what time cannot fade is love

MIQUELLA NATION HOLY FUCK

most human/tarnished NPCs we meet, like rogier, ansbach, and nepheli, use late modern english:

"a sorcerer, as you might have guessed. i'm looking for a little something, here in the castle. when i'm not hotfooting it from the troops, that is." - rogier, first meeting "general radahn. a pleasure to see you, after all this time. but those remains do not belong to you." - ansbach, upon summon for PCR

but older demigods like messmer, ranni, and morgott use early modern english:

"thou'rt tarnished, it seemeth. mother, wouldst thou truly lordship sanction, in one so bereft of light? yet… my purpose standeth unchanged." - messmer, pre-battle cutscene "thou needst not indulge them unduly, but they too wish to appraise thy worth. it hath been a passing long time since a newcomer entered my service, after all." - ranni, after agreeing to serve her

then there are the younger demigods, like miquella, malenia, and potentially melina, who use a later variant of modern english, similar to the tarnished NPCs we speak to:

"if we honour our part of the vow, promise me you'll be my consort. i'll make the world a gentler place." - miquella, post-PCR cutscene "the scarlet bloom flowers once more. you will witness true horror. now, rot!" - malenia, phase 2 transition cutscene

finally, the hornsent NPCs like the hornsent, hornsent grandam, and the hornsent spirits such as the one outside the whipping hut, who use late middle english similar to the english found in shakespeare's sonnets:

"fie, another? ... then, as that woman would surely say, we are in our purposes well aligned. but understand. your kind are not forgiven. the erdtree is my people's enemy. by marika long betray'd, set aflame." - hornsent, first meeting "all your resentment lingers yet... the raw stuff from which i shall surely forge a curse. upon the dastard messmer's head. upon marika's children each and all." - scorched ruins hornsent spirit

i find it interesting how different the usage of english is in the game, and i feel that it can be a hint on how to properly date an individual's occupation in the lands between/land of shadow. the hornsent, being a people much older than many in the lands between, use the most archaic version of english, while the tarnished and younger demigods use a form of english more closely related to our own in the current period. older demigods (and marika herself, as heard from melina's recounts of marika's spoken echoes) use a form of english more closely related to the period of transition from middle english to early modern english.

additionally, another interesting thing to me: mohg is almost certainly nearly the same age as morgott (since they're referred to as twins), yet he speaks a little differently compared to morgott:

"tarnished, thou'rt but a fool." - morgott, post-battle dialogue "dearest miquella. you must abide alone a while." - mohg, pre-battle cutscene

this makes me wonder if it's possible that, assuming that miquella's verbiage is indicative of his younger age in comparison to the older demigods (aka the demigods born before the marika/radagon union), miquella's charm altered mohg's perception enough to also alter his manner of speaking and carrying himself in some way. if his pursuit of finery (dressing in embroidered robes and handling himself with poise, juxtaposing his bestial growls and strength) was mainly done in an effort to fit into miquella's ideal of a consort. of course, mohg could just be as vain as he seems to be all on his own accord, but i find that it's interesting to entertain the idea that even his current state of being was due to miquella's charm.

This accounts for the inconsistencies in usage we see between Morgott and Mogh, but also Blaidd (depending on time of his creation) and Ranni.

We tend not to really think of it, but “you” also existed as a pronoun alongside what we typically think of as archaic language, however had very different context and associations.

“You” was considered formal, and as such it was used to address people of higher status, or used between people of middle/high classes as a mark of respect. The classic archaic pronouns (thee, thou, thine) were informal, and used when referring to people of lower classes, between people of lower classes, or as a mark of affection between folk in higher classes, just to make it confusing. So Mogh refers to Miquella as such as a mark of respect and/or to establish them as equals.

I think we see “you” amongst the Tarnished and other NPCs not only for accessibility reasons, but also because it’s a mark of respect between them—they all see each other as having the same social status. Interesting, I think, as this reflects that the Tarnished view themselves as having a different status (likely that of Marika’s Chosen) to the rest of population of the Lands Between, who see them as a lower class. If they’d internalised that view, we’d see the usage of “thee/thou/thine” between them.

Which obviously isn’t the case with the demi-gods. Whether if it’s just a status thing (Ranni) or they downright detest us (Messmer). So we’re referred to as such.

So this makes the exceptions to the rule really interesting!!

A lot of this is up to interpretation, but I think Malenia and Miquella’s use reflects their characters, and how they perceive themselves and the world. Malenia doesn’t see herself as an Empyrean, but rather a warrior. Class and status aren’t important to her, but rather skill. She sees herself as equal to other warriors, including us, and addresses us so.

Miquella’s whole thing on the other hand is creating an age of compassion, but also equality, where the peoples of the Lands Between aren’t distinguished by class, species or whatever.

Like Miquella, Kenneth Haight’s another character who has the status to refer to us with the informal, but doesn’t as it would be against his ideals.

Rennala, I think, is an example of affectionate use when addressing the juvenile scholars. And Ranni, too, if you wish to interpret her later addresses that way. (Her initial uses are definitely status based, which fits her characterisation as someone who hides a warm heart behind a hard exterior).

Obviously, there’s some holes in this theory. Seluvis, I think, would be the first to thee/thou/thine you if he could, but he exclusively refers to us with “you”. So this could just be a case of language usage not applying everywhere (whether for lore or development reasons—I think having informal speech reserved for demi-gods prevents confusion in audience unfamiliar with pronoun formalities) or he could be reluctantly acknowledge having a similar status as being part of Ranni’s circle. These things are highly nuanced and interpretable.

I personally believe this is pretty deliberate on part of the creators—the reason I’ve been referring to this mode of English as Shakespearean rather than Elizabethan is because Shakespeare used the associations with formal and informal pronouns not just to denote status and relationships, but also to create drama, ie having one character disrespect another by using an informal pronouns where formal is expected. I don’t think it’s terribly far fetched to assume the creators considered Shakespearean language, as someone on Reddit pointed out, the Hornsent actually speak in iambic pentameter! Also, there was a post going around talking about how the French translation also plays with formal/informal pronouns (I would link it but I do not wish to do battle with the Tumblr search function) and it would be interesting to see if it carries through in other translations and the original Japanese!

Very much did in the sense that I literally do not know where my job is at the moment. But, for the time being I haven't been let go because nobody else including the store owner knows where it is either.

So, I don't wanna risk doxxing myself by posting pictures but goddamn am I tempted because this is not a believable event. This is a cartoon problem. For looneytoons.

But yeah, so, I work(ed?) at a kiosk selling boba tea, right? Freestanding kiosk in the mall with full water and electrical hookups and multiple fridges and sinks and a mini kitchen and the works. Fully functional tea shop. Very important to note that it was there last night, The work chat was discussing another issue last night at closing time. I'll get back to this.

It's been showing signs of being on the way out with how business is being handled lately and I've been considering other options, which is probably why I'm not as torn up about this as I should be, but maybe it just hasn't set in yet, but that's not the point. The point is there's been a lot of shit breaking and not being replaced and nobody mentioning anything about it until I walk into work in the morning and have to figure out why shit like the fucking cash register isn't there today. So I'm kinda used to having to ask questions about big things that nobody bothered to update me on. I was out for two weeks recovering from a surgery, so I came to work this morning assuming there'd be some kind of bullshit, yeah?

So, the question I had to ask the chat this morning was:

Not a text I ever thought I'd have to send in sincerity, but there it is. Because what I found instead was a fenced off patch of discolored tiles and a few holes in the floor where my entire place of employment used to be.

And the answer? Nobody knows! It was there last night when the mall closed, and every single trace of the structure and all its contents including drink making supplies and our safe and cashbox was gone when it opened again. And when I say nobody knows, I mean everyone from last night's closers to the actual (former?) owner of the store jad no fucking clue about this until getting that text from me this morning. For once I am actually the first to know. 🎉.

So. I guess I didn't so much lose my job as had it stolen. Not by AI, but good old fashioned hands-on human beings picking it up and carrying it away somehow. All mall security would tell me was that they were instructed not to tell me anything and have us contact our management. Who also don't know anything. And later on I came across some construction workers around the gravesite of the kiosk discussing filling in the holes, asked them about it, and was told that they "weren't at liberty to say".

So, not only is my job gone in the most literal physical sense of the word, but it was taken in some kind of super secret kiosk extraction in the dead of night without any warning or witnesses and nobody is allowed to speak of it. The store owner said she was gonna figure it out 10 hours ago and still no word back.

My mother in law thinks the FBI took it.

Not any of the other stores around the state. Just the one little kiosk.

Why? Because she loves a conspiracy and is just a little bit extra.

Also because she was around for the massive crackdown on Yakuza-owned businesses in Waikiki (in her homestate) that did actually involve the FBI seizing stores (no confirmation of making kiosks cleanly disappear in the middle of the night though).

Still no word from my job on what's actually going on, but the most likely theory so far is that maybe the kiosk was on lease and got repossessed? The mystery continues

According to the owner, based on what she's been able to find out, the kiosk was not removed legally and they're starting a potentially long process of legal action. I hope she gets to sue the shit out of whoever did it but for now at least I know for sure I'm unemployed.

Really hoping for more details in terms of who/why/how, so I'll keep updating if I learn anything.

For now the summary is: An unnamed entity that is most likely mall management (on account of mall security cooperating with them) stole an entire kiosk and all the contents including money and machinery with barely a trace in the middle of the night grinch-style, with zero warning or explanation, and ensured the silence of both security and the construction crew, in an action that was definitely preplanned and illegal, and as far as I know nobody knows its whereabouts.

Enjoy the unintentionally funniest text I've ever sent in my life

Aaand a close-up:

HEY HI HELLO THIS ONE'S MY FAVORITE

Married the love of my life at 50.

Got my Class A CDL at 59.

You've got time.