#venali lore

[peonyb]

what's this about an almost kiss with venali? when does this happen? how does this happen? what's the secret sauce here and how do i acquire it?

Mini Spoilers!

It's a somewhat narrow branch! When you see them on the tour, select "Perplexed" and then "Are you sure you should be doing that now?" You also need to have at least 5 romance flags with Venali. It's a little less easy to fall into, but you kind of have to create the perfect storm of their emotions for them to lose their control.

They already have a shaky hold at best on their persistent feelings regarding MC and then they're easily riled when receiving pushback. Put the two together and Venali slips up.

Bonus reaction if you've been consistently flirting with Em.

[peonyb]

My MC isnt romancing Venali but it is SO FUNNY because every time theyre cold she just looks SO sad like "🥺 sorry for inconveniencing you 🥺" and they immediately start crumbling

Honestly, Venali’s ultimate weakness is just that. A pair of pitiful sad eyes lol. It works on them every time.

[peonyb]

MC: “Okay, I have one venti iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzle, five pumps of vanilla, three pumps of white mocha, light ice, with oat milk…and one green tea.”

MC: sets the sweet drink in front of Welling and the tea in front of Venali.

Venali: …

Welling: …

They silently swap their drinks.

MC: “Huh.”

Venali: Their brows pinch upon taking the initial sip. “Could be sweeter.”

[peonyb]

Is Venali's intense jealousy specific to MC? Or is it something that comes up in their relationships with other people (either platonic or romantic) as well?

Hi! Their jealousy is just with the MC. They’ve never been in an actual relationship nor have they had any romantic affection for anyone other than the MC. They’re only familiar with one night stands (they’re so quick to write others off that it’s never gotten past that stage). With the MC, they feel a pull towards them that is hard to ignore (despite their best attempts) and it stirs up both the best and worst in them—like their jealousy. And it’s really their inability to control these strong emotions that leads them to respond so angrily and passionately.

[peonyb]

Okay I'm back I think I've cracked the code? I tried a few combinations of affinities/ personalities/ etc. and MC is always ranked last. I think this most obviously correlates with the most consistent plot point of the MC being the one to awaken last, because they were suppressed. And this would also justify Em being first, as they are from the old bloodline and probably awakened as a baby. And I went back to check how old Welling was when they awakened and OMG I didn't even notice that mageWelling was actually awakened as a baby!!! (that is some insane Welling lore btw) That basically confirms the rest of the rankings, 3yr old awakening Venali is ahead of 9yr old guardianWelling but behind baby mageWelling, first generation Triv is fourth, and poor suppressed MC is dead last.

This also explains why Triv immediately pivots to trying to reassure the MC when you ask about it. Triv is of course the only character who has already brought up the MC's late awakening after the timeskip (and they always have their foot in their mouth lol). I think they probably think the MC is insecure about it or something.

The only thing I don't get is why the Lystonians would know any of this, especially given how secretive about our marked shit we are expected to be. And how they don't really seem to know much about marks in general. Maybe Em gave them the order in advance? And this is meant to be a sign that he knows all about our MC's history and our late awakening?

Lol you don't have to publish this, I know it is spoilery stuff that you probably don't want to share, but I wanted to tell you that your story is basically the DaVinci Code to me. I know people mostly focus on the romance (and the romance is really good!!) but for me it's really the lore and the intrigue, and I am always scouring the story for new shit, I think you have a real talent for mystery

Me?? Mystery?? That’s honestly such high praise because I feel like I’m too obvious about some of the crumbs of information I choose to leave behind lol (I’m glad you’re finding them!). But, theories! This is so fun. Without spoiling, I’ll say you’re onto something, but you may have pivoted hard in another direction somewhere.

On a scale from SNES to Switch 2, I will give you a WII.

[peonyb]

Okay I've been cooking this big theory so hear me out; obviously thanks to the in media res opening we know that there will be a mage vs guardian civil war, there is already a few scenes where we encounter the burgeoning mage resistance. Per Venali's establishing character scene it is pretty obvious that they will support the mages.

My theory is that they are probably actually already working with the resistance in secret. This is probably why they are freezing out their old friends; they don't know what side of the war you will fall on and they don't want to become too attached in case they have to fight you.

My second (far more tenuous) theory is that Em is also working with the resistance, and this is why Venali has not frozen them out, why they are "different". This also explains why Em didn't seem to care about the resistance fighter you run into and why they didn't want to report it.

This is a really good theory! I have to keep my lips sealed, but I really enjoyed reading this.

Ty for sending it to me! I can’t wait for you to find out hehe.

[peonyb]

Hi Peony! Is there any way to successfully go against Venali when they’re crashing out in the classroom? I’d like to avoid getting laughed at by the class, but so far, I’ve always failed😭 thanks!

Hello! Yes, you just need to be a Guardian and select the farm activity. Otherwise, you won’t be strong enough to bypass Venali’s shield!

[peonyb]

Venali: Chokes. “Absolutely not.”

what if mc starts crying and throwing up. what then venali. WHAT THEN

The throwing up? Not budging. The crying, though? Now MC may be onto something.