REBLOG IF YOU LOVE AND SUPPORT OC X CANON!!

yknow how we get grey hair due to old age or high stress. since skykids have white hair, i like to think some black streaks start appearing when theyre in constant stress

How it feels like to spot another Sky:CotL fan in the wilds of the internet in a completely different fandom:

Alright time to start talking about my AU that has been in development ever since I was in middle school

I already have the main events and remembered before I start the rough draft of the AU, which is named Star Fall. Idk why I named it that but it is what it is.

The main character of this AU is my main Oc, Aria. Who had the misfortune of existing, got herself dragged across dimensions and landed herself in the Sky:CotL universe at a young age. From then one she’s basically turned into a god against her wishes but she makes the most of it since she can’t reverse it and basically just gets herself dragged across the multiverse for the remaining lore she has.

(She’s basically the Megabird of my verison of Sky that left to get milk)

?: “Aren’t you far from home?”

A: “It seems like that.”

Best photo of my hollow knight plushie I have taken for New Years

fuck you. beta teth cutscene

My two cents about the Elders' stars and my headcanons about their star of origin ^u^

Apparently, Skykids and Elders came from the same origin, that is falling from the heavens as a star. This inspired me to think of headcanons as to what their stars could be and an explanation as to how that is their star

Bear in mind I haven't exactly read up on the rest of the lore yet and I may make some mistakes here and there because uhhh I will stand by my headcanons for life and I will fight everyone for it /pos /hj ',:)

Daleth / Isle Elder / Dawn - Red Dwarf Star

In my opinion, the Red Dwarf Star fits Daleth, seeing as their realm is reminiscent of a sunrise or at the very least the appearance of the sun breaching just over the horizon, the light is dimmer in the realm compared to Prairie, matching with the lesser brightness given by a red dwarf rather than a yellow dwarf—our own sun

While I am sure Daleth's work is important, perhaps shepherding an aviary of light birds or a kaleidoscope of butterflies until sent to Prairie is a demanding job seeing as both are abundant in Isle, I do assume they use their light for guidance to help the animals and bugs, sometimes, especially in the past, even the boats if their people needed them at night/generally if lost

Ayin / Prairie Elder / Day - Yellow Dwarf Star

A Yellow Dwarf Star seems perfectly reasonable for Ayin, as his realm is essentially the reflection of the morning, with the sun beaming in the sky and providing the perfect environment for fauna and flora alike, especially in Bird's Nest and Butterfly Fields, making it clear the environment is healthy enough to sustain a balanced ecosystem**

I believe that storing butterflies takes quite a bit of light the more is stored, and the reason why is for cultural practices, butterdyes/colourflies/dyeflies (Radiance, so probably inapplicable in canon though I am not sure), and overall having builders and civilians must take quite a bit of light to manage, so their slightly higher energy usage is reflected in their star

Teth / Forest Elder / Rain - Red Supergiant Star

I personally like to suspect that the reason why Forest is the most industrialized area in terms of creating technology such as Octahedrons is the abundance of the minerals needed in the forest alongside light, though dampened by the acid rain, which may have been an adverse effect of said production which could be damaging to the environment

Smithing includes great usage of energy, and dependency on light to create a balance between darkness and light to create a stable alloy/containment/vessel, and because of this, the light expenditures must have been grand as it seems that Forest is almost dependent on light to function, hence the star of origin here being the Red Supergiant

Samehk / Sah and Mehk / Valley Elders / Sunset - Red Giant Star

I like to think that they were one star separated by an odd occurrence, which then their cores were distributed among them both and now they have a constant fiery and strong competitiveness, all instilled in Valley folks; that is, their passion. All valley citizens are most likely passionate about their interests, seeing as they celebrate the grandest, and have a colosseum dedicated to entertainment or matches, generally for sports activities around light

The use of light in the Valleys is integral to their cultural significance and their environment, as the demand for light might be great in the high mountains where there is less oxygen for any flame to properly kindle while they host events that may use up quite a bit of light

Tsadi / Wasteland Elder / Dusk - Brown Dwarf Star

I often thought that maybe Tsadi's star would be exhausted instead of naturally small, seeing as the warrior seemed fatigued during their cutscene at the altar. The demand for light in Wasteland might be incredibly high yet production is low as there is almost no light in the realm apart from Treasure Reef and a few gaps in The Arc, which fit into the Brown Dwarf as it is unable to sustain nuclear fission, unlike other stars, hence, far less light compared to other stars

The light must be focused inside of the weapons instead, though it appears that the war has been lost anyway in the end, fulfilling the idea of a Brown Dwarf as it was unfortunately not enough despite the efforts given to sustain the people, as seen in The Arc's attempt at farmland and their water supply

Lamed / Vault Elder / Night - Blue Giant Star

(Sorry if I sound biased I love Lamed by a lot)

The Vault Elder is incredibly suspicious in lore and seems to have shrunken exponentially compared to their Orbit appearance, which may entail that Elders use up quite a bit of light/energy to upkeep their realms as they all shrink in Orbit, because of this, I truly believe that the Vault is an extension of Lamed, heavily weakening the Elder in exchange of becoming all-knowing of all the knowledge stored in the stars upon stars of the non-euclidean interior of the Vault

The energy usage of the Vault, while possibly self-sustaining while using octahedrons imported from Forest, is incredibly high, as stacks upon stacks of memory lanterns are stored on high shelves, the elevator functions, and the extreme use of light in most situations between each layer of the Realm, all of which demand extreme power usage, especially after its entrances have been sealed shut

I won't be doing Resh/Alef, I do not know anything about him sorry :(( but I hope this rant was even a tiny bit understandable because it has 0 contributions to the actual lore B))) it's 2 am btw why did I do this in one go it might not make sense

Hang on fuck wait what is up with that design choice, hole in heart vs hole in head?!?!?! I've played so much and never picked up on that!! Great find and def want to hear thoughts on it if you've got some

In reference to a previous post:

has anybody considered the symbolism of gabriel's armor having a huge gaping hole in the chest

hello? can anybody hear me? hole in the head vs hole in the heart?

Ultrakill is a game about holes, and it's opposite, light, which, in turn, is about self actualization, free will, and determination.

Gabriel's heart

Gabriel's heart hole signifies not heartlessness, but rather alienation from his heart.

Ferrymen have lost their purpose and now wander around aimlessly, hoping that the angels would grant them passage into Heaven, despite Gabriel being the only one who cares about their efforts. (from terminal)

The way in which he "cares" is unclear, and could be anything from relaying their prayers to Heaven (Gabriel is a messenger angel in biblical canon, and is the patron saint of communication), to lawyering it up and advocating for them, to just watching sadly and doing nothing. But the fact remains: if Gabriel were complacent with the Council's rule, he would have simply accepted their verdict that they aren't allowed into heaven and thought no more of it. So the fact that he continued to care, indicates that this is a point on which he DISAGREED with the Council. This strongly implies that he was not just a blind stooge of heaven; he had his doubts even before the events of the game. And yet he persisted in acting as their enforcer. This is a crucial part of his arc that I almost never see people get.

(Gabriel also has lots of parallels with the ferrymen with "powerful bodies, trained skills and blind faith" which may have also played a part in his sympathy for them.)

When the Council severs Gabriel from God's light, "a single burning hatred was born anew." He tells V1, "You've taken everything from me, machine. And now all that remains is perfect hatred." But act 2 is literally titled Imperfect Hatred. It's only after losing a second time to V1 that "Gabriel realized he had been mistaken. The strong fire that burned inside him was not hatred at all, but passion." He has been alienated from his heart for so long that he doesn't know what his emotions are when he feels them, directionless except for where the Council points him.

Head holes and anti-holes

God's absence is a huge hole in Ultrakill. Where before there was the radiant light of God there is now nothing. The Council tried to fill this hole, but they merely serve to embody that continued hole. They have no will of their own, merely "[chasing] after the light of God's fire," and you can see this in their design; they are thoughtless.

Unlike the Council, Gabriel's head bears the cross. He truly believed in the righteousness of God and was persuaded to commit heartless acts in his name. I believe he felt some of that dissonance even as he committed such acts but quashed them under scripture.

Compare now the Council's head hole to V1, whose head is a radiant anti-hole. CRAZY implications in that alone.

The light of its creators is gone, but V1 has its own light, its own will, so self driven (by a love of bloodshed and a desire to live) that anyone can see it. Also note that the lights in V1's chest are over its pectorals. If Gabriel's heart hole is squandered compassion, then V1's pec lights are actualized strength.

Liberation by blood

"So this is what you see in bloodshed?" — unused Apostate Gabriel line

Blood in Ultrakill is implied to have transitive properties, granting all who have it sentience and free will, which is why machines all have personalities. And the machines are dependent on blood to live.

Gabriel's defeat in 6-2 and subsequent clarity of purpose is because of blood, and has two biblical analogs.

I've only known the taste of victory. But this taste is...is this my blood? I've never known such relief.

The first one is Eve eating the forbidden fruit. The serpent says, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Original sin is why humans have free will.

Gabriel formerly bore the titles Will of God/God's Will. His song in 6-2 is Death of God's Will. And from intermission 2:

"He drew his blade and held it in contrast with the dying light. In its reflection, he saw a weapon reborn, no longer wielded by the will of another, but his own."

The second analog is holy communion. Bood drinking is a sacrament in Catholicism; it is through eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ that one strengthens their bond and achieves unity with him. But Gabriel is tasting his own blood. His communion is unity of heart and mind. It's only then that he's able to correctly identify what he is feeling.

Gabriel had never before known the joy of a struggle, of coming face-to-face with an opponent of equal or greater measure. Though he had lost twice, each loss only further grew his desire to overcome.

Up until now, he had only done what was expected of him, but now for the first time he had found something he himself wanted. Not even the fast encroaching End of Hell mattered to him anymore.

He wants to beat V1, not for the threat to hell it poses, not for the council, not to regain God's light, but because he wants to.

This communion also allows him to properly consider the doubts he had about the Council that he had previously suppressed.

Having come to realize the horrors he had committed in God's name, he felt a great guilt. Though he could not undo what he had done, Gabriel knew he had to make things right.

When Gabriel frees heaven from the Council's tyranny, he communicates this through blood, and very publicly. Everyone must see the blood, that they are free now.

Radiance

There are many ways God is connected to fire. The song that plays at each secret terminal is "The Fire Is Gone". The Council "chases the light of God's fire." His light is the angels' life force and is described as "embers". Compare this to the language used to describe Gabriel's passion: "a single burning hatred" and "the strong fire that burned inside him". God's light may be almost gone, but Gabriel has his own fire, his own light now. You can see it reflected in his wings and halo, the way they glow radiant gold against blue, not unlike V1.

Sisyphus' terminal entry:

Sisyphus' charisma and drive had made his warriors dependent on his radiance and guidance. Although he did not know why yet, Gabriel recognised this flaw, having experienced it first hand, and ordered a focused assault to take down the king.

Even before the game, Gabriel knew you could not rely on someone else's light! Presumably, he saw it in the losing side during the war in Heaven, but there is the possibility that he experienced it himself. Either way, this would have been one of the things that contributed to his growing disillusionment with the Council's rule, even if he couldn't place exactly why.

Minos' terminal entry:

As manifestations of pure will, souls are incredibly powerful, to the point that even the prideful angels see them as a threat and will use any means necessary to stop them from forming.

As Minos' will was strong enough to attempt to stand up to Heaven's rule, the angels chose to imprison his soul in an attempt to stop it from forming into a prime soul.

The fact that Gabriel not only stood up to the Council, but killed them all, means that he has a will greater than Minos. When his vessel dies, whether by the fading of God's light or one final defeat by V1, he may become a prime soul.

Minos and Sisyphus

Hole vs radiance. Their layers are night and day.

The way they failed to free their respective layers.

The king, rather than fight back, tried to reason with him, but Gabriel mercilessly struck him down without listening.

Sisyphus' time had finally come, and once the angels returned, they were met with a force and fury that had boiled in the hearts of men for millennia, a warcry so fierce it shook the very foundations of Hell.

Their feelings about their defeat to Gabriel.

From the prison inside his own body, Minos helplessly watched as his soulless corpse, now controlled by parasites, tore apart everything he had worked so hard to build, cursing his own weakness for failing to protect his people.

To him, fighting an impossible battle with full knowledge of its futility and taking joy in just the act of resistance itself is the ultimate rebellion against the oppressor.

(Compare also Apostate Gabriel's "joy of a struggle" vs Sisyphus "taking joy in just the act of resistance." One must imagine Gabriel happy.)

Their feelings about their defeat to V1.

Forgive me my children for I have failed to bring you salvation from this cold, dark world.

Ahh...So concludes the life and times of King Sisyphus. A fitting end to an existence defined by futile struggle, doomed from the very start...And I don't regret a SECOND of it!

Think about it.

I do infact cuss on this blog even though I’m a Sky player so plz don’t get mad if you randomly see a cuss word on a Sky:CotL post

Idk if I should yap about my AU on here ;-;