#lore thoughts

[elmhat]

c!Dream as a mythical figure, a legend, a ghost. A man so dangerous that everyone knows his name, yet so elusive that you begin to wonder if he was ever real to begin with. In the server's later days, the loneliest days, you think you can hear his footsteps on the breeze. Every shadow stops you in your tracks. It's as if the very ruins he made are whispering his name. This world is empty, and Dream is emptiness personified, come to drown you for good.

[purewanderlust]

One of the most compelling elements of Leon's character is that he basically sold his soul to protect two girls he barely knew, and has spent multiple decades as a slave to the US government and Capcom just... doesn't talk about it?

Like I get that the canon is inconsistent and so much happens off screen, but can you imagine what Sherry and Claire would feel if they knew? Can you imagine how Chris would feel, especially considering the way he talked to Leon at the beginning of Vendetta?

Idk, I just think we as a society aren't mining that tragedy enough. At least he and Sherry got to go a little rogue in Requiem, but I have to wonder about their continued services to the DSO now that the canon has basically confirmed that they're still under the influence of bioterrorists via The Connections, even after the death of Derek Simmons and The Family.

[eddiespsychiatrist]

(wip art) I realized something for me while brushing my teeth this morning.

Eddie is such an intriguing character because we don‘t really know who he is.

The game shows him to us in only two states: extremely frightened, angry and hopeless at the beginning, and afterwards when he is full crazy and murderous with his mania / psychosis / whatever the engine did to his already broken and unstable mind. We know some stuff about his past, but do we know how he would order cake at a small bakery? How he would react if he misses the bus? We know so little about his personality and him in any other setting beside the asylum.

so canon wise he doesn‘t really have a clear character, he could be anything and nothing. And that’s perfect! This fandom puts him in so many various lights and all the different approaches to his personality kinda work - I have read sooo many fics about Eddie and every single take on his character and his traits feels spot on and fitting, at least to me.

We can project so much into this character and form him to whatever we please while all Eddie versions out there feel real and authentic. Isn‘t that awesome??? I absolutely love that about him and the Outlast fandom<3

Eddie is twisted. Eddie is guilty pleasure. Eddie is bae.

[msviitheoracle2]

Dissecting Enkidu's and Gilgamesh's bond + couple of thoughts and personal deep dives

this discussion is more self-indulgent than the rest of the threads I have made here, therefore there might be some serious undertones

of course the usual keywords:

EoG= The Epic of Gilgamesh

Gil= affectionately addressing Gilgamesh as Gil

The idea that Enkidu's and Gilgamesh's dynamic is so widely misunderstood or rather brushed to the side by a small majority, let alone made so that what Gilgamesh had as a dynamic with Enkidu was nothing more than just any simple friendship that he had had later on with his masters (Ritsuka, Hakuno etc) irks me to a point.

We're discussing THE Gilgamesh here, if anything, his dynamic with Enkidu is something you would yearn to experience and understand yourself. There is so much more to the two than just simple friendship, and a bond so strong in fact that you'll never see it anywhere else in any of Gilgamesh's bonds with the rest (Masters included).

Enkidu and Gilgamesh are, to me, the epitome of soulmates in many ways than JUST one. Soulmates are a rather overused term nowadays and therefore the word itself has lost its meaning, but as a Fate consumer and a student of the Humanities-- from both a historical and a mythological perspective, these two are the epitome of what it means to love someone so dearly that their impact to your life has entirely changed you as a person. Let alone, their death has had to have been something so dear and tragic that you never even recovered from it, no matter the years and later eons, no matter the countless of people you have met later on in your life (in both EoG and Fate which I will dive into later).

The beauty of these two stems from their very dynamic-- in fact, depending on how the readers may consume the media provided by EoG and Fate (for some), it becomes difficult to directly pinpoint the exact dynamic that Enkidu and Gilgamesh have. It's important to take a close look into the customs of ancient Mesopotamia and not through a direct modern lense. To love someone this dearly, it does not mean that it has to be strictly romantic love, hence my sentence above that what Enkidu and Gilgamesh have as a bond is beyond the comprehension of simple words and terms.

These two fill all the categories you may see fit to describe their bond-- the goddess Ninsun adopted Enkidu as her own son and therefore he became Gilgamesh's foster younger brother, so they fit the criteria of a very healthy, very loving older sibling to younger sibling dynamic. To others, they embody a strong platonic friendship that surpasses the simple terms of your typical friendship. And to a large majority, they embody a romantic flair...all of these terms to me are not enough to describe their bond as is. To some degree, I find the thought of using these terms to refer to the bond between Enkidu and Gilgamesh to be undervaluing the complexity of their dynamic,, even through a modern lense.

In my own perspective and taking into account the customs of ancient Mesopotamia (and modern day Iraq in specific), to house the two under the term "romance" undermines the value, importance and role of a genuine, pure and loving friendship. Not just your typical friendship, but the kind in which you have quite literally found your other half and have been inseperabel since the very day that you met eachother. What I mean to describe here is that love does not solely exist in a romantic relationship, and to even think of it that way alone is to undermine the impact that a strong, platonic friendship like Gilgamesh's and Enkidu's has. Even to the audience, our friendships are more impactful than most romantic relationships-- but then again, Gilgamesh and Enkidu care about eachother so much and to such a profound level that even I find the term "friendship" to not be enough to describe them.

Which all leads back to my talk about soulmates as I genuinely believe that Enkidu and Gilgamesh embody the very word to its entirety, from its starting foundations and even now through its modern lense. From the very beginning that these two met eachother, their connection instantly clicked and they got along-- more importantly, they both impacted eachother so gravely that only through death itself were they at last separated from eachother. Prior to their deaths, Enkidu's death in specific, even in both EoG and Fate we are shown that they never separated from eachother and always stuck close through battles and even the most casual of circumstances.

Enkidu was not born out of love, rather the duty from the divine that they must create an equal to Gilgamesh to put an end to his reign-- and yet you see that despite being born to put an end to Gil, Enkidu did no such thing even later onwards. Enkidu was born a monster, not a human, and yet when he met Gilgamesh and experienced the world in all its beauty and grotesque aspects, he learned what it means to be human. He became a human himself and was mourned as a human, not a monster, despite the origins of his birth. Despite never experiencing the love of a father and a mother, the love of a sibling, the love of a lover, the love of a friend.

One of the important aspects of the Epic of Gilgamesh is the duality of humanity and amongst many of it's queries, what it means to be human and the value of human life. Enkidu and Gilgamesh embody all of these questions and answer them through their own actions in their story. The epic is their own song, their life documented for us to know and reminisce millenniums later, to read and admire, to be envious of and to yearn for a love as pure and genuine as theirs was regardless of how you may see it.

The beauty of their dynamic, that you can see it as either platonic or romantic, does not change the fact that they were born for eachother or the aspect in which they are soulmates. When one passed the other couldn't move on even after his own death, the change was felt of the other's absence, the impact that the two had in their respective lives is present for all of us to see and read yet so difficult to describe because it is genuinely made from pure, unfiltered love to the point that it aches our souls.

Enkidu who was born a monster and given the duty to fulfil one purpose, got to a life of his own through his own choices and actions without the influence of the divine, with the sole person who loved him in all of his forms. Enkidu learned and experienced what it means to be a human and passed as a human, under Gilgamesh's own watchful gaze and hands. Gilgamesh, who was a tyrant who knew no love and undermined the value of humanity despite being a human himself (and at the same time suffering with Enkidu's situation, not being truly human to be able to understand humanity), learned to love humanity and became a better person for his people despite still suffering the consequences of his actions. He learned, loved, hated, mourned and fought alongside Enkidu, the only person who could understand him despite the tyrant king he previously was, and so Enkidu's death absolutely destroyed him.

Something I find very interesting is that Enkidu received an earthly burial, whereas (although debated amongst some archeologists and researchers) Gilgamesh was buried beneath the river Euphrates. Earth and water, interconnected in more ways than one. To add more thoughts into this (my Enkidu thread touched on this), Enkidu returned to his home, the wilderness and nature-- to the mother earth, his "real" home in which he was "raised" and "born" in and Gilgamesh was buried beneath the Euphrates river, which the Mesopotamian gods are unironically all descendant from THE primordial waters (considering the birth and origins of their pantheon).

So in a way as a child of the gods it made sense that Gilgamesh would be honoured in such a way. But Enkidu not being buried beneath the "primordial" waters DESPITE being the son of the "stars of heaven", to me, shows that he really DID become a human at the end of the epic. Enkidu was no longer a "monster" and he was no longer JUST Gilgamesh's "equal"-- he completely stripped himself of his heavenly identity to become human in the most significant and genuine meaning of the word. He accepted it and was honoured as one. He really WAS loved by the people of ancient Sumer. He became Ninsun's foster son, Gilgamesh's foster brother and his sole friend for eternity even after his death, he became a protector of Ur and was even honoured with a statue in the capital. But I still take into account Humbaba's words--

"Besides Gilgamesh his friend, none shall bury Enkidu!"

But Enkidu WAS buried. So... did he mean it in the way that he was entirely "stripped" from his heavenly identity that he simply just COULDN'T be buried beneath the primordial waters? Hence, an earthly burial? So many questions!!

Outside of this short segment, Enkidu's death haunts the narrative in more ways than one and his character is a key factor to Gilgamesh's growth. To see people cast aside Enkidu and undermine his loving bond with Gilgamesh is,, I don't know weird? Gilgamesh himself stating that he will take no other than Enkidu as his friend in Fate says a lot in either his Caster or Archer variants. He's still mourning Enkidu and his love for him never disappeared or left 🥲 there's nothing more that I want than for these two to be reunited again and to live normal lives together...they always sadden me💔❤️‍🩹

My love for Enkidu and Gilgamesh is beyond infinity and it's crazy work,, hope we get more of the two together in FGO/other Fate medias

[bleue-flora]

On another random c!Wilbur note, on the 16th, he really just gave c!Tommy the presidency to then blow up the nation. Like do we even realize how screwed up that is. And see this is why it’s hard for me to see c!Wilbur and c!Tommy as any sort of close positive relationship or wholesome or brothers. Like even brothers treat eachother better than that. And I think it’s also why I find it weird that c!Wilbur is so upset at c!Dream for exile, or at least his protective outrage makes me roll my eyes.

[bytewire]

Subnautica dates and timelines

I never see anyone mention this, but the spy pengling blueprints have a date on them! Assuming the game takes place during the 22nd century as told by an old voiceline from the PDA during the first game, with the date provided by the blueprints we can assume that Subnautica BZ most likely takes place in 2163/2164 depending on when Robin arrived on 4546b.

(It isn’t clear whether or not the date means December 6th or June 12th.)

With this, let’s go over some dates and general timeframes we know.

BZ, set two years after the first game: 2163/2164

SN: 2161/2162

the Degasi crashed 10 years before the aurora: 2151/2152

Mercury ii at least 30 years before the aurora: 2131/2132/???? (Dates start getting unclear here as we only have ranges.)

The habitat builder was created more than 50 years ago.

Unfortunately things start getting a little bit inconsistent when you consider the ancient blade from the first game

This is stored within the quarantine enforcement platform. It’s databank entry as you can see says it dates back to the 13th century. So either AL-AN was only stored for 900 years and not a full millennium, or he was stored for a millennium, but there was other Architect activity on 4546b up until an unknown period of time where the rest left/went into storage.

(That or whoever was writing just forgot. Which is the most likely explanation. I’m just being a nerd about the exact dates. No need to linger on it right now.)

So, AL-AN gets put in storage around a millennium ago/900 years ago by the time Robin finds him (At the very least sometime in the 12th-13th century range.)

There is an extinction event on 4546b 1,000 years before Architects arrive as suggested by fossil records.

Sea emperor is born around 1,600 years before Architects start cure efforts on 4546b.

Architect discovered fossil records on 4546b go back 10,000 years.

And thats as far back as we get with provided dates/numbers to go alongside them!

[fadetouchedlurker]

I gotta yap about my thoughts about my stabby assassin Lavellan and her connection to the Fade without being a mage, because weaving game mechanics into how Thedas works is super fun to me.

I just think there is something so delicious about her not even being a mage. Something that should come naturally to their people, and she can't access it.

At least not like a mage.

But the thing about being a rogue, especially an assassin, is that the rogues, especially the assassins, seem to have an extensive natural connection to the Fade, which I think Solas would find fascinating.

Here's Vivienne and Lavellan cloaked, Vivienne in Fade Cloak, Lavellan in Stealth, although Vivienne's stealth has no accompanying smoke cloud.

Stealth is very much like Fade Cloak, especially upgraded to Lost in the Shadows, and Fade Step is a lot like Flank Attack. I think all of these are using the Fade in some way, wrapping a piece of the Veil or the Fade around the mage or rogue to slip into stealth, a foot between each world. The mage is using their will, I think the rogue is running on instinct.

And then the really wild one is Hidden Blades.

Little flickering violet duplicates of Lavellan. I think these are spirits of Purpose. Why? Because Purpose becomes Desire, and Desire is purple. Also the Valor spirits are purple, in Trespasser, and I think that they would fall under the broader category of spirits of Purpose. (I think Lavellan's Hidden Blades are spirits of Determination, Courage, and Perseverance.)

Part of the Assassin training is to become your own assassin. A Purpose, and I hypothesize that this is what attracts the spirits of Purpose that become the Hidden Blades. Cole, I think, just becomes extra temporary stabby Coles.

But it's all very spirit-y, and that's why I think that Lavellan has an inherent connection to the Fade, albeit more like a spirit than a mage.

[unlockthelore]

I have an idea nagging at the back of my mind that’s somewhat demanding to exist. It’s partially based off a conversation I had with my grandpa, and I feel like the lessons could best be represented through Zutoph’s family.

This’ll be a little long.

So warning for musings about parenthood, my own family, and then Zutoph thoughts (primarily focused on Izumi atm).

I’m not a parent but I imagine parenthood is hard. You raise your children (hopefully/idealistically) with the intent for them to be their own person, to be a good person. You put your heart and soul into them but you do so without the intent to control them. Everyday, you learn more about your child and there may be things you like and things you don’t like.

But you love THEM as your child.

I always believed you are a parent for life — yes, you provide their basic needs automatically (food, water, shelter) because how else will they get it? That’s just human decency.

But teaching them empathy, how to sympathize with others, how to love, and what healthy love looks like in return? Apologizing when you’re wrong, letting them hold you accountable, embracing them in their mistakes, showing them what true forgiveness is, and so on — that’s the part of parenthood that never ends. Provision of material things is fine; great, even, because the world runs off material goods and you need them to survive.

But what we need most is compassion for others.

My grandpa taught me a lot about that, and to be honest, when we first started watching ATLA - I saw a lot of Iroh in him. It’s part of what made me cry when Iroh’s original voice actor died. But also made me realize how pivotal Iroh’s influence (though he is flawed and highly regarded but has issues) had on Zuko. Even though I know Iroh is a character of admittedly questionable morals in his past, and perhaps even in his present, it made me realize that’s what parents are like.

I only knew my grandpa as my grandpa. I didn’t know he served in the military, that he was drafted and torn from his life under threat of incarceration or worse. I didn’t know our country treated him with disrespect, that his life was in danger countless times and if he’d made one misstep, was in the wrong place, spoke to the wrong person - we would have never met.

I didn’t know he had ill feelings towards others; that he could be unkind, that he could express terrible things, and that he felt such remorse in his past failings that he’d admit them to me only so I could learn to be better. All I remember was the man who loved me so much that I would never have realized we weren’t related by blood until he told me himself.

So what did all of this have to do with Zutoph family?

A lot; actually.

I’m thinking about how Izumi, Lin, and Suyin view the elders in their family — not just Zuko, but Toph, Iroh, Ursa, Ikem, Kiyi, Azula, Lao, Poppy, and even Ozai. I know I focus quite a bit on Izumi at the moment but that’s partially because she is the start.

There can be so much talked about regarding the eldest daughter in different cultures. How the firstborn is the one who starts the line and all who follow are (hopefully) improved upon. In Izumi, I just see the beginning of a new cycle. I consider a lot from her perspective, how she sees her family as such but gets to know who they truly are beyond the title. How her parents remain her parents while having their individualism in tact, and how she grapples with understanding who she is.

Iroh’s question of: “Who are you? And what do you want?” still persists and honestly, Izumi could benefit from hearing it as well.

To have that guidance to grow up into the person I can’t wait to write one day once the building blocks are laid down.

But to round it out, the idea in my mind came from my grandpa revealing a little of our family history. How he left his work and stayed home for three years to raise my older brother so my grandmother wouldn’t have to. How he loved his wife and wanted to share the responsibility of raising the next generation with her, even if we weren’t his by blood.

An open secret, but unknown to the children who were the family of his heart.

So imagine with me; for three years, Toph raises Izumi in the gradually growing Republic City, away from the court eager to meld her to their wants, away from the monsters who would try to steal or murder an infant to reclaim a regime of bloodshed and destruction, away from Zuko.

But she’s not alone. The man who was like a father to her when her own was not, who told her he didn’t love her because he just met her yet she knows now he adores her, shows up and just doesn’t leave.

And eventually, a soldier boy set on a throne travels across the sea to come home.

I think my grandpa would love a story like that.