#lads ramble

[elieowlsclownery]

It's kind of amazing how well Sylus works as a character. Like ignore his in-depth characterization that he shares with the other boys, he looks and acts like a Wattpad Parody of a crime boss. Like a slightly torn paperback romance taken form. There is never a moment when he is not face-maxxing and aura farming. 24/7 smolder challenge. Half-step away from the handsome squidward meme. Literally calls MC "kitten" and "sweetie." In any other context I would NOT be able to take this seriously.

But somehow it just??? Works??? Because hey let's put the in-depth characterization back into consideration, it's really good. Like absurdly good. He knows what is, he knows what he's about, and he's not afraid to go at it on the claw machines to that MC can bring home the good plushies. He's a hardened, unrepentant criminal and he wants MC to step on him NOW!!!

Also guys. Guys??? What is with his english voice-actor being so peak? Don't get me wrong I respect the other English voiceactors, but Sylus's voiceactor matches so so well with his character it's not even comparable. I'm liking the Japanese voiceacting a lot but when it comes to Sylus I always end up switching to English. Xavier also has good voicework too, and in fact I feel like his has been improving over the course of his events.

Another thing I think works with Sylus is MC. Because unlike in a lot of paperback romance and wattpad fics LAD's MC is from the ground running ready to throw hands. She is not some delicate frail flower ready to crumble in a strong man's hands. She's spunky, she's confident, and she's open about what she wants. And Sylus is not only very attracted to that, he wants MC to be even spunkier, more confident, more greedy. He'd do literally anything for her, but he wants MC to demand it first. He found a guidebook called How to Make a Mean Girl and its sequel How to Make Mean Girls Meaner and made it a mission. During the scene when MC's pinning him against the car seat he is so into iiiiiiiiiiiit. Couldn't stop himself from smiling excitedly like sir calm down. And then during the car chase when he kills the guys in the other car and then gives MC their boba tea??? Peak cinema.

Anyway I wasn't planning on having a main with LADs and I certainly wasn't planning on it being the crimelord who calls MC "kitten" and gifts her a cute jar full of bullets...but uh, if I HAPPEN to get Sylus cards I'm not gonna, you know, complain or anything...

[lumieresdreams]

caleb being whiney and begging like the desperate subby puppy he is is all good and fun, hell it's my favorite flavor of caleb <3

but what if... hear me out, ZAYNE being whiney and begging? he's a brat tamer, he's most definitely a top/dom, but just once.... i want to see that character crack and give way to a more vulnerable and honest side of him

am i too crazy for this?

[starappl3-p1e]

I'm so sick rn oh my gosh. It feels like I'm being dragged around in gravel. Xavier come home and take care of me I have an mc! x older!non-mc thing to write 💔

[sylusbelovedart]

SylusMc characters and relationship part 1 - MC and Lilith

Disclaimer : I like to ramble. So everything is purely a way to analyze and talk about SylusMc. I don't claim it to be true (its more like theories/rambles), nor do I claim that this is what the devs aimed for. I just like to make everything about SylusMc and relate everything beautiful and heartbreaking to them. I just love how beautifully written LADs is, and as a Sylus main, my rambling is mostly about him and MC.

I will write this in differents parts because it is quite long and I don't see myself writting a long post. I still trying to figure out the order but for now (from what I've gathered thus far) it's : MC/Lilith - Parallel between Lilith/MC & Lucifer/Sylus + love story - I might also talk about Caleb, and might dive into Lucifer/Lilith/Adam/Eve thing but I am not sure yet (i'm just stating some things in this part) - Other deities that relates to snakes/SylusMc - Snakes/Sylus's Myth (i vaguely talk about it in this part)

Subjects and maybe TW : blasphemy (ig ?), religious talk and comparison, misogyny, Sylus myth's spoiler (if you didn't read bc you wait for the rerun)

So a few day ago, I was reading Sylus Memory Card "Immobilized" again and I was kinda taken aback by the serpent alusion MC made.

First of all, bc I didn’t remember it, or at least I didn't notice or paid any attention to it. Secondly, because I didn’t make anything of it.

I tried to look at the kindled and also the main story where we see the linkage. It looked like this in Immobilized

And like this in the main story :

Sylus's Main story : Breakthrough - Chap 12 : Resonance's Power

I know it was meant as a metaphor. But I can't keep but thinking why did the devs purposely made her say that ? Needless to say that this kinda highlights the main theme in Sylus’s dragon myth which is Sylus and MC primal and insatiable need to devour one another. MC even asks Sylus if he knew about it since the beginning which he laughs at. I won't talk much about it though, because the myth truly deserve a proper dive which I will do later on.

I only talked about snakes as Sylus, in my fallen angel theory and especially bc of the links between snakes/dragon. But I never thought to talk about it as MC.

And I guess I could end it here and say that it's because after Sylus died, MC became a dragon too. But tbh, this isn't the first thing that came to my mind.

I am a BIG BIG fallen angel Sylus lover. From my previous theories, I kinda made a parallel between Caleb and Sylus from this infold official commission :

I used the "theory" that MC’s character is influenced (at some extend) by the Lis she’s with. It's more like, the more the Lis and Mc spend time together, the more they align with one another. So Caleb’s MC could be considered as Eve and Sylus’s MC as Lilith. Lilith animal symbols are supposedly the cat, the owl and the serpent amongst other things. So I made some researches that I think could also be used as a beautiful metaphor for MC.

So Lilith was supposedly created before Eve (some people say she's Eve). Contrary to Eve, Lilith wasn’t created from Adam’s ribs but from dust and earth like him. She was supposed to be Adam’s wife but she didn't want to obey or submit to him. She wanted her independance (👀) and be treated equally but Adam wasn’t really happy about it (👀).

It kinda reminded me of the core difference between how Caleb interacts with MC and how Sylus does. Caleb wants to keep MC close and not let her go. He wants to be forever her protector. He feels the need to watch and protect her, even if it means doing things against her will, like locking her up. (watch this video, they explain it amazingly here, Caleb has much more nuances, I am only pointing out the main thing : https://youtu.be/Gh3VMwBImW0?si=ubQ1GxPgtp1zmTGW).

He is ready to built anything to keep her "safe" (more like trapped) and even proposes to make a "garden" for her inside a maze. This always reminded me about the garden of Eden, bc who thinks about making a garden for someone when they want to "hold" them against their will ? I will make a part where I will dive more into Adam/Eve/Lucifer/Lilith. I'm just leaving some crumbs for now that I will pick on later.

Caleb's Main Story : Night Unending - Chapter 9 : Captive Bird

Sylus on the other hand, lets MC roam free and chose for herself. He knows she is strong and capable and able to make her own decisions. He WANTS her to make her own choices, even if it means he needs to step out. He lets her enough space to consider things and reflect on them, but will never hesistate to help her if needed. Though, he does wish she would to lean more on him and depend more on him (https://youtu.be/PZClZ49qdxY?si=K2sSmvCbNFoJf9w8)

So this is with this in mind that I made my researches.

Lilith was what we could call (i guess ?) the first "feminist" women ever known. She was born "equally" to Adam and so wanted and demanded the same treatment as him. She stood up for herself and fought against the misogynistic "place" she was supposed to have alongside Adam; being his wife and answering accordingly to his needs. But Adam and G-d were not really happy about it and so upon not being heard, she went against them and defied what was expected of her.

Who is Lilith ?

Lilith : Symbols, Energy and Worship of the Dark Goddess

After she fled/been chased from the Garden, people started to mischaracterize her and paint her as some sort of devil or a vampire, while to some she was a goddess. She was supposedly an evil being that only knew how to seduce, manipulate and terrorize. She was seen as the cause of new born’s death, a baby stealer, a seductress (she was often described as a succubi) who slept with men and was also was responsible for men's erotic dreams. She supposedly stole Adam's seed to made baby demons/nephilims and even drank baby's blood to rebel against Adam. She was also known to brink sickness, death and destruction.

Source - Lilith : Symbols, Energy and Worship of the Dark Goddess

Who is Lilith ?

As Lilith, we see MC time and time again defy what is expected of her as a woman. She was also part of many misogynistic rituals that plagued women for years (being used as sacrifice in GoT, being designated as a sorceress and put on death road in AS and thus meeting Sylus).

But this is not the only thing that I thought could go well with MC. And at some point I don’t think it was the writers intentions, MC is so real written as a real feminist character that tries to survive a society were she is not supposed to thrive that I can’t help myself and make those connections. And I love the devs for that bc it shows how well thought-out everything is and how much their pour their heart out into creating.

Lilith was so badly described and hated for being a woman, that MC suffering from the same treatment (in game and out game) doesn’t shock me but it does sadden me. And upon searching what Lilith is symbolized by, I stumbled upon this. Lilith was said and described as representing chaos, seduction and ungodliness. And OF COURSE I’m still finding a way to link this to MC.

Who was Lilith ? And Why Is Her Story So Important ?

At the end of Sylus’s myth, MC was judged for fifteen crimes but only three were thoroughly described. First crime could be link to Lilith’s ungodliness, second crime to seduction and the third crime to chaos.

Let me explain.

Ungodliness : Not accepting God or a particular religion doctrine, that goes against God and sins.

-> MC worships evil and desire : it is one of God's first command "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me" (Exodus 20:3)

-> Shows no repetance : repentance is showing regret about your sins and accepting to change which could lead you to being "saved". Instead of mending with the rules and called out upon owning a dragon lamp and not destroying it, instead of finding a way to repent for what she was wrongly judged for, MC decided to free the dragon and take revenge on everyone (as she should).

-> Corruption : "One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper" (Proverb 17:20)

Seduction : temptation, something that seduces, attracts or charms, in a sexual context it means to entice someone in sexual intercourse, Bible meaning is literally "to lead astray"

-> Consorting with a Fiend : by freeing Sylus, MC already associated with him and thoughout the myth we see MC slowly becoming his companion and his other half/soulmate to lately becoming "his kind"

-> Bearing its mark + tainting your very body with corruption : shows MC's acceptance of Sylus "influence", bounds him to him, being marked shows being "owned" by and it can implies that you had more than friendly connection with someone

Chaos : state of disorder and confusion with no order, also could mean chams/abyss

-> Plundering wealth and embracing insatiable greed : Sylus and MC went for raids and randering the Judicator's army to helpless soldiers

-> Action stepped in corruption : she does that out of revenge and desire (which kept being fed by Sylus indulging her) and she uses Sylus strength and power too

I found this amazing article that kinda summs up what I want to say.

Who was Lilith ? And Why Is Her Story So Important ?

I don't think the dev took this from Lilith and I genuily don't think they went as far as I went. BUT to me, it's important to note how radicalized women are pointed out, mocked, judge and killed for just speaking out or wanting to be treated like humans too. And mind you, for both MC and Lilith, the one that were against them the most and whose voices were the loudest were men.

And to me, this adds more meaning when in Chaotic Velocity, Sylus describes MC as "chaotic, unique, and beautiful".

Instead of being a bringer of chaos or chaos personified, she is just part of it (and nowadays, being chaotic is kinda used as term of "endearment" or as being confusedly funny). Sylus embraces everything MC's has to offer. He loves her at her most unrestricted disordered, passionate, spontenuous, creative, unpredictable, wild state. Not once, bringing her down or looking down at her for it. Even if he is more methodical. Like for someone like Sylus who always plans things through and always makes sure to be steps ahead, MC can be quite a lot to deal with. But no, he lets ger roam free and embrace herself while he takes care of the rest.

Instead of being ungodly, she is unique bc she doesn’t fit into a case or let herself be shaped by others or rules. She stands firm on her belief and won't be easily swoop by people's influence or power, only if she deems it worthy or not dangerous to her and what she stands for. She follows rules while still maintining sort some of criticism towards it and won't hesitate to challenge and question things. And I also thing, he said that because he feels the need to remind her, that she is that special to him.

Instead of being a seductress or just an object of seduction (i guess was an other way for them to call her a whore) she is beautiful. Sylus never one reduced MC to a sexual object. She is an attractive women physically AND mentally wise and a capable women. He always emphasizes it and let MC knows that she means more to him than just her body.

And maybe devs didn’t thought this that far, but I will stretch this shit out to point out how much feminism and women empowerment IS a main SylusMc subject and pillar. NOT TO SAY THAT IT DOESN’T HAPPEN WITH THE OTHER GUYS. But Sylus has a special to my heart. Misogynistic and sickass ideas are not only just OOC when it comes to Sylus, but not even viable near that wonderful man.

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Note : Thank you for reading this far. I know this is a bit messy and I am so sorry in advance. There is so much I want to say but don't know how to put it into words. This is only the first part though. And I might ass a few things or too as my researches goes on.

[elieowlsclownery]

Sad Mermaid God Cycle

I haven't gone through all the myth lores yet but I've seen all of Rafayel's at least. And since then I haven't been able to get a Thought out of my head. We know that in order for a God of the Sea to complete the ritual they need to kill a follower that they have a bond with. A bond that makes it so that the God can never disobey the follower when commanded.

...Isn't that a bit contradiction? Even if the god has this innate compulsion to strike down his follower, their follower can prevent it. We literally saw this in Rafayel's path in Prologue to Tomorrow. The God of the Sea seemed to posses Rafayel and MC was able to command him to stop. What was stopping the previous followers from doing the same and preventing their deaths?

Well...it's love. In other circumstances this might sound trite and cheesy, but in LADs love is a seriously dangerous force. In every other myth the consequences of choosing love over duty, responsibility or instinct has been, to put it lightly, utterly catastrophic. It's destroyed and/or warped their bodies, their souls, their homes, their civilizations, even their planets. And at the end it permanently separates the two, who chose love over everything, until the next life where in spite of the pain they do it all over again.

In Rafayel's case as the God of the Sea we've already seen him choose love over his duty, leading to his home and entire civilization going dark. In the Desert myth he once again chose love, breaking the prophecy meant to save his civilization entirely. And in the newest myth he almost did the same thing, thousands of years after being sealed, choosing MC over restoring his power, bringing back his civilization, and even saving his own life. He was ready to die for her. He'll die because he loves her. But MC denied history repeating by using their bond to finish the ritual. She dies because she loves him.

This is how the ritual was meant to work. If the God of the Sea cannot bring themselves to kill their follower, the follower will command them to do it themselves. And I bet more often then not this is exactly how it played out in the past incarnations. Of the God of the Sea couldn't bring themselves to kill their follower, it wasn't instinct that finished it. It was their follower commanding them to do it. Because of love.

Like...man. I wasn't expecting a deeply melodramatic love story spanning eons in the game where you poke boys and watch them sleep.

Also sidenote I think the reason why the possessed Rafayel saw MC as a traitor in the current timeline wasn't because of the incarnation of MC that didn't go through with the ritual, but because of the incarnation that did go through with it. The one that forced him to stab his beloved, that was what he deemed a betrayal.

[elieowlsclownery]

I look at sweet Xavier and the one thing that constantly spins in my mind is "hey maybe being 23 forever is bad, actually."

No matter how many years Xavier had physically been around, no matter how much he's experienced, he's never actually able to grow past his young adult years. He's literally stuck in time, stuck in a loop of having his first crush and losing her over and over. Stuck being a new recruit, new graduate, new neighbor. He's experienced everything, and yet is incapable of ever growing from it. He's like Philos. Theoretically immortal, but with the consequence of being completely stagnated. Maybe that's why no matter what he wears, be it a fancy crown or a campus sweater, he always reads as the youngest of the lads. Cursed to be Baby forever.

MC and Xavier Grow Old Together Challenge. Give me Grandpa Xavier and Grandma MC who are old and wrinkly and happy.

[elieowlsclownery]

Favorite thing with the English localization is how they handled poor Caleb. You know, Caleb, MC's CHILDHOOD FRIEND. Her CHILDHOOD FRIEND who happened to be raised together with her and share the same guardian. Oh look, it's MC's CHILDHOOD FRIEND who practically raised MC alongside their shared guardian. Did you register that Caleb is MC's CHILDHOOD FRIEND YET!!!???

Like...I don't necessarily NEED them to flat-out say he's her legal step-brother. But I think Caleb being an older brother figure in MCs life is like...the majority of his character. Even though they're not blood-related, even if in a scenario where they weren't raised under the same roof by the same guardian, Caleb's made being MC's protective older brother his entire identity. Part of his conflict with MC is how their dynamic changed after the big explosion. Caleb has revealed the unsavory parts of himself to MC that he was hiding, and MC no longer needs or wants to be protected or coddled, having grown and changed dramatically since becoming a hunter. Both thought they knew everything about each other, only to realize both have become strangers. But even so, both desperately want to go back to those simpler, more innocent time. Can they? Or better yet, do they really WANT to go back to the way things were?

Plastering CHILDHOOD FRIENDS over all this baggage kind of does a disservice to what's actually happening here. It's hard to take it seriously when CHILDHOOD FRIENDS is smacked on every piece of text about Caleb. Like you can practically see them scratching out any words insinuating their family and writing in CHILDHOOD FRIEND in red sharpie. It's silly and obnoxious, especially when to me a lot of the text outside of Caleb respects your ability to think between the lines. Not here though, it's CHILDHOOD FRIENDS repeated in your ear ad nauseum every time he's mentioned.

Also, MC already HAS a childhood friend! His name is Zayne! HE'S the one whose past is shaped by being MC's childhood friend who later separated, not Caleb. Give childhood friend Zayne a 100 percent sugar cheese foam latte and the respect he deserves!!!

Mind you, I'm not blaming the localization team here for this. To blame the localization team for silly things like this is to blame game developers for making a game that was released too early. The more likely explanation as to why this happened is that a higher-up in Infold thought western audiences wouldn't like the implication that an LI had a sibling relationship with MC, because we're sensitive little babies, and so they forced the localization team to retroactively change the text to make it more palatable. I just find it funny how obvious this forced change is, even without listening to the original dialogue.

(Also btw I'm saying all this without having gone through a lot of Caleb's content aside from Main Story. There's definitely Caleb girlies out there who probably have a lot more receipts than I do so take my takes with a grain of salt)

[elieowlsclownery]

Forgot to share this here from reddit, have my Zayne Myth Theory

—-

Okay I finally finished watching Zayne’s myths and first of all yes I did tear up a little and second of all I think given the pattern of the previous myths I’m going to bet that Zayne’s third myth is going to be a continuation for either the divinity or foreseer one. Both myths end with MC alive and Zayne’s fate unknown, and given her track record I fully believe she’s going to walk right back into the storm (in foreseer’s case literally) to try to save Zayne. MC always prioritized survival, but in Zayne’s myth theres also this longing for normalcy. She doesn’t want to die, but she also doesn’t want power. She just wanted to live and enjoy life a little longer. But after meeting Zayne she didn’t just want to live, she wanted to live with Zayne specifically.

Also interesting that in Zayne’s myths Zayne made it so that MC could actually live normally among others, something she was never really granted in other myths. At the end of both MC is neither considered a threat, a sacrifice, or a source of power to exploit. She could theoretically live a perfectly healthy and normal life thanks to Zayne’s own efforts. And in the 3rd myth I bet she’ll be tossing those efforts in the gutter because none of that matters if she can never hear Zayne’s dry humor.

Anyway the people approve the long locks lets keep the trend going I want Zayne’s to be disheveled and wild because hair care is hard when you’re trapped in a blizzard for hundreds to thousands of years.