#this is mainly speculation

[oh-cool-a-burning-sword]

I'm bored and the Brave Banner's a few days away so... possible predictions?

First possibility I can think of (and kinda hope doesn't happen) is that seeing as 3/4 of the CYL winners primarily use tomes, Instys decides to make everyone on the banner a tome user. I hope this isn't the case cuz I want there to be some variety.

now for what I think each character could be

Robin

For Robin, I think his unit will depend on two things. If they give Corrin Omega Yato, and if this is actually Robin and not Grima stealing another slot. (Grima took F!Robin's Legendary and Rearmed alt, they could do the same to M!Robin).

If Robin gets to use a sword, then it'll most likely be a variant of the Levin Sword. If he's a tome user I can imagine he'd be blue or colorless? Same if he happens to be a dragon unit. I feel like Green'll go to either Soren or Gullveig.

As for his design, had they not given Robin a legendary alt this year I would have said grandmaster. But he has a legendary alt so it's a little up in the air what his Brave Alt'll be. Maybe he'll get a Plegian outfit to represent his past, or a Ylissean outfit to represent his found family.

Or maybe they use this variation of the grandmaster design from the Cypher cards:

Granted, this is only if Robin's not being possessed by Grima. In which case he could look like this:

I'm hoping Grima doesn't steal another Robin slot but you never know.

Gullveig

Gullveig's a weird case. Seeing as she's currently the second Feh OC to win CYL... and she was out for about a month when she won. Back then we barely knew anything about her so it was hard to say what she'd end up like. Though now that we're more than halfway through Book 7's story and we know that Gullveig's the future version of Seidr, I think we have a clearer picture.

I think Gullveig could become a green or colorless tome user. The only reason I'm suggesting Green is because one possibility for Gullveig's design could be putting together some elements of Seidr and Kvasir. Represent all three versions of herself in one?

It's also gonna be kinda interesting if Seidr turns into Gullveig next chapter. Not sure it'll happen but she DID get infected with the Golden Serpents. Imagine if Seidr turns into Brave Gullveig.

Soren

Soren's likely gonna be a tome user, either green or colorless. He COULD be a dagger unit though, as one of his class promotions lets him throw knives. But it's more likely that he'll be tome.

His design varies. I kinda want him to wear something resembling his parents, though I find this to be unlikely as he doesn't know who his parents are. So I think he'll either be a sage, wind mage or an archsage. I feel like Archsage could be more likely though, and if not, then that'll be his legendary alt... if Soren ever gets one.

Corrin

Now Corrin's a bit easier to figure out. There's a 50/50 chance that she'll be either a sword user (and have Omega Yato as her weapon) or a dragon unit (and have something to represent her father Anankos, and she'd likely be a blue unit).

Design wise, there's three possibilities. One could be a design similar to Mikoto, one could be the Hoshidan Noble outfit and the last one Valla monarch. Out of the three, Valla Monarch the most likely outfit, at least in my opinion. Hinoka's legendary design already resembles Mikoto and the Hoshidan Noble outfit should be reserved for Male Corrin should he ever get his legendary alt.

In which case, based off Cypher cards this should be the design.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

how about that uhhhhh Fantasy Julie. she gets her sword <3 no one can take it from her <3

rambles:

SIKE you get an extra, lower quality doodle

SIKE AGAIN here's the rambles

yeah... i caved and gave her a tail... I'm Not Sorry! it's cute! i wanted to stick with her sorta flower motif - it's stronger in her princess look, since I imagine that when she was part of the royals she was very blatantly flower power based. it was her Thing!

but a Julie free of her noble shackles... she deserves her big sword. like yeah, she has flower magic, but who needs it when she has a Giant Blade??? on the royalty vein, and if we're classifying "rainbow monster" as a species, i feel like horn size/curve would be a status symbol of some kind. maybe Julie would have kept her horns filed short. but if she ran away from that life... longer horns! i like to imagine that they'll keep growing until she has a pair of Extra Weapons attached to her head! curved forward like mammoth tusks maybe!

i imagine that like Frank, she goes with minimal armor - range of movement over protection, yk? some scale mail over her front, a thick leather flower over her chest w/ scalloped leather pauldrons, wrist armor and metal knuckles! i'd think that the faux-suspenders include a back sheath for her sword... i wish i'd thought of that Before i finished the little ref! i don't feel like going back and editing!

i imagine that she was forced to cut her hair when it got caught in something (a gelatinous cube, mayhaps). it didn't look good! don't let anime and Mulan fool you! cutting your own hair with a blade will not look nice! but someone - Eddie, probably, he's good with scissors i'd assume - cleaned it up for her. and hey, it didn't look bad! plus, Julie probably liked being able to just tuck up her long strands into her hat when she's feeling a bit more like a Julius than a Julie!

it's been a fun challenge transforming their canon outfits into a similar variation with fantasy flavoring and twists! i want them to suit the setting but still maintain Themselves! Julie's was tough i gotta admit. i was messing around with the princess look and the fighter look side-by-side. it worked better when i sat back and thought "fighter Julie is Julie unrestrained. that version would be more aligned with her canon look"

i wanted her princess form to look Restrained! she has to be a ~delicate flower~, a noble woman, pristine and poised and very much a princess. soft colors, poofy clothing, bright white gloves that are not to be sullied. carefully bundled up hair! jewelry! that dress must be Heavy and hard to move in! her tail must be so cramped under there!

but Julie Unleashed? violent pinks! rose gold accents! short skirt so that she can sprint and Kick! fun boots that she can be active in and delight in watching them get dirty! her hair is free to whip in the wind and get caught in things! fun straps and Deadly Accessories! a sword that she stole from the royal armory on her way out the window! she has forearm wraps both to match Frank and to support her wrists!

[loveyourownsmiilee]

No because I’m so sure we’re gonna have Buck realizing his feelings for Eddie in 7.04 only to get him longing for Eddie in the next episode. We know 7.05 is called “You Don’t Know Me” and if it is in fact based on Ray Charles’ song, then that episode will have a theme of knowing and loving someone who only considers you a friend. A friend who doesn’t know about your feelings for them. So if Eddie does reassure Buck that no one will ever replace him in his life and mentions the term brother, that could very well put an immediate damper on Buck’s feelings. He will immediately realize Eddie won’t feel the same way because he considers him to be family. Then we can very well see Buck trying to deal with the aftermath of discovering these newfound romantic feelings for Eddie only to have to mourn the loss of being able to confess to him about said feelings. Eddie’s in a relationship so clearly it’s not the right chance to come clean about it. He’s also probably not even remotely close to considering Buck in any romantic aspect that Buck knows of. So it’s a missed opportunity on Buck’s behalf and now he has to navigate how to deal with having strong feelings for someone he’s very close to, who doesn’t reciprocate those feelings. At least to his knowledge.

[mandatorypartyy]

how each of the nuwho doctors would play just dance

9: not looking forward to it + rolling eyes + giving sass at first but with each passing dance, absolutely eats it up and you can tell he's having a lot of fun, breaking your highscore each time you show him a new song. the doctor does, in fact, Dance

favorite dance: "everybody needs somebody to love" by the blues brothers

10: takes it WAY too seriously. beats himself up and is sad wet and pathetic if he gets too many missed moves in succession. you have to rub his back after the round ends and you've won for the sixth time in a row, head in hands and saying "maybe it's just not my cup of tea"

favorite dance (more like the only one he even half liked bc he's, like i said, sad wet and pathetic): "just a gigolo" by Louis Prima

11: drunk giraffe on full display. limbs flying everywhere except for fleeting glimpses of coordination, slipping away just as quickly as they came. absolute menace, having the best time of his life

favorite dance: "call me maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen

12: never misses a single golden move. has every one of his favorite dances memorized and will do sections of them on command but only if he's feeling funky (and will only play as funky. that is his player)

favorite dance: "rock lobster" by the B52's

13: on the other hand of nine, enthusiastic about the prospect of the gameplay at very first mention and as the rounds roll by you notice her moves are somewhat messy and clumsy (lovingly) but she grows ever happier to be there bc she's playing a game with you :)

favorite dance: "c'mon" by Ke$ha

[sakura-code]

Nocturnal Detective Agency Age Headcanon

Yakou Furio: Oldest and the father figure and Chief of the Nocturnal Detective Agency. Middle-aged, but that is a pretty ambiguous age-range actually. The prequel novel focused on Yakou did say it took place more than a decade before the game, so his age could be his 30s.

Vivia Twilight: The second oldest and technically the oldest of the five younger detectives. I just think it would be funny that the most unmotivated and laziest is the oldest of the five younger detectives. He is in mid 20s.

Halara Nightmare: The third oldest and actual responsible one (as a detective). They are in their early-mid 20s.

Fubuki Clockford: The fourth oldest of the detectives and one of the younger detective group alongside Yuma and Desuhiko. She is a year older than Desuhiko, and two years older than Yuma. The ambiguity of her age would be 19 to her early 20s.

Desuhiko Thunderbolt: One of the younger members of the detectives. He seems close to Yuma’s age, yet also just a little bit older, so I imagine him to be like a year older than Yuma. So his estimated hc age would be 18-19.

Yuma Kokohead: The youngest of the Agency, and also the leader of the World Detective Organization as Number One. I actually like to believe that Yuma actually recently became Number One a few years prior to Rain Code, and has been training for the role since he was young. It wouldn’t be farfetched from Kodaka since in Danganronpa, some of the Ultimate Students were working already despite still being in high school, and Kyoko join a top neutral detective organization at the age of 13 years old. In-game, he would probably be 17-18 (like if he were in his last year of high school age).

[flipside-phoebe]

I have conflicting feelings on how Frozen Empire is marketing the Spengler family as the new Ghostbusters team. Don't get me wrong, it's great seeing Callie and Gary suit up to bust ghosts with their kids (I'm assuming Gary is basically the stepdad now, even if him and Callie aren't married yet?). I wasn't expecting that and it's a pleasant surprise, but Afterlife gave me the impression that the next generation of Ghostbusters would comprise of Trevor, Phoebe, Podcast and Lucky as the main four. In the most recent promotional pictures and merchandise, Podcast and Lucky aren't featured.

Hopefully Podcast and Lucky still get enough scenes in this film. I'm speculating that the plan is to focus on the Spengler family in Frozen Empire, then shift back to the four teens for the fifth film.

[polrification]

getting this out before I am proven right. contains leaks.

[art-of-wackylurker]

Well hello there, who's up for some fucked up horse?

Hogsteed, ladies and gentlemen. Or Hellspawns, as some might call them...

So yea it's one of the species I'm making up for fanfic purposes as none of the existing creatures in the SW universe (both canon and legends) fit my needs. Also because I'm making up a whole planet as none of the existing ones was just about right for me...

Here's the design, more detailed info will appear later. Somewhere. When I finally get myself to continue writing that fanfic. Yea...

[quibbs126]

Also I’m looking at this screen, and I may be stretching, but some of the creatures here kind of look like Moon Rabbit’s rabbit form. Moon Rabbit from the Dark Cacao Kingdom?

[honkowo]

GUTS POST V1 YIPPEE

---

ok so a lot of this post is labelling and showing off the inner workings of the angels. I'm deliberately leaving out the suuuuper technical details that come with organs and muscles because im not really knowledgable in anatomy stuff (yet) and i mostly just wanted to get my ideas out. just a vague layout so that i(and u guys) better understand angel dimensions and gut stuff yknow?

gif stills under the cut :)

^ bones

^ organs

^ muscles

^ skin

[treecakes]

the. nyanko theory is the funniest. oh yeah why is your. aura. all fucked up natsume? oh my grandpa is a youkai cat and so i’m not fully human :D don’t worry though. point in the nyanko book.

[the-canadian-nerd]

Ok so something that's been on my mind a lot lately is the leaked Ahsoka teaser from way back at Star Wars Celebration. Specifically the scene where we see a small hand reaching for a cup.

Now most people, myself included, strongly believe it's Jacen and that makes sense: Hera has been confirmed via that same leaked trailer and I doubt she's going to be leaving behind one son while searching for the other.

But I want to focus on what's happening in that specific scene; or more accurately what isn't happening.

The cup isn't moving; not even a little bit. At least from what I could tell in the very short and badly recorded clip. But it looks like Jacen is struggling very hard to do this. A simply task that Force sensitive children his age who have been trained would be able to do.

So this could mean a couple of things: a) Jacen hasn't been trained and I could see this being the case. His mom has already lost the two Jedi in her life, within weeks of each other and she's not willing to risk Jacen, especially with the Empire still being a threat at this time, particularly towards Force sensitive children. Or b) Jacen isn't strong enough in the Force to be trained and oh wouldn't that just hurt! He already has so little of a connection to his father, despite sharing many physical features; and he has been so desperate to share something with him, as well as with the missing Jedi who saw him as a father. But he physically cannot.

It will definitely be interesting to see which, if either, of this paths Disney goes with in the series.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

everybody stay with me im shifting back into speculation & analyzing mode, this time about everybody's favorite pair of besties. ill put this under the cut for everyone's sakes

and please, take all of this with a Hefty grain of salt.

so ive been... thinking about a thing. a maybe-possibility. which if this has some merit, the part of me that loves characters having a good time and feeling good feels is screaming in fear. but the louder part of me that loves angst and hurting characters is rubbing its little fly hands together.

short version: i think Barnaby is going to emotionally distance from Wally, if not outright grow to resent him. maybe temporarily, maybe not.

full version: *cracks knuckles* strap in folks. so.

first of all, an entire chunk of Barnaby's bio is dedicated to his character relation to Wally. everyone else only has one-off lines dedicated to their relationships to other neighbors - even Frank & Julie just have single sentences about each other (note that they're described as "partnered with" and "depicted with" respectively. more on that soon). even Wally's bio has his Barnaby mention tacked onto the end of his first paragraph instead of being its own dedicated section

and then there's their character designs - their bios explicitly point out that they share characteristics; color schemes, hearts on their soles, similar outfits.

they were made to be best friends. literally. this quote is what made me start turning this theory over in my mind (sourced from @ /theneighborhoodwatch's collected & absolutely fascinating livestream trivia)

it appears that Barnaby literally did not have a say in whether or not he and Wally are friends. their bios even say "illustrated pages note that they were best friends multiple times." they have to be best friends.

which brings us back to Frank & Julie. they briefly reference each other in their bios, but they aren't described as best friends. it's incredibly likely that they were meant to be a romantic couple - i briefly covered that theory in this post (dont read the first one i was going insane) but they managed to avoid that. Frank and Julie defied the script and chose to be best friends instead.

and then in the trivia document a few more character relationships are briefly touched on, like how Howdy considers Barnaby a close friend, and Sally considers either Barnaby or Poppy as her closest friend, etc.

everyone else seems to be choosing who they're close with. they're forming their own opinions and dynamics and relationships. & its interesting that Barnaby is stated for both of these - as if implying that he may return the friendship feelings, or at the very least he's developed enough of a relationship with them to earn their affection

Barnaby and Wally... i doubt they ever got that. they were best friends from the start, no development, no choice. it's written into them.

and then there's how their relationship has been portrayed so far. i believe i saw an ask where Clown stated that Barnaby is very polite to Wally, which struck me as odd. have you ever had a polite relationship to your best friend? have you ever seen best friends be polite? i'd be surprised!

best friends mess with each other! they tease and rib and roast! what is a best friend for if not mutual tomfuckery?! jesting around? playfully pushing boundaries? a Polite best friendship... that's a straight up oxymoron. no such thing. that sounds boring and exhausting.

not only that, but the fact that Barnaby is often used for Wally's painting segments, and is the go-to guy for teaching Wally something new, is kind of concerning. it gives me the vibe that a big part of Barnaby's literal reason for existing is to be Wally's friend & guide.

which would make the fact of him being described as polite to Wally make sense. of course he's not going to push their relationship or try to deepen it - he's forming his own dynamics with the other neighbors. with Wally... it's already established. that is how they are with each other. that is what they are to each other.

and it's not like Wally can be the one to introduce nuances. i don't mean that as a slight or anything - he's just the way he's been described and the things stated about him that make me think that he wouldn't really... know how to? it just wouldn't occur to him. he probably thinks his and Barnaby's relationship is what a best friendship is and is how it should be.

but they have to hang out. they have to refer to each other as best friends. and while i believe that Wally does wholeheartedly think that they're best friends, close as can be... i doubt Barnaby feels the same. like - yes, he probably does care about Wally. everybody likes Wally.

but it's gotta be frustrating for Barnaby, especially as time goes on and he becomes more himself as a person over just being a character playing a part. it probably stunts his relationship growth with others, since his ~best friend spot~ is already taken and who would want to encroach on that? especially since its taken by Wally mcfuckin Darling?

their friendship might become less of a role and more of a responsibility. Barnaby might grow to feel obligated to stick with Wally as his "best friend". someone invites Barnaby to hang out and/or help with something? sorry, he has to pose for Wally's painting. Barnaby is trying to do his own thing? sorry, Wally is knocking on the door and asking for help with something.

i wonder if Barnaby ever hopes that Wally will go to someone else, or feels relief when he does. and then does he feel irritation/guilt over that denied hope or that granted relief? then does he get angry at himself for those emotions?

how would this effect how he treats Wally and acts around him? this confusing muddle of emotions and this strange growing resentment for his painfully earnest friend who only ever means well, if he means at all.

it makes me curious whether or not this theory has merit. and how this could come to a head. what would Barnaby, in this situation, do if/when he discovers that they're puppets on a set, and he's literally written to be Wally's bestie while everyone else changed their scripts and chose their own relationships.

personally, i don't think he'd be happy, and i doubt he'd handle it well.

[nightmarearian]

helloo i just stumbled acress your blog and if you dont mind id like to ask-

FELLOW GENSHIN LORE FAN????

if yes then what are your thoughts on the next dain archon quest-

feel free to ignore/not answer btw, no pressure ^^

FUKC YEAH LOORREEE

I’m more into Khaenri’ah/Abyss lore, than anything else tho, if i’mma be honest lol.

I’m absolutely interested in lore and stories and general though to be honest I think my attention span and sleep deprivation doesn’t allow me to make up anything to big from scratch

Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑)

But I’d love to bounce of others if it weren’t for my social anxiety so please I’d be absolutely interested in anything with this

I’m really late to answering this shit to where people have already posted the cutscenes of Caribert onto yt, which I watched because impulse control is a myth and I’m quest locked so-

If you haven’t seen it yet then by all means ignore the rest of my rambling;

So Kaeya is specifically the descendant of the founder of the Abyss Order, Chlothar Alberich. Kae outwardly says he has no idea of the origin, with how openly he handles his last name, but he also says it ties up some questions he’s had.

Of course, quote Diluc, “you can only trust half of what he says at best,” so of course taking that with a grain of salt:

At ‘worst’ that means Kae always fuckin knew/This is just the final confirmation about it, and he knows a lot more about the Abyss Order. (Also funfact: one of his first, base lines, like the ones you have access to w/ friendship lvl 1, have something asking “Is the Abyss Order bothering you?” Not to mention there’s an anecdote on “You’re scars of the dark? That’s… interesting.” Oh, and that first archon quest in the domains and stuff; Where Kaeya recognizes hilichurl aren’t this smart and looks like he’s about to talk with a Abyss Mage before adult barges in. And the. “Let’s just say I was blessed with certain… linguistic powers.” Shit, foreshadowing goes deep.)

At best: He had just a bit of knowledge about it, and confirmation opens a lot up for him.

I do doubt he’d actually turn to the Abyss Order, cause Hoyo making him essentially a villain/major (enough) antag would be… uh, unlikely to say the least. I can see some spying on the Abyss Order and double crossing them though, that fits with Kae.

And at the same time, Caribert is apparently Chlothar’s son, right? He’s obviously affected by the curse, being the hilichurl. And so if we’re going with the “Kaeya is from straight up alive Khaenri’ah, not just the ruins” that either means through shenanigans Caribert turned into Kae or Kae has a sibling.

However, Kaeya is called a descendant of Chlothar, so that’s a separation of time; But then that also brings up the question of how Kaeya knows of Khaenri’ah? His Story says things/describes Khaenri’ah in things in general that paints it as if he actually lived there.

Did he live in ruins? Then I doubt he’d have as much knowledge about Khaenri’ah as he could very well likely have (and not tell us, obviously, the little liar [affectionate]). Not to mention the paper he stole when his father showed him about “what being an Alberich” is about and stuff; embers blah blah; that doesn’t sound like ruins…? Ugh. He has a stupid amount of 4-pointed stars on his design too; There is no way he doesn’t know at least a good amount about Khaenri’ah.

Following the Caribert -> Kaeya thing;

Chlothar did fuck around with the Abyss sibling (I play Aether so I’m gonna say Lumine) to try and find a way to help Caribert with the curse and stuff. Hell, after we dig up the bodies when Dain wakes us up, Dain questions if Chlothar found a way to stop the curse or something. So perhaps Chlothar did “cure” (to some level, otherwise they wouldn’t need to do the Loom of Fate shit) of some sorts that returned Caribert?

And then due to Abyssal time shenanigans (it’s already proven to fuck with time, look at Ajax/Childe) memories got fucked and Chlothar decided it’d be best to leave Kaeya in Mond, whether as a spy or for a better life? Kaeya does still have that eyes patch, after all. And it’s not implausible that there was a name change for ambiguity.

But at the same time, a ‘cure’ for the curse would be questionable - why hasn’t it been mass produced/practiced by now then? - not to mention I don’t think Kaeya would only get away from all that with just an eyepatch covering his face. And again, Kaeya was described as a “descendant” of Chlothar, and it’s referred to as an “ancestor/ancestry” specifically, so for the time thing it’s unlikely.

Not to mention, Chlothar also has a bigger star, closer to Dain than Kaeya’s. As Kae put it “pure-blood Khaenri’ahn”.

So yeah, Kaeya is probably just more of a descendant, if his appearance contradicting the description of a Khaenri’ahn has to say anything (“Light hair, fair skin, star-pupil” Kae is one of the 3 playable characters that has a darker skin tone, he has dark blue hair, and his star pupil is small than compared to Dain or Halfdan. …Though Chlothar has black hair. Huh).

But bring up the fact that he describes Khaenri’ah like he’s lived there and the. That brings up and entire other question/argument. Then what was Kaeya’s father, Chlothar or not, doing? Was he part of the Abyss Order? Or was it just something purely Khaenri’ahn? How is he not affected by the curse; was it the fact that he’s only part Khaenri’ahn?

So much questions so little information. This is the reason I love and hate lore aaaaaaa-

Okokok

Caribert & Kae are siblings? - Again the “descendant” and “ancestry” thing, and he is suspiciously absent if they are siblings. (Huh, the abyss/Khaenri’ah is having the small theme of siblings/siblings in arms. Aether & Lumine; Dain & Halfdan as brothers in arms; hell, in the more abyss based - Childe, you know with Teucer and shit, and then Kaeya, with Caribert or Diluc.

Of course I’m in love with the head cannon that Kae is from when Khaenri’ah was actually alive lmao :,)

And that’s only Kaeya, granted he is my favorite.

Now, the travelers. (Again, Aether as traveler, Lumi as Abyssal sibling)

Right. So we see Lumine’s memories of her time traveling with Dain, in which she meets Chlothar Alberich, who she sorta-helps with his son, Caribert. Then, once she wakes up, Chlothar goes on for a bit about the abyss being the answer to the curse or something, etc.

Assumedly, this would be where Chlothar founded the Abyss Order? At least, this is the main inviting event that leads to the Abyss Order.

I think, if I’ve read this correctly, Lumine is still traveling with Dain, so it’s not like she actively helps and joins with Chlothar. If what we say as the traveler in Lumine’s memories actually did happen, she probably joins the Abyss later; Alberich, maybe partly the fact that she’s princess of Khaenri’ah and was also incredibly helpful to the creation of the abyss order, gives her the title of Princess in the Abyss Order.

Did something happen during the travel that caused her to join the Order? Or was it just the fact of mulling it over for fuck knows how long and then splitting with Dain that got her to join?

Also, if the Alberich clan took over after the fall of King Irmin, then how do Lumine and Aether go into this? Are the the kids of King Irmin? We’re they too young to rule or something; then how was Lumine old enough to see the fall of Khaenri’ah? By then wouldn’t there be enough time for at least one for the sibling to rule? Then how come there’s no mention of it?

Hell there’s even the question of just how Aether could share memories with Lumine. Technically, nothing happened there that would indicate that there’s be like.. something to fuck around with for memories. By all means it’s just a place. Did another event happen here? Was the curse from Caribert just that strong/not as specific? Am I just looking a bit too into this part because let’s be honest they probably just need to drop this lore somehow?

Also, when Chlothar is talking to Caribert on the ledge, he says something along the lines of “remember this is a new place”

Essentially: This is new from what we know, it weird. (Come back here, please)

That either means something was fucky with Sumeru making it fantastical or they just left Khaenri’ah, which is more likely.

Then how long has Dain & Lumine been travling? The ruins of Khaenri’ah are said to be underground around Sumeru, curtesy of Kaeya*.

(*Wait, for the small story Kaeya tells, he say he want to go to Sumeru to learn more of his origins - again, grain of salt for the pathological liar - but that overall implies that he’s never been to the ruins of Khaenri’ah. Of course he could just be lying and as a child he just want to go home, even if said home we’re ruins, but still.)

How recent was the destruction of Khaenri’ah, then? Cause Dain & Lumine are both treating it as if it’s been long - Chlothar says something like “your alias” which implies that Lumine has been using the name “Traveler” during her travels with Dain long enough for it to just become.. well, her deficit alias.

And if Lumine was the Princess of Khaenri’ah, why would she give Chlothar an alias? He clearly has big fuckin stars for his pupils; If the destruction of Khaenri’ah was that recent, why would she be so guarded? Was Alberich suspicious during the reign of Khaenri’ah? But the Alberich clan took over in Irmin’s stead, meaning they were trustworthy and powerful enough to keep an entire kingdom together.

Just how long as is then since Khaenri’ah’s destruction, then? If it’s been long enough to where being weary of another Khaenri’ah is just “expected”, then there’s no reason for Chlothar to remind Caribert about our go Khaenri’ah.

If it hasn’t been to long, then why has Lumine not revealed herself, relieved at the survival and… not-hilichurl-indication of her people? And why do Dain & Lumine treat/talk about their travel, even just in Sumeru, as if it had went on for an long time?

Aaaaaaa-

I’d continue but’s it’s 2 am on a school night (morning) and I have an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” brain so just. Take this. GN and thanks for asking! :D

[kingsofgaytham]

i made those after my last rewatch in may, posting them here before the season drops so i'm not tempted to add anything new (i still might fill out a third one because i'm very normal about this show)

can't believe some of them already came true, based on the promo's

if anyone wants to make one the template is from kinosfroggy!

i'm so excited for this season, ten days to go 💜

[theharlotofferelden]

So I wrote this bit of meta/speculation regarding Pen back in February but hesitated on posting it for a variety of reasons. I figured I'd post it after playing the recent update because some of my suspicions were correct. I haven't edited any of it because, frankly, I don't want to because I messed with it so much that I honestly wouldn't know where to start on fixing things.

Anyway here's some stuff I've noticed about Pen. Spoilers for the The Secrets Behind The Mask update of MTAS and Major Spoilers for My Time At Portia.

So a couple days ago I went down a rabbit hole pertaining to Pen. It started with a character from Portia and then snowballed into a loose analysis of the game events and possibly where they might take the story. It's very inconclusive, and I'm not really dedicated to any one idea of where the story will go or how certain characters will develop. I'm simply speculating here because speculating is fun.

Y'all are free to disagree as I know I'm not good at knowing where the story is going at all (I guessed wrong about who the spy for Logan was :')). I'd appreciate input or other theories though. At the very least, some of this might be entertaining muse fuel or a headcanon.

So one thing I stumbled upon while looking at Pen's wiki is under the Trivia section:

[Image ID: A screenshot of the Trivia section of Pen's wiki page. It reads as follows:

The word on his chest armor is "Justice" (正义, zhèng-yì).

According to Chinese version his full name is Péng Hǔ (彭虎) . Pen (彭) is his family name.

Hu (虎) means tiger. /.End ID]

After we meet with Logan and find out that Grace has been working with him (and that Grace is a secret agent for the Ataran government) we find out that there's a Duvos spy in Sandrock. Grace's people intercepted a message under the code name "Tiger" that they were targeting the water tower.

Other folks have pointed this out on the Steam discussion forums and believe that Pen's name translating to "Tiger" is a misdirect. Others think it might mean he's the Duvos spy due to the fact that a lot of the character's (Chinese) names pertain to aspects of their personality.

I'm personally on the fence about it. There's a lot I don't know about Pen, and I'm not sure if anything is really revealed about his past in some dialogue I missed (started a new save specifically to take a better look at things again since it's been a couple months). But currently, I really don't know anything about Pen's background.

All that aside, I find it very interesting that this game takes place shortly before the events of Portia. If you've played Portia, you'll know that they also have a Duvos agent in their midst called the Rogue Knight. After defeating the Rogue Knight, it was strongly suggested that he was Aadit; a resident of Portia that was a refugee from the border between Duvos and Elthea.

I'm not going to get into whether or not Aadit was actually the Rogue Knight just because both of their wikis explain there's contradictory information. But it's more commonly accepted by ppl in fandom that he was (from what I've noticed anyway).

I'm bringing this up mainly because.... isn't it kinda weird that both Portia and Sandrock are having issues with a Duvos agent almost around the same time?

One of the things I find interesting about Sandrock is how they flipped a lot of character's personalities compared to Portia. Example: Gale is very confident as a mayor compared to Trudy. Higgins is such a hard working builder that he's standing outside the door of the commissions office just so he can get first pickings of the commissions on the board, and you can often see him at the furnace stations next to his workshop. Meanwhile, Yan implies not so subtly that he barely even works, and most of the time you find him in the office with his feet kicked up on the table; never at the worktable next to his house.

Let's say that Aadit is the Rogue Knight and that Pen is a Duvos spy. Aadit is a soft spoken, polite pacifist that you can lose friendship with if you challenge him one too many times to a fight. Meanwhile Pen is loud, rude, confident, and loves to fight.

The contradictions in characterization are there, but do they mean anything? Probably not. Even if Pen was designed to contrast Aadit, it doesn't necessarily mean he's aligned with Duvos.

There's much we don't know about Aadit, and the fact that Pathea has been so cagey about him kind of makes me think that if he doesn't make a cameo in Sandrock, we're probably going to see him further along the line. They said as much in the FAQ of their kickstarter for Sandrock:

What’s happened to Aadit? Is he ever coming back to Portia?

Aadit’s story is left open so that we may be able to explore it down the road. Hopefully we’ll see him return to Portia one day.

(Tho them saying "Portia" makes me wonder if they're interested in making a sequel to Portia?)

And as I mentioned earlier, there's a lot we don't know about Pen either.

One thing worth pointing out is that it's very interesting Pen has a relic weapon on him considering the Rogue Knight himself uses a relic weapon.

After The Perfect Trap mission in My Time At Portia, Django asks you what it was like fighting the Rogue Knight. When you answer "He was using ancient weapons" he replies:

Oh was he now, most knights these days use some type of relic. It's like their calling card. The real knights though, they don't need these corrupted things.

And when you ask him "What exactly is a knight?" He answers:

Didn't you have knights in Barnorock? Anyway, if you're lookin' for a history lesson, it's best you talk with Isaac. But knights are highly skilled warriors that defend the weak and balance the strong. Or that's how it's supposed to be. But nowadays…

What's interesting about these responses: Modern knights tend to use relic weapons, and that knights are highly skilled warriors that "defend the weak and balance the strong".

Pen's entire thing is that he's the Defender of Sandrock. And he has a relic weapon on him. Does this mean Pen is a knight?

Oddly enough, it's likely as Pen says as much when you speak to him once a day:

[Image ID: A screenshot of Pen with the caption of him saying: "Aren't you clad we have a knight in this town? Saving damsels and delivering justice. Of course, I'm talking about me. I'm the Protector of Sandrock." /.End ID]

Assuming Pen isn't just claiming or masquerading as a knight (considering he owns a relic weapon) could this mean he's actually working for Duvos similarly to the Rogue Knight in Portia?

I'm really on the fence about this. Pen's entire personality feels like a facade; a spy that hides in plain sight by being an egotistical windbag. A useful egotistical windbag, but a windbag nonetheless. I feel this is at least partially supported by the fact that some people write him off immediately because "he's too dumb to be a spy".

Yet at the same time.....If Grace is in Sandrock and is specifically there to help Logan find the Duvos spy, could there potentially be a third party who's also interested in helping. And if so, could that party potentially be Pen?

Probably the only bit of dialogue I've been able to find (so far) on Pen's background and why he's in Sandrock is what he says here:

[Image ID: A screenshot of Pen with the caption of him saying: "I bet you're wondering how did someone so awesome, me, end up in this unsavory place. Well, the Light told me to look after the weak, and guided me here. That's the short version." /.End ID]

Pen could be lying here considering he lies to you (almost unnecessarily) about why he wasn't present to stop Logan from destroying the water tower. Logan not only says he was there, but he was also the one responsible for destroying the water tower.

It's possible it could be just as Grace says; that he lied to avoid being blamed for destroying the water tower. But I also think if he was being honest about it, he would have to explain how he destroyed the water tower. Yes, he's a very good fighter, but the water tower literally exploded.

But let's consider he's being honest about his reasons for being in Sandrock. Judging by the way he's speaking, the "Light" he's speaking of is related to The Church of Light..... Could it be possible that he was sent by a church to Sandrock to find the Duvos spy? More specifically, could he have been sent by the High Temple in Meidi, seeing as how Meidi literally borders Duvos, making it likely that they would have easier access to information on what Duvos is doing?

I personally don't think this is likely due to the fact that Pen is intent on going after Logan. Pen alleged that he only saw Logan flee after the church collapsed while attempting to rescue Howlett. But what if he didn't? Perhaps he's going after Logan because he thinks he knows something more (particularly that there's a Duvos spy in Sandrock, and that's something that could potentially compromise him). Because the alternative in this situation is him going after Logan under the suspicion that he's the spy, which makes no sense given he's a native of Sandrock and just lost his father.

I'll end on the last thing I noticed about Pen's concept art. The pose is very similar to that of the Rogue Knight's concept art:

I was pretty reluctant to point this out because it's just a pose and this particular thing feels a bit too much like "reading too deeply into things. Especially since Arlo and Justice share similar poses, and even Logan's pose is reminiscent of the above pose. I just thought I would mention it because it threw me when I noticed how similar they were when I was looking at the thumbnails on my phone.

Just to be clear: I don't think Pen is the Rogue Knight or Aadit. I mean, I would be interested in them proving me wrong. But due to the fact that these games take place closely around the same time, I don't think it's feasible that the two are the same person.

I would, however, be interested to know if there's indeed a connection considering how some of Pen's facial characteristics are reminiscent of Aadit's, but I'd rather not speculate that far. Especially considering it hasn't been canonically confirmed that Aadit is the Rogue Knight (and we don't know where Pen grew up).

Anyway these are all my thoughts for now. Like I said, I'm not really dedicated to one line of thought. It just tickles my brain. I would like to talk more about the stories Pen, Burgess, and the others gave about the night Howlett died and compare it to Logan's. But for now I'll just end on this.