#// this is based entirely on my own speculation of in-game evidence
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Illithid Souls - Part 1
What’s up with mind flayers and souls anyway?
I know this deep dive has been done before like a hundred times, based on all the Reddit threads I’ve read, but I feel like a lot of the "evidence" has been scattered about in a lot of places (reddit, tumblr, other threads, other socials, etc). So I figured...why not gather a lot of it here in one place?
As with all my deep dives, this post is designed to equip you with some lore so you can build your own theories and ideas. I’ll offer theories that I find interesting or feasible, but lore is always a little hazy so I’m bound to be wrong or you’re bound to interpret things differently. Just have fun with the lore!
I’ll start by defining what D&D calls a soul, and then…well it unravels from there. In this part we're going to dive into the lore about souls, the afterlife, and where mind flayers differ, along with a bit of in-game context. In Part 2 we'll look at individual case studies (Tav/Durge, Orpheus, Karlach, and Gale).
Buckle up, folks, cause it's a long one!
As always, I’ll include images and image descriptors/text written out in case the pictures fail or are too small to read!
What is a soul?
The entire game of Baldur's Gate 3 is heavily invested in the idea of souls. Raphael wants to bargain with your soul. Mizora has Wyll's soul bound to a contract. Cazador plans to sacrifice 7007 souls. Vlaakith consumes the souls of her faithful. Karlach wants to collect (and use) soul coins. Every tadpoled follower of the Absolute is called a True Soul. This game is OBSESSED with souls.
But it never actually defines a soul, does it? So what do the official D&D rules say?
Well...they don't. Older editions used to split hairs about the difference between a soul and a spirit, but those older editions also used to say that elves, orcs, and half-orcs didn't have souls, so...we've moved on a bit from those days.
In the game, a book on soul coins defines souls as "the sum of personal and magical essence," which is both helpful and vague. The general player consensus is that a soul is the animating "force" that is made up of memories, personality, intelligence, and (possibly) morality, and that in some cases, such as the spell Speak with Dead, a soul differs from a spirit, which merely "animates" the body but does not actually possess the personality or the thinking capabilities of the deceased (though it may have access to memories).
Speak with Dead
[...] Until the spell ends, you can ask the corpse up to five questions. The corpse knows only what it knew in life, including the languages it knew. [...] This spell doesn't return the creature's soul to its body, only its animating spirit. Thus, the corpse can't learn new information, doesn't comprehend anything that has happened since it died, and can't speculate about future events.
So there's a chance that while an entire soul is generally made up of personality, memories, and some element of active thinking/decision making/speculation (intelligence, for lack of a better term), the part of a soul that functions as an "animating spirit" is what houses memory. In other words, animating spirit (memories) + personality + intelligence = soul.
This idea of the animating spirit (memories) being housed within a soul, but also detachable from a soul, is important for later, so remember this in a bit.
Souls also have power, which is why the game is obsessed with everyone fighting over souls. Raphael, Mizora, and Cazador trade in souls in exchange for power. There are insinuations in the game that the gods want to stop the "scourge of soulless illithids" (Mystra's words) because souls are a kind of currency to them (though, trust me, trying to find a recent D&D source that clearly states that particular stance is a damn migraine of an endeavor). But Withers does say that souls imbue gods with power, so the game at least operates with that assumption in mind.
According to Withers…
We all know that Withers, aka Jergal, aka the Final Scribe, aka the former god of death, aka the expert on souls, has plenty to say when you ask him to elaborate on anything:
Well, okay, maybe he doesn't. But he does have a bit more to say about souls and mind flayers. For example, when he first brings up the topic of illithids and souls in Moonrise, this is some of the information he can give the player.
Withers: I shall ask yet again. Do illithids possess souls?
Player: These abominations are soulless, surely.
Withers: Correct.
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Player: I'm not sure. Don't all living things?
Withers: No. Nor canst thou count mind flayers among them.
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Player: I admit I haven't thought about it.
Withers: Thou shalt think about it now, and I shall give the answer. Mind flayers are soulless. Yet the Three amass an illithid army, void of apostolic souls that could imbue them with power.
A couple of things to note here. Jergal, the guy in charge of putting down the names of people who die and keeping track of where their souls go, is pretty clear that he thinks mind flayers don't have souls. But his last statement clarifies two things: one, that he is referring specifically to apostolic souls (more on that in a bit) and that souls imbue gods with power.
Souls give the gods a kind of strength. He brings this up when he criticizes the dumb plot the Dead Three came up with in his post-epilogue scene:
Thou sought to bolster thy strength by taking away the souls of mortals. But souls vanish when their hosts become mind flayers.
So we know that souls are a source of power for deities and gods because they imbue gods with power and strength. But gods only get the power of these souls after a mortal dies with their soul intact. If someone becomes a mind flayer...well, let's just say the natural order of things gets disrupted.
What happens when you die?
You see, normally, when someone dies in Faerûn (assuming they are humanoid), their soul travels to the Fugue Plane where it basically waits around until a deity picks them up or Kelemvor decides they're just going to be part of the Wall of the Faithless for forever. From the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (page 20 because I am, as youtuber Swoop says in her docs, a thorough bitch):
The Afterlife
Most humans believe the souls of the recently deceased are spirited away to the Fugue Plane, where they wander the great City of Judgment, often unaware they are dead. The servants of the gods come to collect such souls and, if they are worthy, they are taken to their awaited afterlife in the deity's domain. Occasionally, the faithful are sent back to be reborn into the world to finish work that was left undone.
This is where the idea of apostolic souls comes in. Apostolic, in its most basic definition, means "having the characteristics of an apostle," or having the characteristics of someone who dedicates their entire lives to the teaching of a particular religious figure (in our context and reality, this mostly means the apostles of Christ, but in BG3 it would refer to any deity). I think here, the definition gets stretched a little thinner to mean any soul that is capable of devotion to a deity, rather than a soul that is already devoted. Apostolic souls can be Faithful, Faithless, or False (which is how souls are separated in the Fugue Plane).
In other words, an apostolic soul is a humanoid-specific soul that the deities recognize and can use as a source of power by inviting said soul into their domain. Mind flayers do not have apostolic souls. Emphasis on apostolic here, but we'll back to mind flayers in a minute. For now, let's look at the Faithless and False souls.
Souls that are unclaimed by the servants of the gods are judged by Kelemvor, who decides the fate of each one. Some are charged with serving as guides for other lost souls, while others are transformed into squirming larvae and cast into the dust. The truly false and faithless are mortared into the Wall of the Faithless, the great barrier that bounds the City of the Dead, where their souls slowly dissolve and begin to become part of the stuff of the Wall itself.
Depressing.
The distinction between a Faithless and a False soul is a little hazy, but according to the Forgotten Realms wiki, a Faithless soul is someone who never aligned themselves to the worship of a specific deity or who just didn't believe in the existence of the gods at all (think of Astarion, who outright rejects all gods). A False soul, in contrast, is someone who did believe but failed to serve their god or outright betrayed them (a fate that Gale feels he is faced with for being on Mystra's bad side). Allegedly all the Faithless end up becoming part of the Wall, whereas the False could get mitigated sentences, such as becoming guides for other souls.
Of course, there's nothing stopping deities from combing through Faithless or False souls to collect them into their domains. But it could take a while. Clearly, the more souls a god collects into their domains, the more powerful they become, but the gods are also not exactly fighting over the souls of Faithless or False people, because people can end up waiting hundreds of years before Kelemvor is finally like "guess you're part of the wall now." Your only option to get out of that is to sell your soul to a devil, which isn't a much better fate.
From The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, page 25, regarding servants of Asmodeus:
To those not so dedicated, priests of Asmodeus offer the prospect of a reprieve in the afterlife. All souls wait on the Fugue Plane for a deity's pleasure, which determines where a soul will spend the rest of eternity. Those who lived their lives most in keeping with a deity's outlook are taken first. Others, who have transgressed in the eyes of their favored god or have not followed any particular ethos, might wait centuries before Kelemvor judges where they go. People who fear such a fate can pray to Asmodeus, his priests say, and in return a devil will grant a waiting soul some comfort.
This makes me infer two things: first, that the gods are kind of picky about which souls they want to join their domain (regardless of what actually happens to that soul in a deity's domain, which is a topic for a different post entirely, because the results may vary) and therefore the gods aren't just going to go with any soul that ends up in the Fugue Plane. Second, that the gods aren't exactly in a hurry to choose among wandering souls, likely because the Material Plane just keeps producing and destroying mortals, resulting in a constant flow of souls.
We see a glimpse of a god's perspective on the influx of souls when Gale confronts Mystra in the Stormshore Tabernacle (in this case, when you play him as an Origin):
Gale: You're one to talk. How many innocents were you prepared to sacrifice if I detonated the orb?
Mystra: Such eddies are unexpectional. Souls arrive and depart your plane with every tide, in circumstances just and unjust. The Weave cannot be lost because we are unwilling to cause a ripple. And that is what is at stake.
She then goes on to say "With each day that passes, the elder brain threatens to become a new kind of god, its worshippers a scourge of soulless illithids." This is what's at stake. The loss of souls on the Material Plane.
The Absolute plot threatens that cycle of birth and death, of souls arriving and departing. But how, exactly, is the mind flayer plot a threat?
Well, for one, if everyone with a tadpole turns into an illithid (which doesn't have an apostolic soul, Withers is adamant about this), and then all the illithids kill all the non-illithids...who is making new babies with apostolic souls? And if there are no new fresh souls, eventually the deities will just also die out, since no one will be left to believe in them and thus their powers will diminish and eventually fade. It might take a few hundred years, but it still spells death for everyone involved.
The irony here is that it means the Dead Three gambled and lost even if their plan to ascend a Netherbrain ends with a success, such as when Tav or Durge decides to dominate the world by controlling the Netherbrain. Either the brain is destroyed and they lose, or the Netherbrain successfully completes its Grand Design and they really lose, because the only winner here after a thousand years would be the Netherbrain. Thus we have Withers taunting them in the post-epilogue scene by asking if they really thought their ploy would succeed.
Okay...so we know that mind flayers killing everyone on the planet is a bad idea because it means that apostolic souls stop arriving in the Fugue Plane. But what about mind flayers? If they don't have apostolic souls, do they have ANY soul worth eternal currency?
Remember, the only way to create more mind flayers is to tadpole a humanoid creature. Without humanoids, mind flayers can't reproduce. But when humanoids turn into mind flayers, they allegedly lose their souls. Right?
Withers says souls "vanish" when the body turns into a mind flayer. But this is vague, and thus allows for a few different theories. Perhaps souls move on to the Fugue Plane while the person-turned-mind-flayer continues existing on the Material Plane. Perhaps the soul just becomes obscured and unrecognizable by the gods. Or perhaps the soul really does go poof and is replaced by something else entirely.
So which is it? Well...first of all, let's set the record straight on mind flayer souls.
Do mind flayers have souls?
The short answer is...yes. They just don't have apostolic souls.
According to Volo's Guide to Monsters (page 80 for those looking through their copies at home):
Illithids acknowledge the existence of divine entities, but it is unusual for any but a deviant mind flayer to actively worship such a power. Since they are capable of planar travel, illithids don't view the afterlife and the Outer Planes in the mythic way that most other races do. Illithids don't believe they possess souls whose eternal fate is governed by the gods. Instead, when a mind flayer's brain is returned to the elder brain to be consumed, the creature's intelligence lives on. Only if an illithid's brain isn't retrieved after death would its consciousness be cast into oblivion.
And on page 72:
An elder brain has a perfect recollection of its race's history. Consequently, it views itself as both a refugee and a victim, forced into hiding by barbaric monsters. An elder brain also sees itself as a savior of the mind flayer race and a living memorial that preserves the memories of the mind flayers' prey. By its twisted logic, humanoids whose brains are devoured by the colony are rendered immortal, their memories preserved forever in the elder brain's labyrinthine mind.
When a mind flayer grows old, becomes infirm, or is previously injured, the elder brain absorbs it—another form of immortality, as the mind flayer's mind dwells within the hive mind forever after.
So essentially, mind flayers do have a soul, but because they are a) not humanoid but are aberrations from another plane, and b) not faithful to the deities of Faerûn, their souls are not recognized by the gods. The souls might not even journey to the Fugue Plane when they die. Instead, mind flayers give up their consciousness (their memories, especially) to an elder brain to become part of its eternal collective memory.
It's worth noting that Volo's Guide to Monsters puts emphasis on memory and intelligence here, but not necessarily personality. Mind flayers and elder brains do have a kind of personality, because they experience emotions (we'll look at some conversations with the Emperor in Part 2), but their emotional range seems to be a little limited. For example, regarding elder brains:
An elder brain is arrogant, scheming, and power hungry, yet quick to flee or beg for mercy in the face of a powerful foe. It has no conception of joy, sympathy, or charity, but is well acquainted with fear, anger, and curiosity. It is an intellect utterly incapable of empathy or concern for creatures other than itself.
These limited emotions suggest there might be some element of personality here, but it's not exactly the same as a humanoid personality, which would normally be capable of a wider scope of emotional range. We'll talk a lot more about personality and how transforming into a mind flayer alters that part of one's identity (if not their actual soul) more in Part 2, but for now, just know that a mind flayer technically has all the elements usually present in a soul: an animating spirit (memories), intelligence, and personality (emotion).
When mind flayers die, their memories and intelligence are usually consumed by an elder brain, but it's unclear if the personality is too, or if the personality is destroyed. However, if they're not enthralled to an elder brain or if they die and their brain isn't retrieved to give to an elder brain...then their soul is "cast into oblivion."
Being cast into oblivion could mean anything. It could mean that their soul simply wanders around wherever it died, untethered to anything but unable to move on. Or it could mean that their soul simply ceases to exist. No one really knows what happens to it because renegade mind flayers are extremely rare. BG3 has Omeluum and the Emperor, but other than those two, official D&D lore only lists a small handful of other renegades out of millions of mind flayers over time.
So now you're probably thinking, "Well, wait, but is a mind flayer's soul the same soul that a person had before they became a mind flayer?" And the answer to that is complicated.
Let's talk about ceremorphosis
Normally a mind flayer isn't supposed to remember much of its life prior to ceremorphosis. This is partly why mind flayers eat brains, so they can literally absorb the memories of other creatures and make those memories part of the hive mind. But initially, after ceremorphosis, it seems like the the usual animating spirit (memories) of a person gets destroyed or displaced.
The tadpole grows as it devours the humanoid's brain, attaching to the victim's brain stem and becoming its new brain. Over the course of a week, the humanoid body changes form, and a new mind flayer comes into being. The emergent mind flayer often retains a few dim memories from its previous form, but these vague recollections seldom have any bearing on its new life as a brain-eating monster.
So right off the bat, a typical mind flayer loses the memories (perhaps the animating spirit) of the original host, and it's likely that it loses a lot of the initial personality as well (since it seems likely to lose some of the emotional range). Its intelligence is likely altered too, since the tadpole is literally eating brain matter. So this could lead us to believe two things.
First, that ceremorphosis utterly destroys the host's body and the host's soul likely goes to the Fugue Plane because they have basically died. Their brain has been consumed and their body transformed, so in essence they can't be themselves anymore. Instead, a new soul has taken residence inside the mind flayer body, though where this soul comes from is unclear since tadpoles probably don't have souls. The original soul, however, is free to move to the Fugue Plane and beyond.
Or, alternatively, the host's soul is transformed, shedding memories and personality to become a non-apostolic soul that aligns with an elder brain's hive mind somehow. This means that the host's apostolic soul might be destroyed because it's been changed so drastically, but there are some parts of the original soul still left (the lingering memories, for example). This means the host's original soul didn't move on, but is tethered to the mind flayer body and has been changed into something unrecognizable. When the mind flayer dies, the former apostolic-soul-turned-illithid-soul is either consumed by an elder brain or cast into oblivion.
If the first theory is correct, it seems a little odd that the BG3 companions are so concerned about losing their own souls. If it would just be the same as dying, there would still be some desire to avoid the fate of ceremorphosis, but the companions seem incredibly concerned about losing their own autonomy, as if their consciousness will be trapped inside a mind flayer body and their souls forfeit and unable to move on to the Fugue Plane. After all, Withers is in the business of plucking souls out of the Fugue Plane when we inevitably die in the game.
Specifically, Withers can take a body that has been completely turned to ash and resurrect it with True Resurrection, a spell powerful enough to completely restore a body to its former state. However, there is some assumption here that he wouldn't be able to do this with a mind flayer body, thus the push in the game for a cure.
True Resurrection
You touch a creature that has been dead for no longer than 200 years and that died for any reason except old age. If the creature's soul is free and willing, the creature is restored to life with all its hit points.
This spell closes all wounds, neutralizes any poison, cures all diseases, and lifts any curses affecting the creature when it died. The spell replaces damaged or missing organs and limbs. If the creature was undead, it is restored to its non-undead form.
The spell can even provide a new body if the original no longer exists, in which case you must speak the creature's name. The creature then appears in an unoccupied space you choose within 10 feet of you.
In other words, if theory one is correct, and a person simply dies when they become a mind flayer, Withers should technically be able to resurrect them by pulling their soul out of the Fugue Plane and giving them a new body. You'd have a weird mind flayer clone of you running around, but you wouldn't have to worry about ceremorphosis again.
(But then again, we know the game ignores the organ-regrowing properties of True Resurrection for Karlach, too, so the game intentionally limits the capabilities of True Resurrection.)
If theory two is correct, and the lore is extremely unclear about this process if this is the case, then the companions' reactions and dialogues make a bit more sense. They all talk as though turning into a mind flayer means their soul is somehow destroyed. Mind flayers having souls is likely not common knowledge in the universe (certainly no one in the game is arguing that they have souls), so if a person's soul is transformed beyond recognition it could certainly seem like the host's soul got destroyed. Additionally, this would result in a person's consciousness being trapped inside a mind flayer body, so the loss of autonomy would be a terrifying possibility here.
Plus, we know that when a mind flayer dies, the soul they have (whether a brand new soul or an apostolic soul that has been altered) is consumed or thrown into oblivion. So if theory two is correct, there will be no eternal consciousness for you, allegedly (though there's some debate as to how much eternal consciousness you have in the Fugue Plane or the Outer Planes too...)
We don't know which of these theories is correct, and the game sort of slides between these two theories (as we'll see in Part 2). But, and I cannot stress this enough, this lore only applies to normal mind flayers.
BG3 has altered the usual mind flayer tadpoles with Netherese magic such that things get a little wonky. And beyond that, the ultimate tadpole that changes you (or Karlach, or Orpheus) into a mind flayer capable of wielding the Netherstones is a Supreme Tadpole that has been further altered by the Emperor:
The Emperor: I took this one from the nautiloid. I have been nurturing it ever since - priming it for your use. It is not dissimilar to the experience you already had with the previous one. Only this one is much more potent. All you have to do is open your mind to it. Its latent potential will do the rest.
We don't know how the Emperor has been priming this tadpole, but if it came from the nautiloid, then it is imbued with the same Netherese magic as all the other tadpoles. It's not the same as the Astral-touched tadpole (from Act 2), which has been in the Astral Prism for millennia, but it is somehow more powerful, or at least more effective in transforming you into a new kind of mind flayer, one that can think independently of the elder brain.
So now you (or Orpheus, or Karlach) are a new special kind of mind flayer. Does that change anything?
Yes. In fact, it seems to change quite a lot. But this post is already super long, so you'll have to check out Part 2 to see what I mean.
~*~*~
You made it to the end! Gold stars!!!
✨⭐️🌟⭐️✨
I'll link part 2 soon~
Tagging those who wanted an update! @galesdevoteewife @stuffforthestash
#bg3#baldur's gate 3#mind flayer#the emperor#bg3 lore#bg3 meta#bg3 deep dive#deep dive#long post#super long post#yall the days I put into this#who let me do this to myself
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Do go off about the logical fallacies in Chapter 4, I always thought something was off about it. I'm curious to know your thoughts
Oh... if you insist... (currently bouncing off the walls with excitement ask??? I love answering ask—) ahem.
I suppose I can categorize my perceptions of Chapter 4 into levels of objectivity, with the highest being "I'm sure anyone with reading comprehension can understand the point I'm making and how this logic plays out" and the lowest being "I'm just petty about this"
Disclaimer: I'm a Kokichi liker but I kinda bash the guy in here. I insist it's out of a sense of love, as in "why the hell did you do that you little—" (my point is maybe don't read this if you're too too attached to Kokichi and don't like the insinuation that he did some bad stuff. Generally I assume this is a safe topic though.)
Let's start with my most objective take!
The murder setup was kinda garbage (might rephrase this heading later) (I didn't. fight me)
I know this sounds like opinion but hear me out. This is where the phrase "logical fallacy" really comes into play.
Let's outline Chapter 4 real quick. Miu is planning to kill Kokichi, and obviously Kokichi doesn't want this.
What are Kokichi's options from here? Apparently, one of them is reusing the motive from earlier in the chapter (the truth of the outside world) on Gonta to convince him to kill Miu under the guise of a mercy kill plan. This way, Kokichi doesn't die. This is what happens.
There's a lot to be speculated about regarding Kokichi's motivation for enacting this plan, but let's take the view that, first and foremost, Kokichi did not want to die to Miu.
With that out of the way, let's move on to the next piece of this defective puzzle: Miu's motive. We can cover this in two parts:
Part 1: Miu wants to kill Kokichi to escape the academy.
We can assume this much because she tried to set up a murder that would be near impossible to solve, as she would have had power over all the information available regarding the workings of the virtual world.
Kokichi makes the point in trial 4 that Miu coerced everyone to enter the virtual world so that she could manipulate the setting of the crime completely. She wanted to set up a murder that looked like it could only have happened in real life, while withholding the information that would reveal it was possible in the virtual world.
Kokichi was the only one who knew quite a few of the finer details that allowed case 4 to be solved, and she planned to kill him anyway, meaning these details wouldn't have come to light. Since her intent was an unsolvable murder, she wanted to get away with it and escape.
Part 2: For what reason did Miu want to escape?
We can see that she wanted to change the outside world with her inventions based on her own words in Chapter 4. In a flashback of the moments before she was killed, seen in the Chapter 4 post-trial, she explains this explicitly.
Her belief is that the outside world can be saved if she can only escape back out into it. She believes this is her duty as the Ultimate Inventor.
And finally, we reach the point that the logical fallacy falls into place. If we first assume that Kokichi Oma is a cunning individual who plans things out meticulously and considers all possibilities (thus allowing him to do ridiculously clever things like plan his own, truly unsolvable murder and write an entire script of dialogue for Kaito to use in trial 5), then we can assume that his actions in Chapter 4 are reflective of what he views as his optimal plan.
And yes, in-game evidence shows that we are, in fact, to believe that Kokichi Oma is inhumanly smart and analytical. A script. A SCRIPT, with lines for every possibility he could possibly envision. It's a freaking tome of borderline clairvoyance ahksfwosfawei (as you may notice I do not like the existence of Kokichi's script. A SCRIPT. I may be a Kokichi liker but am I really supposed to believe he's a freaking clairvoyant????? like can't you clairvoyant the end of the killing game bro????? and I adfkaweoiefdfshkj)
See, the thing is... Kokichi's optimal plan, having Gonta murder Miu... is... not... optimal...
There's an alternative solution. All the pieces are in place for it to work. And the salt in the wound, the twist of the knife...
...Is that Kokichi himself already knew the mechanism I'm about to propose.
If Kokichi wanted to survive Chapter 4, he could have removed Miu's motive to leave.
Using the already planted Flashback Light in the Virtual World which contained the memories of the true outside world, Kokichi could have demotivated Miu from even killing him. Her motive was saving the outside world, and Kokichi had what would have been irrefutable evidence that the outside world was unsaveable.
This logical fallacy could be explained by reasoning that Kokichi's motive for having Miu killed was not only to survive, but what then? What would Kokichi's motive have been otherwise? Maintaining a mastermind act?
Why would he even need to do that if he could have lobotomized the killing game by letting everyone find the Flashback Light in Chapter 4 to begin with?
Maybe that means the logical fallacy stems from the ultimate use of the outside world motive in Chapter 5, when the truth of the outside world is used by Kokichi to demotivate the entire group. If, say, seeing the outside world led everyone to become bloodthirsty for some reason (?) then I guess that dodges the fallacy?(??????) It's just kind of a garbage motive in general... it didn't even work as a motive when Kokichi used it, and it demotivated the others. Makes you wonder why it was even included.
I guess my point is that the logic really doesn't add up in Chapter 4 and 5 in exchange for some thoughtless added drama. Y'know, typical writing issues stuff.
Um... I spent quite a while writing this one part up, and this is the view that I care about most, so I might split the others into another post, if I even do another one.
In case I don't, I'll just do a quick overview because they're really not nearly as necessary to explain in depth:
The cord switching bit. With the rest of the Virtual World segment riffing off of games and gaming knowledge, the dissolution of suspension of disbelief hit me like a truck when I was told to believe that Gonta reversed the cords and the whole thing basically ran fine, with just the one issue of memories not transferring back. I... am a modder. I type C007_Ki-bo instead of C007_Ki-Bo, the game crashes. Hell, even without being a modder, I have a drawing tablet with 3 cords and if I don't plug them in right, it won't do anything (duh). No way am I buying this.
Not a logical fallacy, but more of a story writing shortcoming. It kinda sucks that Gonta barely had a substantial role in this chapter despite being the culprit. He didn't plan the murder he committed, and he didn't defend himself for the murder he committed. I get that the idea was probably to make a case centered around Kokichi more than Gonta, but (and I say this as a Kokichi liker) we see enough of Mister Oma as it is. Too much, maybe even. (I mean Kokichi has Chapter 5. He DIES in the Chapter 5 case but still plays a role in the trial. And we're really gonna just have him take over trial 4 when Gonta isn't seen for the rest of the game?)
(content: discontent towards Kaito) Also not a logical fallacy. Maybe not that much of a fallacy at all. I might just be petty but I thought Kaito was cringe the whole time. (okay me and Seb literally had to get up, close the game, and go take a walk outside because we were losing it from everything Kaito was saying. DO YOU???? NOT KNOW WHAT A HYPOCRITE IS????????)
A bit of a shill I guess, but I did write two fanfics which were heavily influenced by my views on chapters 4 and 5, which tried to remedy these fallacies and others in V3. Canon-compliant Bloodied Hands renders Tsumugi the ultimate mastermind behind every murder (not just Rantaro's) with her dramatic meddling leading to the emergence of V3's logical fallacies, while The World is His takes the same premise, just diverging from canon such that Kokichi lives.
#maybe if I was a Kokichi hater I could've dismissed the entire fallacy as “kokichi bad”#if Kokichi's just evil I guess????? it makes???? sense????????????#weird belief to subscribe to in my view because evidence implies that Kokichi was not evil (DICE were just pranksters who hated killing etc#“kokichi bad because chapter 4 and 5 make no logical sense unless we assume he's just illogical”#hm. hm hm hm#I think I'd rather just dislike chapter 4 and 5 instead. I already didn't find them enjoyable subjectively speaking#drv3#danganronpa v3#silicon-writes#kokichi oma#miu iruma
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So a lot of people really dislike Dittophobia for messing with their theories. So let me tell you all the things that Dittophobia actually confirmed for my theories.
1. Fnaf SL happened after fnaf 1. The book pretty much confirmed my timeline of games order which I'm happy about since there was really not a lot of evidence for either side and I'm glad we finally have an answer for that.
2. Experiment theory. Self explanatory. Even though it was pretty known a lot of people still belived we play as CC in a coma (and I wad really surprised by how many since I haven't seen that theory being popular since the logbook came out)
3. Nightmare animatronics weren't real or at least not in their in game forms. Among experiment theory believers there were still arguments whenever nightmare animatronics were actually real. My theory was that yes but no. In short there was something either plushies or mannequins (which actually turned out to be correct!) That were moved around and the whole illusion was made with factor of darkness. Well that is true however I never really considered the whole nightmare gas thing so I'd say I was like 80% correct on that one.
4. William was already a killer before CC died. I've even had a post about how I think MCI happened in 1983 bc there's already rumors about haunted robots while CC is still alive. And people are mad about that one because it supposedly "ruins his motivation" which for them was death of his son but I always found that theory unbelievably stupid. William's motivation isn't really covered in games. Sure he wanted to experiment on fear and agony. But the most motivation on why he would do this is in book trilogy where after killing Charlie he's scared of what awaits him in the afterlife so he tries to find the key to immortality. And it doesn't have to be the exact same reason in games since the trilogy is different continuity from games. However I could see that be the case but it's just speculations.
5. Since Fredbear plush is just William talking through it finally is a nail in the coffin for "William was actually a good father and wanted to protect his family" theory. I've also had and entire post about why I don't think he was a good father before Dittophobia came out just based on games so no trilogy evidence there. I honestly don't know why would someone think that William wasn't all that bad and why would he be somehow redeemable.
6. Midnight Motorist isn't about Aftons. I've actually had a rocky path with that minigame and it's interpretation (as pretty much everyone) but for the past 1-2 years I've came to the conclusion that it's not Aftons and probably a family of one of William victims which turned out to be true. But honestly I was wrong about which victim bc I thought it's about someone from MCI but it's most likely Rory so oops.
7. There were maaaaaany victims. Yeah William is a psychopath and a serial killer. People are still to this day arguing whenever toy animatronics are haunted and some say he only killed 6 children. So it makes so much sense to me that there were many victims beside them and even more beside toy animatronics kids bc William was monster who would do anything for his own gain. "He always comes back" but not just from the dead but to commit another murder.
So yeah these were the things that I've already belived before Dittophobia came out and said book just confirmed them. Did it confirm literally every and each one of my theories? No, like 70% of them. But am I gonna claim other 30% that were disproved are a retcon because I'm never wrong? No lmao and I don't get why people are like that since all the things I listed above are conclusions to which I came to some years ago (most recent being probably Midnight Motorist one). So it was possible to form these theories without Dittophobia and yes I'm happy we finally have fnaf 4 explained and I still would be even if it disproved all of my theories as long as we have a consistent story.
#fnaf#fnaf lore#fnaf theory#fnaf theories#fnaf 4#fnaf sl#fnaf books#dittophobia spoilers#fnaf dittophobia#my fourth dittophobia post and it might be the last one but no promises
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What's the deal with Palworld?
Been seeing a lot of stuff floating around for the defense and the hatred of palworld, so I did some digging and put it here with my own two cents. In short: I have my reasons to be wary of it and won't buy it. It's up to you in the end if you wanna get it!
I went ahead and did said digging because I was having difficulty finding better sources for things that, other than my personal reasons for avoiding the game, were poorly sourced. So, here's the reasons I am avoiding buying it and I am wary of the developer. I know a lot of people aren't going to care about this at all, because at the end of the day the game is fun to a lot of folks. tl:dr there are reasons to be wary about the game but at the end of the day it's up to you.
Firstoff, I personally was most worried about Palworld's direct predecessor (it is essentially the same game) on steam called Craftworld. It has been in early access for three years, and while people enjoyed it, I have personally been burned by a lot of early access games that wound up being abandonware nothingburgers, so that was a point against it in my eyes. This kinda boils down to some philosophical crap about like ' when is a game truly done?'
The developer has talked positively about AI art, including having made a game -based- on AI art called AI art impostor. There is no direct evidence that game assets are generated by AI methods, but the designs being literally different pokemon parts smushed together is basically circumstantial but damming, along with the fact the developer talks about how only -one person- made all the pals. This ties back into the whole stealing designs from people thing. It is pretty clearly derivative of pokemon as a whole, but I guess it's up to you how much you would consider that 'parody'
At the end of the day, there just aren't many, if -any- hard sources for a lot of this stuff other than circumstantial evidence and speculation, other than what is easily observed and my personal extreme mistrust of anything with the cursed 'early access' stamp on it. That, and the words of the developer itself.(https://note.com/pocketpair/n/n54f674cccc40)
Link above, entirely Japanese and translated via browser but straight from the lion's mouth.
So, there's what I got. What you do with the info is up to you I reckon. unfortunately all this boils down to there being like no hard evidence whatsoever, but I stated me case. <3
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The RxL relationship/romance/plotpoint etc. whatever people want to call it has not only aged very poorly, and it has absolutely aged like milk, but it was bad from the get go in 1996 when GRRM thought up the story. And not to put my tinfoil hat on but RxL is one of the reasons I firmly believe Martin will never finish the books, because he has to do a lot of 'fixing' of that relationship which I don't think he has the effort or energy to do.
The thing is, there is no evidence of a relationship. Of any kind. Everything people point to is entierly speculated based off of superficial theory.
The facts as we know them are Rhaegar crowned a 14 year old Lyanna at the Tourney of Harranhal instead of his wife. Sometime after that Rhaegar and his Kingsguard disappeared after coming across an alone 15 year old Lyanna where her safety and whereabouts were entirely unknown to everyone but him. Rhaegar did not enter the war after that until a number of weeks to month in, and then Lyanna was found dying in a bed in her own blood still being guarded by Kingsguard after both Rhaegar and Aerys were dead.
There is nothing in text that suggests any romance or a relationship. The only place that comes from is the fandom. Nowhere in the books is there any actual suggestion this was genuinely anything but a kidnapping.
Now, I do think certain things didn't age well in similar regards. I think we see that with Jon's dynamic with Ygritte, and that being a result of the 90s. Which is why in today's standards we understand Ygrittes actions are that of abuse and rape, but in text, Jon never acknowledges this because it's a result of being a male written in the 90s. The result is Jon is stripped of his ability to be a rape victim because of the decade that subplot was conceived.
But remember how we know this story by the end of A Game of Thrones. Not a single thing suggested romance and it is clear Ned is extremely traumatized by Lyannas death by the end of it. Which to me does not suggest she died in a situation that was in any way willing.
R+L=J is not by nature meaning if a relationship. It is a short form path to simply explain who Jon's parents by blood were.
I do not think Lyanna was in any way interested in Rhaegar, I do not think she went with him willingly, I do not think she even wanted to be near him in the first place. I do not think any relationship existed and I do not think she was a willing participant any step of the way.
We have no actual proof that there was a shred of romance or a relationship. All that comes from the fandom and fandom interpretations of in text evidence.
R+L=J is not a love story and it never was. I have more faith in grrm then to assume he both wanted to paint that as a love story but also started that by introducing Rhaegar as a man many people believed raped a teenage girl.
It would be very easy to write twow without changing things to make it not a romance, because the actual in text words do not at all support a romance narrative beyond personal interpretation.
But Rhaegar stans NEED it to be a relationship because otherwise it was kidnapping and rape. And they know they cannot defend that, so they have perpetuated the false narrative that a relationship existed and has always been hinted at.
When the in text evidence does not support any claim. The only logical scenario that we have been told of, is that Rhaegar kidnapped and raped Lyanna all entierly against her will from minute one.
#game of thrones#a song of ice and fire#asoiaf#anti rhaegar#anti rhaegar targaryen#anti targaryen#anti targ stans#anti rhaegar x lyanna
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#173: Hogwarts Inquires - Ø
Loosely based on this post.
ABSOLUTELY NOT SPOILER FREE
A really long wall of text under the cut. I'm done for, I'll document the entirety of this game I stg, guess I'll die.
（ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)つ━━✫・*。
Before putting that one up, gotta say: didn't expect so much to happen just within MC's first week of Hogwarts; I say that every time I start anew.
From the player's perspective, running around the castle, solving secrets here and there, navigating the halls doesn't seem like a lot's going on at the very early stages of the game; I mean the pre-Map Chamber stage specifically, as it barely has anything to do both in and outside of the castle. MC doesn't have a broom yet, her -- I will refer to MC as to her in these -- spell set isn't spectacular to battle with and isn't full yet to solve many puzzles throughout the Highlands. Travelling on foot is possible but mundane and downright, increasingly irritating when you have to constantly sell stuff either in the Lower Hogsfield or Hogsmeade. But.
It all makes perfect sense, considering, MC has been in the castle for the less than a week. These quests are her acclimatising to her new life and getting familiar with the surrounding areas; from the player's perspective, it is also rather mundane. In-universe, MC wakes up and after class, has to explore, traverse and venture through many locations barely recognisable to her despite Field Guide Smart GPS -- which can be very much a convenience rather than a lore-accurate thing -- and subsequently learn about the Owlery, all exits of the castle, find a cave in the Forbidden Forest and open a Chamber deep beneath the Lake Merlin knows where in a positively enormous but still an enormous castle. On the very first week of the new life. With a befuddlement or confusion or the eel of getting lost, hinted by her own words -- if quest descriptions are to be believed -- My Field Guide won't guide me through this assignment and The castle is enormous! I may need to use the Charmed Compass in the Field Guide to help me find the way.
It's truly alot to take in during the first week, and MC acknowledges it herself:
Sebastian: Have you had much of a chance to explore the castle?
MC: A little. It's positively enormous.
Professor Garlick: I spent a good deal of time alone in either the greenhouse or the library my first days here.
MC: [[It takes some getting used to.]] It does take a while to adjust to being here.
Besides that, some areas had to be restricted access only. To add to ever-increasing number of tasks on MC's hands at all times.
Restrictions were implied -- and even used a few times -- but never implemented, likely cut, for some reason or another. While I found it unbelievably sad there isn't a single restriction and penalty for trespassing left almost entirely, for the sake of narrative building let's call it that, this all can be easily build upon what's already given. Along with a morality system, a hero meter, you name it, but what initially needed is awareness from the in-universe perspective.
It is important because it is also implied that MC's activities and Fig's searches are surrounded by rumors where it is easily possible to hide the truth and every intension behind just words, construct a lie or well-adjust an alibi; it is anti-Professor Black repellent, if you will.
The man doesn't believe rumors however grim these might be, he clearly needs evidence. It didn't work with Professor Weasley though when she had enough of the speculation, and Professor Sharp agreed to assist Fig in his goblin inquiries despite Fig's inconceivable statement of them working with Rookwood, of all people.
In other words, I'm interested to see the events unfold as if in the book or just simply going one after another. Hope it does make sense; in some other words more, the idea of looking at the plot or the fabula from different standpoints, of professors for example, is just right up my street. Which means, SPOILER ALERT.
It would be also interesting to see a timeline, somewhat clear. Forever can last popping balloons in Kogawa's assignments but if it all can be pinned to a specific day, I'm chasing after that goal.
It immediately becomes connect-the-dots but it's a fun little game outside the actual game; interpretations can be discarded or seem to lay down perfectly, I am still an unreliable enough and ornery narrator to be fully believed in any of my Inquires.
Can't keep it all for myself though!
（ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)つ━━✫・*。
I am not sure where to start, truly. I'll continue on the supposed restricted areas perhaps?..
First and foremost, MC can access the Restricted Section repeatedly after breaking in with Sebastian because she still has the key:
I'd better not let Madam Scribner see me trying to get in here.
I still have the key.
The key will help me get back in here.
The game does also hint that MC is either sneaky -- and she admits it herself -- and or if the cause is any way noble…
That's being said, when Professor Weasley is asking to discuss ongoing matters with MC during her assignment quest, she will hint she does know more than she lets on about MC's activities and that some of them she is likely to excuse or ignore entirely.
There are two particularly interesting quests to root for: Professor Weasley's Assignment and Polyjuice Plot. As this is the starter post and it is already taking a long walk, I will not go too deep until it is winter in-game but, I must say: these two quests deserve a post of their own.
For now, what matters is, if MC is as free-to-go as it may seem in the game.
Professor Weasley's Assignment starts right after Fire and Vice, a quest where MC unbeknownst continues to weave the chain of events tied to Rookwood's poaching empire's eventual collapse.
Accepting the quest under dim evening sun at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, MC and Poppy leave the Horntail Hall uninjured at dusk, freed the dragon, and are to return to the castle by the late evening with its egg fortunately saved from poachers -- or not so late, as it is the midst of the winter and nights are starting much earlier than in autumn in the Northern hemisphere. However. By the time MC returned, Hall of the Keepers can be heard in the halls; it is late, nearly nightfall. Important note: I do not use floo powder at all.
Professor Weasley is yet to know about the Horntail Hall or of its destruction's deathly consequences, but what she does know is that MC has been busy this year.
First, caught up with peers! And also, helped Mr Olivander (she mentions The House Quests only this time around)? Captured a unicorn (the other two things: an impressive Edurus Potion and Venomous Tentacula)? Protecting such a rare of beast…
Said beast can only be found on the single patch of land deep in the Forbidden Forest.
It doesn't matter if you didn't, wouldn't or couldn't capture one before Hazel the Unicorn; it is possible to have a unicorn in a vivarium from as early as October, and Professor Weasley will know because Deek tells her what MC does in the Room.
Just the very possibility to know how she'd react is what's needed here.
Professor Weasley knows MC ventured into the Forbidden Forest but notice, she doesn't scold MC nor deduces any house points. I believe, in her book, it is wholly justified by the very fact MC stepped inside it to save a rare creature from the poachers. Thus, MC had the good reason and wasn't goofing around?.. I can only guess Professor Weasley's take on this might be, er, Professor Fig-free motives are at least MC's own and could be excused due to mischief rather than Eleazar's enigmatic schemes.
I don't ask many questions, too. Or I'd stuck asking professor Garlick why wouldn't Leander field test the cabbages, or pester professor Sharp with something like, why is the Stench of the Dead being even available at the store, not to mention lively afterparties nearly everywhere, even Keenbridge's cemetery is infested with inferi, and it's a lovely little hamlet full of locals and travellers alike!
Which is why The House Quest mentioned out of suspicion such an adventure could had possibly been orchestrated by Professor Fig. It's kinda hilarious to think the man was up to things ranging from innocently weird (feed that toast to the Cracken!) to wicked at its purest (visit Azkaban? sure np ready when you are!) for Professor Weasley to immediately assume Eleazar tasked MC with something peculiar while he is away.
He, in fact, didn't, but who knew a quest to find missing pages could align with seemingly ordinary request from an old craftsman. MC, however, elucidates the already present suspicion, nervously rambling, how she is either fascinated by the wandlore or ghosts, or was intrigued by Professor Sharp's auror badge (to ask someone other than him about the very Programme he could had been assigned to help running should he stayed at the Ministry), or found Scrope a perfect guide for the little cave tour.
Nothing else is specified, therefore I assume, MC was either sneaky and hid the trails well or stayed out of trouble when possible; a loose one but, she wouldn't want to visit certain areas without a friend by her side (notably the arena east of Keenbridge or any of the quest-locked dungeons).
However.
MC can move an entire herd of unicorns in the Room of Requirement but what were MC's other reasons to sneak in the Forbidden Forest?
That's what Professor Weasley confronted Professor Black with during the Polyjuice Plot, likely hinting, that Fire an Vice aftermath caught her attention. Moreover, Natty's abduction, too; the whole school knew it was MC who rescued Natty that night, including the faculty, because Professor Onai told everyone. And to count, Sebastian's triptych searches all around Ranrok's Loyalists outposts, and Lodgok's requests. All these quests are tightly placed together, taking a time windows of roughly two weeks, which, again, is a lot to take in and prepare for, and this time, stay out of sight of everybody in the valley wasn't exactly a possibility any longer.
MC wasn't just exploring or innocently wandering around the valley, pulling the wand out when it's truly necessary. MC has gotten herself in a big trouble lately, the trouble she really shouldn't engaged with; fighting such dangerous people back is deeply concerning; and what's worse, it all might be a part of Professor Fig's plan, whatever it could be.
What gives, -- falsely or not, doesn't matter, the miscommunication is on Fig -- are two things:
Professor Fig's research and interest in goblins are tied to Miriam's death and MC is somehow knitted in in the whole story;
MC is a little bit too hesitant when her motives are suggested or implied to be anyhow connected to Professor Fig's interests.
To conclude, the situation also doesn't make much sense for a bystander, as everything about Fig only does when he explains not the dots themselves but why would he connect them exactly like he does.
Polyjuice Plot is still a shitpost though, WHY WOULD YOU KEEP BLACK'S HAIR WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'PREPARED' LIKE FOR WHAT EXACTLY don't @ me im losing it like sharp did but -- that's exactly the thing Fig would consider a viable option. Either because he can, or he thinks, risking it all than to allow any unnecessary number of people see even a tiny bit of what's he is up to this time is totally worth it.
And MC does it as well! Example.
To access the Restricted Section, she could've asked any of the known professors at a time for, perhaps, an advanced read on something? Students are supposed to learn more than what's in their assigned textbooks, especially and presumably, in DADA or in Potions.
She is brewing the Thunderbrew Potion and Professor Sharp encouraged to learn ingredients themselves, and that one specific to Thunderbrew is the Stench of the Dead. A part of a corpse, an inferius. Dark magic stuff. DADA class topic.
The book about inferius must belong to the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. Thus, a good reason to ask for a pass; reaching the Athenaeum then would be incredibly easy, besides, the way back leads in the library! The only suspicious person would be madam Scribner but it'd be easy to pull a stunt like 'sorry i got curios and fought with a book within itself, AN EXPERIENCE DARESAY'.
Even Professor Sharp is concerned, somewhat, although he says that one line when Fig is chosen as a companion, I hope you know better than to let Professor Fig take you on one of his foolhardy adventures.
That's why at least a simple warning on screen, that MC is heading somewhere she shouldn't be, yes that's crude but, would only add to an immserion and dissolve the illusion of the free-to-go and go-where-she-pleases. And it's already there! MC points things out, sometimes; I insisted on something more apparent, however, but.
It's fine as it is now because imagine a sign forbidding to go to somewhere, or a message stuck on the screen, -- and then, no repercussions, nothing, at all, ever happening for trespassing somewhere.
I'm just being grumpy here, pardon me.
TLDR; MC is supposed to explore places and educate through adventuring but visiting restricted areas or trespassing is frowned upon. Another example of this would be Venomous Tentacula Hogsmeade Dude quest, after which Sirona reminds MC of what she's done (regardless of option MC actually chooses; handing the guy a tentacula of your own doesn't help, it still will be assumed MC stole it).
TLDR; When MC disguised as Professor Black says, I've decided to give him a bit more, er, leeway with his time., Professor Weasley is done with Black altogether and decides to take everything under her control. That's why she didn't leave for the Christmas break, perhaps other Professor stayed after her notice, too (I gave my own hcs here a leeway). That's why Fig tells MC, Professor Weasley has been keeping an eye on me. Perhaps we should meet there so she has no reason to raise concerns with Professor Black.
Unbeknownst to both of them, and that of everyone else, MC sort of kept everyone in the castle when it was most needed: Ranrok will attack Hogwarts shortly before the term resumes, in early January.
TLDR; Professor Black is very likely to excuse MC a lot of things as in the books, he admired bravery, and MC put up no cowardly fight -- she was rather noble saving all the people around her, helping them, dealing with the Final Repository, selflessly.
I found documenting the details like this fascinatingly engaging, although, I must warn: 0) I refer to MC as to her; 1) I do let my hcs go-be-free, to indepth? is it even a proper word deepen? things narrative-wise as they go; 2) originally, I planned all of this to address the lack of sense of time in the game; 3) and it all was and is needed for a rather huge fanfic I will eventually write, hopefully; 4) it's about mentor!Sharp, the man is fun and secretly a softie, it is an obsession and I surrender; shout out to all sharpies out here, you all do magnificently. 乁(✿ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)و
To capture this and many more, I started this little series. It promises to be a long one, too, as in my primary language I have 27 of them I believe.
As a bonus, what MC's first week felt like:
September 1, 1890, Monday: dragon attack | Gringotts | NO FEAST AFTER THE SORTING CEREMONY? Professor Black, you're very unpopular for a reason | Sleep!
September 2, Tuesday: Professor Weasley Thinks Somebody's Being Sus (and she is EITHER completely baffled by the ruin exploration part of the story she didn't know about and ready to inquire further OR she suspects MC and Fig rehearsed the supposed talk with her; not to mention the sense of distrust between Weasley and Fig, I'm ansgty about their friendship and might have an idea what led them apart) | some classes | troll attack | Rookwood's hunt for MC began here; thus, MC's reputation for fearlessness | Sleep!
September 3, Wednesday: free space | I mean, it is really just Crossed Wands and Incendio Spell kind of a day | MC breaks in the Restricted Section along with Sebastian in the late evening that day (he doesn't refuse because he is genuinely intrigued by MC)
September 4, Thursday: Professor Sharp is on our investigation carriage, too! (likely, he knows MC was in the Restricted Section last night because MC starts the convo with Fig BEFORE Sharp leaves the office lol; also, if MC stands somewhere in his field of view, THE MAN DOESN'T CARE EITHER HE IS LOOSING IT) | some classes again | Professor Sharp Thinks We're Good But We Need a Safe Space of Our Own to Practise (hinting, he might be aware of the Room's existence) | MC and Natty are chatting in the evening outside the Lower Hogsfield; Mrs Treadmill claims she was never ambushed so close to the castle ever before in her life
September 5, Friday: free space | Garreth's plan to 'acquire' dried billywig stings leads MC to Hogsmead through the secret passageway | Followed Olivander's request to the Owlery, MC searched for the clues to the little jackdaw mystery, to later on met Jackdaw's ghost in the Forbidden Forest | Map Chamber has been opened that night
September 6, Saturday: Flying Class | Sharp's Assignments | Imelda's First Time Trial | Sebastian offers MC Undercroft, MC offers him, 'ohhi seb i wield ancient magic dunno what does it even mean idk ikr', or 'nah some pages were missing sorry'
September 7, Sunday: Professor Weasley would have liked MC to have her own study to get up to speed. Thus, MC joined the Room Club: 1) Fig knows because he comments on the increasing beast population and the only source on this is Professor Weasley because Deek tells her everything MC does in there (unicorn, tentacula); 2) Weasley knows because she herself used to study in the Room; 3) Sharp most likely in the know, too, because -- I'm letting a hc-based theory out! -- what if these two notes in the Room of the Hidden Things were written by his former classmate and himself; the fireplace note, from the classmate T., and it starts with A., wonder who that might be, I found curious and telling: the note is lying near a fireplace with some potion bottles on top of it and cauldrons stacked up on the side; bathtub one is funny because, if you think about disposing a failed batch and ask the Room for a second opinion, what should you really expect from it. Cheeky thing.
Wholeheartedly adore the default Room's design; it is composed of potions, cauldrons and some ingredients. MC remembered Sharp's words! ( ͡° ل͜ ͡°) Moreover, I noticed but still might be wrong, Sharp's other dialogue about on why he came to Hogwarts is available after the Room has been opened, as he is certain now MC does have an empty cauldron waiting for her somewhere | Professor Fig returned in the evening.
The Next Week: free space | remaining side-quests (A Demanding Delivery, Absconder Encounter, The Daedalian Keys, Kogawa&Garlick Assignments, Follow the Butterflies)
13-14 of September, to give MC some breathing room: The First Trial
I'll say, exhilarating, but with sleep schedule possibly ruined by nightly ventures..? homework to be done..? establish a pace between the school and adventuring..? duelling looks stunning and elegant but all these moves require a good physique, which MC has, but still it can leave MC exhausted after a while..?
Now, that's exasperating!
Alrighty. I'm over by now.
Do slam that ask button if you want. I sit screaming since February and while I'm potted, I can at least woe comprehensively about things.
#днявочка#днявочка: hlegacy#днявочка: игры#hogwarts inquires - en#hogwarts legacy#eng tag#theeeeeese i will number as i ii iii#i havent mentioned that sharp's owl (with his first assignment) finds mc in the middle of the night#while i respect professor sharp being the night owl like the most of us#what would he think of mc if the letter had any kind of 'status: received' enchantment (and where it was received! in the old cellar!)#im not writing fics in tags im not writing fics in tags im not#eleazar fig#professor weasley#aesop sharp#also!!!!!! i adore sharp's choice of friends for mc#two sides of the same coin; he and matilda#matilda is happy for any friend and always sees any relationships as 'mc you found such a good friend in [X]'!#but sharp is vigilant of anyone and tries to impress that on mc and he is only er satisfied? content? with poppy and imelda#if only he'd knew whos idea was to take and return that egg............#as for imelda though he says in his regular meh she may inspire a sense of competition in mc but after short but very telling pause he adds#might do you good! -- and he is uplifted about it!!#sir you did say that like t h i s definitely because it is coming from an experience didn't you...............#everything sharp says out of his usual character instantly sends me#rambling in the tags
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History of the Zonai [Chapter 2]: Era of the Goddess Hylia
“Before they left the world they created, the three goddesses created the Triforce—a magical object made up of three golden triangles—and entrusted it with the goddess Hylia.” - Nintendo, via the Zelda Official Website
This chapter speculates on the origins of the sheikah and their connections to the zonai, as well as the original purpose of Thyphlo Ruins and hypothesize as to why it's in its current location.
Disclaimer: This series is a hypothetical history of the zonai as interpreted by me with the goal of creating a comprehensive narrative. Although my interpretation is based on canon events, locations and other information provided in-game as well as evidence and ideas brought forward by other fan theorists, it remains purely theoretical and borders on the realm of heavy speculation and even fiction. I do not claim anything said in this series as factual!
1. The Origins of the Sheikah
After entrusting the Triforce to the goddess Hylia, the goddesses created the hylians to help her protect this artifact. The zonai likely lived unaware of the Triforce, and did not worship Hylia like the hylians did. By that time, the zonai would have become highly advanced in their use of magic and were starting to create highly advanced technology.
Although it is not known exactly how the sheikah came to be, a likely explanation is that a group of hylians would see the technological and magical advancement of the zonai that could easily rival with Hylia’s own powers. This group probably developed a fascination with the zonai, they likely portrayed them as enlightened beings closest to the gods. The group would plausibly adopt the third eye, a noticeable physical trait of the zonai, as their symbol and would start working with the zonai to learn from them.
The early sheikah were probably not too different from other hylians, it is possible that they would develop their unique physical traits, such as the red eyes, white hair and longer life-spans much later, as they may have been inherited from the zonai.
Impa from Skyward Sword is the only example of a sheikah of the Era of the Goddess Hylia; she is blonde with brown-mahogany eyes. Her clothes are somewhat reminiscent of Mineru's in both colours and style, showing the influence of the zonai. The painted eye on her forehead is also closer in design to the zonai eye symbol than the sheikah symbol that can be found elsewhere in-game, like on the timeshift stones.
Impa from Skyward Sword - via Zelda Dungeon
2. The Zonai & the Sheikah
It is unclear what the relation was between the zonai and sheikah of this time. What we do know is that they have probably worked together.
It is highly possible that the zonai and sheikah worked together in the collecting of resources from the vast grassland that would later become the Lanayru Desert. Said resources were most likely used by the zonai to create and power their new technology. These resources would later be replaced by the zonaite found in the depths.
They might have had some sort of arrangement with the sheikah; the sheikah may have helped the zonai in harvesting resources from their land in exchange of knowledge regarding their technology. They most likely built the sandship together to ferry resources, as the zonai crest can be spotted on the ship, indicating they may have had a hand in building the mining facilities as well.
However the sandship and mining facilities does not appear to be built in the zonai style. This could mean that, despite having a hand in their creation, they may not have been the ones to build them. These were likely built by the sheikah following instructions from the zonai, which would have left a lot of room for interpretation in terms of architecture and design.
Zonai swirl symbol found on the sandship doors - via r/zeldatheories
Once the land ran out of resources, the zonai likely moved their operations elsewhere, leaving the area entirely to the sheikah. The sheikah would have created the Timeshift Stones as a way to keep harvesting resources in the area to power their own inventions, as well as the ancient robots, probably inspired by the zonai constructs, using the knowledge they had gained from working with the zonai.
After discovering the zonaite ore, which they would use for the creation of their zonai charges and energy wells, the zonai would move their entire operations to the depths. They likely used the ore for building bigger and stronger constructs, and to enhance their magic abilities. The boar tribe would likely know a great expansion due to the increased need for zonaite and would start their conquest of the depths.
Lanayru Desert Timeshift Stone - via Link's Hideaway
3. Thyphlo Ruins
There are many possibilities as to the origins of Thyphlo Ruins. Based on the layout, it might have been a former stronghold. The fact that it is so far removed from the settlement in the Faron Province might indicate it was moved at one point.
In the event that the castle was moved, it was most likely originally located closer to the Faron Province, either in the middle of Lake Hylia or Lanayru Wetlands. In the case it wasn't moved, there is the possibility it was built due to its proximity to Death Mountain and the Forgotten Temple, likely for trading or defensive purposes against the rising threat of Demise, who had yet to make his move.
The castle might have also been the home of the first zonai sages and the place where the zonai would create the secret stones. It might have also been the first sky island built by the zonai. It was probably built only by the dragon and owl tribe, as shown by the lack of boar statues.
This stronghold may have been originally built on a hill, in a maze-like fashion to discourage enemies and allow for greater protection. This is probably what would inspire the building of the labyrinths. Within the walls, there would've been a guard tower near the entrance as well as the sage’s temple. On the left, there would be the garden, the keep, the temple with two chapels dedicated to Nayru and Farore, as well as the graveyard. On the right side, there would be the lower and higher courtyards leading to the sage’s quarters, and on the top of the hill, sat the great hall and the king’s tower.
This is likely where the zonai of the dragon and owl tribes would take refuge when Demise attacked. The sages would then raise the castle into the sky, making it the first sky island. Long after Demise is defeated, they would bring this island back down to the surface. This would make them seem as if they had descended from the heavens.
If the castle wasn't originally in its current location near the Lost Woods and Eldin Volcano, it was likely moved there due to the chasm close by that would ensure contact with the boar tribe in the depths, as it is likely that the Gleeok Den in the depths used to be a former settlement of the boar tribe.
Possible plan of the zonai castle at Thyphlo Ruins - made by me
Chapter 1 <- -> Chapter 3
Reminder: This narrative is purely speculative and is based on my own deductions and theories, as well as on what has already been theorized by other.
These are the sources that inspired the narrative of this chapter:
Secrets of the Lanayru Desert by Monster Maze
The Zonai-Sheikah Connections by Monster Maze
The Lomei Labyrinths - Breath of Wild Analysis by Monster Maze
Who are the ZONAI? - A Breath of the Wild Documentary by NintendoBlackCrisis
Breath of the Wild: The MYSTERY of Thyphlo Ruins by NintendoBlackCrisis
The Zonai Construct's Origins and How they Might’ve been Built by Triforce Trends
Tears of the Kingdom Interactive Map by Zelda Dungeon
#legend of zelda#skyward sword#breath of the wild#tears of the kingdom#fan theory#zonai#fan speculation#zonai history
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I think the game heavily hints that Dirthamen is one of the elven gods we're going to face, likely as an antagonist, in the fourth game. A lot of fan speculation about that game also suggests he will show up, based on promotional material.
I mean, definitely he should show up in DA4. But then, DAI should have been more about the mage rebellion and should not have decided to make the entirety of the most visible non-Christianity-allegory pantheon in the game evil slavers, so really who knows what Bioware is going to do.
My main issue is that what we hear of Dirthamen doesn't really feel like villain shit? Like, his codex entry is basically "He lost his brother :( but then he tamed some evil ravens and found his brother :)", with none of the Horrible Deeds that some of the other Evanuris have to be persuaded away from, and while things did go to shit at his temple that wasn't until after he was sealed away, so there's no evidence that he was involved in that. And if Cole's comment about Dirthamen's Wisdom being left "for us" really does suggest that he left it there specifically for the Inquisitor to find (which is the sense I get), that gives the impression that he might actually be on the heroes' side; I mean, if he knew that the Inquisitor would be there then he might have known about the whole thing with Solas, in which case he'd have a very good reason not to help the Inquisitor, since Solas intended to bring the Veil back down, which would free him, and "the god of secrets and knowledge" doesn't sound like a position that would lend itself to rash judgments based on personal grudges. Also there is that Veil-strengthening artifact in there, which might be entirely random but just feels incredibly weird given you'd think he'd have a very good reason to want the Veil as weak as possible.
What I really want in DA4 is for it to turn out that Dirthamen was keeping an eye on the events of DAI, presumably through those weird ravens with the red markings, and would have stepped in to help deal with Corypheus, except he couldn't because Solas locked him (and preferably a few other non-murdering-slavers Evanuris) away along with the ones who actually deserved punishment. It would solve the problem of the abrupt "Uhhhhh the Evanuris were all evil please stop feeling bad for the underdogs" retcon in DAI ("only some of them were evil but Solas tarred all of them with the same brush in a rash judgment without considering the perspectives that didn't fit his narrative" is at least better than that, and if Bioware must "both sides" every discussion in these games they could at least include one example where that actually might apply) and mean that we don't have to accept that the only "good" Evanuris is the one who hung out in a swamp being an abusive mother for who-knows-how-long while her people's homeland was destroyed and they were hunted by the Chantry! And might justify Solas killing his bestest friend 5ever who he destroyed his world to avenge, if she knew that not all the Evanuris were evil and kept him in the dark for her own ends. Also like. "god of secrets and knowledge" has a spymaster feel and I love spymaster characters, so. more please.
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Aight, apparently we are doing this - a angry and slightly tipsy commentary of the latest SCOTUS clusterfuck
[Note : so the ruling ended up being pretty much the same as the draft (which is Bad), so this is mainly me getting mad at why this entire decision is legal nonsense and I cannot believe it was actually adopted]
This entire reasoning is full of intellectual clusterfucks that are like a 5 year old inventing a game with rules that guarantee they win. Like :
"litigants are saying that history does not matter, but the Court has always considered history mattered ! However could we change that!"
But also this entire ruling is based on this idea that stare decisis is dead and the Court should not be bound by its own precedent ????
BUT ALSO "No you can't make it about gender equality because "it is squarely foreclosed by our precedents" I- ?????
I am crying, like "don't worry, banning abortion is not "mere pretex[t] designed to effect an invidious discrimination against members of one sex.”"
WELL IT'S KINDA HARD NOT TO TAKE IT LIKE THAT, NGL
Hey maybe make up your mind. I don't like stare decisis either. But I live in a Civil Law country. We WRITE our laws, through vaguely functionnal democratic institutions. Wild, I know. You 're in a common law country. Saying stare decisis is always up for grab is the equivalent of our legislator writing a law and concluding with "but y'know, we can always talk about" NO WE CAN'T THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT
Relying on "The great common law authorities - Bracton, Coke, Hale, and Blackstone" OH WOW I WONDER WHAT ALL THESE RICHWHITEMENRICHWHITEMENRICHWHITEMEN HAVE IN COMMON WHICH COULD HAVE BIASED THEIR OPINION OF ABORTION ????
[more under the cut, obv, this ruling is too damn long and I have THOUGHTS that need to be put SOMEHWERE]
Oh my god I am NOT going over the whole history of men banning abortion for centuries and why it was good once more, SKIP.
"Justice Ginsburg’s opinion..." the AUDACITY to invoke RBG's work in a ruling TAKING BACK WOMEN'S RIGHTS I cannot believe I am reading this with my own two eyes I a way too fucking sober for this
The cognitive dissonance in this ruling is UNREAL :
Stare Decisis "restrains judicial hubris by respecting the judgment of those who grappled with important questions in the past" [proceeds to give a master class in judicial hubris disregarding stare decisis]
"the term “liberty” alone provides little guidance. “Liberty” is a capacious term. As Lincoln once said: “We all declare for Liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.” [proceeds to define what liberty is]
"This Court has long disfavored arguments based on alleged legislative motives" [proceeds to rule based on the alleged constitutional motives of guys 200 years again]
Love how they note that in the Middle Age, awomen caught for getting an abortion "was sentenced to two days in the pillory and three years’ imprisonment." And then went Yeah let's use that as our inspiration.
"Respondents and their amici have no persuasive answer to this historical evidence." Respondant and their amici think that relying on XIIIth century law to decide whether women should have bodily autonomy today is fucking dumb, next.
[insert spongebob meme] "Some of the Court’s most important constitutional decisions have overruled prior precedents. See, e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U. S. 483, 491 (overruling the infamous decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U. S. 537, and its progeny)." OH so you ARE aware of these cases ? Cool cool, just to check that you knew what you were opening the door for literaly the entirery of civil rights to be walked back to the XIXth century.
"The Undue Burden test is too vague" oh yeah sure, because the other legal standards are cristal clear and totally not subject to interpretation. "Reasonable person", "rational basis" are absolutely transparent, obvious standards.
"You give too many differerent reasons why access to abortion is important, that's sus" (aka "The Casey plurality’s speculative attempt to weigh the relative importance of the interests of the fetus and the mother") Wow it's like there are lots of different reasons why access to abortion is important.
"The Solicitor General suggests that overruling Roe and Casey would threaten the protection of other rights under the Due Process Clause. The Court emphasizes that this decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right. Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion." CUE MY ABSOLUTE FERAL BANSHEE SCREAMING HOW CAN YOU EVEN WRITE THIS HOW ARE YOU REAL ON WHAT PLANET TO DO YOU LIVE ??
jfc I am stopping there rn I can't deal with this I am too European for this shit.
#tw alcohol#scotus#dobbs v jackson#abortion#this is what I got a degree in american law for fml#and then scotus goes OH WOW I WONDER WHY OTHER COURTS DON'T REFER MORE TO US#bitch bc you take a time machine to the middle age everytime someone asks you of maybe all people should have dignity
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So what did happen to your parents Amy? Because some would say that you strangled them to death. But it seems that’s not the case??
“My parents weren’t fond of the fact that I was sinking so much time into my job. They thought the people I was with were influencing me negatively, and in hindsight, I can kind of see why they’d think that. But it was never the people I worked with. It was them. And the fact they didn’t trust me enough to let me do something I was passionate about. So they pulled me out. I was pissed about it, sure- but I never thought that my behavior was something that my family, who had before this never considered themselves even vaguely religious- to suddenly turn towards the idea that this was spiritual. I mean... yeah, I know everything that happened with Gary night have tipped it off but... that didn’t make itself clear until after they were already dead.
“You’ll have to forgive me. There’s gaps in my memory about what happened and it often blends with the shit they forcefed me in the hospital. It’s fucked up my perception of what happened. September 21, 1986, my parents sent for a priest to come and exorcise me. They had me tied up in the basement, and naturally, I freaked out and started screaming for them to let me go. My dad felt guilty and he kept apologizing... I remember spitting in his face and telling him if he really felt that bad, he’d untie me. He didn’t. He just went upstairs with my mom. I went quiet, trying to listen to what they were saying. I heard them talking to two other men, a Father Allred, and I guess his apprentice John Ward. I had no idea initially that John Thoma Ward would be a name that would be burned into my mind forever. I’d never forget it for as long as I lived. That man would destroy my life as I knew it.
The priests came downstairs to see me. I remember being so in shock over the situation, in complete and utter disbelief over the fact that my non-religious family had summoned two catholic priests to perform an exorcism on me, that I couldn’t speak. Father Allred seemed normal enough. There was a grim expression on his wrinkly old face as my parents explained the situation. John just kept... staring at me. There was something off about him, I knew it right from the start. There was something about his eyes. He had the eyes of a man who wasn’t all there. The eyes of someone flipped- you know what I mean? I never could have predicted what he was about to do.
Father Allred raised his crucifix and began saying some sort of prayer. It didn’t do anything. I didn’t feel anything, and I tried to tell them all as much. I tried to explain that I wasn’t possessed and started struggling again. I started wiggling and my mother started crying. That was when it started. John had a knife— I don’t know it he had it on him or he grabbed it from the kitchen, but he turned around and stabbed my mother. She was in hysterics. I watched him do it, and I screamed. I remember lurching forward in the chair screaming “Mother! Mother!”. Both of my parents managed to run upstairs. John moved to go after them but Father Allred grabbed his arm. He shouted at him what he thought he was doing and struggled to hold his wrists back and keep him from doing anymore damage. Eventually, he managed to drive that knife right into the old priest’s chest and he slowly fell back, sprawled out on the ground, arms stretched out wide. John looked exhausted just from that, and after a few seconds, he stepped over him and charged up the stairs after my family. They made it up to the kitchen. But that was as far as they made it.
He got the jump on my dad. I know he did- he had to. My dad was former military. The only way John could have gotten to him was catching him off guard, and I was right. I heard my moms screaming “Bob! Bob no!”. I was crying by this point, wiggling around and trying to get out of my bonds. I did everything in my power to get out of my restraints. I heard my mom screaming for mercy, and heard gushing and squelching that nauseated me. By the time I’d managed to get out of my ropes, it was quiet upstairs. I heard dragging and shifting around and I knew my family was dead. And I knew that if I stayed down in the basement, I’d end up like them. So I hid behind some of the boxes we had down there. John came down and he was covered in blood. He was shocked when he saw Allred on the ground, as if he didn’t expect what greeted him. Then he saw the empty chair and he was horrified. I crept along, towards the front of the basement where the power switch was. I flipped it off, hoping the darkness would slow him down. He turned just as I made it up the stairs. I knew I had to find a place to hide. With the power off, I realized I had no way of calling police, I had to hide and hope would leave. I almost broke down when I saw what he did to my parents. He’d gutted them, strangled them with their own intestines, and stabbed them so many times I couldn’t even count them all.
I ran upstairs, and into the basement. I thought surely he’d never think to look up here. But he did. I was cornered. He yelled for help from the others. I thought he was mocking me- I still think he was. But in that moment, he looked lost. He looked like genuinely did realize that everyone was gone and it was his fault. He tried to talk to me, and I kept yelling at him to leave me alone. “Stay away from me!” I told him. “Stay back, Father!”. He kept looking at me like I was the inside one, until finally, he raised his knife and cane towards me. I didn’t know what to do, I was so scared. I screamed and ran at him. I know- it sounds so stupid looking back on it, but it worked. John faltered, he dropped his knife and he ran from me. He ran down the stairs and out the front door. I sat in that attic for I don’t know how long. I just sat down and I cried. I cried over my mother, my father, everything that I’d been forced to endure that night. It took me hours before I could finally get up and call the police. When they came, I told them everything. I told them about how he’d killed my mother, my father. That’s when it occurred to me that Nate and Jason were still upstairs. I ran up to get them and found them hiding under their beds. We all went downstairs and were escorted out by police.
Nate and Jason were taken by CPS. I was only 16, I couldn’t have custody of them. They took me in for questioning but I was still so shocked, I wasn’t of any help to them... They ended up having my admitted to Yale Psychiatric for analysis. I hoped that would be the last I saw of John. Unfortunately, I found out through a rather unlucky encounter with him that he had also been admitted there. I found our shortly before I made my “Big Break” that he was, just as I thought, fucking nuts. He was suffering from delusions of grandeur. The damn man thought he was a hero sent by god to protect the innocent. He couldn’t keep a straight story, he thought I was possessed, he thought I killed my parents, and he was denying all reality of the situation. He was a complete psychopath, and the thought of facing him in court while I was still struggling with my own issues terrified me. I couldn’t bear the thought. I had to get away.
Since then, I’m glad to say that I haven’t seen John. But knowing he’s still out there and got off without any sort of punishment or retribution still scares me. I know that they wouldn’t let him go without knowing he was “cured” or whatever, but I’m not stupid. You can’t just cure crazy. People like that don’t change. Which is why I’m still terrified that he’s out there looking for me. And that one day, he might actually find me. And let me tell you, facing John Ward again is infinitely more terrifying to me just as a concept than anything else in this world. Even Gary and what he did- that sick, sick fuck— it pales in comparison to the monster that is John Ward. He’s proof that if the devil is real, it exists in one man!
And that man is him!”
#// this is based entirely on my own speculation of in-game evidence#‘’ you asked ‘’ // ask#‘’ where only the faintest light shines ‘’ // anonymous#response#‘’ tried to save a girl from evil ‘’ // amy#‘’ it’s true what happened to her ‘’ // about amy#trigger#tw blood#tw gore mention#tw strangulation mention#tw choking mention#tw death mention
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Random Headcanon's for the Scream Character's
Billy really was a normal sweet kid and a good boyfriend before his mom left. Everyone paints him as always being crazy and his mom just triggered him but I honestly don't think that's true. Sidney and her parents would not have been okay with her dating a bad boy from Sophomore year onward. Sure it happens and maybe she saw past it but If Sidney would have seen how Billy acted with Randy in the videostore; instant break up imo. He could not have hid that side of himself for two years straight. Remember, they were dating a whole year prior to Maureen cheating. My theory is he may or may not have had a 'side' to him or other undiagnosed disorder in his gene pool (Mrs Loomis snapping too.) but Billy's psychotic breakdown was mostly situational + groomed by Roman and there were other things in his life that probably were boiling over and Debbie leaving him completely broke him. So, he was in an extremely vulnerable state when Roman came around and molded him. THAT is why Sidney trusted him so much in Scream before the phone incident and even somewhat after. Because Billy was a good boyfriend before her mom's murder and she would have never suspected it. Now how her or no one else could see him tumbling into madness or at least deep depression before Roman sank his talons in is beyond me. Maybe she did and he shrugged her off? Either way, the situation made him shut down all empathy towards other people and changed him. His empathy is towards his mom, possibly his dad since Hank never died and that is it. He has symptoms of a psychopath and even though that is usually genetic I 100% think a psychotic breakdown could do it as well.(Don't come for me bitch I'm not trained in any of this just using what I know from research 🧍♀️) If his mom never left and Roman didn't come along; Billy would have never been a killer
Contrary to Billy's situational psychological crazyness. Stu was always going to kill. I don't even think it's is he a sociopath vs a psychopath argument as much as he is just disconnected from reality. (Though he would most likely be a Sociopath if he was bc of his lack of boundaries as well impulsive behavior. Thinking killing was a game.) Stu possibly suffered abuse as a child. He was terrified of his parents more than the law. Either A. They abused him and permanently terrified him. Or B. He really has a stunted mentality and thinks of killing as a game and fears his parents more than the law bc the consequences are just not clicking LIKE A KID. He's like a giant little kid with no sense of how things work. He still could have been abused and that is what stunted his growth mentally. However, his violent tendacies were always there. Never preplanned just urgent anger or sadistic glee he couldn't control. Billy just suggested the killings and he was instantly down. Like, hell yeah cool. Most ppl no matter what mental illness they have or how severe are not that easy to convince. Whose to say he hadn't killed before or was planning to? My theory is he is so disconnected from reality that killing really is a giant fun game to him and he would have eventually murdered someone even without Billy.
Idk why this isn't more thought of throughout the fandom. Billy and Stu did not rape Maureen bc the evidence would have pointed to someone other than the guy they were framing. Cotton Weary had sex with Maureen, left, Billy and Stu taunted her on the phone and lured her away, they killed her, police suspected rape bc A. they didn't know about the affairs. B. Cotton's semen or her discharge or bruising being there. They naturally assumed it was rape but in actuality no one raped her. Cotton's dna from their affair incriminated him even more. Not saying that Billy and Stu would think of rape as morally wrong enough not to do in their book BUT it would have been stupid on their part and made it obvious there were other suspects besides Cotton.
Stu isn't a lapdog. Stu literally revealed on the phone he was going to throw Billy under the bus. He hesitated giving him the knife. Stu is like a kid. He most likely suffered trauma that regressed his mental age. He's eager to please, desperate for attention and most likely fawns over people he feels close to in an obsessive way. He could have even been in love with Billy and vice versa which is why he was so eager to please him. However, he was not nearly as stupid or a lapdog as much as the fandom makes him out to be. I think Randy saying it in the videostore sealed the deal for people even though he was only acting like that bc he was helping Billy too and covering their tracks. Billy was the one with the plan. Stu just tagged along out of the urge to kill. But he 100% had his own plan to kill and bail if needed. My mind is made up on that.
There was a third killer in Scream and it wasn't a teen or Roman. You're telling me two 17-18 yr old guys could come up with every detail? Roman only told Billy the basics. How did they get tactical police shoes? How did they get to the houses so fast and leave just as quickly? How did they both take down and restrain Steve or Neil by themselves enough to tie them up? Sure, Stu was deranged and tall but these two lanky teens were able to take on a football player with muscles and a grown man? Possible but stil meh to me. Their plan was too thorough for two teen boys to come up with on their own. Both crazy. One completely unhinged and disconnected from reality and the other so blinded by revenge he was stupid at times. (Fucking stabbing yourselves before killing Neil and Sidney. Not even thinking to AT LEAST tie Sidney up as well...Really? Jill was smarter in 4 in that respect tbh.) I truly think their was an adult involved in Scream helping them or guiding them. I would say Roman if it wasn't for him going back to Hollywood. But Billy and Stu had help DURING the killings 100%.
Randy is not this mecha survival final boy like the fandom thinks. The kid watched one too many horror movies and based them on real life. Scream itself is making fun of slasher movies and Randy was supposed to be the narrator setting most of the dumb rules up into play. Everyone is like "omg that's so out of character how he died in 2" no its not. If the rules work then him losing his virginity did him in. He was drinking, he was pissed off and not thinking. Plus Mrs. Loomis attacked in broad daylight, something no one thought of. (And the whole debate how a middle aged woman could pull him in. LOOK. Randy is a fucking small guy and she grabbed him backwards, using momentum to haul him back into the van. PLUS she was enraged at what he said about Billy. Adrenaline is a hell of a super drug as far as testing the bodies limits. I have seen tiny girls become the hulk when they are pissed I'm jus sayin) Point is, Randy was just a teen boy that loved horror movies. He was not some survival guide especially since it showed him even on the couch not aware of Ghostface behind him. He was a giant satire showing how even he didn't always follow the rules of slasher movies and how dumb the rules are.
Tatum loved Sidney and had more chemistry with her than Billy. I am not saying they weren't just BFF's and I don't want to ruin female friendship with constantly thinking "omg they are gay together" any time two women are close. BUT it is strange that it was only those two as friends especially since Sidney didn't fit into Tatum's popular social circle. It's like Tatum went out of her way to be friends with Sidney. Maybe they were childhood friends and that's why? But I think it's entirely possible that just like it's speculated that Stu and Billy were secretly in love; Tatum possibly was at least bi and in love with Sidney.
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You know what? I'm gonna do my 'Ganondorf isn't a bad king, just misguided and influenced by Demise.' Rant now.
I will admit, this entire theory is based on speculation and not likely to be canon compliant as it is my theory from mixing and matching other theories I've heard, and I have not played all the games and only fully played through two of them.
Okay so, in the start of Ocarina of Time, the 100 year war is mentioned. It is the civil war that broke out in Hyrule and drove Link's (Time's) mother to flee and run into the Lost Woods, before begging the Deku tree to take care of her son (and I could go into another theory about how Time isn't fully human because his mother, if she was human, would have gotten lost in the Lost Woods. But not now.)
However, while the 100 year war, or the Hyrulian civil war, is mentioned, it is never explained why it occured. I would like to purpose a theory that it was because of the Gerudo.
If you look at the Gerudo in Ocarina of Time, they were a tribe that had a reputation as thieves, however it's members, mainly Nabooru, Ganondorf's second in command, is against Ganondorf's encouraged behavior, the thievery and such.
However I believe Nabooru isn't exactly being unrealistic, she and Ganondorf are very different. Ganondorf was simply too proud as the only other way the Gerudo people would have survived was with the help and assistance of the Hylians.
I believe the 100 year war was of Gerudo armies attempting to claim Hylian land as theirs so that the Gerudo could care for their own people.
I also believe that the reason Ganondorf is forced to pledge fealty to the king in the beginning of Ocarina of Time is because they had lost the war.
Ganondorf honestly strikes me as a prideful man but he also wants the Gerudo people to thrive, he is their king after all, so he finally accepts for the Gerudo to be under Hylian rule and swears fealty to the king.
I think this explains one reason why the royal family was so quick to believe Time when he returns in the child timeline, because Ganondorf had betrayed the crown once before.
In Windwaker, Ganondorf is recorded as saying quote "My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing... Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose."
In my opinion, that is evidence for Ganondorf truly caring for his people. If you look at Ganondorf, as a human being, he was told from a young age that he was special, that he would help the Gerudo rise. The women who raised him were obsessed with him in a near (if not throughly) creepy way. Bringing him back over and over again, willing to fight to the death in his name.
He was told he would help his people and he was willing to do it by any means necessary.
Moving on from the Ganondorf portion of this, time to move on to Ganon. I consider Ganondorf and Ganon to be separate, as Ganon seems to be what he is called as 'Demon Beast Ganon', much like how Demise was referred to as 'The Demon King, Demise.'
I consider this to be a representation of him becoming more and more like Demise.
I believe as he is revived again and again, he begins to lose his humanity. It's visible in how he appears after being continuously revived, but also he how he acts. He becomes more animalistic. His desire to take over Hyrule turns into a desire to destroy it.
I think as he is revived, he becomes more like Demise and less like Ganondorf. Shown by becoming more of a scheming monster than a proud Gerudo warrior like he was at first.
My theory is that Ganondorf is as much a puppet on a string as Link or Zelda, a little boy who grew up with so much hatred inside turning into a grown man with nothing to lose, turned into a puppet on a stage, serving a entity trying to beat someone he'll never be able to beat, and forced to suffer because of it.
Anyway! That's long. Once again, thank you for listening and I absolutely love reading your thoughts on my rambling, so thank you so much.
Disclaimer, this rant likely stems from my mental thing of not likely the idea of senseless violence and wanting a dramatic story behind it. Can't guarantee how much makes sense.
-Fruit Anon
Honestly one of my favourite theories is that Ganondorf isn't evil he's just a King who fell to darkness because of his own desperation. I think it adds more depth to his character and as you said Fruit, The Heroes and Princesses are being strung about by the Godesses why would it be such a reach for Ganondorf to be facing the same?
Also your point about the reincarnations of Ganondorf falling deeper into the Demise's control is also a great point! In the fallen timeline he becomes more monster/animal because he falls into greed, in the child timeline (which most people say Wild follows after Twilight) he's a literal eldritch abomination.
I honestly think that the main three will one day just say screw it and form an alliance to stop this cycle because it's not fair just to them but to everyone.
(I remember reading a post also about how the Gerudo has a lot of racist undertones, (how their features are heavily attributed to racist caricatures of Middle Eastern/South Asian women, their sexualisation, the Ganon-Pig connection) and I think Ganon deserves to be more than just the 'foreign man different so he's evil'. ALSO, WHY IS HE FUCKING GREEN, LIKE WHAT??)
#cloud answers#Ganon deserves better#You can be a good villain without falling into sterotypes#If you guys want I'll find the post and reblog it on here for you all to see#Also#If I ever write the Gerudo woman I'm not writing them as the game portrays them#I'm gonna do my research and hopefully make it better#I promise you guys#If any of you know any good sites or have info to share that would be helpful please inbox them and I'll put them aside to read them later#Anon asks
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i think one really annoying issue is the back and forth i see on what people say about the lc situation. the 1st, as in very very 1st accuser, was someone who showed a crap ton of receipts that were proven to be false. those were the pictures of a ring, him on a plane, and i believe hotel bookings. the ring was given to him by winwin and the picture wasn’t his hand, the one picture of him on a plane is literally his head from an insta story he shared before mixed with a rando’s body, and finally the hotel booking date don’t add up because he wasn’t even in korea at that time, where the 1st accused seems to be based. there is a rumor that this person has admitted to lying and being a sasaeng. which i believe is false. correct me if i’m wrong, but anytime someone asks for a source for that statement, it’s never provided. so anyway, if the very 1st person is the one accusing him of sa, then i find it extremely hard to take it seriously regardless of my own personal beliefs on taking the side of victims.
so it’s annoying to see one person being skeptical of the accusations and another taking their side based on jumbled information. another contributor to this issue could possibly be the fact that there is no place you can get all of the information with a well formulated timeline anywhere. the situation itself is he said she said, and to educate yourself on the situation you have to play another game if he said she said by gathering info based on what others are saying. excuse my language but this is a clusterfuck of vague shit and i have a headache.
there is also a lot of speculation. with his apology letter, people are saying it’s a mandatory action to apologize anytime an SM idol has a scandal. while previous cases prove this to be true, it is still speculation and not exactly a viable argument even if it makes sense. another speculation is that if the 1st accuser has been proven to be wrong, then the rest of what they say isn’t viable. while i personally agree because… logically i can’t disagree, there are still other people who are coming out with their own stories. which i have something to say about in regards to their text messages in a moment. another speculation is the timing. for this to happen right before a comeback, right before they’re all getting their asses into gear, and right before A LOT of eyes are on them, is frickin’ weird. so this whole issue is annoyingly vague because you can’t truly put anyone at fault. a lot of evidence was faked, yes. but then there’s the apology letter that makes it seem like he owned up to everything. they cancel each other out. the nuances of this situation make this one of the easiest and most effective ways to ruin someone’s reputation because it has way too many layers so people get confused, information gets twisted and you can’t rely on what anyone says, concretely.
as for the other accusers, i saw a post that proves one of their messaging screenshots was edited. but whether or not that was someone’s shit phone screenshot or shit photoshop skills, i have no clue. then there’s the photos of him sleeping which were proven to be taken in his dorm, unlike the location they said. how they got them, i do not know or really want to. maybe one day if i need to learn hacking skills. today is not that day. as for the picture of him sitting at the table, who knows. but the previous fact makes it unlikely for me to trust the second fact. and we’ve found our way back to speculation again.
this whole situation ticks me off and i wish someone would make a video/article/twitter-thread of all information with a differentiation on what’s true and false, or what’s most likely true and false at best. and i don’t want to be the one to do it. SM idols need a lawyer. And their staff and publicity team need some backbone. If they did, this wouldn’t be a whole mess. a mother of all messes, if you will. that was my mandatory cat in the hat reference.
sorry for this rant. i just wanted to share my thought processes on the whole thing. i hope you’re doing well btw, and staying safe. i also want to go on a damn hiatus, shit.
Bestie, I couldn't have put it better myself.
Everything you said is 100% true, and I'm sick and tired of SM just ignoring the scandals and problems and just making their idols do an halfassed apology for things that some of them didn't even do!!
The timing of it all plus the confusion of information and the way that SM is not handling this just makes everything so much worse than it could have been.... They just shot themselves and WayV in the foot....
I hope you're staying safe and well, as well. And if you need to go on hiatus for your mental health, do it!! It's ok! This entire thing is so overwhelming we all need it tbh....
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The great betrayal
So far, we’ve only really heard what happened in ancient times based on Solas’ own words. But we also know that he speaks in half truths. His own dark legends as told by Felassan, his old friend, paints him as cunning and practiced in double-speak dark wisdom.
His MO is reminiscent of Imshael, a forbidden one who tricked Michel into releasing him (thereby reactivating the eluvian network, which was ultimately what Solas wanted). They both blur the line between spirit and demon and they both traverse the fade as if it is their home.
And I have to say, Solas’ version of events leading to Mythal’s death doesn’t add up.
He claims the precursor to the veil was the evanuris killing Mythal. Abelas reaffirms this version of events by specifically saying ‘the dread wolf had nothing to do with her murder. She was slain, if a god truly can be, by the people who also destroyed this temple’.
But at the end of the day, the only person who stood to gain the most from Mythal’s death was Fen’Harel and his slave rebellion, not the evanuris.
After all, the evanuris’ entire claim of divinity hinged on the claim that they were truly ‘immortal’.
"The gods, our Evanuris, claim divinity, yet they are naught but mortals powerful in magic who can die as you can. In this place, we teach those who join us to unravel their lies."
Based on ancient mosaics at Fen’Harel’s sanctuary, we can presume the evanuris knew the secret to ‘effective immortality’ by body hopping. I am assuming the method to do this is probably similar to Corypheus and his arch demon.
It seems that not many regular people knew of this secret however, which was why Solas took it upon himself to start his rebellion, expose their mortal flaws, and fight back against them to reclaim their freedom.
If the evanuris betrayed and killed Mythal as Solas says, they would have had to announce to everyone that the head of their pantheon, the goddess of love and protection, was dead and gone forever. But in doing so, they would also be exposing their own false divinity, revealing that they themselves can also be deposed.
According to Solas, Falon’Din started many wars to gain more worshippers. They likely started all these wars because the evanuris had the security of effective immortality. Their primary motive seems to gain more followers or slaves, rather than power over each other. In fact, Solas’ surprise at learning Corypheus also learned this secret proves it was not common knowledge even back in ancient Elvhenan.
So, knowing that the evanuris likely kept the secret of true immortality close to their chest, why would they want to off Mythal completely? Deposing her did not automatically mean they gained more power. Remember her killers destroyed her temple but left her well intact, and that was really where a lot of her power lay.
Maybe they were really were power hungry as he says, and mutinied against Mythal. Maybe they were poisoned by the void’s magic. Or maybe, they were manipulated by Fen’Harel to betray and kill her, to set an example and turn people against the false gods.
"The brand of the Evanuris can be lifted from you, that all may know you oppose their cruelties. None here are slaves. All are under our protection. All may choose to fight."
Fen’Harels sanctuary reveals his rebellion actually did attempt to try to fight against the gods. So imagine if Mythal, the head of the pantheon, was actually killed.
Mythal’s death would have sent a very clear message to the evanuris and everyone under their rule- the gods were not divine, and they were all mortals just as they were. This event would have been a huge turning of the tide for Fen’Harel’s rebellion to be honest.
I previously thought Solas and Mythal worked together in their rebellion, but maybe Solas was cunning enough to evade even her. Based on Cole’s dialogue, it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn he was also once a slave of Mythal’s (he left a scar when he burnt her off his face). And as to the reason why he doesn’t trust anyone? His distrust could simply be because he himself is the betrayer.
We can assume from DAI’s epilogue that Mythal and Solas were once close and Flemeth even calls him ‘old friend’. Perhaps Fen’Harel used his close relationship with Mythal as his shield, because the last person you expect to betray you is the person closest to you.
Just remember, an enemy can attack, but only an ally can betray you. Betrayal is always worse.
Solas does seem genuinely remorseful about everything and his dialogue with Cole indicates he created the veil to save them. Maybe the evanuris were on a trajectory to destroy the world by using their magic and their slaves in their endless wars. Orchestrating Mythal’s death could have been a big part of his rebellion- he needed to resort to drastic measures to send a clear message.
I did not lead a slave-rebellion against immortal mage-kings without getting my hands bloody
There is also the propaganda on the dread wolf we can find in trespasser:
The pages of this book-memory?-warn of a terrible danger, a wolf with slavering black jaws and pits for eyes. The Evanuris-the elven gods-stand in a ring around it, as if preventing it from attacking.
"Beware the forms of Fen'Harel! The Dread Wolf comes in humble guises, a wanderer who knows much of the People and their spirits. He will offer advice that seems fair, but turns slowly to poison. Remember the price of treason, and keep in your heart the mercy of your gods."
It’s been assumed that this propaganda was released by the evanuris to dissuade people from joining Fen’Harel’s rebellion. But a lot of it also rings true, and it is one of those codices that has bugged me for ages in how foreboding and ominous it is.
It has parallels to the inquisitor’s own journey. It has elements of Solas’ own MO. And it reveals that Fen’Harel potentially even manipulated the false gods themselves.
From the dev notes in DAI, he will kill anyone- even Flemeth. He killed Felassan, his old friend. He says in Tevinter Nights, he will kill anyone without hesitation if they stand in his way.
I think there is a lot of solid evidence of his underhanded tactics in the events leading to Mythal’s death. Maybe he persuaded her killers to leave the well intact so that she could come back as a new being and reclaim her power. As he says ‘his people do not die so easily’. Mythal’s death and creation of the veil could have even enabled the blight as we know it today...
Because as told by Flemeth, Mythal became a wisp, just like Solas’ wisdom spirit friend. Based on dialogue with him, he insinuates wisps grow and reform in the void, where its assumed the blight’s magic is based on.
Maybe his intention was to use Mythal as an example for his rebellion, but also attempt to reform her because she was his friend. But along the way, Mythal’s spirit corrupted into vengeance because she was ultimately betrayed by people she trusted.
If Mythal was Fen’Harel’s big sacrifice, it would also draw so many obvious symbolic parallels to Andraste, who as I’ve said before has a lot of suspicious links to Mythal. Remember Solas’ chess game with Bull in DAI? He sacrifices the queen in order to win the game.
This is of course all speculation and deduction- I don’t claim that Solas definitely betrayed Mythal. But from a story perspective, this would be an absolutely amazing plot twist, even bigger than the reveal of Solas being the dread wolf.
I mean....can you imagine that reveal in DA4?! It would explain so much of his regret and burden of guilt because Mythal was once his closest friend. On a thematic level the emphasis on power and sacrifice and revenge and forgiveness would all be there.
Fen’Harel being the betrayer but not the true killer but the orchestrator behind everything, completely embodying the trickster god trope...ahhh I just can’t stop thinking about this tbh.
#dragon age#da4#da theories#solas#fen’harel#mythal#dread wolf rises#the evanuris#the great betrayal#elvhenan
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Thinking a lot of postgame Yes Man thoughts tonight.. I have so many ideas about the development of his personality and morality depending on what sort of person the courier happens to be?
(Putting the rest under a cut because this post got kinda long)
So like.. to preface this, I’ve seen it said by a few people (and I agree) that, because it can be completed no matter what your courier has done beforehand, the independent/wildcard ending has the potential to be either the best or the worst ending for the Mojave depending on your courier’s actions leading up to it; it’s all dependant on what sort of a person your courier is, their moral compass, what they’ve done. A wildcard courier could be any sort of person; they could be the dumbest idiot, an absolute saint or the cruellest bastard who ever lived. And one thing that I think should be explored more is the way that this relates to Yes Man.
Yes Man doesn’t really seem to know anyone else. He knew Benny, of course, and possibly Emily Ortal to some degree, but there’s not really much evidence to show what their relationship was like; he seems almost a little scathing or resentful of Benny here and there, but mostly speaks about him in an indifferent, ‘just stating the facts’ sort of way that makes me suspect that they weren’t very close. His opinions on a few of the factions are actually quite different to Benny’s, so it seems his values are mostly his own and didn’t just rub off on him from Benny. As for other people knowing him, Benny is the only person in the game to mention Yes Man by name, so we can assume the courier is the only other person he’s actually spent any time with.
In a way, I guess you could say this means that Yes Man goes from Benny’s workshop being his entire world to the courier being his entire world, and this is where it gets interesting to me.
Everyone has different interpretations of what Yes Man means by upgrading himself to be ‘a little more assertive’ at the end of the game. Sure, word of god said something about it just being intended to mean that Yes Man would no longer have to answer to anyone but the courier, but I like to think that it could be interpreted differently, depending on what sort of a dynamic that particular courier has built up with Yes Man.
As much as I always roll my eyes at the ‘Yes Man is actually evil and manipulating the courier in order to rise to power and then betray them’ types of theories, Yes Man is clearly capable of forming his own opinions and feelings towards things and people.. so, after the battle of Hoover Dam, once his upgrade is complete and he’s no longer forced by his programming to submit to the whims of whoever he speaks to, would he really choose to remain loyal to just any courier?
Despite his people-pleasing tendencies, Yes Man always makes his preferences pretty clear when he presents choices of action to the courier. There’s usually one choice he seems enthused about, and another choice that he presents as undesirable, whether that’s because it’s a bad choice for the future of New Vegas, or just less appealing to him, personally. For example, his disdain for the BOS appears to be at least partially out of concern for his own wellbeing - if the courier tells him that they’ve sided with the BOS, his immediate disappointment seems to be mostly based on his concern that the BOS will really want to blow him up or scrap him for salvage; he almost seems insulted that the courier would side with a faction that would wish harm on him.
Anyway, this post is getting too long already because I have too many thoughts and I’m not capable of being concise ever, so I’ll try and get to the point: the unique dynamic that each different courier has with Yes Man could deeply impact the sort of person he becomes once he has more free will. Once Benny is out of the picture, the courier is presumably the only person in Yes Man’s life, so the way that they treat him and maybe even just their own personality could both seriously influence the direction he takes as a character.
If the courier consistently disregarded Yes Man’s wishes, perhaps by getting cosy with the BOS and blowing up the securitron army and whatnot, would Yes Man hold resentment towards them for it? What if they were openly hostile towards him over the course of their partnership; would he really remain on their side once he finally had a choice in the matter? If they treated him cruelly, and he later killed them or left them once he had the free will to do so, would he then be more likely to hold distrust and resentment for humans in general as a result of his limited experience with them being so unpleasant?
On the other hand, what if a courier was kind and considerate towards him, and treated him with respect as though he were just another valued friend they’d made along the way? Would he enjoy their company, and choose to stay by their side even once his upgrade was complete and he was no longer obligated to help them?
Something else to consider is something I find especially interesting; what if the courier’s overall morals and their treatment of Yes Man weren’t exactly aligned? For example, a very good karma courier who happens to hate robots and only sides with Yes Man as a last resort, due to it being the only way to achieve an independent New Vegas, but doesn’t actually like him or befriend him? What would become of their partnership once the courier succeeded at the Dam?
Or, possibly my favourite concept, the complete opposite.. what about a courier with very evil karma who’s basically an irredeemable, bloodthirsty sadist, but they happen to really like Yes Man & think he’s neat so they become inseparable friends with him? What would Yes Man himself be like if the courier he was so close to was objectively a monstrous person?
And that’s one of the things I find the most fun to theorise about. Yes Man’s own morals are sort of a blank slate; despite how friendly and harmless he appears, he’s still really a big, formidable robot who seems to have accidentally been made far too self aware, and he may have a few opinions about certain things but when it comes down to it, Yes Man on his own is neither good nor evil. However, I think that depending on the kind of person the courier is, and the nature of their relationship, his morals could either remain quite neutral or develop considerably in either direction, so there are tons of ways to portray his postgame personality and they‘re all equally plausible because he’s just such a uniquely flexible character in that way.
Perhaps he picks up a mean streak from his evil courier friend and they have an absolute blast terrorising the wasteland and its inhabitants together! Or perhaps his loyalties lie with a kind and idealistic courier who tries their best to help people, and he comes to understand the importance of such things as he helps them achieve their goals! Either way, he’d still be the Yes Man that we know and love; the difference in him in those scenarios purely depends on the company he keeps and their actions towards him.
Anyway, that’s all I have to say about this stuff for now; I’ve been wanting to write about this for about a year, so I hope you’ll all excuse how long this post got. This is still all total speculation, since there's really no way of knowing for sure what Yes Man would be like after the upgrade or even the extent of the upgrade in general, but I just feel like there's so much unexplored potential for character development and postgame story stuff. The most important point I’m trying to make is I guess just to remember to have fun with the dynamic between Yes Man and the courier! The wildcard storyline leaves so much up to interpretation in regards to him, so it can be really fun to experiment with that. And it’s cool to think that, in a way, the Yes Man that your courier interacts with is unique to them, because no two couriers are the same!
#whew! LONG post i wasnt kidding!!#god it feels good to get this out but also im Nervous hghfjghf#ive never posted anything this long before and i was too shy to ask anyone else to like... beta or proofread it#i did pick at it for hours though so hopefully it's ok!!#yes man#fallout new vegas#fnv
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So, it’s finally here.
Ace Attorney's 20th Anniversary.
I still can't believe it's been two decades since the first game's release.
TWO DECADES! That's as many as two tens! And that's amazing!
(One of the oldest comic book references out there, by the way. Hilarious!)
Anyhow, I've talked to the other mods, and they agreed to do a collaborative "Series Essay" of our separate experiences with the Ace Attorney series as a celebration. Co-Mod will go first, followed by Mod Edgeworth. Finally, I, Mod Justice, will finish the post off.
Let's get started below the cut!
Co-Mod, whenever you're ready.
Co-Mod:
.........................
O-Oh! That’s me, isn’t it? Sorry, I was lost in thought.
(As usual.)
Oh man, where to begin? I was first introduced to the Ace Attorney series through Matthew Taranto’s incredible webcomic, Brawl in the Family, which included a hilarious mashup of Ace Attorney and the Kirby series. I didn’t quite realize it wash a mashup (no, for real, I actually thought the courtroom part was something he invented) until I discovered Shu Takumi’s incredible visual novel game, which happened to be about...lawyers?
Unfortunately, I don’t quite remember what clued me in to Ace Attorney -- it may have been a picture, a video, a blog post, or something else -- but the idea of playing a game where your goal is to defend your client from a Not Guilty verdict in a courtroom, mixed with the magic of anime (which I was only a moderate fan of at the time) was enough to intrigue me. I ended up watching a playthrough of the first game, then watched about halfway through the second before it finally hit me:
Watching the games being played was no longer enough for me.
I had to buy them and experience the stories for myself!
So I did. I went ahead and bought the entire trilogy on WiiWare (which made the pointing experience that much more fun), and all in all, I’d say it was a pret-ty good deal. Long story short, I eventually bought every other game in the series, which didn’t include Spirit of Justice at the time, but you’d better believe I downloaded it tout suite the moment it came out. And between defending Larry Butz and taking down a corrupt foreign monarch, I’ve had one heck of a good time with this series -- getting to know the characters, connecting to their experiences, and doing all I could to make things go the “Wright” way for them, even if it only meant pushing buttons.
So, what’s the secret to Ace Attorney’s charm, and how did it give rise to such a large and diverse fandom? I can only speculate as a single fan, but I believe the answer lies in something the series’ creator, Shu Takumi, gleaned from the Japanese author Shinichi Hoshi -- the “element of surprise and unexpectedness.” Sure, the games’ characters, stories, and music would still be awesome on their own, but the fun opportunities they give the players to realize something is amiss, then be thrown for a loop when they discover the truth, is what makes Ace Attorney games so much fun to play in my mind. Let me tell you, when Athena’s fingerprints were supposedly discovered on a piece of evidence, my jaw dropped like an anvil.
Dai Gyakuten Saiban 1 and 2 -- or the Chronicles games, as I call them now -- have been just as satisfying as their predecessors, which leads into another thing I love about Ace Attorney: it’s one of the rare series out there that’s managed to not only stay satisfying, but even get better over time. Sure, not all the games were smash hits...
...but each one of them created something new for the fans (and even newcomers) to enjoy, and the developers’ willingness to add new things here and there while maintaining the “heart” of the series (the logic-based mechanics, the hilarious writing, the difficulties involved in pursuing the truth, etc.) paid off beautifully in the end. Only time will tell if it’s possible to keep a saga like this going, but I’ll always be grateful for what exists now thanks to Capcom and Mr. Takumi’s creative genius and love for good storytelling.
(Hmm... Anything else I want to say?)
Oh, yes! And I also want to thank them for timing things so that Ace Attorney’s 20th anniversary would happen on my final year on this blog. That worked out pretty dang well for me, huh?
‘Kay, I’m done.
Mod Justice: Nice work, buddy! Alright, now that Co-Mod's done, let's keep going. Mod Edgeworth, if you would?
Mod Edgeworth:
Sure thing.
For me, my first discovery of Ace Attorney was literally when it was first advertised. I can’t remember how old I was at the time, but I’m certain I was… at least around 12? Maybe younger or older? It was during the time I was binge watching Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, which was between ages 10 to 16. That was back when both had really good shows… that weren’t potty humor and when SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly Odd Parents were addicting shows.
At the time, I wasn’t really that interested. For one, I was a TV watcher. I also didn’t know how to type until I was in Middle School and I was using Dial-Up internet. Yeah, that was fun. God, I missed this.
youtube
This was also the first time I was introduced to fan fiction and ironically it was on Nick.com on their blog. I was about 12 to 13, so I wasn’t at the age to join Deviantart… yet. But yeah, I wasn’t really interested in Ace Attorney at the time. I wasn’t and still am not really a gamer. I was mostly glued to the TV watching awesome shows like these
Wait, who put that last one…? Uh… let’s ignore that.
I was going through a phase, okay! Don’t judge me!
So, um…. I started getting interested in Ace Attorney around 2010 to 2011. At the time, I was still living with my parents and was jobless. I only had a laptop and, unless I could download the games for free, I couldn’t play anything. I did play Turnabout Trump from Apollo Justice online for free. I remember how hard it was. Since I never played the trilogy first, it was hell going through that. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was and I fell in love with Trucy the moment I met her.
So, I was shocked to hear people hating on Apollo Justice. It was fine in my eyes and I loved it for what it was. I have a better understanding now of why Apollo Justice was hated and called a Gary-Stew. The main character was reduced to a chump, the protagonist hardly had any character, the super powers did feel overpowered, the MASON system was a mess, all the characters from the trilogy were gone and everyone felt betrayed by how Phoenix was treated. Luckily, it was fixed by the time Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice came around, but that wouldn’t be for another few years.
I kinda fell out around 2012, because I was limited to what Ace Attorney games I could play online for free and I was more interested in… other things.
IGNORE THE LAST ONE! MOVING ON!
So… about a few years ago, I was into the Hetalia fandom. This would’ve been around 2016-2017. The creator had to take a break, after finishing World Stars, so I kinda got bored and went into Danganronpa. Unfortunately, I couldn’t purchase the game, since I don’t have the gaming system and I was too lazy to download and use Steam, unless it was a free game that I loved, was awesome and…
So yeah, around a few years ago, I purchased the trilogy on my smartphone from the Apple Store. After finishing it, I went to Ace Attorney Online. Not the French blog one (Side note from Mod Justice: the URL for that is aaonline.fr for those who wish to check it out for themselves), I mean this one.
During the time I was on there, I was playing the Miles Edgeworth Investigation games, then Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. I might go back there sometime. Eventually, I ended up on Tumblr and that’s when I discovered AskAceAttorney and now am a mod.
I consider Ace Attorney to be a very unique journey for me, because I was there when it first came in English and played Apollo Justice back when I was in High School. To see how much it’s grown and has affected me over the years is astounding. I even have a shelf for all of my Ace Attorney merch.
I find Miles Edgeworth especially to be a character that speaks to me. He is certainly not a flawless character. He has made horrid mistakes that effect him and his mental health. Even health wise, he deals with trauma and mental illness. I also have a disability myself and while it isn’t the same as Edgeworth’s, I feel how he deals with it inspires me heavily. Instead of denying his mental illness or using it as an excuse for his behavior, he takes responsibility and betters himself. Never once does he ever try to make excuses or justify his bad behavior, even going so far as to order Gumshoe to not defend him when Raymond Shields tells him he’s no better than the man that murdered his father.
I once admitted that I used to be very narcissistic and many of the things I did was make excuses for my behavior and use my disability as a crutch. My parents had to work with me for five years of my young adult life to erase that behavior. Ace Attorney teaches us to never use your own victimization or disability/mental illness to make excuses for bad behavior. If you’ve done something wrong, take responsibility and improve yourself. Dahlia Hawthorne was groomed, but that never excused what she did to Terry Fawles. The moment she manipulated him into suicide, what Terry Fawles did to her no longer mattered. Manfred Von Karma was falsely accused of forging evidence and set up to a penalty by his own boss unfairly, but that didn’t excuse his actions of murdering an innocent man and orphaning a child. Even Miles Edgeworth, who was manipulated and used by his superiors, was never excused for how he handled SL-9 and allowed the real criminal run the Police Department. Non of the Ace Attorney characters are ever excused for any bad behavior. Not even the main protagonist, Phoenix Wright, whose unfair treatment towards Franziska and Miles Edgeworth led to him getting a taste of what it was like for them as soon as he started defending a criminal against his will.
I’ve watched plenty of shows and anime where someone’s victimhood becomes a justification for their actions. While I understand the idea of highlighting real life suffering, victimization should never justify one’s actions. Even making their victimization open to the public can make them feel justified without trying to better themselves. Ace Attorney uses victimization to highlight how it can impact everyone negatively and it’s only when those people take action to better themselves that they can improve. Not to say their trauma or illnesses will completely heal, but sitting down with the woe is me mentality isn’t going to improve anyone.
Even in this fandom and now as a mod, I’d like to inspire people to better yourself and avoid using victimhood as a crutch. Here is to 20 years of Ace Attorney teaching us how to be better human beings, having better taste in games and
Guilty Pleasures, I suppose?
Mod Justice: Okay, so it's my turn now! Here goes...
I first discovered the series partially in 2014-2015 on the Flash game, "Escaping the Prison," played on YouTuber Markiplier's channel. Mark had mentioned “Phoenix Wright” in the video, but I - being a middle school student who, at the time, didn't know anything about how to look up references in video games I've never played - didn't think anything of it.
It was only a few years later in high school that my curiosity had finally gotten the better of me. As I was re-watching Markiplier's playthrough of "Escaping the Prison," I decided to look up the game(s) for myself. I watched a few videos on the series, and I was immediately HOOKED. After watching the video for “The First Turnabout,” I was drawn into the amazing world of Ace Attorney, traveling across the Internet and discovering many places to share and discuss the series. I even decided to play and create a few fan cases on the popular French fan website, Ace Attorney Online!
Because of Ace Attorney, I even got properly introduced to similar, semi-unrelated game/movie/TV franchises, such as Professor Layton, the Sherlock Holmes book/TV/movie franchises, and...
ALRIGHT, MOVING ON!
Needless to say, I discovered so much content within the Ace Attorney fandom (and beyond), and in 2020, my discoveries ended up including this AskBlog.
To be honest, I have no IDEA how I managed to discover it in the first place, but I don't regret it one moment. I started writing letters as a non-user at first, but then I got my own Tumblr account. I've been writing letters to this blog since then, and now, I'm officially a moderator of AskAceAttorney!
Even with the drama that this blog went through over the course of its life (even other than what happened recently), I’m glad I stuck around. Honestly, I never thought I would get this far in a video game series overshadowed by giants like "Super Mario," "Halo," "Mortal Kombat," "Spyro The Dragon," and so many other video game series.
And to think I had discovered all this because of a guy with a pink mustache prop who plays (mostly) horror games and creates wacky skits.
...Yeeeeaaaahhhh... weird.
But after so many years and so many good memories (and a few not-so-good ones too, I guess), it seems all that's left to say to everyone is...
Thank you, Capcom, for such an amazing, inspirational, and revolutionary video game series. And thank YOU, fans of Ace Attorney, for joining us on this ride for so many years. Whether you were a fan of the Originals, the new games, the AskBlog, a different AskBlog, or simply just an overall fan of the series, we appreciate everyone who is or was a part of the fandom for how long this series has lasted.
Here's to us: the Ace Attorney Fandom as a whole!
-The Mods
#Mod Post#Mod Essay#Mod Justice#Co Mod#Mod Edgeworth#Mod Commentary#And here's to hoping for AA7 in 2022!#Happy Ace Attorney Anniv-ace-ary!#...Sorry. Bad pun.
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