Lo

## Physical description

### Abilities

meta-awareness, meta-influence, spontaneous matter manipulation (splinter), latent reality manipulation

## Overview

Lo is generally considered the main character of the Migrate franchise, and has had major roles in all entries in the series. He\* is a sulphur-crested cockatoo with fourth-wall-breaking self awareness.

## History

### Migrate

Born to a mated pair of cockatoos in Grandnest, Lo was the problem child out of a gaggle of fledglings. Although the details aren't entirely clear, it is known that at some point in early childhood, Lo snuck into the Roc's palace and stole a Splinter of the black tree. The Splinter was thereafter entwined with his being, granting certain supernatural properties uncommon of most birds. Upon finding the tree damaged, Roc slapped Lo's mother, threatening the family to stay in line, but apparently still unaware of Lo's newfound powers.

The abuse of his family instilled in Lo a deep-seated desire for revenge. Seeking to dismantle the Administration of Grandnest, Lo sought out the help of the scholars of Grandnest's central library before their demise. Across multiple timelines Lo (and often best-friend Tootsie) struck out on migrations south to Icehome. The goal of these expeditions was the wisdom of the ancients. In the eyes of the scholars, these illuminations could lead to a better future for Grandnest, improving the library's influence on citizens and empowering them to overthrow their oppressors.

Lo and Tootsie however, were vaguely aware of a coming unavoidable conflict that would seal the fate of Grandnest's citizens. Still neither of them had the strength\* to destroy the administration, so they began to seek out ways to incrementally "re-write" Grandnest's past with the ancient wisdom instead.

### Migrate: Tactics

With only a minor appearance in this title, Lo is crushed (spiritually) when his new hot dog stand is destroyed. This is the inciting event of the game, however he disappears afterward.

## Powers and abilities

Power Grid
 wisdom
 strength
 speed
 energy
 durability
 martial skill

Although not entirely gifted in combat, there are a few tricks to Lo that give him the edge in his quests. For one thing Lo seems to be cursed, either by birth or by possessing the Splinter, with Quantum Immortality. This means that he is simultaneously aware of his existence and experiences in all parallel realities, allowing him to learn and "retry" encounters of all kinds. Logically this means that he comes out as the victor in most realities, but to what degree he actually influences those realities is unknown.

Compared to other cockatoos, Lo has the distinct disadvantage that his wings were clipped by the Roc's administration of Grandnest at an early age, severely hampering his mobility.

## Trivia

* It was hinted in a secret QR code in Migrate that Lo's name may in fact be Loki. In early builds of the game, players could slide the intro cutscene out of the way with CTRL+(A/D) to reveal QR codes which, when scanned, revealed a short poem about Lo. The somewhat strange fourth line would seem to be mentioning Lo's difficulty with singing on key, however a capitalized misspelling alludes to a couple other possibilities. The first would be consistent with the name "Loki", although it could also be a direct mention of Ki, a supernatural power source that otherwise has no other mention all the way up to Migrate 3, making this the less likely possibility.
```
"A quiet clever cockatoo
Who dreamt of being heard one day
Lo could only sing in private
So never learned to stay on Ki"

```
* Possibly due to his personality, Lo's powers are unstable and can even influence the world subconsciously. In Migrate, a certain class of enemy ("Toons") would make appearances in number that scale with his sanity. This would seem to suggest that they are figments of his imagination, although it's unclear whether they are "real" or not. This could even extend to the basis of Nemesis's existence.
* A small pebble found on the roof of Grandnest General Hospital in Migrate would slightly alter certain interactions with Lo. The stone's lore suggests that Lo had thrown it and smashed a window on the way out after an extended stay, possibly for monitoring of his mental state. Lo's crestfallen and depressed dialogue when holding this item sees him uncharacteristically chiding himself and muttering angrily, with portraits to match. This macabre easter egg raises questions about the existence of the entirety of the gameworld throughout the series, suggesting that Lo may in fact be powerless, and only imagining his influence on the events of the games.
* Lo, originally named "God of chaos", earned the starring role somewhat late in development. An attempted redesign of Lo had critics praising the cartoonish original sprite over the new design, solidifying his personality. The new design stayed in the game as Lo's grizzled father. https://www.reddit.com/r/PixelArt/comments/a4t1or/cc\_redesigning\_my\_old\_cockatoo\_character/
* In Migrate, there is a certain early-game interaction with Meril (before the two are acquainted), where Meril misgenders Lo. When pressed about whether he was a girl or a boy, Lo humorously dodges Meril's questions and scribbles directly on the chatbox.