There's Meta To Be Had About Just How Much Of Viktor's Arc Is About Loneliness And The Blatant Visuals

I wonder, is there any castlevania discord? (For a fans of games and animated series obviously)

mathias bad decision roulette landed on "make my ex immortal"

I don’t usually write rants like this, but I need to get this off my chest.

With Cyrene who is clearly an Elysia expy coming to Honkai Star Rail, I sincerely hope she won’t be too much like Elysia. I wouldn’t mind if she shared some conceptual similarities, as long as it’s done right this time. But honestly, my hopes aren’t high.

I have a lot of thoughts about Elysia, and none of them are positive. At best, I see Elysia as the biggest disappointment in the entire series at worst, I outright despise her.

The thing is, I love “perfect savior” characters. They usually come with deep emotional arcs, internal conflict, and explorations of both the good and bad sides of humanity. That’s why Elysia frustrates me so deeply.

She’s portrayed as this flawless, idealized being loved by all of the characters, and even the writers. The narrative constantly screams at you: “She sacrificed everything for humanity! She is perfect! She loves humanity! She married humanity! She’s your wife too! - Don’t you love her already?”

But it all feels empty and shallow. Her so determination rings hollow because she never actually struggles. She doesn’t make mistakes. The story tells us she’s witnessed humanity at its best and worst but we never see this. Everyone worships her, and the moment there’s even a slight hint that she might doubt herself as a Herrscher, the writing bends over backward to reassure her that none of it matters because she’s just that perfect.

She doesn’t fight her nature. She doesn’t question her convictions. And because she never experiences genuine negative emotion, her “goodness” has no weight. She’s like a cardboard cutout that is sweet to the point of blandness.

What makes it worse is that there was potential. There were hints she could have been more than just a flawless goddess — maybe even morally ambiguous. But those hints go nowhere. It’s a waste of setup and a complete letdown.

Perfect characters can work, when their perfection is shown to be inhuman, and even evil and dangerous in its incompatibility with humanity.

Maybe I’ve been spoiled by Fate a series full of complex savior figures like Morgan, Castoria, Kiara, Jeanne d’Arc, and all of the Beasts. Each of them is unique, carefully written, sometimes heroic, sometimes terrifying. They struggle. They question themselves. They feel. The writing doesn’t beg us to love them it just shows us who they are and lets us come to that conclusion on our own.

I still cling to a sliver of hope. The Amphoreus arc is written by a different team than the Elysian Realm, and they gave us Phainon a brilliant example of a savior archetype done right. He’s full of doubt, hiding his negative emotions behind a mask of perfect deliverer. He’s broken, lost, and empty yet he still fights to find his convictions and protect the world.

So I beg let Cyrene, who seems to be another “savior” type have real flaws. Let her feel, struggle, and have a opinions on the world around her. That’s all I ask.

Another Castlevania padoru this time Juste

no looking back, orpheus. you promised ▋

Nocturne is getting closer so i wanted to do a little something to celebrate

I am surprised no one did it with them

There's a theory from Ashikai that Aeons come in contrasting pairs that oppose and fight each other. Ashikai pairs Nanook with Qlipoth, but I don’t fully see that connection, Preservation already stands as the natural enemy of Voracity. That makes me wonder that there isn’t really any Aeon of Creation who directly opposes Destruction. Lygus mentioning that we don’t fully understand Destruction only reinforces some of my thoughts.

What if Nanook is both the Aeon of Creation and Destruction? Nanook desires to destroy the current universe so that a better one can be created, creation through destruction like how you can’t make a chair without first cutting down a tree (he too has strong jesus references in his design). This could explain the Stellarons who hold destructive power of creation. There's a strong theme here, the destructive power of creation and creation of destruction.

This also sheds some light on Phainon and his dual themes of destruction and creation. Let’s be honest he’s likely the Lord Ravager trapped in Amphoreus, yet he’s also strongly tied to memories and creation. If he represents creation through destruction it would make a lot of sense

Waiting -Jayce and The Mage

Do you think Jayce was hoping The Mage would come back?

I mean Jayce Talis has spent most of his life living in a city that built to defend itself from Mages who used their powers for evil. Piltover is not Demacia but it is an Anti-Magic society. I'll bet you anything when children were caught "pretending" to be mages they were punished or reprimanded. To Piltover the Arcane was Dangerous and could only destroy not create.

But Jayce's first experience of Magic is when a Mage decided to save him and his mother from a Blizzard. Then he was give a Hex crystal and we can assume the mage just dissappeared without a goodbye. He wanted to thank him. To show his gratitude because that is who Jayce Talis is, someone who loves so much and so deeply that he dosen't always know what to do with it or show it properly but boy does he try!

There was no way he could search for a teleporting Mage outside of Piltover. Did he hope that maybe, just maybe the Mage would appear to Jayce once again.

But there's no way a Mage would come to Piltover. Piltover hates Mages! Why would one ever want to come here? But what if Jayce could change it?

The Mage showed him the Magic can be Harnessed for Good. Why can't he use Science, Piltover's bread and butter, to Harness Magic. Show them all The Mage doesn't have to be feared. That he could make this city a place the Mage could come to and find Jayce again.

No matter how many people brushed off Jayce's dreams as childish at best or dangerous at worst, he never stopped believing in magic in a city like Piltover. He somehow found the same kind of crystal the mage gave him. He somehow convinced Viktor and Mel that his dreams could be reality.

His first BIG Hextech invention? Hex Gates. Teleportation Magic. That changes the Piltover Skyline for all to see. Was he hoping the Mage would come back through the Hex Gates?

Come to find out The Mage came back and was with him all this time in a city that always hated him but not for magic? That he gave his savior the tools to save his past self!

(Bonus. He also made it a place Mel felt safe enough to return to even though she was a mage! That would of never happened before Hextech!)

Edit: When he thought his chance to change Piltover was over before it could even start, he took off the bracelet and left a goodbye letter. That we never got to read. Did it say anything about the bracelet? He didn't want to be buried with it? Did he want the Mage to have it back? Just for it to be returned to him before he could leave?

Nocturne lore portrayed in one single picture: