He really didn't just want the souljam. He just wanted to have someone who was able to understand him :(
But even then, he didn't truly want someone to understand him. This post explains it well, but he just wanted to have a cookie who could understand his pain and do whatever he says; not try to help him and befriend him.
Pls pls talk about cata he's literally so overlooked but has like the most fascinating as hell lore pls pls pls
HEYYY. HEYYY.
im gonna take this as a chance to analyse cataclysm.
to preface; i am a kingdom only! i don't care about ovenbreak's lore! i do care about fire spirit, tho!
that being said, i am aware i am analysing an ovenbreak costume. i will be using ovenbreak material for this, but i will not be touching ovenbreak's general lore beyond that.
to understand immortal cataclysm, you have to understand fire spirit, too. i will be analysing fire spirit alongside immortal cataclysm to show where they connect, how they parallel and why cataclysm seems to be the canon truly corrupted form!
yes, i know, lord of ash. i don't think he's the intended corruption, though. yes, i know, that one starfruit cutscene. i still disagree with ash being the intended corruption. i don't think ash is even corrupted in the first place. i will go over this later
that being said;
Immortal Cataclysm; endings, chaos and what there is to gain from burning a world to ashes.
PART 1 OF 2
a comically long analysis (?) by the least normal fire spirit soldier
so, for this analysis (or observation? i'm not sure if this counts as analysis) piece i'll be exploring two things;
cataclysm's entire wiki page, including all of his dialogue. i will be going line by line, pointing out specifics (if i find any) and where they may overlap with fire spirit content released in either ovenbreak or kingdom.
how cataclysm's mind works, what he believes he is achieving and, most importantly, answering the question proposed in his in-game story; what is there to gain from destroying an entire world?
i will not be addressing HOW cataclysm may have corrupted, given we simply don't have enough information for it to be anything more than baseless speculation! the reasoning could truly be anything, and i don't think me speculating from nothing will add anything to my analysis on him.
(though, i may touch on details relating to it! you'll see what i mean later.)
for anyone who is unfamiliar with Immortal Cataclysm;
immortal cataclysm, as pictured above, is an ovenbreak costume (confirmed for kingdom release at a later date) released in the first half of the treasure of legends update. the update he was released in will be important later.
i won't be analysing his design just yet, but i would like to point out just how Demonic he looks, and the fact his othala seems suspended between ribcage-like marks on his suit. i will address these and what they may mean later! there is also another major design detail to discuss, but. well. guess when we're saving it for
i will save the information on his kor name for later :) it is incredibly important for a point i'd like to make regarding kingdom, its future and the ways fire spirit (alongside the other guardians, but this is not about them) is currently haunting kingdom's narrative
i will also be addressing his story later! there's a lot to go over for dialogue, and i'd like to stick to that first.
moving on to dialogue for now;
lets start with the main quote on his page.
this is the most straight-forwards cataclysm line. you do not need to analyse anything for this, he is telling it how it is; he won't stop until the entire world is burning, and you're fucked if you think you can stop him.
moving on to general quotes.
this is referring to his story. 'I've waited ages for this moment!' 'After sleeping for aeons beneath the Dragon's Valley'. this may have larger meaning in correlation to immortal cataclysm's motivations, though. lets circle back to this one later, if there is a connection to be drawn.
captain obvious is obvious! /silly
yeah, this is very straight forwards. he means what he says! he won't stop 'til there's nothing left but ashes in his path.
and THIS is why i said you're fucked if you think you can stop him. he laughs at the sheer idea of someone trying to stop him. immortal cataclysm is surely, completely certain that he is unstoppable. not a single cookie can smother his flames now.
this line will come back later. keep this in mind
oooh boy, this line.
what cataclysm is implying here is incredibly straight-forwards. chaos energy is what fuels him. chaos MAGIC is what fuels him. he is not referring to the idea of chaos in itself, but rather chaos as a concept as it's portrayed in cookie run.
i'd like to point out that nether queen's element is chaos. this will come back later.
the return of captain obvious! nothing to say for this line. you get what he's saying, and who he may be saying it to really does not matter. moving on.
well, he could, couldn't he?
and burn it all he most certainly did. this line is so, so incredibly important to the general consensus on immortal cataclysm. you have to understand, this is implying that cataclysm successfully destroyed almost ALL of earthbread. there is near nothing left. the gift he gives you is something he scrounges up from the ashes he leaves behind. that is downright horrifying.
not only is it horrific, it's also incredibly telling on just how strong immortal cataclysm is.
think of all those incredibly powerful forces on earthbread. where are they? has he destroyed them, too? we'll answer that later.
well, that connects back into the previous line. everything's on fire. everything is burning under him, burning like he is. and in classic fire spirit fashion, there he is laughing about it! another tally on the cataclysm is scary as hell board!
and here comes the endings. here comes finality.
in one line, immortal cataclysm tells you what his goal is. to burn it all down, and restart from the beginning. but why?
well, lets go into the guardians of nature, what their jobs are and what their purpose is in an end of the world situation. i promise this is necessary, stay with me here.
Nature, as explained by frost queen cookie, is a primordial force tasked with keeping earthbread in perfect equilibrium. all things powered by life powder flow in harmony with nature. the source is what all life powder returns to, in order to be recycled to new life
(though, with the introduction of tartrus, i'd say there's a marked difference between life powder and the soul. the soul can remain, but the life powder will be recycled by nature. that's not relevant, or maybe it could be in regards to fire spirit's former mortality, but it is interesting.)
and the principles of nature cannot be broken. the world's mechanism must continue revolving. so, nature chose beings to guard it. a tree, a wind spirit, the sea, the moon, the sky, a mortal who heard its call- and a mortal who bartered with a dragon and got far, far more than he bargained for.
(to note; the core 5 were brought together by millennial tree. stormbringer, frost queen and sherbet were picked by nature itself. and we have no idea how nether queen got here.)
so, what are the guardians of nature?
well, the guardians of nature, also known as the elemental cookies or nature's heralds, are cookies who 1. embody their specific elements and 2. are tasked with overseeing the cycle of life. each guardian exists to protect the cycle, and ensure it's equilibrium. the cycle of nature is ever-changing, and they move with it. they exist everywhere and nowhere all at once.
if the cycle is off-balance, the guardians are tasked with rebalancing it. (see wind, piercer of darkness.) if nature is threatened, the guardians are tasked with protecting it. (see the dark enchantress war.)
if they break the laws they are appointed to uphold, nature responds by placing them in slumber and depowering them so nature can recover (see dark winged guardian).
so, with this in mind.
what happens if the guardians fail?
what is their job in an end of the world scenario?
what happens if, say, someone sets the world ablaze?
well, we haven't seen the fire scenario exactly, but we have seen something similar.
the story of this costume pair. sweetness shall fade at twilight. stay with me here, i promise this is circling back to immortal cataclysm.
sweetness shall fade at twilight is an AU costume set placed in a timeline that, mysteriously, has been plunged into an eternal dark winter. the cycle of life itself has stopped turning. all guardians are deceased or otherwise lost. i won't paste the whole story in here, because this post is getting long enough as it is, but i will show you the final segment of the story.
"Everything shall begin anew."
"You are right. So it shall."
A dark pillar of light shoots up from the earth, while a white one flashes across the sky. The two lights meet where land and sky connect.
The world is cloaked in darkness and light. The two forces cancel each other out. The world turns into a void. The two Cookies smile as it engulfs them.
"Everything shall begin from oblivion."
"Sweetness will fill the world once more."
everything shall begin anew. everything shall begin from oblivion. sweetness will fill the world once more.
We need to set it all ablaze, and start from the very beginning.
see where i'm going with this?
immortal cataclysm's goal is to restart the cycle. immortal cataclysm's goal is to set the world ablaze, and start it again from the very beginning. there is something he seems to have found fundamentally broken within the flow of nature in his own timeline, so therefore, it has to end. it has to restart.
the supporting evidence for this lies in several of his lines. set it all ablaze and restart from the beginning.
both flames and the world have an end, but that's what makes them beautiful.
i don't care if even i disappear. that might even be better.
(and, wow, what a line man. we'll circle back to that.)
immortal cataclysm's end goal IS, in a backwards sort of way, a guardians duty. nature is flawed, nature is broken, so he's here to correct it. both flames and the world have an end. everything shall begin from oblivion.
night raven's dialogue reflects this, as well! night raven's goal is, by all accounts, a twisted desire to assist with the flow and balance of nature. these weeds have thrown it off-balance, so he is here to cull them and correct them.
cataclysm likely runs under similar, but not the same, logic. the exact details of cataclysm's goal and WHY he chose it are unclear.
for further evidence;
a gray sugar crystal shines with the light of a newborn star. we will come back to this line later.
immortal cataclysm's end goal is made perfectly clear. burn the world, reset the cycle.
'but bunny, why did you waste so much time going over something so basic?' well because so many people misunderstand cataclysm's end goal and i admit it drives me a little crazy HAHA
note, there is supporting evidence stated in arcana of truth and deceit. the guardians, in several timelines, are the sole pieces responsible for the upkeep of a timeline. it is just that in kingdoms, it is them And the soul jams. we will assume, until stated otherwise, that cataclysm's timeline was one reliant upon solely the guardians.
note 2, 'but you cant use kingdom info for ovenbreak analysis' yes i can. you have to understand there is not enough about cataclysm nor fire spirit in ovenbreak for anyone to draw a single conclusion from. if you are an ovenbreak fan here to tell me that i can't use kingdom to analyse an ovenbreak costume, i will block you!!!
so, we understand cataclysm's goal now. restart the cycle from the beginning. bring forth the worlds rebirth. we understand what he has to gain.
with this in mind, let's move back to dialogue. from here onwards, we will be referencing his goal as previously established, and focusing more on his mentality.
there is an implication here that cataclysm is surprised at the prospect of anyone having possibly escaped his flames. interesting.
i admit, i don't have much to observe on this line. cataclysm is inviting someone to watch the sea of flames with him. i imagine they will end up in those flames, too.
and back to endings. immortal cataclysm seems to have a bit of a focus on those, which is fair given what his goal is. however, there is a large implication laid within this line.
'both Flames and the world have an end'. cataclysm accepts that he himself has an ending. and he finds it beautiful. fire spirit, the man who bartered with a dragon to avoid his own ending, now finds his ending in unison with the world a thing of beauty.
that alone speaks volumes on immortal cataclysm's mind. what he's thinking through this is such a far cry from what he would usually be thinking.
and this line furthers that.
immortal cataclysm does not care if even he disappears, at the end of this. in fact, he thinks that may be better. again, finality as a beautiful thing in contrast to fire spirit's constant fleeing from the idea of an ending.
immortal cataclysm clearly does not want to bear witness to the aftermath of his destruction. he will cause it with a laugh and a grin, but he does not want to be there once the smoke clears.
this flows into fire spirits subtle themes of ideation and death.
so, all this to say he probably isn't doing so well!
i've paired these lines because there really isn't much to say. captain obvious, etc etc. it is interesting that he says no amount of water in the world will help, though. so water cannot stop immortal cataclysm. another tally on the terrifying chart (and one frantic tally on the 'oh we're so fucked' kingdom chart)
it is even more interesting that cataclysm is so sure that he is completely unstoppable. that chaos energy really is fuelling him.
so remember how i said there was a design detail i wasn't going to address til later? it's later now
the orb is gone.
the dragons bead is gone. immortal cataclysm has surpassed his need of reliance upon the red dragon. now, if you are as insane as i am about fire spirit, you will know how downright scary that detail is. he has no shackles on him now. he's got no limits.
add a tally to the 'we are so fucked' kingdom chart!
well that's just not how that works. moving on
again. cataclysm refuses to stop. nothing can stop him. not water, not you, not the whole world's efforts. you cannot talk this man down. the world will be reborn from flame, just like he was.
well. clearly, cataclysm just wanted it to be over by the end of his war path. he seems relieved. he seems as if the weight of it all finally settled on his shoulders, and he's just glad it's OVER.
interesting. finality is beautiful to him, and here he is rushing to meet it.
'Blue sugar crystal which carries the energy of the deep blue sea.'
well, no amount of water in the world will help.
and finally.
'think of all those incredibly powerful forces on earthbread. where are they? has he destroyed them, too? we'll answer that later.'
well. we know where they went, now. holy shit what a scary implication dude.
so, what have we discovered through cataclysm's dialogue?
his goal is to restart the cycle of life.
he is completely unstoppable. no one was able to stop him. not even the other guardians.
he has surpassed the red dragon.
he finds endings beautiful. interesting.
and finally, he is successful on his mission. all life on earthbread is destroyed.
now, i could stop here. i COULD. but wait! there's more! that i will link when it's up!
oh my god i hit the image limit. i fear i will have to stop here then, i have a lot more images to add.. who knew that there was a 30 image per post limit?
well, that's part 1 done! thank you so much for reading the first half of my immortal cataclysm insaneisms.
in part 2 we'll be going over; content associated with cataclysm, my personal analysis on his design, what i think kingdom will do with him and why cataclysm is the stronger candidate for a corrupted fire spirit than lord of ash! if this post ends up needing a part 3 i will be walking into the ocean
please bear with me while i work on the second part of my immortal cataclysm insaneisms :)
With the reveal of just how self aware Black Sapphire Cookie is, it makes me so interested to learn when he decided to follow Shadow Milk.
Because he knows just how fake everything is, he can see behind to curtain; to take this vague theater allegory further, he can see the stage hands behind that curtain, see the audience, and read their playbills. He knows he’s ultimately entertainment, alongside everyone else he lives with. He feels no guilt for his actions because what would be the point? None of it’s actually real, just fake problems for characters in a fictional world. He can do whatever he wants with this knowledge, like using other cookies for his own entertainment, because it’s at least something. He’s taking power back in a way. Shadow Milk’s ideology enables that.
But we also see his sort of cry for help when he tries to explain to Cream Ferret and Candy Apple that they’re in a video game. He’s so lonely and desperately wants someone to understand with him, but it’s all incomprehensible to them. If they could, it’d be lovecraftian to them. He’s burdened by a bitter truth, and instead turned to sweet lies to cope, just like shadow milk. But shadow milk doesn’t seem to be self aware either, at least from what I can tell. He does have dialogue where he’s talking to himself, but I don’t recall him ever directly addressing the players. Because knowing his crazy ass if he did know this was all a game I feel that’d inform his actions much more than his vendetta against the witches would. That means Black Sapphire really is all alone.
But the thing he doesn’t realize is that he doesn’t have to be. Candy Apple absolutely adores him, even if she pretends to be above it. Like we learned this girl doesn’t have real wings and made hers to mimic him, which is so damn cute. Even if no one truly understands him, there’s at least someone there to care about him. I am really giving him an absurdist, even nihilistic perspective in this post, so if I were to give him a character arc I think it’d naturally lead into existentialism and making peace that he lives in an inherently absurd world.
Okay, I just noticed most, if not all, cheese cookies related to wealth in some way. Roquefort is said to be from a wealth family, while cheesecake is ...well nepo baby.
We see even this trend with golden cheese cookie, her kingdom once being one of the richest kingdoms out there.
And we see this trend continue on within oven smash, specifically the lactose tribe. All of them having cheese in their name and once being related to wealthy.
Anyway, that's all for now. It just a little something I have noticed, lol.
Honestly I think that instead of killing dark Enchantress white Lily should have fused with her / Accepted her. I know that sounds weird so let me Explain. I think that if instead of killing off dark Enchantress white Lily instead had some kind of scene where she Accepted her as a part of her it could have made for a really good lesson about Accepting your mistakes and learning for them. dark Enchantress is white lily's biggest mistake the thing that she regrets most ( something that the story constantly brings up) in my mind her Accepting dark enchantress could be like her Acknowledging her Mistakes and taking responsibility. I know it's not perfect but I thought it could be a nice message about how our mistake are apart of us and we can't run from that and how to truly start Rewriting your wrongs you need to acknowledge them first and take responsibility ( not saying that she didn't take responsibility)
i was kind of predicting that this was what they were going to do before the last episodes came out and randomly remembered this
please feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments I love hearing other people's opinions
Fuuuuck dude, they keep making White Lily Cookie more relatable every time she pops up...
Here we have one of the autistic traits I struggled a lot with as a kid, having a hard time understanding thought processes that differed from my own. I went undiagnosed until I was 12, and before then I had situations like this very frequently.
And this reminds me of how I ended up in gifted classes back in elementary school. I was bored during a grammar lesson where I already knew what was being taught, and wound up coloring my entire seat with a red crayon. After that my mom had me take the placement test.
So is anyone gonna point out how out of all the beasts, Salt was the only one who underwent a complete 180 transformation in terms of color scheme?
Back when we only had his concept art/sprite teaser, while many speculated him to transform from a white knight to a black knight (they got that part right), in fanart he was always depicted with purple as his main color scheme that tied both designs together.
But we don't actually get that in his official sprites. Instead, we get a transformation from white and mint to black and pale blue/purple.
Hell, if we go back even further. In his concept art, he was grey.
Even in the concept art, the other beasts still retained their main colors, that being blue, pink, white, and red.
I think it's interesting how Silent Salt has always been planned to be different from the beasts, one way or another.
do you ever think about how the reason director croissant never became timekeeper was probably entirely because of string gummy?
more under the break, because this is an extremely long ramble/analysis v
okay, so let’s lay out the hints we have for how croissant became timekeeper. boredom, mainly, but it’s very clear this boredom isn’t just “haha she just got a little bored lol” and it’s more like an aching stagnation, no reason to continue doing what you’re doing.
we also know that timekeeper was very, very, very clearly lonely during the events of operation: timeguard. most of her lines specifically state “let’s become the directors of the TBD”, plural. she wanted someone with the same power as her that she could fully relate to and bond with because that is the only way she assumed she could, due to the fact that she’s essentially going to see every mortal cookie die one way or another.
so we can essentially kind of put together that when timekeeper gained whatever power she had, she became bored because nobody was there with her to understand her or keep her company.
director croissant is very clearly under the process of ascending to a time god. you can see so with her hair beginning to swirl and gold more and her eye changing color, as well as her position in the TBD.
so, why did she not become timekeeper?
the answer is the only thing timekeeper probably didn’t have in her timeline. company.
we know string gummy never existed in timekeeper’s timeline due to the fact that timekeeper has a separate timeline from our croissant/regular cookie run and the time pocket removed every timeline he had. so he is the one thing that timekeeper did not have when she was the director. and because of this, director croissant both had company and someone to die for.
string gummy is presumably almost near equal standing to the director, he’s given the key to her office (which ONLY HE in that timeline has) and is given the, you know, mission to save the future.
director croissant, through him, was given a way to stave off her boredom and loneliness by ensuring that she could rehabilitate this extremely traumatized man and make sure he was alright. she had someone to trust in and confide in and thus all her want for “power” would be refunneled into the desire to ensure he was okay.
and the heartbreaking thing is: in a very cruel, twisted way, it’s entirely possible that his presence was the reason she died. she was already given a reason to end the timeline (or, herself), but presumably never went through with it prior because she wouldn’t have anyone that could ensure the events that led to the ruined timeline never happened again. she had a person she trusted to essentially carry on her legacy once she died and that was enough to push her to the brink of killing herself.
so spoon, what the fuck does this all boil down to and why is it so long?
to that i answer: string gummy was also her savior. the two are intertwined in fate in a way. string gummy was saved by her, and she was saved in turn by him. the two are so meant for each other and so completed and needing of each other that it makes it even more hopelessly depressing that this very connection would always lead to it severing itself.
and also that either devsis is ACTUALLY capable of making good stories and just chooses not to or that I’m looking too deep into funny cookie game.
(notice: i tried my hardest to not let any headcanons muddle the analysis and only go off of canon but if i did accidentally drop in a headcanon i apologize. also its 1 am if shit didn’t make sense uhhhh yeah blame it on that)
