A complete breakdown of character names in Promare
Ever wondered why the names in Promare were so “wild and strange”? That’s right they have meaning(TM), and I decided to list all of em.
✮ ✮ Some general thoughts, before the list. ✮ ✮
Most of the names seem to be Greco-Roman, or from a romance language (in many cases, i was unable to identify just exactly which romance variant the name was referencing, but the meanings are mostly the same regardless). These origins fit really well, with the MANY mythological references of the movie, so I think I'm on the right path with them.
With that being said, I don’t speak greek, and I have an extremely minimal understanding of latin. I tried to factcheck my translations as much as possible, but there may be some inaccuracies. I’m much more confident with the translations from romance variants, as I speak italian, and have started learning spanish at my university.
ALSO. this list is only for character names, as if i got into the places and concepts too here, this would get waay too long. its already too long. god.
✮ ✮ peep the list under the cut ✮ ✮
LIO FOTIA - “Lion Fire”,
Lio - name variant of Leo, latin for “lion”
Fotia - “fire” in greek
GALO THYMOS - “Cocky and Spirited”
Galo - means “rooster” in some romance langs (ex: portuguese, italian), i have a hunch that they just wanted to call him “cocky”
Thymos - ~Thumos, spiritedness, could mean here: fiery spirit, greek
KRAY FORESIGHT - “Kratos/Strength Foresight/Prometheus”
Kray - most likely lifted from Kratos, a personification of strength, as well as one of titans that help chain Prometheus in the myth. more about Prometheus in another post bc BOI there's a lot about him in Promare.
Foresight - just the english word. (ironic here, as his lack is heavily referenced) also of note, is that the name Prometheus could be translated as “forethought” or “foresight”. meaning that even his name is a dead giveaway that he is one of the “prometheans”, aka the burnish. the prometheus~burnish thing is a whole other package though.
BIAR COLOSSUS - “Bia/Force Giant”
Biar - ~Bia, Kratos’ sibling, personification of force and anger. also had a part in the Prometheus story, greek
Colossus - probably used as a synonym for “Titan” or “Giant” here (but it would be kinda incorrect, as a “Colossus” is rlly just a big statue of a dude. if it’s in that meaning, it’s probably in reference to the mechs?), greek
IGNIS EX - “Fire Out”
Ignis - fire, latin
Ex - “out”, latin.
VARYS TRUSS - “Diversity, Stability” GURL
Varys - ~Varius?, diverse, different in latin. hello here’s our black character his name is (checks smudged note) umm diversity.
Truss - “a truss is an assembly of beams or other elements that creates a rigid structure” [wikipedia] . i guess he’s like, a source of stability, and strength?
DEUS PROMETH - “(the) God Prometheus”
Deus - god, greek
Prometh - derived from Prometheus, oh boi, i told you all promethus jsut keeps coming up. greek
VULCAN HASTUS - its rlly just “Volcano Volcano”
Vulcan - roman god of smithing, and yeah, volcanoes. latin
Hastus - ~Hephaestus. greek god of smithing and volcanoes. yeah. also hephaestus had a (reluctant) part in the chaining of Prometheus. greek
HERIS ARDEBIT - “Sun Burn~Burning/Blazing Sun”
Heris- maybe ref to Helios, greek god of the sun.
Ardebit - to burn, latin
AINA ARDEBIT- “Lovely Burn/Burning Love”
Aina - it’s actually a japanese name!, means “love and affection”
Ardebit - see above
GUIERA - “War”
Gueira - guerra?, romance lang variant of the word for “war”.
MEIS - “Mine”, and if ur rlly out there could mean “Month”
Meis - ??? um. dative or ablative plural of “meus”, “my” in latin. also fun fact it means month in norman, though derived from a slightly different latin word. this one, imma be honest, i’m not sure about.
THYMA - “Victim”, hello here’s our third black character, victim, gurl.
Thyma - means “victim” in greek.
LUCIA FEX - “Light Creator”
Lucia - ~Lux? lucía? both mean light, in latin and in roman variants
Fex -“-fex”,?? latin, derived from facere. combining word, meaning “to make”, “to create”.
REMI PUGUNA - “Remedy (for) Conflict”,
Remi - “Remedy”, french most likely
Puguna - ~pugna, conflict in many romance langs. (ex: italian)
+VINNY: he was just named that after a firefighter the animation team met, while doing research, so it doesnt carry any special meaning. anyway i still did do the research bc i love this funky lil rat, and vinny probably comes from vincere, which in latin and italian means “to win”.
✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ SOME FINAL THOUGHTS. ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:
As the list shows, many of the names reference fire, light, and the myth of Prometheus. These are consistent with the themes of Promare, so I’m confident in these being deliberate references, and not just coincidences. But even knowing this, I have to admit, some names may have been chosen by the production team based on how cool sounded, not based on their meaning (especially when it comes to the side characters), but again, that shouldn’t discredit the ones with extremely clear allusions to mythology, or to words with special meaning in the movie’s universe.
The names being from many different romance language variants, and from greek and latin, is also interesting, because it helps displace the story in space, and time. I may get into this in depth later, but in short: using mythological names, and names with diverse origins grants a story a grandness, and makes it more universal. It’s cool.
And as a last note, i absolutely adore Promare, but if you look at this list of interesting, and cool names and don’t feel icky after seeing that the 3 black characters are named “DIVERSITY”, “VOLCANO VOLCANO” and “VICTIM”, I’m not sure what to tell you. Promare has issues, and we need to acknowledge them, and be critical of the media we consume.
That’s all thank you if you got this far, blows you all a little kiss. < 3
Been writing a fic lately that is super heavy on worldbuilding and I was having a hard time with it because a lot of things in the film are left up to interpretation. So I decided that I needed to sit down and have the Biggest Think of my gosh darn life. All for a fic. Of course.
I’ll be posting my Promare headcanons in a series of posts, which will be long and rambly and not very well-written, because they’re just me parsing my thoughts in real time haha. I hope at least one person out there enjoys reading these either way. I’ll also be linking to my fic when it’s available!
(Just to be clear, this is just my interpretation, and I am in no way saying that this is actually what happened. I just really need some sort of foot to stand on for that fic, man skldfn;dslfk)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT (PRE-WORLD BLAZE)
30 years ago, Burnish manifestations were first treated as anomalies, freak medical conditions. Those who spontaneously combusted (due to anger, being upset, etc.) and unwittingly hurt people were arrested, but no one really knew how to convict them, given that they were essentially accidents. But victims and the families of victims wanted justice. As more and more Burnish started manifesting—most of them in violent ways—the government started to focus on containment. They didn’t really know what they were dealing with, some kind of disease?? Medical researchers were trying to figure out why people were just spontaneously combusting, the courts didn’t know how to judge them, the police didn’t know what else to do but arrest them, the politicians were at a loss, and the general public was growing increasingly paranoid.
In response, governments all over the world quickly established segregation policies and isolation protocols, brought about by a concern for more instances of spontaneous combustion and not knowing if the condition was contagious. When the hotlines opened up, they were flooded. People were being reported upon even mere suspicion of being Burnish, and were swiftly escorted by a party of government medical workers and police to be brought to isolation facilities. It served as both to segregate them from the rest of society in the interest of public safety, and for research purposes into the ‘Burnish disease’. Such facilities were tightly guarded and gave the impression of being high security prisons more than anything else.
At this point, the UN appointed Dr. Deus Prometh to lead the global research effort on the Burnish condition. While he did acknowledge that it was important to isolate the Burnish until the scientific community understood more about the condition, he publicly spoke out more than once about the dehumanizing treatment of the Burnish by law enforcement, and warned that the continued mistreatment of them would eventually prove to be detrimental.
It was within these circumstances that factions started to form—those who approved of the government response, and those who opposed it (mostly friends and family whose loved ones had been whisked away by the government to god-knows-where). There was a lot to it. Rather than the ‘Burnish disease’ being treated purely as a medical condition, politics had started coming into play. Were they patients or were they detainees? If the government truly viewed Burnish as victims of circumstance, then why were they being treated as criminals? Spurred by the increasingly political nature of Burnish detainments, the Burnish Independence Movement was born, the precursor to the group that would later be known as Mad Burnish.
People took to the streets—one side wanted to keep Burnish isolated because they were believed to be inherently violent. Another side wanted them isolated to get to the bottom of the disease and possibly find a cure. The Burnish Independence Movement insisted that there was nothing wrong with them, and that they should be allowed to live freely without being discriminated for their condition.
To add to the already growing tensions, a small subset of the Burnish Independence Movement decided that enough was enough, and that they needed to take things into their own hands. It was breaking news when a group attacked an isolation facility and freed the Burnish being kept inside. They called themselves the Mad Burnish, and said that if the government wasn’t going to help them, then they had no choice but to help themselves. In the months that followed this first attack, they routinely continued to hit isolation facilities and research centers, freeing Burnish and increasing their numbers. They called themselves activists; governments called them terrorists. No matter what people considered them as, one thing was certain: their presence fanned the flames of all sides of the conflict, exponentially so.
It all came to a head when the Burnish finally got sick of it all. It started as a joke—“Let’s just set the world on fire”—something that was mumbled in half-joking jest between disgruntled Burnish, until the idea started becoming more and more appealing. When the first Burnish-initiated volcanic eruption happened with one of the volcanoes along the Pacific Ring of Fire—only a little more than a year after the first Burnish started manifesting—it started off a chain reaction that would change the world forever.
The Great World Blaze is the collective name used to refer to a series of Burnish-initiated, extended volcanic eruptions around the world that lasted for weeks. During this time, volcanoes all around the world erupted violently everyday, spewing lava that leveled forests and fields, belching ash that buried entire cities. They were often preceded by strong earthquakes that caused multiple landslides and tsunamis, on top of the damage they wrought to property and infrastructure. Aside from triggering natural calamities, the Burnish resistance also instigated blazes wherever they could. When the last fires had finally been put out, countless lives had lost, leaving what was left of society on the brink of collapse, and an Earth charred beyond the point of recovery.
(I know a lot of this is stuff that viewers already know; I just needed a more precise timeline/sequence of events and a little more flavor for my fic!)
Thoughts on Promare Part 1: Galo and Lio’s Relationship
I rewatched Promare recently, so I thought I’d write a piece on it. (Read Part 2 here )
I want to try to explain why Galo and Lio work so well together, even though Galo himself described their partnership as “oil and water.” And it’s true. They’re opposites, practically living in separate worlds. Lio’s the leader of the terrorist group Mad Burnish. Galo’s a firefighter, tasked with putting out the Burnish’s fires and capturing them. They’re natural enemies, natural rivals. They’re on different sides. They certainly start out this way. But by the end of the film, they find common ground and fight together. Let’s take a look at how they got there.
This was also inspired by the song Inferno from the Promare OST, so I’ve incorporated some lyrics throughout, which will explain why the song fits in so well with the movie.
“All my life been hoping for a happy life for me”
Lio and the Mad Burnish have a creed, that they wouldn’t kill needlessly. They wouldn’t kill innocent people. They would just fight to create a safe place for the Burnish who were being captured and exploited by Kray Foresight. So, early on, it’s established that Lio is someone who cares about other people — that he isn’t so bad, even if he is a terrorist group leader.
When the truth that the flames were sentient aliens who had a natural inclination to burn everything and destroy the earth came out, Lio was shocked. He wondered aloud, “Then what have we been (fighting for)?”
I’m implying the fighting for part, because he actually just trails off there. But the main point here is that he’s questioning what he and the rest of Mad Burnish have been doing all this time.
Remember, he cares about people, so much that he wouldn’t kill the people who lived in ignorance and prejudice towards the Burnish. He wouldn’t even kill the people who jailed him and his fellow Burnish. Not hurting people is what Lio is all about. It just so happened that he had fire powers that spoke to him in his mind, saying that they wanted to burn. Resisting it was impossible. To burn meant to live, for him.
But the very flames that he felt were a natural and essential part of him would end up destroying the Earth, and all the people on it that he cared so much for.
“Trails of Fire… They’d lead me to you”
Lio burned and fought as the Mad Burnish leader because it seemed natural to him, as natural as breathing. But when he realized that it may have just been the will of alien creatures inside of him, he began to question himself and his actions up until then.
He began to question his place. He didn’t feel like he belonged with his fire alien race. But he didn’t have a place among humans either. So he experienced a loss of identity and purpose.
But Lio wasn't in this alone.
When Galo crashed into Lio in his rampaging, revenge-driven dragon form and trapped him inside the ship Aina was driving, Lio was very visibly thrown off guard when Galo said, “I understand how you feel. I was betrayed by Kray too.”
The last time they’d met was in the cave, and Galo had apologized for assuming Burnish didn’t need to eat, for thinking they weren’t human. He had even said that he thought Burnish could live normal lives with the other humans.
Lio was the leader of the Burnish, furthest from a normal human being, the largest outcast of human society. But here was Galo — a human, a fire fighter, a hero with a medal for capturing the big boss — agreeing that yes, Lio is human, and yes, he does deserve a place to belong. And Lio wanted to believe him. But at the time of the cave scene, Galo was still ignorant of Kray’s crimes.
Then he sat handcuffed in that cave alone and in the dark. He watched powerless, as a Burnish woman died and disappeared without trace into ash. He found out Lio hadn’t been lying about Kray. He was thrown into prison. He pounded his fists on his cell door and cried. Everything he’d known had been a lie, and the person who’d led him there had only wanted him to die.
Next we see him, he’s sitting stone faced as far from the door as possible.
Then when Galo hears — senses — Lio rampaging outside, when Lio’s flames break down the cell walls and Galo looks out and sees him there, of course he notices the trail of flaming tears Lio is shedding. Of course he understands. Because he’s the same.
He was betrayed too.
But when he said that, he meant more than just that. He meant, “I know now, what you’re going through. I know, and I will be here for you.” Galo had lost his place in society too— branded as a terrorist and jailed by his hero. He meant that they were equals, that they were in the same boat, so they shouldn’t be fighting each other, but fighting together.
“You guys are smiling at me, and you inspire”
Although they once stood on opposing sides, Galo and Lio learned to respect each other despite their differences. And I think the biggest reason why they were able to do so, was because they essentially told each other, “Your convictions are right. You can be proud about that.”
Lio never wanted to hurt people. He just lost a place to belong the day he became a Burnish, and he’s been looking for “the place that he lost” all this time. He’ll do anything to get equality for his fellow Burnish, but he’ll never kill anyone for it.
Galo had a hero to look up to. He tries not to be prejudiced, as evidenced with how angry he was that the innocent pizza cook was arrested before he ever even committed any crimes, just because he was a Burnish. He admits when he’s wrong, like when he found out Burnish ate and grieved over lost friends, just like normal humans.
But all that he was, was because of Kray. Yet Kray was doing horrible things. Kray had lied to him, and led him down this path of being a firefighter, the same path Kray himself had gone down, in hopes that Galo would just die on the field. Kray was exploiting the Burnish to save himself. Galo couldn’t believe that his savior and hero was actually doing something so terrible. He felt betrayed.
But he saw Lio suffering, on the verge of breaking his code of not killing people. So Galo rushed in and reminded Lio of that, because Lio’s conviction was something Galo could admire. In a moment of weakness, hurt and alone in that cell, Galo looked up and he saw Lio in the same place. He couldn’t leave that alone. Lio was supposed to be the strong one, set in his beliefs and values, just like Galo once thought Kray was.
Just like Galo himself wanted to be.
“I know I can be the man that I should be.”
So Galo saved Lio, and told him to keep on burning, because he had the “pride of the Burnish” to uphold. And likewise, Lio told Galo his firefighting soul was needed to save this world. It wasn’t Kray’s influence, or Kray’s teachings to him, but Galo’s own values, his own burning firefighter’s soul that was needed.
They found each other’s strength in their values respectable, admirable, and inspirational — but they could also rely on the other in their darkest hours. Despite their differences, this is where they are the same, and that’s why they can work together so well.
But seriously, the first thing I noticed here was that Lio only has one earring on, on the left ear. Some years ago, that was used to indicate that one prefers the opposite gender, while a piercing on the right ear indicated homosexuality.
Of course, we're talking about the 90s, a time when stating that you were part of the lgbtq+ community was dangerous (it still is, but 30 years ago it was almost out of question); now, I don't honestly think that people still believe that, and I mean homosexuals too. Like, as part of the community myself, I don't believe in this right ear/left ear thing, but feel free to enlighten me.
So, back to Promare... Why did they show us this detail? Why didn't they simply put an earring on the other ear as well, without complicating things further?
The fandom of this movie is absolutely nuclear and I love it, and since I'm not the only one that over-analyses things, I'm sure that the pink triangles (queer symbol, read more about it here) have been noticed by many others too. And sure, it's a peculiar characteristic of Promare's animation, everything is pointy as you can see very few round shapes if not in the characters' design. But look, everything can have a double meaning.
So, assuming that they meant those as a symbol of the two main characters being queer, why did they have to "confuse" us with the earring?
Another thing is that Galo doesn't hesitate to give Lio mouth-to-mouth at first, as that is an act free of any sexual meaning but, after that, he seems embarrassed and flustered. Still, not in a "disgusted" way, like "ew I kissed a man!", but more like "OMG I kissed a man??". Furthermore, Galo's hand keeps supporting Lio's head even after he wakes up again, just saying... So soft!
Also, just to be precise the procedure is wrong, as we can see that Galo has a hand on Lio's head, while that hand should pinch the boy's nose. But hey, maybe fire-y resuscitation procedures work differently!
These are just my ideas, feel free to discuss and criticise them (politely, please, since I'm sad already). What do you think?
Hello! I’m back again! and 15 pages deep into my headcanons doc! It’s getting a bit out of hand!
This is the second in a series of posts I’m doing to help me figure out the cultural and historical milieu that Promare is set in, because there is a lot left up to interpretation. Which can be a headache when you have a penchant for wanting to be canon-compliant when writing fic!!! (Related: Click here to read the first post on my Historical Context (Pre-World Blaze) thoughts!)
But again: all of this is just my own personal interpretation, and I am in no way saying that this is the gospel truth. This holds true only insofar as my fic (coming soon!) goes. Fair warning that this is long and rambly and not that well-written LOL this is just me sharing my thoughts.
Enjoy!
HISTORICAL CONTEXT (POST-WORLD BLAZE: THE FIRST 10 YEARS)
Simply put, the world was in shambles after the Great World Blaze. Half the world population had been wiped out. Almost all the arable land on Earth had been torched, no longer usable. Clean water was now rare, as all the water sources were now saturated with ash, which also choked the aquatic wildlife. For a time, it seemed like mankind was on the road to extinction.
The next few years were difficult. There were many who survived the Blaze, only to perish in the aftermath. At this point, everyone in the world had just one goal: survival. There’s nothing quite like the threat of extinction to band everyone in the world together. World peace and all that. Slowly, society rebuilt itself. The concept of the nation-state was lost, and mankind reorganized itself into city-states, scattered throughout the barren landscape.
Whereas majority of the research prior to the Great World Blaze was focused on ‘Why is this happening?’ the research that took place after focused on ‘How do we survive this?’ and ‘How do we prevent this from happening again?’ Researchers worldwide focused on developing the technology needed for indoor farming, fast-growing GMOs for food production, water purification, and air filtration. Prometh himself focused his research on two prongs: still, on understanding the nature of the Burnish condition, while developing technology to help defend against Burnish fire and the threat of another Blaze possibly happening. His technology was never meant to be used as a tool for oppression; rather, he intended it as protective, a means for people to defend themselves and stop fires where they may start. (ofc, we all know what happened to that)
It took somewhere between 5 to 10 years after the Blaze for the world to get back on its feet and for some sense of normalcy to finally return, depending on where you were. After a long struggle—the losses from the Blaze and its aftermath—society was finally starting to flourish once more. Humankind recovered surprisingly fast, all things considered. With city-state populations being smaller than nation-states ever had been, things got done more quickly. Less people, less red tape, and everyone operated with a greater sense of urgency. Not only did society recover (as best as it could, at least), but it was developing even faster than before. The city-states quickly established themselves, and with the life-supporting technologies coming into place, people started to move on from surviving, to thriving once more. Still, in most of these settlements, it became markedly clear: Burnish were not welcome.
Even though the collective world population had focused on trying to make it through those rough years, that didn’t mean that they had forgotten their outrage at what had happened. Hatred for the Burnish was at a high more than ever. It didn’t help that most of the survivors from the Blaze were Burnish, being able to withstand fire and all. They were barred from rejoining society, if not chased out—or worse, killed on account of being Burnish. Many of them eventually died out in the wastelands either from starvation or disease. Mad Burnish, considerably weakened in what was essentially a post-apocalyptic world, did what it could to provide aid, but it was never enough.
Once society got itself back on its feet, now came the next question: What to do with the Burnish? There were very strong opinions. There were multiple instances when scientists and politicians almost came into blows in the meeting rooms; there were some instances they actually did. People on the street cried for justice in all forms. Some called for the complete extermination of the Burnish. Some called for segregation. A very, very small movement called for peace, to let Burnish back into society. Most were fine with just leaving them out to rot in the Wastelands, as they had come to be called; let the elements claim them with no skin off their backs.
Although talks on what to do about civilian Burnish went on for a long time, there was one thing all the city-state representatives agreed upon: that Mad Burnish was a threat, and if the world didn’t want another Blaze to raze the planet to the ground again, they had to be eradicated. Thus, the International Counter-Terrorism Federation was formed. It mandated the establishment of a counter-terrorism unit in each of its member city-states, and made it possible to have a coordinated global front against the threat of terrorism—mostly that which was instigated by Mad Burnish. In the city of Promepolis, this special unit was colloquially known as Freeze Force.
NEXT UP: Historical Context (Post-World Blaze: Years 11-20, Loosening Grudges)
Hello I’m back again with more headcanons! I decided to go for post-World Blaze stuff first instead of my write-ups on the city-states. Fair warning, this part is particularly word vomit-y, because this is the murkiest part of the timeline to me. Mfffhhh sorry;;;;
Anyway! If you are unfamiliar with this, I’m doing a series of posts on my Promare headcanons! They’re long and rambly and not that well-written because this is me just trying to figure my way through the first 5 minutes of the movie lel. This is post #3 and you can find the first two here:
Pre-World Blaze
Post-World Blaze (the first 10 years)
Enjoy!
HISTORICAL CONTEXT (POST-WORLD BLAZE: YEARS 11-20, LOOSENING GRUDGES)
At this point in time, the world was still shaky in its stability, but it was getting there. The International Counter-Terrorism Federation (ICTF) was there to protect people from Mad Burnish, so citizens were a bit more at ease, but their hatred and paranoia still burned as strongly as ever. The widely-held belief of the Burnish condition was that it either manifested in those who were evil, or it made you evil, like an insidious virus. Once you got it, it was all over. Being Burnish meant being destructive and hurting people. Never mind that you were a good person before it; it would only be a matter of time before you were itching to set things on fire. The world could not and would not risk another Blaze. Those who manifested were handed over to the police, where they would continue to be carted off to research facilities with their limbs bound in Freeze Rings. Those who were proven to have hidden knowledge of Burnish from the authorities were arrested as well, on grounds that they put public safety at risk. The more extreme citizens thought they’d do the world a favor and off any Burnish that manifested before they could get a handle on their powers—there were definitely vigilante justice groups who thought they were doing the right thing. Some of them did it for retribution. Others did it for the misguided sentiment that it would keep the world, as a whole, safe. In the eyes of the eyes of the law, however, it was still considered a crime; not because it went against human rights, but because civilians acting without proper training is still considered a threat to public safety. Leave it up to the professionals, they said, we’ll handle it.
It had been noted even before the Blaze that the condition seemed to manifest in times of great emotional distress—more often than not, when one was feeling anger, frustration, anguish, and other negative emotions. It was a very much incomplete hypothesis based more on loose correlation rather than causation, but the general public ate it up. It was a simple explanation, easily digestible in the midst of all other the other theories floating about. Occam’s razor won out in the end, and a home remedy ‘preventive measure’ that came about was the repression of negative emotions. (something something conceal don’t feel let it go) One can imagine just how well the repression of negative emotions went as a preventive measure for Burnish manifestation. (Hint: bottling up emotions -> larger probability of a meltdown)
Another widely-accepted belief to prevent the manifestation of the condition was that the presence of fire ‘influenced’ people to become Burnish. It was recommended, then, that one should eliminate all fire-related paraphernalia in one’s home. Because of this, the sales for gas stoves plummeted overnight, while induction cookers flew off the shelves and proceeded to become the norm for decades to come. Many other things in people’s daily lives changed because of this belief as well.
With the systems in place to protect the public from the Burnish threat (i.e. anti-terrorism campaigns by the IATF, systematic arrests of Burnish), the continuous research efforts led by Dr. Prometh, and the ‘preventive measures’ that were being practiced by the general public, the world was finally moving on into a new era, one where everyone could forget that Burnish even existed in their daily life. With all of them under lock and key, the world could go back to the way it was.
It would be another 10 years or so before Burnish hate finally started to ease up (this is around 20 years after the Blaze). Though there would always be those who would hold fast to their beliefs, there were a growing number of people who had started to grow weary of being angry, or maybe they had just become complacent. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. No Burnish in my neighborhood, and the IATF has those Mad Burnish hooligans on the run. All is well, nothing to see here.
With the easing of old grudges came a growing movement towards peace. Enough is enough. The Blaze is over, the world is still trying to rebuild itself. The Burnish manifesting now have nothing to do with the Blaze, so they shouldn’t have to pay for the sins of their predecessors—This was the rhetoric that was gaining traction, especially with the younger generation, those born after the Blaze, those who weren’t around to see the world burn. A distinction needs to be made between Burnish and Mad Burnish, they reasoned. The Burnish who started the Blaze were victims more than instigators, pushed to the brink by a society that shunned them, didn’t we learn anything from the last time?
It was controversial, to say the least, and neither side was specific to any particular demographic. There were older ones (the ones who had been there) who supported this move towards peace, tired of living in a world of conflict. There were younger ones who decried the move, calling for accountability (by whom, Mad Burnish? The Burnish as a whole? It was something that side of the fence could never seem to agree upon).
In the midst of all the debates, the growing sentiment of forgiveness over retribution, and politicians being pressured to decide which side of the argument they fell on, it came as a shock to both the scientific community and the world as a whole that Dr. Deus Prometh, leading researcher on the Burnish condition for the past 20 years, was found dead, murdered in his own laboratory.
Yay, you made it! And so did I, because that was hard to write!! The bit about people giving up their gas stoves for IH cookers was my favorite haha. I feel like a lot of things in their daily life would have had to change, either from necessity or whatever was the widely-held belief at that time.
NEXT UP: Post-World Blaze - Years 21-present (from the POV of the movie), the rise of Promepolis and Kray Foresight
(There will be a separate post for the Burnish POV of all this, don’t worry!)
Hello! I’ve been posting some Promare headcanon posts lately, and I thought I’d put them all in a single post. This was mainly an exercise I did for a fic of mine, and these might prove relevant later on when I actually post said fic (fics? Oops).
Warning that these are long and rambly, and are prone to change. I’ll be peppering some less formal notes along the way, where applicable. Also, disclaimer: This is just my interpretation! In no way am I saying that these are actually reflective of what happened. I just really need some sort of foot to stand on for my fics, lol.
With that, I hope you enjoy!
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Pre-World Blaze
Post-World Blaze (the first 10 years)
Post-World Blaze (Years 11-20, Loosening Grudges)
Post-World Blaze (Years 21-present, the rise of Promepolis and Kray Foresight)
Thoughts on Promare Part 2: The Meaning of the Promare
Read part one: a Galolio relationship analysis--> here.
So I got to thinking, what exactly are the Promare? How do they choose who to dwell in? Why was Lio so much stronger than all the other Burnish? On that matter, how was Kray so strong too? And how does Galo fit in with these two? After thinking about these things, I’ve come to a few conclusions:
1) Kray and Lio are not all that different from each other. Neither of them intended to be villains, they were just at the mercy of their emotions and circumstances.
2) Because of this, Galo wanted to save them both. Galo ended up representing hope for them.
3) A gap or emptiness along with a strong emotion is essential for the Promare to manifest within a person. The Promare fill in the emptiness that the Burnish feel. This will be evidenced by Kray, Lio, and Galo.
Kray’s Fear
Let’s start with Kray. As far as we know from the movie, Kray was an undergrad scientist working with the scientist Deus Prometh when he first became a Burnish. He was young, he had a future, he had his whole life to look forward to. He still had to find his purpose in life. But the second he became a Burnish, it was all taken away from him. He lost everything, with no hope of return.
He was terrified of that. So he used Galo, an innocent child who just happened to get caught in his flames, used him as a stepping stone to become a hero, and eventually leader of Promepolis. He secured his safe future, by becoming someone valuable and worthy to society. He found his place in the world.
But that wasn’t enough to dispel his fear. He was still a Burnish. Resisting the urge to burn took everything he had. The mere existence of the Burnish was a constant reminder of who he really was, the self that he tried so hard to extinguish. The Burnish were monsters, harmful to society, enemy of mankind. But he was one of them. The humans would never accept them — never accept him. To quell his fears, he planned a mass genocide of the Burnish and a migration to a new world with his carefully selected pawns. No one would ever find out he was a Burnish.
No one would ever take away his place.
He would never have to be scared again.
This intense fear is the fuel driving Kray’s every action. He was young and lost and didn’t know what to do with his life. He didn’t know if he would ever amount to anything, but at least he had hope that he could.
The Promare’s foremost desire is “to burn.” And for them, this is synonymous with: “to live.”
Kray was alive, but he wasn’t truly living. He was existing in that gap of the uncertainty of his place and his worth. Combined with his fear of never finding his place, this emptiness and this fear shackled him. It imprisoned him, but he desired to be free. The Promare fed on that, and told him to burn. They told him to live.
As a result, they had killed his hope.
That’s why Kray hates Galo so much. Galo is fair and unprejudiced, willing to believe that Burnish are not all bad, that there are good people among them. He can change his beliefs should he learn new information, and he truly believes that people are strong and good inherently. Including the Burnish.
But Kray hates the Burnish. He hates that he’s one of them. Burnish can never live together with humanity in peace. He thinks that the only choice is to kill them all, so he can hide among the humans in safety and security.
Yet here is Galo, who firmly believes that humans and Burnish can coexist.
Galo, who believes Burnish aren’t all bad, is the one human who could possibly accept Kray’s true self. Galo rekindled his hope, when he had tried all this time to become someone different and quash it. Kray couldn’t stand that, and couldn’t stand Galo, and that’s why he wanted him to die.
Lio’s Wish
We don’t know exactly when or how he became a Burnish, but we do know how he ended up becoming leader of the Mad Burnish, from the Lio-Hen. He knew the Burnish could never coexist with humans. But attacking thoughtlessly would only make life for the Burnish more difficult, as the humans would crackdown on them more should they kill anyone. So he decided that the Burnish would never kill, and just peacefully extract themselves from human society to create a place of their own.
Lio wished that he and the Burnish could just be accepted. He wished that they could live together in peace. He wished that they could have a place in society. But as a Burnish, and as their leader, he didn’t have that. He never could. This was his emptiness.
But the Promare within him told him to burn, told him to live. He couldn’t resist that urge. He knew no Burnish ever could. So he gave up on finding his place in human society, on peaceful coexistence, and chose to lead everyone to creating their own self-sufficient one, away from humans. He wanted to protect them.
Being a Burnish meant Lio gave up hope on finding a place to belong together with humans. He found a new one with his fellow Burnish and with the Promare within himself. But he, like Kray, firmly and strongly believed that Burnish had no place in current human society.
And as we know well, Galo doesn’t think so. Galo stands for hope, for both Lio and Kray when they had given up. He was hope for the future, hope for coexistence, and hope for finding “the place that [they] lost.” He made the two of them believe again that they weren’t monsters, they weren’t outcasts meant to be isolated. They had worth, as people. They were just as human as anyone, and they deserved a place to belong.
They deserved to live.
Galo’s Hope
Lastly, we have Galo. Galo was everything a Burnish could be, without actually being one of them. He is, in a word, fiery. He is hot headed and he can be brash, and he isn’t restricted in the slightest. He lives as he wants to live: with a blazing firefighter’s soul.
He doesn’t need the Promare to burn. He burns all on his own.
And that’s because he had a goal and someone to look up to. Someone he didn’t want to disappoint. Someone he wanted to be like. He did everything with Kray in mind.
But let’s think about this a little deeper. He was just a kid when his house burned down and his family died. He was a nobody, until Kray “saved” him. Then Kray brought him up, encouraged him to become a firefighter, supported him in his every endeavor. And in turn, Kray became a hero and the city governor. Kray became someone important, someone special, because of Galo.
Kray became a hero because of a nobody like Galo, then continued to give him nothing but support and guidance, but also without giving him special treatment. By all appearances, Kray had seemingly unshakeable belief in him.
You can imagine, how important of an existence Kray was to Galo, because Kray had told him he was somebody, when all he had ever believed was that he was nobody.
You can also imagine then, how hurt and betrayed Galo must have been to find out the truth about Kray. This betrayal formed, or rather, revived Galo’s emptiness.
But Lio’s flame filled that gap. Lio’s flame, that didn’t want to hurt anyone, was a flame that wished to protect people. Everything Galo knew had been a lie, but Lio and his flame reminded Galo of the one belief of his that would never go out.
That he was a firefighter meant to save people. That he was somebody meant to bring hope to everyone. And most importantly, that Galo was somebody who could.
That’s why when he punched Kray down after freeing Lio from the engine’s core, he said to Kray, “I’ll save Lio, this world, and you.” That’s why his weapon is a Matoi, meant to be a beacon in the smoke for others to run toward in safety. He is hope, for survival from the flames. He is hope, for life. So when Lio passed the Promare onto him to protect him, Galo burned — not for self-preservation, but to live. He and Lio passed that on to everyone: to Kray, to the world, and to the Promare. He accepted everyone’s wish to burn.
The Meaning of the Promare
The Promare’s foremost desire is to burn, because they are trapped within the earth’s core. They feed on an emptiness, a feeling of incompleteness, that the Burnish provide. Both the Burnish and the Promare only wish to live in freedom. By existing symbiotically, they can burn more freely than they could have on their own. The Promare allowed them to live.
That’s why when Lio tried to save the dying Thyma, or when Galo saved Lio with the Burnish CPR, they pass the Promare from one person to the other. They pass the fire, the torch, to the next person, with the express purpose of having them live.
Kray was hiding the truth about the Promare and the fact that he was a Burnish. Lio was gathering his people to hide them away from the humans in an isolated community. They were both hiding things, and fighting on their own, which forced them to be on such opposing extremes. As the two strongest Burnish, and leaders of their own peoples, Kray and Lio both understood each other in a way no one else did.
And by living in hiding, they had given up on being accepted.
But then Galo came along and told them, “It’s okay to be Burnish. It’s okay to be different.”
Promare is all about accepting our own unique traits, and not giving up on asking for acceptance too. Because if we do, then we aren’t truly living. And I think that’s just one of many great messages this movie is sending.
