#infinity.aly

me: yeah whatever. i dont feel shit.

15 minutes later

me: the previous sovereign of elegance, glorier, had fiery red hair and won her title while wearing a black gown. she vanished 15 years ago, her last known location in the wishing woods. the same time frame that the other missing stylists were kidnapped by the paladins and locked up underground in the wishing woods. in the diary pages of an unknown stylist, the writer refers to the wish master as nothing more than a "puppet" of the dark, and remarks that they've been cruelly experimented on, their body tortured. "even bathing in this moonlight is a rare luxury." the banshee is only ever out at night, under the moonlight, but nobody save for you has actually encountered her clearly. those who might recognize her as glorier haven't ever seen the banshee themselves. the banshee refers to those she enthralls as her puppets, and there are multiple places where her body looks cracked and damaged, more like a porcelain doll than human skin. that same diary remarks that the writer has a daughter waiting at home, and that "even in this dire situation, i will never submit. the unyielding elegance within my resolute and noble soul is my last ace." a torn note found in the room where the humans were imprisoned states that the strongest were tortured and perished or disappeared, expressing a want to go home, written in a very similar manner to the way the banshee herself speaks at the end of your duel with her. if you fail, the banshee tells you to become her puppet and suffer alongside her. an imperfect victory mentions that memories are not enough. a brilliant stylist is rumored to have opened a realm that no one else has entered before, and some say that the most exceptional stylists might even create their own personal realms. cantore's poem states that should one be a fool, their soul will fall into "that bewildering realm" to become another puppet, ensnared for all eternity. "the bitter end awaits with no return, leading you into the heart of the night's abyss, where even the stars fade away." underground, those imprisoned stylists couldn't even see the stars. the reason they were locked up was to attempt to recreate the power of the aureum vase for chigda, who had made a deal with The Dark for eternal life. from him the power of the mutated vines returned, but he was not their original source, nor did they vanish when he was defeated without need for giroda's sacred power. those mutated vines bear great resemblance to the vines, thorns, and roses surrounding the banshee within the visuals of cantore's poem. the banshee wants her puppets to suffer with her, implying that she herself is already suffering. is she, too, a puppet of the dark? back then, could creating a realm have allowed her to escape? did something go wrong? did she, like giovanni, attempt to make a deal with the paladins or chigda, only for it to backfire? did she attempt to defeat chigda herself, only to become corrupt by the vines? if she was captured and held in the wishing woods and hails from florawish, why is it that the banshee now haunts the breezy meadow and shimmer pond specifically? igrainne forbade nonoy from investigating more about her past. the banshee chants a bewildering melody, not dissimilar to that melody of the wishing one from nonoy's music box, the one left with her by her birth mother. how much does igrainne know? was she worried for nonoy solely because of the nature of glorier's disappearance, or is there more to it? could the direct power of the wishful aurosa be enough to save the banshee? how much of her past life does the banshee remember? what am i missing?

how initially nikki seems pretty caught off guard by being puppeted around, and almost like she's in a trance? she definitely doesn't feel fully there, her movements are a lot more limp and being VERY distinctly controlled. she feels more distant, more hazy.

but then there's the point about halfway into the battle where the banshee has her hand over nikki's face, like she's still trying to control her, and nikki looks away. meets the banshee's eyes instead.

and the banshee's own expression shifts, there, too. nikki looks almost defiant, and the banshee isn't quite taken aback or surprised by that, but she doesnt seem to have anticipated it? it seems like she's curious, intrigued. seeing nikki look at her so fearlessly, even after being puppeted by her. almost like a challenge of her own.

and after that, nikki's movements shift. they feel more fluid, graceful, more like nikki is the one in control. matching the banshee's motions and her energy, no longer enthralled but choosing herself to continue the dance. they circle each other and nikki is smiling, like she's genuinely enjoying herself.

if you fail the battle, the banshee and nikki reach out to each other, but the banshee pushes forward as nikki pulls her own hand away, looking more hesitant, almost afraid again. and if you perfect it, nikki pulls away, but not out of fear. she spins again, smiling, taking a bow. enjoying herself, still. regarding the banshee as an equal, even though the banshee had been trying to subdue her.

out of the rooms we're allowed to see and enter, there are three bedrooms. three. including a third bedroom is a very purposeful choice that they made. and that third one is separated from the other two and emptier than the other two but contains a lot of boxes.

nonoy's room is visibly filled with life and love, as is the rest of the house we can see. it's sweet and wonderful and colorful and SO full of life

but of the other two bedrooms.

the one upstairs at least seems a little less empty, it's very plain but it still has a good few sets of boxes, something we dont see anywhere in nonoy's room (she has a couple suitcases, as do some of the other rooms, but. no boxes.)

and the one downstairs feels less used, but ohhh the boxes.

So Many Boxes. it COULD be a guest room, very easily, but also why would a guest room have so many boxes. why wouldn't they just have turned it into a dedicated storage room at that point? a guest room would need Actual Room For The Guest.

just. just. the thought of it having been igrainne and nonoy and glorier, all three of them, or at LEAST glorier visiting so often it may as well have been the three of them... and considering nonoy was adopted by igrainne so young and knew glorier only as "mom's friend" just.

it is So Easy for me to imagine nonoy and igrainne living on the second floor, mother and daughter, and glorier either living in or VERY frequently visiting/staying in that third bedroom downstairs. igrainne's closest friend.