnishedbloodhound]

Flowers of Liurnia, Far From Home

Or, the Tarnished goes on a photography trip throughout the Lands Between, and all for one specific flower of royal Carian blue.

This small blue flower grows plentifully in groups, on dry land or in shallow water. Whilst found extensively in Liurnia, there are small patches of found growing in other regions as well. I've noticed that they are found near exclusively in or near places associated with sorcery, with a couple exceptions.

These flowers are scarcely found in the Shadows Lands, except for two places, the Cerulean coast, where they glow with almost magical effect, and the Manus Metyr cathedral.

This got a little long so more under the cut:

All throughout the Liurnia region, the player will ride and fight through countless patches of the blue flowers in question. Both within and without the Carian Manor and the Three Sisters grounds:

in the gardens of the Academy of Raya Lucaria:

outside the Carian Study Hall, glowing vibrantly as those in the Cerulean Coast in the Shadow Lands do:

the Church of Vows, but curiously only specifically inside the church, not outside. The blue and gold flowers together likely signify the bond once made here by the Houses of the Moon and Erdtree, by Rennala and Radagon:

Outwith Liurnia, these flowers can be found in Limgrave with their red counterparts, on the road south leading to the Weeping Peninsula:

In Caelid, there is no surprise they are found growing in the Sellia town of magic, suggesting a hardiness to these flowers to be able to resist the rot:

but also in the Caelid region they can be found surrounding Lenne's Rise:

I have found the flowers in two spots so far in the Altus Plateau Leyndell region, in a shallow pool of water between the windmill pastures, close to where a lone battlemage stands watch on the rocks above;

and in the outer moat, where you fight the Dung Eater and where the death-touched (coughGodwyncough) shell crabs live:

I've yet to find in the flowers are in the Mt. Gelmir region, but it is a volcano so I doubt there would be many flowers growing there. Still, I'll check in the future.

Even in the Consecrated Snowfields there are flowers to find. Whether they are actually blue flowers just covered with frost, or white flowers with a slight blue tinge, it is difficult to discern, but evenso. I'll let you be the judge of them:

Now, about those flowers in the Shadow Lands. My search is ongoing, but obviously they are found in vast glowing quantities in the Cerulean Coast, giving the region its name. They grow in such quantities that they are likely native to the area, and merely only happen to share the appearance of their Liurnian counterparts.

The non-glowing flowers can also be found in the Cathedral of Manus Metyr. In the tortoise ponds at the back:

And very specifically, growing around the grave of Yuri, son of Ymir:

So what's the point of this long flowery post? We know Ymir was once a mentor of Princess Rellana of the Carian royal family. Likely he came to the Shadow Lands as part of her entourage, either as a Carian himself or an independant researcher, we don't know when exactly he left his allegiance to the moon.

As Rellana's mentor, he would have had access to the Carian Manor, home of the royal family, and the Study Hall as well. As a learned sorcerer, he would have spent much time at the academy too. He would have likely spent much time in any one or all of these places, and travelling between the three. As an observant man he would of course have taken note of the plentiful, beautiful, blue flowers.

I like to believe that before he was sent or decided to go to the Shadow Lands, he took some of the flowers of Liurnia with him as a keepsake, and after all in the Shadow Lands were abandoned and forbidden by Marika from ever returning to the Lands Between, they were one of the few pieces of his homeland he managed to take with him. (I highly doubt those who left for holy war in the Shadow Lands knew that Marika would abandon them there. Would they honestly go if they knew?)

The flowers in the cemetery are well cared for. They and the grass around them are lively and with colour, the foliage around them the same drab lifeless colour as plantlife in lands touched by the war.

We don't know for certain if Yuri was always just a fingercreeper or once a human boy who passed away before the events of the DLC. Nevertheless Ymir loved him enough to surround him to with the flowers of Liurnia, of magic and sorcerers, of their homeland. A small patch of beauty amongst the bleakness of the land.

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

there is no such thing as talking about chapter 4 too much....go crazy

I knew I could count on you Mashi

Just... as a treat... I want to submit further evidence for my Kokichi essay in proof that The Killing Game Busters was never meant to succeed. Screenshots from episode 46 of ShortOneGaming's v3 playthrough:

(class trial, chapter 4)

This was shortly after Kokichi revealed that Gonta was the culprit. The goal of the Killing Game Busters was to get Gonta to win so that everyone else would be mercy killed. THIS is not the actions of a person wholeheartedly going along with that plan. He is aggressively insisting that they have to look into Gonta as a suspect (which he will only continue to pull Shuichi through for the rest of the trial). That is the polar opposite of what is necessary for the Killing Game Busters to succeed. If he wanted that plan to succeed, he could have carefully used Kaito's outburst to turn the blame back onto himself.

I mean, I guess you could say that Kokichi here is specifically just trying to piss Kaito off, which is founded. The way he says "WE want to live" "stop getting in OUR way" places Kaito as an outsider. This works especially well to chip away at Kaito and Shuichi's relationship because, again, this is not long after Shuichi first said they needed to consider Gonta as a suspect, "siding" him with Kokichi in Kaito's eyes.

...But, I think there are other ways Kokichi could have done exactly that. There WERE other ways he did that. None of it would require sabotaging a very delicate plan the way he had been already for a good portion of the trial.

Also, there was another thing I noticed near the end of the trial. Every time they confirm something that Gonta did in their murder plot against Miu, Kokichi takes ownership of the idea.

(class trial, chapter 4) (This is about Gonta rappelling down the wall using the toilet paper)

(class trial, chapter 4)

Now, this could be true. In fact, I believe Kokichi did come up with the vast majority of the plan. But, it is kind of weird that he just keeps pointing out his involvement like this. It feels to me like that every time Gonta gets incriminated, Kokichi needs to pull the attention back to himself. Yes, Gonta physically carried out Miu's murder, and that's horrible, but don't forget! I, Kokichi, planned it all! I made him do it! Look at me! Hate me!

It's just another way Kokichi worked to antagonize himself in the eyes of everyone else. He couldn't let people focus on the reveal of the true culprit for too long if it meant distracting them from villainizing him.

[champion-of-the-jotnar]

Something, something about it being already established that the archons’s true names are their goetic titles (Barbatos for Venti, Morax for Zhongli, Beelzebul for Ei and Baal for Makoto, Buer for Kusanali/Nahida/Rukkhadevata since Nahida and Kusanali are the same titles for the same person and Nahida is Rukkhadevata reincarnated, Focalors for the Hydro Archon, etc etc)…

Something, something about how it’s already been established within the Genshin Community that those names are the names of demons from the Lesser Key of Solomon, more specifically the Ars Goetia…

Something, something about how it’s outlined in Before Sun and Moon that before the archons and current world order of Teyvat, there was a single Primordial God who colonized Teyvat by defeating the Seven Dragon Sovereigns after creating four shades of themselves…

Something, something about how the Unknown God (who claims to be the SUSTAINER of Heavenly Principles) is named “Asmoday” in Genshin Impact’s files, which immediately reminds me of the demon Asmodeus who also appears in the Ars Goetia…

Something, something about how Asmoday seems to manipulate space-like elements, which could mean she’s one of the Shining Shades, presumably of Space…

Something, something about how in the Amethyst Crown artifact description from the artifact set “Flower of Paradise Lost” it says that the Primordial One gave the message:

Something, something about how Celestia nuked all the ancient civilizations in Dragonspine, the Chasm and the Eternal Oasis and how since their ruins the same architecture style, they were probably once one large prospering civilization, with Sal Vindagnyr getting a huge nail dropped on them, referencing back to the ‘nail of retribution’ the Primordial One presumably threatened against their own children out of fear…

Something, something about how it was outlined in Before Sun and Moon that the Primordial One might be Phanes…

Something, something about how Kairos/Isatroth is already an established shade, and Isatroth is probably her goetic title with Kairos being an alias since Kairos is from greek mythology and so is the name “Phanes” (who was the god of creation and light in Greek mythos)...

Something, something about how Aether and Lumine’s names are a play on the words ‘luminiferous ether’ which is the medium by which light travels through space and is thereby associated with light and space…

Something, something about how Aether in Greek Mythos is the god and personification of, and I quote: “light and bright, blue ether of the heavens”...

______________________________________________________________

Something, something about how if you look in the Enkanomiya achievements, you see the following achievements: Kairos’ Constancy, Phosphorous’ Guidance, and Hesperus’ Boons…

Something, something about how if Kairos, the Shade of Time, is in those achievements, then Phosphorous and Hesperus are most likely shades of Phanes/The Primordial One as well…

Something, something about how Phosphorous means The Morning Star, which is the planet Venus in the morning, and how Hesperus translates to The Evening Star, which is the planet Venus in the evening.

Something, something about how Aether and Lumine have sun-themed and moon-themed clothes respectively (Aether being more warm-toned, Lumine being more cold-toned), which might parallel morning and evening star in addition to their white and gold and blue and brown pure color schemes paralleling that of angels...

Something, something about how they had fallen from heaven (Celestia) in the form of the brightest shooting stars…

Something, something about how Mona says this in her final ascension line dubbed ‘Conclusion’: “In the reflection of the water, I see the ascension of the morning star.”

Something, something about how the fallen angel Lucifer is also related to Venus just like Phosphorous and Hesperus are…

Something, something about how Lucifer was once a powerful and glorified angel and a figure of enlightenment and glory according to the Bogomil and Cather Text in the Gospel of the Secret Supper, just like how the Traveler twin we play as is portrayed in the game…

Something, something about how Lucifer fell from heaven to establish his own kingdom and became the prince of darkness, just like how the Abyss Twin becomes the prince/princess of the abyss…

Something, something about how Kairos/Istaroth is a parallel to the demon Astaroth… something, something about how Paimon is most obedient to Lucifer in the Ars Goetia and is his most loyal and devoted servant...

Something, something about how the Primordial One’s true goetic title, consequentially, could be Lucifer.

Something, something about how Aether and Lumine are related to the morning and evening star, and thus, the planet Venus, and could be related to Lucifer or the Primordial One.

Something, something about how perhaps… the twins ARE Shades… or perhaps…

They are the morning and evening stars. The brightest stars. Glorified, nigh-almighty figures of the heavens that have fallen from grace. Perhaps... they are Lucifer. Perhaps...

[hershelchocolate]

Gregory was the one to crash the elevator, not the Mimic

Hi I'm making a theory post because me and my bestie are so fucking deep in thinking about Ruin and how it completely changes the game of Era 2 fnaf so bear with me! This one has a long road to get there, but it'll be worth it I promise.

First off, just to establish some ground rules, I am following what Scott himself said about the books when they first came out and refusing to see book-only events as canon. Nothing about the Mimic we see in Ruin can be tied to the version from the books, so I'm not going to be using ANY book material as evidence unless it's also been shown in the games. The books have always taken plot points and twisted them to make something new, the Mimic is no different.

I also think Gregory deserves to be a little shit sometimes but that actually didn't cause this theory, it was a whole thing and I am forcing you all to follow along with me

(All images I use to explain things (as well as some of the points I make) were sent to me by @arcaneyouth thanks for taking the time to go through the game bestie!)

Okay. Hopefully this makes sense.

1. The Mimic that we know goes as far back as Help Wanted

I know I said this was going to be a long rant, so yes we are indeed going this far back so I can establish some things I find vital. After Ultimate Custom Night, Help Wanted was a HUGE shift in the franchise, to the point where everything after UCN is basically its own timeline. Fazbear Entertainment exists, and they did commit crimes, but Scott exists in-universe and there's no evidence Afton is anything more than a fictional villain FE can point fingers to.

Enter: the Mimic

It's been here the entire time, taking the form of Glitchtrap and learning through the code put into the game. All of its distorted voice lines are taken right from Tape Girl's files, and it seems to be emulating the thing that made people so fascinated with fnaf: the murders and who did them. So, it picks the form of a yellow bunny, but it's distorted. Spring Bonnie has never properly existed, so it chooses its own shape, which is easier as Help Wanted is entirely digital (similar to the AR world in Ruin).

Now, the most important part of this is hard mode night terrors: Pizza Party.

Now, it's implied in Help Wanted that you are simply testing this game. You are the next beta tester from the company that got sent the game after Tape Girl's got shut down. The game is unfinished, and still contains her tapes as well as things that wouldn't usually be there during a finished game (I can see why they kept the unfinished Showtime button in there because of this, and why there are some random events that can happen).

So because of this, it's very possible that Pizza Party...doesn't exist.

They didn't have a finished ending to the game yet, but the Mimic had been watching you play, and wanted to keep going. Maybe it was studying you, maybe it was studying the game, but it needs the game to be on to study either. So, to give you a fun final challenge, it creates Pizza Party.

It doesn't make sense. Corridors connect to each other in strange ways, bits and pieces of every single minigame are strewn about randomly, with characters only doing the simplest of actions (Chica going for a pizza, Marionette sitting in its box, Springtrap standing in a doorway, etc.) All of this leads to that finale we all know and love; taking Freddy's place on stage.

And here is where the first thing relevant to Ruin comes into play.

One thing from this ending dialogue doesn't match up. It's in that third image.

The narrator refers to himself in the first person.

Now forgive me if I'm wrong, but he has NEVER done that in this game before. It's always "we" or "Fazbear Entertainment". Never "I", or in this case "my". It even replicates the exact phrasing and structure of the sentence before it, it's the same sentence. This is the Mimic.

And here's the proof;

2. It literally does the exact same thing in Ruin (aka: how it affected the VANNI system)

Now, those of you who have played Ruin may have noticed that, in certain dialogues, Helpi looks...different.

Points where Helpi is yellow seem to indicate times when the Mimic is manipulating what it says (anything that tells Cassie how to shut down the security, anything that gets her deeper into the Pizzaplex. Helpi only goes back to blue to clarify what it said to keep her safe while doing it).

But there's one other thing that's different

Just look at all of those instances of first person language.

And, in case you're wondering, Helpi NEVER does this

Helpi talks in a very corporate way, always only referring to Cassie herself. Helpi isn't a character, it's a tutorial program.

This implies one really huge thing: The Mimic has access to the VANNI network and what it can do. It's using this to push Cassie further into the Pizzaplex, but there's also one thing in particular it's connected to.

3. The Mimic learned how to splice together sentences after connecting to the VANNI network

As stated before, the Glitchtrap in Help Wanted is heavily implied to be the Mimic (there is SO much more evidence I didn't touch on) but the most important part was what I stated before: It was using dialogue from other people to make its own sentences. But not in the same way it does in Ruin.

In Help Wanted, ALL of the dialogue implied to be from the Mimic is direct sentences it has taken in their entirety. It's not making something new, it's just repeating back what it's heard. That's clearly not the case in Ruin, it's talking all the time! It's able to instruct Cassie on what to do!

But, all of the things it says are bits and pieces from Gregory's dialogue in Security Breach. ALL of it. It just learned, through Helpi and the VANNI system, how to start piecing together its own sentences that still make sense. In fact, you can hear it very clearly right when you get towards Roxy Raceway, and Gregory announces he "finally has a clear signal", one that lets you hear exactly where all those cuts in the dialogue are happening.

Almost immediately after you deactivate Roxy, you get this popup

After this happens, there are only a few things the Mimic says to you.

All of these are direct 1 to 1 quotes that Gregory himself has said in Security Breach. (The exception being Cassie's name, but the Mimic would have had to heard him say it at some point in the first place to have been using it all this time)

As soon as the VANNI network became disconnected, the Mimic no longer had access to what it was using to splice together audio.

The fact that "you saved me!" is said differently twice is even proven by Help Wanted where, even though the line it copies in that ending dialogue is just said again, it's delivered differently.

Which leads to the ENTIRE point of this post: the Mimic did NOT interrupt Gregory in the elevator.

It has been proven even without all of this in-game that the Mimic isn't quite that good at fully replicating things yet. You can hear the splices as soon as you get close enough to it, it even points out that it finally has a clear signal, which was the reason Cassie never noticed before. Not to mention that Gregory never said anything like his speech before. None of that dialogue was in Security Breach.

None of the elevator speech was the Mimic. That was all Gregory.

[a-la-campanella]

Diamond and the Ten Stonehearts; who are they?

This was going to be part of a more comprehensive post about the Myriad Celestia IPC video, but fuck it, I've been scratching my head over this for hours now.

The Ten Stonehearts represents ten members of the IPC, led by Diamond. We know a few things about Diamond courtesy of this text. ->

This is from a larger post about the IPC, posted here. (According to the note left on Diamond's fandom wiki page, there was an official English translation, but it seems to have been deleted now.) Regardless, here's a translation for the above:

The Strategic Investment Department possesses the corporation's second-most long-term vision, and their investments are never constrained by short-term returns.

The investment department established an elite organization(1) of "Non-Performing Asset Liquidation Specialists" led by the mysterious supervisor "Diamond", one the few confirmed Emanator of Preservation leaders. They travel around the universe, actively liquidating lands with bad debts(2) produced by the Cancer of All Worlds.

Something to note, 使团 (which I translated as an organization above) refers to specifically a diplomatic corps or mission, like something more along the lines of an ambassador or representative for foreign relations.

It's basically the Topaz in Future Market situation. That's their job.

Note: I used a dictionary for most of the above translation, so it's a very literal reading on the text. My Chinese isn't good enough to translate this alone.

We can infer that the so-called Specialists probably refers to the Ten Stonehearts and maybe some other members of the IPC, or at bare minimum there's some level of overlap between these Specialists and the Ten Stonehearts. There's a reason Topaz was sent to Jarilo-VI instead of some low-ranking grunt, and those kinds of projects tend to be managed by people who can pull rank.

So we can confirm Diamond's the leader, and we assume to know what the Ten Stonehearts do. What else?

In the Myriad Celestia Trailer about the IPC (or what I like to call the IPC Recruitment video), we get an overview of how the IPC works and the different departments within it. We also get to see the gem representations of the Ten Stonehearts when the video starts talking about the Strategic Investment Department. What Owlbert says isn't important, he's talking fluff for the most part. What is important is what we're shown.

The picture on the left is cropped from before the person in the video picks up the gems. The one on the right is from after the gems are thrown, which is the image everyone else I've seen has been using.

But if you count these, there's nine gems before they get picked up, and eight after they're thrown.

I tried to match the numbers in both pictures to keep track of which gems were which, based on their colors and shapes.

Next train of thought: what's with the 9th gem?

A few theories, speculations, whatever you want to call it:

The boring answer: the producers working on this video straight up forgot about it. I find this hard to believe given the company's track record with lore in general.

It's hidden behind one of the other gems. I'm also skeptical of this answer, mostly because when you go frame by frame, it's still only eight gems, no ninth one. Besides, the only gem big enough to cover the missing one completely is the diamond, and for what reason? All the other gems are on display, why hide one?

Or? It's supposed to be missing.

In that case, why?

Whoever that gem is supposed to be is being withheld from working by the IPC board directly. The big guy who holds all the gems got to choose which ones to toss into the world, after all.

The person behind that gem is actually gone. Like, they no longer exist. Maybe it's a Garden of Recollection moment or something more sinister, or they woke up and decided to leave the IPC one day.

My friend's answer: that gem represents Topaz. She was, after all, demoted after her failure in Jarilo-VI. I personally don't believe that would've kicked her off the Ten Stonehearts group, but this is still worth considering.

There's more things we can consider, but this is what I think so far.

And what about number 10, the last gem?

I'm inclined believe it's actually represented by this heart-shaped gem seen right after the zoom-in on the diamond, in the Talent Motivation Department. It's literally a (gem)stoneheart. This one could not be any more obvious. Why are they here and not with the Strategic Investment Department? No fucking clue. Nobody said outright that all Ten Stonehearts had to be from the same department, I guess(?)...

We see the heart gem throughout the Talent Motivation Department section, so they're probably a big name in that part of the IPC. There's not much else to say here; we don't know enough to make any decisive comments and the readables about the Talent Motivation Department are rather scarce.

Fun fact, I guess! The two heads of the Talent Motivation Department? One of them named Yan Shiluo. Yan Shiluo is also the name of a cult leader in Honkai Impact 3rd. The more you know!

...that honestly isn't relevant to HSR players, since Yanqing was a rotten old man in HI3 and he becomes some Guy in HSR.

[cessmaga]

My own take on genshin impact vision meanings

(aka my oversimplified versions of my understanding of it cuz I suck at explaining things)

disclaimer, these are just my own interpretation and every knowledge of vision I know, and yeah I might oversimplified some of it

(thank goodness I finally wrote all of these they are basically running in my mind for a while now)

Hydro Vision

I can't explain this properly but I think hydro reflects on something for their goal

It's basically like a water rippling, everything you do always has some reaction to it, so basically you have to do what's best for it

Anemo Vision

Anemo confront something holding back to achieve their goal

they basically need to let go of something holding them back, they need to confront it in order to choose their own path, finally setting the thing they want to achieve or desire, basically finally free as a wind

Pyro Vision

I think they use their biggest strength to achieve their goal

they know their strength, and they know they can use it to achieve a certain goal or desire

Geo Vision

they are basically devoted and determined to achieve their goal

they are determined and devoted to doing what they need to do, it's like a "set in stone"

Electro Vision

I think they "change their reality" or "stay to their reality" to achieve their goal

they need what they need to do to "change" something in order to achieve something or "stay" to something despite the possibilities

Dendro Vision

they basically follow their heart and themselves to achieve their goal

they follow their instinct to do what is the best, and even if it's "illogical or nonsensical" to achieve their goal

they make a difference if they stay true to themselves

Cryo Vision

so basically they confront or prove their inner self to achieve their goal

(the most doozy here lol) but in order to achieve their goal they have to face their inner conflict, or prove themselves to get to where they want

[ask-the-totally-real-peppino]

Hello there! I just wanted to quickly pop in to say that I really like your version of Fake Peppino, and I wanted to quickly share one of my little theories/headcanons for him! With that being said, here is said theory/headcanon of mine:

So, back when Pep was still Bruno, Bruno's wife, who we'll just call uhhh- "Mary" for now, was a big fan of the color of pink. Mary's reasoning for her love of pink was simple: "Pink is the color of joy!" As she would say, "It helps spread happiness and love among others!". Now, back in the present day, Pep obviously doesn't quite remember his past life as Bruno or his wife Mary anymore, however... Occasionally, when Pep see's the color pink, he will sometimes hear a women's voice in his head, however he can never quite tell what it is that she's saying, as her voice is always distance and muffled. It really confuses Pep when it happens, cause he doesn't recall ever hearing anyone that sounds like her, yet somehow, her... Her voice is so incredibly familiar to him, and he just can't figure out why.

I’m sure this isn’t the best or the most interesting theory/headcanon you’ve heard, but I still thought maybe you’d enjoy seeing it

(Wehhh, that's so sweet, but also very sad! I think bittersweet is the word for it! I had to doodle a little something to go with it!)