#gnostic chorus

[sachan33]

The Gnostic Chorus IS about the twins???

So I was watching the Gnostic Chorus cutscene again on YouTube when I came across this comment:

(Cut out the username just in case, but if this is you, let me know!)

And it makes SO MUCH SENSE

Of course, this is only a theory, and probably has gaping holes, but if you're willing to go down this rabbit hole with me, then let's GOOO Let's break it down!

The story opens with a "glorious kingdom from the heavens." This is likely referring to the travelers' journeying across the stars.

The first heir shown in the teaser looks female. As we know from other promotional videos, Aether is typically shown as the protagonist, while Lumine has been put in the antagonist role The Kingdom of Darkness is likely Khaenri'ah, where your sibling first appears in Teyvat.

In this shot, we see a serpent wrapped around a shell holding a pearl:

Looks a little like a certain place we know about now, doesn't it?

And who is the god that brought these people back up to the surface?

The big snek himself: Orobashi. The same god who got himself into some shit when he found a little book called Before Sun and Moon. The book that revealed the truth about the world that Celestia didn't want anyone knowing about.

It's also worth noting that in that shot of the serpent in the Gnostic Chorus, the serpent has two different colored eyes: one red and one purple. Both of these colors have been used in some sort of abyssal corruption:

Now here's where things get interesting.

Both your sibling and Nahida have confirmed that they had made their way through Teyvat already:

Now let's circle back around a little bit to the Irminsul tree. We know that your twin has record of being in Teyvat, but you do not:

Your twin arrived in Khaenri'ah, survived the disaster, woke you up, the two of you tried to escape, and you woke up 500 years later. Nahida confirms this timeline, and also has this to say:

You suspect this might have something to do with the Abyss, which may have had something to do with your twin being "deceived" in the story:

It could be possible the Abyss has warped her fate, and led her on the path to lead the Abyss Order (AKA former Khaenri'ah citizens). If we believe Khaenri'ah to be the Kingdom of Darkness, this would add up. FINALLY we come to the very last part of the story:

If we are to go along with the theory that this story is indeed about you and your twin, obviously that second heir is you. And it is you that can rewrite the fate of your sibling and likely the entirety of Teyvat:

That brings us to one question...if the Gnostic Chorus is a backup for the traveling twins, who was the one to make it? Well...

Whose voice is narrating the story?

--- A quick note: The Gnostic Chorus originally premiered as a story teaser before the release of the game. Since Aether is traditionally used in the promos/marketing, the perceived gender of the characters in the story would be a reflection of that. Therefore, this theory could still apply if you picked Lumine.

[reginrokkr]

I'm tempted to alter the background concerning Dain's life prior to his descent to Khaenri'ah, as I feel like it's a bit everywhere due to having multiple elements I want to adhere but never put them in a seamless order that would make sense.

[teyvat-writer]

*Genshin Updates*

I don't know what it was about 100%ing the Aranara quest lines but it put me in Genshin RETIREMENT.

Only logging into to do my daily quests for primos, and doing the bare minimum to complete events for primos.

So I am just barely in the desert part of the Sumeru quests. I have not even SEEN Hat Guy even though he has long been added to my Pokemon collection.

And don't even look at my map completion, 😭 it died when I 100%ed Enkanomiya.

But...

BuT!

BUT!

Fountain spoilers dropped and I saw my MAN, my HUSBAND, the very being that got me to download Genshin in the first place!

Was getting his rerun in 4.0!

The pedal to the MEDAL.

Grinding all the events. 100%ing the chests and tickets in Mirage. Last two hours I was exploring and finishing the new enemies and resources event.

(Though figuring out how to fight the Mecha dancing couple boss had me confused, and it's only been a few hours so theres nothing online. You have to go ask the nearby guy with the camera to fight them.)

(Also considering I'm not up to date with the main story it was ten minutes of climbing the tower to get to the first waypoint since I assume getting in had to do with the main quest.)

I went from literally 0 limited wishes to 33, and I have all the Sumeru exploration, the onion, some hangouts, and the quests to build more wishes. We'll see how much I can squish in a month.

He WiLL BE mINe! 🥰😶

🦊

The way I've got 100% entirety of Sumeru... bro you are living more than I am I don't touch grass /j

Ngl I saw the meka couple and um... I immediately ran into the arena to fight them....

Anyhow, good luck comrade, may the odds be ever in your favour!

[anilyan]

Venti is Phanes + on Istaroth and the Primordial One

Not so crack theory: Venti is Phanes and is the androgynous being born from the Chymical Marriage between the Primordial One and Istaroth, before she was betrayed by the Sinners

(I posted this before but now it's properly explained)

I am using this lore in my old mondstadt fic, Nameless (actually soon to turn into trilogy, since vol 2 is about venti rewinding time and vol 3 is present time story and I took so long to plan all the lore with all the canon crumbs and theories we had...)

Yes, a lot of the info about gods is pulled from wikipedia, I’m not being paid to research more, okay? I just want to feed the brainrot. My main sources besides those are the videos listed at the end.

I would love if this theory made its way to some big lore content creator for them to analyse and criticize, because I have been rotating this in my head but I don’t have their capacity or knowledge to tear this apart.

NOTES:

This post contain minimal mentions of 2 leaks, about the rest of the collection of The Pale Princess and the Six Pygmies, and a sus minimal old leak about Venti

This post contains some references to the Penacony arc from Honkai star rail, but no knowledge about the game is required and in fact, I don't even play it myself and those are just sus parallels

0. Summary / main points

Istaroth and the Primordial One parallel Chronos (personification of time) and Ananke (most powerful dictator of Fate and mother of The Fates/Moirai), respectively.

Chronos and Ananke laid down the cosmic / orphic world that created/reshaped the world. In a way, that was an Alchemical Marriage, that also gave birth to the androgynous winged being Phanes/Venti, and to the Abyss,

Venti has many ties to fate, including extensive apple symbology visible even in wisp form. The apples, besides being a symbol of fate, also represent a dream bubble in accordance to the structure of Teyvat. Quoting his most sus birthday art, “It is written that there is a whole tiny world hidden inside an apple core”

Venti has at least some control over 1 half of Teyvat while the other half is ruled by The Night Mother/Nyx. He also offers us half of the apple in the mentioned birthday art.

Ananke was a serpent-like being, and we see a Black Serpent 1) coiled around Phanes 2) coiled around the pearl/cosmic egg in the Gnostic Chorus 3) in the Black Serpent Knights, who also had Ishtar/Istaroth’s star as a symbol 4) In Nibelung, if we consider serpents and dragons the same

Istaroth supported Khaenri’ah (thus why the Nation had her symbol) and both opposed the Heavenly Principles/Celestia, until she was betrayed by the Sinners/6 Pygmies and forgotten

The Primordial One was opposed by Celestia. We also know that Nibelung fought Celestia. They were either allies or even the same being (a black serpent), and their perceived opposition is not too different from how Remus went down misinterpreted by history

1. About the Primordial One

In case it’s not yet clear, this assumes that Phanes =/= Primordial One. After all, the book Before the Sun and Moon simply says that “The Primordial One may have been Phanes*”,* and the fandom just started equating the two.

I am of the opinion that the Primordial One and Celestia are in opposition, while Istaroth is on the side of the Primordial One, or at least opposed to Celestia too. Maybe the Alchemical Marriage was part of a plan of theirs. Read more about it in section 3.

And if the truth about Remuria taught us anything, is that some rivalries depicted in history are false. In the same way Remus went down as a Tyrant when in reality he never wanted to employ force and was even allied with Sybilla (a vishap), I would say that the Primordial One and Nibelung/dragons/vishaps probably found ways to coexist. We do know that Nibelung went to war against the Heavenly Principles/Celestia, but if Celestia and Primordial One opposed each other, that just makes an alliance between PO and the Dragon King more likely.

We don’t know if Primordial One = 1st Descender and Celestia = 2nd Descender, so I will avoid using those terms throughout the post. But if the 2nd who came = 2nd Descender = Celestia, then that would lend further credibility to the idea that Celestia and the PO are on opposing sides, since the 2nd who came basically stole PO’s ruling of Teyvat.

2. About Istaroth AND Khaenri’ah

Like I said above, I believe that Istaroth sides with the Primordial One and that both are in opposition to Celestia

Istaroth has the ability to create alt Looms of Fate through those seeds she gives away - those basically grow into trees that are databases of history outside the control of Celestia. I had already affirmed this for my fic before we got the 2nd Caribert quest, but at this point is practically confirmed.

Istaroth is based on Astaroth and Ishtar, and Ishtar’s morning star is an 8-pointed star just like the symbol of Khaenri’ah. And so the Black Serpent Nights probably served Istaroth in some way.

Khaenri’ah supposedly didn’t have a god, but let’s keep in mind Istaroth was forgotten by time. It’s also possible that, even if Khaenri’ah had a god, they still considered themselves the pride of humankind since Istaroth likely wasn’t associated with Celestia, as I mentioned

Speaking of Black Serpents, other prevalent Black serpents are the one in the Gnostic Chorus, and Nibelung, in a way (not sure if they are or not the same entity). So I would say that Nibelung is/was also allied with Khaenri’ah/Istaroth/Primordial One. Please refer to the section above for an explanation.

The 6 Pygmies and the Pale Princess is a book that is an allegory for the 5 Sinners of Khaenri’ah + Dainsleif and Istaroth. I include, at the end, a video that explains that properly and is very much worth the watch. From there (or at least, from the leaked volumes), we know that the Sinners basically betrayed Istaroth, which might explain why she ended up being forgotten and why Dainsleif is the only Pygmie that didn’t go fully down the Sinner’s path.

3. The relationship between the Primordial One and Istaroth

Like I say above, many things point to them being allied. At the very least, we can quite safely infer they both opposed Celestia/The Heavenly Principles and in turn allied with Khaenri’ah.

The cosmic/ orphic/world egg was created by Chronos (personification of time) and Ananke (most powerful dictator of Fate and mother of The Fates/Moirai). “Ananke and Chronos are mates, mingling together in serpent form as a tie around the universe. Together, they have crushed the primal egg of creation of which constituent parts became earth, heaven and sea to form the ordered universe.”

Ananke and Chronos have to be the PO and Istaroth - which one is which is a bit debatable, with their genders being a counterargument on its own. But I would say Chronos is Istaroth (due to her associations with time, although she is more a god of moments than of time) while Ananke is the Primordial One (who had the 3 moon sisters/moirai as shades + is probably the Dreamer/HSR’s SUNday parallel who plays the symphony that creates the fates reflected by the moons (read more in next section)).

The cosmic egg that birthed the world, together with the Abyss AND Venti, probably resulted from their Alchemical Marriage. I wouldn’t be too surprised if it was also the Gnostic Pearl depicted in the Gnostic Chorus cutscene, or even if the Black Serpent there was Ananke/Primordial One. In fact, that would only solidify the connections with the Black Serpent Knights and them wearing Istaroth’s symbol. And it would be extra funny if somehow the Primordial One and Nibelung were the same entity (since I already explained why I think they were are least on the same side)… and therefore were a black serpent/dragon.

Okay, but what is an Alchemical/Chymical Marriage? It’s a marriage between a Red King and a White Queen, the Sun and the Moon, gold and silver, sulphur and mercury. It’s sometimes pointed as the source of the Philosophers' Stone, and from that union of opposites is birthed an androgynous being. Btw, that marriage is facilitated by a dove, but this is off-topic and you can see why that is interesting in the last video linked. It’s also a process that sometimes involves ‘fermentation”, which is also off-topic but ties well with the wine-making process and other things mentioned in the last video too.

According to Jakob: "The Seal of Chymical Marriage was an ancient Fontainian ritual meant to seal off the source of life. Now it has been reversed, and all has been set free once more!" So, it can be used to separate the Primordial Sea from the world, which sounds similar to creating a world/pearl/philosopher’s stone/egg/dream bubble that floats in the sea of quanta or wtv is the logic used across Hoyoverse’s worlds. We confirm again this was necessary to create Teyvat's egg, and that the Primordial One couldn’t do it alone because two people are required for a marriage.

And do you know what Marriages also require? A ring. Who was escaping with a golden ring, that is an important figure of Khaenri’ah and the only Pygmy who didn’t act like the others/didn’t become a Sinner? Dainsleif, whose constellation is even a Serpent ring. May I point to the Das Rheinegold music drama, that is part of the series The Ring of Nibelung, and maybe use that as extra merit to associate the Primordial One with Nibelung?

4. About the world of Teyvat

Dragons = Vishaps = Sea slugs = Bees = Seelies. Yes. We already know that the the dragons and seelies in Genshin are based on irl sea slugs, I won’t elaborate on that. As for Bees, that is because we have seelie-like bees in Remuria, connected to the prophet Golden-Bee Sybilla (don’t mistake Sybilla with Sylla, who is a Dragon King, although I guess this is all the same family)

Teyvat is theoretically 2 worlds/halves, the version we know and the mirror world, that is probably the Abyss. Or maybe all of it is a mirror world, idk. We can even see similar world structures in Honkai Star Rail, especially in Penacony, where the world there is literally mirrored and a dream too. Some people say Teyvat is divided in 3 parts: the Light Realm, Void Realm, and the Human Realm. But I think the Pimordial One just transformed the Light Realm into the Human Realm, so there are still 2 parts only, and we know they can overlap anyway.

Cycle: People die » are absorbed by the roots » are supposed to travel to the top of the world tree (inverted, so top is in abyss) to become Irminsul fruit / stars » said stars form constellations that determine people's fate, or more accurately, since they are all in a dream, are data that allows the tree to predict their fates » it’s because people exist as stars that their fates and presence can be summoned in the form of shooting stars

Dainsleif confirmed that the leylines can be woven to determine Fate / have their records changed. The Loom used to weave them is a Symphony, or in other words, Remus’ Symphony of Fate is very similar or the same thing as a Loom of Fate, although maybe not at the same scale. It’s possible that other God-Kings also attempted to create their own Looms of Fate.

Add to that some Penacony’s parallels, and you can infer that the Symphony is controlled in a floating palace, that is actually a Grande Theater, by the Sun(day) (potentially Phanes or the Primordial One, basically the one who Dreams), and it’s reflected by the moons (Aria, Sonnet and Canon, so the musical associations are fitting). Considering that the 3 moon sisters are also probably the mythological Moirai who weave Fate, yeah, that tracks.

5. Finally, about Venti

Addressing the Venti is/isn’t the weakest Archon debate: Idk and I don’t quite care, because regardless of how much power he holds now, this theory is about his origins and role more than anything.

Venti is the one narrating the Gnostic Chorus cutscene, so clearly he knows about the origins of Teyvat and other important stuff. Yes, it can just be because of his ties to Istaroth who had the winds of time and bla bla, but I would say he has a bigger involvement.

In the Gnostic Chorus, there is a Black serpent, and I already mentioned how it ties with Khaenri’ah and Istaroth in the second section. Well, Phanes is a figure that has a serpent coiled around him too, Ananke, to be more precise.

Phanes was believed to have hatched from the egg of Chronos and Ananke (Istaroth and PO, section 3), OR Nyx in the form of a black bird and wind, OR from the cosmic /orphic egg placed in and hatched from Aether, who was the personification of the bright upper sky and another son of Chronos. Regardless, it seems like the egg birthed both Phanes AND the world?

Phanes is described sometimes as male, sometimes as androgynous. I don’t need to explain how that fits Venti. The androgynous part also fits with how a being born from an Alchemical Marriage should be androgynous due to being an union of opposites.

Phanes is also described has having wings and a crown. We are yet to see a crown, but at least the angel wings are there.

Some myths say that Phanes was Dionysus (god of wine… amongst other things), or Eros (god of love, yes I’m simplifying), and oh boy isn’t Venti the god of all of that too? Although this is complicated since it has to do with gods being iterations of past gods and such, you can read more about it here

In a certain play, after Phanes mates with Chaos, he creates flying creatures. It would also fit Venti well, especially given that tale from Amber’s Quest where he taught birds how to fly.

Okay, this gets less obvious now. Phanes is a first-born deity who emerged from the abyss and gave birth to the universe, and is a god of creation, light and goodness. The Abyss part is extra intriguing because the world has an abyss half, and some in-game books even compare wine with the Abyss, and also with the idea that drinking the abyss/wine is a way to acquire Forbidden Knowledge. Please, check the last video I link.

Phanes counterpart is Nyx (Night). In some tales she is Phane’s wife, sometimes his daughter, and in others she creates an egg from which Phanes is born, so wtv. I don’t know who Nyx is (besides being clearly The Night Mother from the book of the Six Pygmies), but it’s pretty clear that the Abyss half is under her responsibility in some way.

Oh, right, this was a sus leak that broke my mind months ago and seemed completely nonsensical, but since I started cooking this theory, I can’t help but look back at it. It claimed that Venti was the guide of the Primordial One. Humm… yeah, if Venti was part of a plan between Istaroth and PO, I can see that, although I don’t know what the goal could be. Maybe he is assuming Istaroth’s role now that she is gone in supporting the PO?

This is a very wild guess, but I really thing Venti has something to do with the Gnostic Pearl. Idk if that pearl is the same one that hatched the world, or something that holds the world together (think Mikha from HSR), but I can imagine him having some responsibility over taking care of it.

And if you think Venti holding Fate in his hands is a stretch… let’s talk about Apples. Especially in anime, Apples are often depicted as the fruit of Fate (look no further than Mawaru Penguindrum), and in Inazuma, the girl giving Fortune Slips is called Gendou Ringo, with Ringo meaning ‘apple’ in Japanese. Well… Mondstadt is a land full of apple trees, Venti loves apple cider and is often asking for apples to pay for his performances, is being given an apple in archon form in one of his birthday arts, created the Golden-Apple Archipelago, and even the top of his head in wisp form resembles an apple stem. Seriously, I go crazy with how many people never noticed that. This is too much in our face to not be relevant.

This sounds like a stretch, but apples are round and so the shape is not too different from a dream bubble. And do you know what the birthday art I mentioned had in the caption? “It is written that there is a whole tiny world hidden inside an apple core. Here, this half is for you. Let's take a stroll in the tiny little world. But remember to keep it a secret because... you're the only one I want to bring there.” If he isn’t holding Fate or a world in some way, then I don’t know what this is supposed to mean.

You know how I said that Teyvat is divided into 2 halves? That also connects well with his quote (when he gives us half of the apple/world), and with the idea that Phanes is the day while Nyx is the night. So maybe Venti is responsible for the half of Teyvat that we know/he gave us while Nyx is responsible for the Abyss side.

So… is there any proof that Venti is Phanes? No. Are there many many sus elements about him and connections with the things I listed? Yes. I could see the Traveler being Phanes and being entrusted the Light/Human half of Teyvat by Venti as a scenario just as likely, especially if The Abyss sibling ends up being/becoming Nyx, but I like this version more xD

But even if the main theory ends up being wrong, I hope people you got some things to think about.

Some videos for extra lore, more a less in order of relevance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZIR-tfzfd4 » Reinterpretation of all volumes of the Six Pygmies and the Pale Princess in light of finding out about the 5 Sinners of Khaenri’ah + Dain + connections of Istaroth with Khaenri’ah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK3xYKtUniQ » More about the connections between Istaroth and Khaenri’ah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePjY4c0Rj0k » Elaborates on how a Loom of Fate is basically another database, as opposed to the Irminsul, and mentios how Istaroth can could create several Looms of Fate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAm9uElsKd4 » Parallels with the Penacony arc from Honkai Start Rail and list of evidences that Teyvat is a Dream bubble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhST-fz6Yps » Video is from before we learned about the 5 Sinners, and I’m not fully sold on the chronology, but I still think it does a good job at elaborating n the serpent thing from the gnostic chorus and other things we can infer about genshin thanks to parallels to Penacony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHCv8KFdL6M&t=1045s » Ties sacramental bread and blood with wine and the way wisdom/abilities can be passed down thrown ingesting parts of gods, and the concept of fairy rings and The Ring of Nibelung, with the concept of a Chemical Marriage.

[nejackdaw]

Okay I haven't talked about Judas OR the Judas album in a while so I'm going to share this analysis I finally placed and I'm losing my mind about

In the song Field of Blood (song 5,) the chorus ends with a line I've never quite been able to find a suitable conclusion about. Right. (Putting my rambling under a read more, the screenshots make this long)

Oh, okay, "what is my god," he's having a crisis of faith. Why is God so cruel as to order Jesus be killed (reminder that the album is a mix of biblical and Gnostic canon, where Jesus asked Judas to be the one to betray him.)

WRONG

If we move two tracks ahead in the album to Death is Just a Kiss Away, right before the last chorus we have these lines:

Which is insane! Because this part is actually saying "you have two gods, God and Jesus" (sun and moon, as I'll get to) "and no matter which you choose" (obeying the kill command or refusing to kill Jesus) "you're going to piss everyone off"! Okay now I know, "but where did you get sun and moon/God and Jesus" and HERE I TELL YOU:

Jesus is CONSTANTLY referred to with constellation imagery! (There's a whole song about it!) The Gospel of Judas includes the quotes (from Jesus) "Judas, your star has led you astray" and "the star that leads the way is your star." The album takes this and RUNS with it. Makes Jesus Judas's guiding star. There is SO MUCH night/star symbolism going on here, mostly in Constellation, but also from A World Where we Belong:

SO BASICALLY: considering that Jesus is heavily referred to with night sky imagery and they're literally both referred to as "two moons aligned," it isn't unreasonable to conclude that the line from Just a Kiss Away is in fact talking about God/Jesus. WHICH MEANS

When Judas is about to hang himself and he pleadingly asks "what is my god?"

HE DOESN'T KNOW IF IT'S GOD OR JESUS BECAUSE HE'S FUCKING IN LOVE WITH HIM APNDOANSOANS HE OBEYED GOD BECAUSE HE'S GOD BUT HE'S KILLING HIMSELF OVER JESUS. I HAVE MANY OTHER LINES ABOUT THIS (DEVOTION TO JESUS, NOT GOD) BUT THAT'S A DIFFERENT TOPIC

[mywifeleftme]

363: R.E.M. // Murmur

Murmur R.E.M. 1983, IRS

Some Short, Disconnected Statements on the Matter of Murmur

1. Insert the following into Waring blender

The Velvet Underground, Pylon, the Byrds, Gang of Four, Patti Smith, the Feelies, Joy Division, the Method Actors, Big Star, the dB’s, the Monkees. Press “Blend” button. (I’ve never owned a blender; I don’t know what the buttons say.)

2. Easy formula for a great band

Having one temperamental genius songwriter guy sounds kind of hard to maintain. Have you considered simply getting four people who are really excellent and distinctive at the respective things they do (at least three of them great singers), who all write well, get along, lack substance abuse issues, have good taste, and modest egos? Why don’t more bands do this?

3. Notes on the early discourse

A lot of the things people wrote back in the early ‘80s to champion this band were dumb as hell. R.E.M. weren’t good because they didn’t use keyboards or synths; pop music didn’t need to be returned to its "honest" folk-rock roots; giving them a thumbs up for not wearing flashy clothes and makeup is dork behaviour.

They were good because they made weird music that derived organically from their time (early ‘80s), place (a college town in the South), and selves (bright, independent, adventurous, sincere, ¼ gay).

Anyone who listened to Chronic Town or Murmur, with their post-punky murk and lyrical references to Laocoön and Marat, and thought to themselves, “As yes, the second coming of Roger McGuinn, this will put those effete new wavers to flight,” was an idiot.

4. Veteran of the psychic war

Somewhere around age 22, R.E.M. took over the mantle Metallica had held as My Favourite Band in the World Forever and Ever, and I proceeded to be almost as annoying about them as I had been Hetfield and the boys. I posted a lot about them; rigged “best music” polls on random message boards I didn’t even post on in their favour; cornered people at parties; crowbarred them into playlists; grumpily chose to dislike bands I saw as stealing their shine; etc. etc. Some (some) of this is maybe cute in retrospect, but really: don’t be like this about music. If you love a band this much, learn how to play their songs on an instrument; write a few poems; paint something. Worst case: review them.

5. Learning nothing, 2024

6. Athens: Lyrics & Enunciation

The matter of what exactly Stipe was singing on the early R.E.M. records was a subject of intense speculation, and eventually, parody. Some of the mystery’s in the mixing, some’s in his Georgian accent, and some’s in his enunciation (never quite as mushy as people claimed, but not exactly Ella Fitzgerald either). But most of it’s in the arbitrary decisions he makes with regard to syntax that cause even accurate transcriptions to seem implausible. Stipe is probably a little bit autistic, which goes some way to explaining the impressionistic intuitiveness of his words, and also went to art school, which fetishizes that sort of thing, but he was always shy of people seeing the words to something like “Sitting Still” on the page because he thought he might be exposed as a nincompoop. “Up to par and Katie bars / The kitchen side, but not me in / Sitting top of the big hill / Waste of time sitting still,” goes the chorus, according to at least one gnostic sect, but the important passage is the one everyone agrees on, when the stream of impassioned babble releases into a howled “I can hear you / Can you hear me?”

Later on, when he would sing more clearly over airy arrangements, with the lyrics neatly printed in the booklet, he’d occasionally try one of those old sound-over-sense moves and embarrass himself (“Leaving New York was never my proud” still rankles). But Murmur’s eternal elusiveness is in the way fragments of sense catch your ear from out of its sleeptalk glossolalia:

“The pilgrimage has gained momentum” “Conversation fear” “Lighted, lighted / Laughing in tune” “Hear the howl of the rope / A question” “A perfect circle of acquaintances and friends / Drink another, coin a phrase” “Shaking through / Opportune” “Take oasis” “Heaven assumes / Shoulders high in the room” “Did we miss anything?”

7. Permission to be arbitrary

I remember sitting in the basement of my college house with my old hometown buddy Brad (mostly a metal/classic rock guy), playing him “Shaking Through” and explaining one of the things I love about old R.E.M. is that it’s great music to yell to. I don’t know how much he really got it, but we were drunk and it’s a catchy song, so we howled and made keening, wordless, Stipean noises along with it and the next few until one of my roommates came and asked us to keep it down.

Also: one theory for why cats purr when they’re injured is that the vibrations somehow reduce pain and encourage healing. From many experiences humming these songs while wrapped up in headphones and bedsheets in the middle of a day that’s passing like a kidney stone, I can confirm.

8. Note on the modern discourse: Influence?

Black Francis, Kurt Cobain, Bob Mould, Steve Malkmus, Bob Pollard, and Thom Yorke loved R.E.M. So did, to his own apparent consternation, Metallica’s Cliff Burton. Still, you sit down with someone and listen to those musicians with the goal of showing them the R.E.M. influence (don’t do this, why would you do this?) and it’s honestly pretty oblique. Most of the bands who directly aped aspects of R.E.M.'s early sound were at best pleasantly minor (see Captured Tracks’ Strum & Thrum comp), and the ones who seemed to be listening most closely to their ‘90s efforts were not who you want.

Their ultimate influence was probably simply showing what an art-first, indie-adjacent rock band could accomplish by sticking to their guns and bending the system to their desires instead of being bent by it. They were like a Velvet Underground for the college rock era, except everyone talented who heard them was inspired to start a band that didn’t sound much like them. They always used their spotlight to introduce people to other bands and, when they really got huge, they modeled how to deal with success. There don’t seem to be many R.E.M. stories, Peter Buck’s airplane incident aside, about them being anything other than kind. That’s a fundamentally less exciting type of influence than most other “great” bands have. But I do think it’s kinda cool they were the wise old heads for an entire national movement of alternative music.

8b.

Of course, it still bugs me people don’t think they’re cool. Murmur at least, should be considered cool. And Reckoning, mostly. Chronic Town for sure. Some of Fables. Am I crazy for saying some of Monster and New Adventures even? I’ll stop. I’ll go on.

9(-9). The music

They were a pop band, they were an art band; they sounded like children, and like craggy old men buried in kudzu weed; natural and pretentious; date-stamped and timeless. Decide yourself. Happy 41st birthday Murmur.

363/365

[singeratlarge]

CELEBRATE DAVID BOWIE WEEK + SUNDAY MATINEE MUSIC VIDEO “Starman” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkT9RIujApg We've all been distracted by Messianic figures who start off one way and end up as another, like dress rehearsals for the Second Coming of Christ but gone haywire. Cases in point are the characters of Ziggy Stardust and The Wizard of Oz, hearkened in one of David Bowie’s greatest songs, the power pop anthem “Starman.” The song was the last to be added to Bowie’s landmark 1972 album, ZIGGY STARDUST & THE SPIDERS FROM MARS. The album needed a single and, almost as an afterthought, Bowie came up with “Starman”, refashioning the chorus of “Over the Rainbow” with motifs borrowed from Blue Mink’s “Melting Pot,” The Supremes “You Keep Me Hanging On,” and T. Rex’s “Hot Love” and “Telegram Sam.” “Starman” unified the album concept and gave Ziggy a proper introduction—an androgynous alien sent as a savior to a dystopian Earth. 

The Ziggy persona was a composite of Marc Bolan, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, and Vince Taylor, the English singer who’d had a mental breakdown and thought he was half-alien and half-Christ. Bowie identified Ziggy with Jung-ian neologisms and Gnostic syzygy. Add glitter and outrageous fashions and Ziggy, “a character like someone from Mars,” was born. He was an extension of characters and personas Bowie had been creating since “Space Oddity” in 1969. On June 15th, 1972, Bowie & The Spiders From Mars performed “Starman” on a Granada TV’s British children’s music program, underlining “Starman’s” kid appeal (no wonder “Starman” resurfaced in 2022’s movie trailer for “Buzz Lightyear”). Then on July 5th, 1972, Bowie & band performed “Starman” on BBC’s Top of the Pops. It became one of the most influential TV broadcasts in rock history. Scores of young Brits saw it and cite it as a turning point in their lives. Revisiting it today reminds me of the feelings of emotional certainty and direction Bowie’s music gave to me when I was troubled young person.

#davidbowie #starman #ziggystardust #wizardofoz #bluemink #supremes #trex #marcbolan #iggypop #loureed #vincetaylor #johnnyjblair #Christ #messiah #mars #granada #celebrate #buzzlightyear

[drogba-prospect]

Angels When She Shuts Her Eyes - Mac Miller (Official Audio)

"Angels (When She Shuts Her Eyes)" by Mac Miller delves into the complexities of love and the intoxicating effects it can have on an individual. The song captures the artist's vulnerabilities and desires while contemplating the uncertainty and potential risks involved in a romantic relationship.

In the first verse, Mac Miller reveals his struggles with addiction and the dichotomy between wanting to clean up his life and indulging in his vices. He acknowledges the pain and difficulty of his past, as well as the lost vision he once had for his future.

The pre-chorus expresses the allure of a particular woman in his life who serves as his source of comfort and escape from his emotional lows. She is portrayed as someone who can lift him up when he feels down and provides a sense of tranquility. The reference to filling his cup with purple implies the consumption of codeine, a common ingredient in the recreational drug cocktail known as "lean." However, it may also symbolize the purple liquid commonly associated with royalty, highlighting the elevated state he feels when with her.

The chorus emphasizes a plea to the woman not to let go of their intense connection. Mac Miller acknowledges that their love is intense and unpredictable, addicting him in a way that could ultimately be destructive. Despite the potential harm, he warns her of the power love holds and expresses hope for a lasting bond.

In the second verse, the artist reflects on his idealized vision of love and a longing for a soulmate who appreciates him beyond physical attributes. He dreams of a deep connection where they can freely express their feelings and be true to themselves. The lyrics suggest a desire for a love that defies societal expectations and norms.

Overall, "Angels (When She Shuts Her Eyes)" explores the intoxicating nature of love and its potential dangers. It serves as a reminder of the euphoria and vulnerability that come with deep emotional connections.

Acrostics British Gnosticism Manichaeism Biblical Apocrypha: Sylphs Archon of Jupiter, Crown Conjunction; An acrostic is a poem in which the initial letters of each successive line form a word, phrase, or pattern. Phrase 18 Roses: To tell a loved one to stay young and beautiful. (United Kingdom Watchers). We can think of several reasons. (1) It may be an artistic device used to add a certain beauty to the psalm, as rhyme does in our poetry. Forbidden Knowledge From Heaven: Concrete Rose Philosophy (CAAB: Culture, Art, Aesthetic, Bohemian; 5 Senses City, Selective Sensory Development, Distorted Sensory Play, Sensory Overload Asperger's, Culture Antagonist Liberal Arts), County Speech Pharmakeia (Dionysian Mysteries, Sacraments, and Entheogens), Heavenly Ascension, Jupiter’s Secret (Crown Conjunction) and Virilizization Procreation (Martians, Elastic Physique, Iron Biometal Research, Iron and D-asparatic Acid Diet), Tudor Currency, Azrael Covenant of Death and Romance with Roses and Diamonds, YHWH Tudor Rose Angel Syncretism, Tudor Rose Wings Transfer 18 Roses (Spirit Activation). Poetry Theme is Angels (When She Shuts Her Eyes) by Max Miller

Theistic Satanism: Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural entity, or spiritual being worthy of worship or reverence, whom individuals may contact and convene with

Manichaeism teaches an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness.[8]

Archons: They are often depicted as evil, malevolent, and obstacles to spiritual enlightenment. Archons in Gnosticism are believed to be celestial beings responsible for creating and maintaining the physical universe, and are seen as obstacles to spiritual enlightenment. They are often depicted as powerful, malevolent, and deceitful beings that try to keep humanity trapped in the physical world.

Sylphs: "the wild but poetical fantasies”, hyper-urbane, Genius, Sylphs, he says, are rougher, coarser, taller, and stronger, than humans, devils

The Heavenly host (Hebrew: צבאות ṣəḇāʾōṯ, "armies") refers to the army (or host) of Yahweh, as mentioned in both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, as well as other Abrahamic texts.

Spartan women had more rights and enjoyed greater autonomy than women in any other Greek city-state of the Classical Period (5th-4th centuries BCE). Women could inherit property, own land, make business transactions, and were better educated than women in ancient Greece in general. To contemporaries outside of Sparta, Spartan women had a reputation for promiscuity and controlling their husbands. Spartan women could legally own and inherit property, and they were usually better educated than their Athenian counterparts.

Commercialism

A system of Social and economic organization in which financial profit is valued above any other criterion or consideration.

Arsenio Boxing Movement

Aesthetics, Athletics, and Agriculture (Life Drawing Modelling and Tracksuits with Outerwear, Boxing, Agriculture Mediums, Iron Metabolism)

Arsenio Anatomy

For Force-Velocity Curve Replace Power with Elastic for Fascia Type IIx Muscle Fibre with Dynamic Effort Method, Scapular Rings Gymnastics, Long Jump Isometric-Plyometric, Long Jump Isometric-Mobility, Isometric-Dynamic Plank, Long Jump Isometric Stretching, Leucine, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Keto BHB, and Iron Supplements with Lidocaine Numbing Cream and Tramadol Painkiller; Duck, Sheep Dairy, Rabbit, Beans, Spinach, And Potato for Iron Metabolism

Shoulder Roll Brawler

Pocket Fighting and Clinching. Use different Jab and Power Shot Types for Bladed Guard Manipulation for Signature Stance. The shoulder roll is a defensive move in its essence, one you can get to from any position or stance. It allows you to tuck your chin behind your shoulder to avoid your opponent’s punches.

Arsenio Chain Model

Pay-per-view Conglomerate, Magazines with Gyms, Solo Promotion and Teams Demotion Daily Fantasy Sports Rakes and Purses, Boxing Economy Magazines, AgriMediums for Rural Area Commerce, AgInvestors, Life Drawing Modelling and Tracksuits with Outerwear for 1% Class Interaction, British Boxing Museum, Memoir and Documentaries, Brain Donation, Anatomy and Iron Metabolism Meta-analysis

Arsenio Slaps

Heavy Hands; Imagine you are an elastic band wrapped around a pole with the ends out. When the front end is tugged, that's your front hand and reverse front hip rotation. When the back end is tugged, that's your rear hand and reverse back hip rotation. Remember to use Obliques and Lats. Think of this motion as a coil-flex-release. Closed System: A closed system is a physical system that does not allow transfer of matter in or out of the system. Torque: Torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment, moment of force, rotational force or turning effect, depending on the field of study. The concept originated with the studies by Archimedes of the usage of levers. Impulse: impulse is the integral of a force, F, over the time interval, t, for which it acts. Since force is a vector quantity, impulse is also a vector quantity. Impulse applied to an object produces an equivalent vector change in its linear momentum, also in the resultant direction.

Arsenio Mechanics

Stance: Manipulated Shoulder Roll with Distinct Jab and Power Shot Arsenal Footwork: Tap Dance and Gallops, Combo Targets: Body Inverted V and Head with Center Line and Flanks, Combo: Burst Jab Covers Power shots and Jab ends Combo, Footwork: Cross Step and L-Step

Aresnio Boxing Museum

Theatre and Library, Sculpting Modelling (Scapula exercises works Traps and Serratus Anterior), Sculpting Courses, History Exhibit

Aresnio Decentralized Gambling Economy

Pigou Effect, Corporate-Capital Gains Tax Haven, High Stakes Minimum Buy In, Domestic: Boxing, Retirement: Boat Racing, Residency Program for Tax Benefits

Arsenio Magazine Structure

Weight Classes Teams-Boxing Clubs: Promotions (Solo) and Relegation (Teams) Tournaments and Exhibition ex. Team A Welterweight vs Team B Welterweight Relégation Exhibition and Boxer 1 from Team A vs Boxer 1 from Team B Promotions Tournaments

Arsenio Accent

Glottal Stops Consonants and Shwas

18 Roses

[protect-namine]

you know how there's always a dual nature of godhood in genshin where one succeeds the other and is also another face of the other? like makoto and ei, rukkhadevata and nahida, focalors and furina

everyone thinks that venti's other version is the nameless bard but. it really is istaroth, isn't it? god of time and god of wind both being the god of moments/memories?

the way the hexenzirkel likely followed istaroth and later they tried to challenge barbatos but barbatos charmed them to being friends instead. the way mondstadt worshipped both istaroth and barbatos. like, yes, furina and focalors are like jesus (focalors as the divine self and furina as the human self) but the church of favonius is literally like. mondstadt catholicism. venti IS genshin jesus. venti the son (or daughter) and istaroth the mother (as an analogy to the the father, the son, the holy spirit — the holy spirit, in this case, are the Thousand Winds)

my head is just spinning because I saw someone suggest that venti IS genshin. as in, the primordial god, the author of tevyat, and I meannnn it's not impossible, actually? WHO narrates the gnostic chorus/hymn (battle pass intro) and WHO is the one who knows all the songs from past, present, and future, and WHO is the one who gets mentioned in every world quest ever that even the aranaras know the thousand winds (ad oblivione) and even enkanomiya worshipped istaroth

like, maybe it's not venti as he is now, but a former incarnation of him. maybe the author is istaroth and maybe venti is istaroth but also not, the same way that nahida isn't rukkhadevata but also, in a way, is rukkhadevata. memory and identity shenanigans galore, fitting for both the god of wisdom and the god of memories. idk, the idea just seems interesting and totally not impossible

[rapifessor]

Initial Analysis of Baizhu

Well, here we go. Decided I’d take a quick look at Baizhu since we have some details about him from the Version 3.6 beta. So far he looks like a very solid support that can do pretty much anything and might be the premier option for a Dendro character with role compression when he becomes playable.

Elemental Skill

Does a pretty good amount of damage for hitting a total of three times, and also heals your entire party by a pretty significant amount. On top of that this Talent has a pretty low cooldown of only 10s, it’s overall just a really good attack. Hopefully it generates a good amount of particles as well.

Elemental Burst

This one’s pretty unique. It creates shields and heals your active character in addition to dealing damage when the shields break or are refreshed. The shields themselves are interesting as well because they’re pretty weak but since they’re always being regenerated while Baizhu’s burst is active it’s effectively the same as having a really tanky shield. You should get about five or six of them while the burst lasts, and looks like it costs 80 Energy for Baizhu.

Passive Talents

First Ascension passive gives Baizhu 20% more healing for characters below 50% HP and if your active character is above 50% HP, he gets 25% Dendro DMG instead. Pretty nice talent overall, more damage is always better.

Second Ascension passive is where the fun is at. Every 1k HP Baizhu has up to 50k will give the active character 2% more Hyperbloom, Bloom, and Burgeon DMG and 0.8% more Aggravate and Spread DMG when they’re healed by his Elemental Burst. Considering how absurdly broken Hyperbloom is and that you can in theory get a 100% DMG Bonus to it with this Talent, I would not be surprised if this gets nerfed in the beta test because damn that is way too OP.

Lastly, Baizhu has a unique exploration Talent that heals your active character by 2.5% of his HP when they harvest plants in the overworld. I like that this is something new and it’s a nice quality of life feature to keep your team healthy while exploring.

Constellations

As is normally the case with 5-Star characters, Baizhu’s C2 is pretty strong and a good stopping point for players who want to invest in him without going full whale. C1 gives his skill an additional charge, making for a comfier playstyle and enabling more damage and energy for Baizhu. The C2 performs joint attacks with your active party member every 5s, dealing a hefty 300% Dendro DMG and also healing 1/5 the normal amount of Baizhu’s skill.

C4 is a strong supportive Talent, being essentially Collei’s C4 but better as it just gives your team more Elemental Mastery.

Lastly, C6 enables DPS Baizhu and just makes his burst deal a fuckload of damage in general, with added 10% HP scaling and generating more shields which means more damage.

Overall Thoughts

Looking at that second Ascension passive, I get the impression that Baizhu is like Candace but if Candace was done right. If her similar Talent that grants bonus damage based on her HP was more universal than Normal Attack DMG Bonus with her burst, she would have been a much better and much less niche unit.

But yeah, as you can see, he’s pretty fucking stacked. Also I’m sorry, but I just have to add that it really makes you wonder again what the fuck happened with Dehya’s kit when Baizhu is apparently a god. The disparity in power level between the two of them is sobering.

Anyway, I’ll probably be doing a similar post about Kaveh pretty soon. I specifically wanted to look at Baizhu first so I can get an idea of how much I give a shit about him. I’m thinking of pulling for C1 Dehya but I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t burn too many Primogems if Baizhu was a character I wanted, especially since I’ve officially gone free-to-play and have no intention of buying the Gnostic Chorus or Blessing of the Welkin Moon.

[dustedmagazine]

Meatbodies — Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom (In the Red)

Chad Ubovich plays bass in Ty Segall’s Fuzz. He is the source of that band’s monumental churn and buzz, the noisy foundation for Segall’s psychedelic flights of fancy. Here in his own project, Meatbodies, he roils up a similar irresistible undertow, a stomach-vibrating low-end that grounds even his most playful tunes in heaviness.

Undertow is, possibly, the right metaphor, because by all reports, Ubovich fought the abyss to make this record—surviving the pandemic, mental instability, substance abuse, homelessness and an accident that left him unable to walk. He released 333 (“You could draw an upward slanting line from the disc’s snarling, disconsolate opening towards the mystic certainty that fills its later tracks, but the whole journey is worth taking,” said I in my 2021 review.) while still wrestling this material away from his demons. It is a sprawling, roaring, wild beast of an album, a double whose songs largely exceed the pop framework, rampaging forward five, six or seven minutes.

Even the disc’s most concise and lighthearted cuts lean into the gnostic. “Silly Cybin,” psychedelic on at least two counts, rides a catchy, boppy little tune about mushrooms into the whirlwind, amid blustery drums and spiraling, caterwauling guitars. “They Came Down” bristles with distortion, its main riff a dog chasing its tail in circles. But its chorus swaggers into stately view from there, not agitated at all but grand, anthemic and ritual. And “Move” judder to life on a dark echoey bass line, channeling the Wipers at their most apocalyptic, the Obits at their blues-torturing best.

It's all pretty intense, but like Segall, Ubovich looses dreamy psych meditations to float over turbulent distortion. Consider a shipwrecked sailor flailing through rough seas but glimpsing a brilliant sunset as he goes down. The struggle is all-consuming, but it opens out into brighter, freer, calmer vistas. In “The Assignment” slow booming bass riffs sound off amid snaggle-toothed guitar riffs and rolling explosions of drums. But the words dance without a care in an upper register untouched by conflict. “Wiggle your hips and sing all his songs,” Ubovich croons, way up high and there’s a party going on up there.

That, of course, sounds like Ty Segall and you can definitely trace the similarities. Still, this is a powerful piece of work, as serious about the trippy silliness as about the pitch and heave of amp overload. Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom, like its title, is several things at once. It rocks like a hurricane, dreams like a lotus eater.

Jennifer Kelly

[reginrokkr]

Given that I've built a lot of background for Dainsleif over the years I've been writing him, I decided to simplify a bit the description of my portrayal of him to give a more solid direction (instead of merely stating that it's heavily headcanon based with a few canon divergences). This will be updated in the guidelines section both in the blog and the carrd:

Genshin Impact is still an ongoing story and Dainsleif's nature as a potential endgame-heavy character with brief appearances here and there, it's safe to say that my portrayal takes creative liberties with nods towards canon aspects. Furthermore, the baseline for his background is heavily inspired in the Gnostic Chorus (in which he takes part as the younger heir, prince of Celestia, presumably) and the Pale Princess and Six Pygmies book collection, which ties to the former. Creative liberties are taken surrounding these two titles by picking canonical aspects that I think suit him as a result. Lastly, as of now (August 13rd, 2023), this blog is compliant with everything that is solid about Dainsleif —be it due to the Archon Quests he takes part, miscellanies or allusions, namely in Khvarena of Good and Evil— and the few canon divergences I established for him add appearances rather than change things concerning him in canon thus far, as I think that there are certain things that it's more suitable for him to do.

[saetoru]

me when cat doesn’t tell me gnostic chorus includes the gnostic hymn rewards and isn’t just random bonuses and i’m robbed of like 35 fragile resin in all my time of playing

[ilyelan]

am i going insane or did they put the gnostic chorus furniture in the shop this patch

[zerogate]

The most entrancing expression of Jung's attraction to Gnosticism is his own Gnostic myth, the "Seven Sermons to the Dead." As Jung recounts in his autobiography, he composed the piece in three evenings in 1916 in response to the most dramatic of his many parapsychological experiences:

Around five o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday the front door-bell began ringing frantically. It was a bright summer day; the two maids were in the kitchen, from which the open square outside the front door could be seen. Everyone immediately looked to see who was there, but there was no one in sight. I was sitting near the doorbell, and not only heard it but saw it moving.

We all simply stared at one another. The atmosphere was thick, believe me! Then I knew that something had to happen. The whole house was filled as if there were a crowd present, crammed full of spirits. They were packed deep right up to the door, and the air was so thick it was scarcely possible to breathe .... Then they cried out in chorus, "We have come back from Jerusalem where we found not what we sought."

That is the beginning of the Septem Sermones. The composition -- or transcription -- of the Seven Sermons was a response to Jung's "confrontation" with the collective unconscious. That confrontation, which followed his break with Freud in 1912, took the form of dreams, visions, and fantasies as well as the paranormal. Looking back, Jung says that "All my works, all my creative activity, has come from those initial fantasies and dreams which began in 1912, almost fifty years ago. Everything that I accomplished in later life was already contained in them, although at first only in the form of emotions and images."

-- Robert Segal (ed.), The Gnostic Jung

[scarletooyoroi]

xyz genshin things that are stuck in my head.

Contains spoilers to sumeru if you consider the excerpts from artifact sets to be as such. (also like one rhukkadevata and nahida excerpt.)

These two panels wound up changing how I see so many of the stories so incredibly hard in Genshin. In a good way! For the longest time I always wondered what the 'flowery' way of describing things was needed for, as hard cut facts to learn truths would've been great.

To see them tailor purpose into that isn't only a neat concept, but now it makes me come to stare harder towards many events that happened back then.

So conjecture hour here but as I stare back at the Gnostic Chorus, this--

Make me think this particular scene here is an allegorical showing of Teyvat 'The Genesis pearl' and what Forbidden knowledge has supplemented into the world at large. That said however, it becomes a double edged sword to humanity.

That said. Why exactly would I think of this being Teyvat and the power of a knowledge from beyond seemingly infecting the pearl? It'd come from these tidbits.

One from before sun and moon.

Which I believe the clam shell represents within this piece, while the glimmering, shining pearl within being the Elementally rich world of Teyvat, a great source of power.

As for the snake? This 'poison' which has often been talked about being devoured by the world I believe has played a central and key role in the awakening of humanity's power over the course of Teyvat's history. The newest artifact set delves a bit into this.

Why this captures my attention the raw scale it does is how these gods cast from Celestia. King Deshret and the Goddess of Flowers (Who is heavily considered as one of the final survivors of the Seelie curse.) in particular were outcast, living steady in the lands of humanity and beginning to fashion a plan together due to the potential they saw within people. By no means was it a kind plan, it was a path rife with suffering, but also untold strength to be properly awakened as it always slept within people..

What I believe this darkness that saturates the world is an amplifier of igniting a key component of life within humanity. Desire.

This is ultimately would tear humanity away from the days similar to Sal Vindagnyr. Where humanity was instead upon a path where the Divine served as shepards while the humans below being the 'livestock' that only had to follow and obey, never to truly learn outside of what was ordered of them.

That brings in another question. With all of this said, how can Forbidden Knowledge be a positive? That's where the idea of a double edged sword comes in. Ultimately, falling into the midst of this without vastly gained spiritual centers would lead to doom and despair. Its more of a trigger to unlock certain aspects of humanity that were tucked in their deepest recesses.

For instance, we see how Rhukkadevata actually makes a confirmed conjecture that the power of human consciousness/dreams can actually defeat the worst aspects of that power. This was the purpose of the Akasha.

She managed to discover the hidden link of how if Teyvat's current structure can't handle this. People can, and it's through their hidden potential of their own brand of divinity, of consciousness, life, that it can actually be dismantled. The only reason she couldn't cleanse herself is due to being the Avatar of Irminsul. Unlike others who have their memories linked to it. Being a literal embodiment required her destruction.

In the end! I think the Second who Came might've been more of a positive force then what many thoughts and theories made them out to be. With this possibility, it also settles Phanes in a more pondering light as I don't want to play fully into sides just yet with my current perceptions. While I'm waiting for more information as many others--

What really just struck me on this path of thought is watching the progress of society.

How the Sal Vindagnyr era grew up, where this dependency upon the Divine Envoys and prayer ultimately led to them knowing so little if they were led to an answer.

Vs say modern day Liyue, where Rex Lapis's determination to have humanity govern their own future, and by granting them the wisdom, tools and means to handle the test of passing this dangerous mantle, we're coming to see how the current day society if thriving a LOT better I say in comparison.

While far from the most ideal, it's a road that is going somewhere.