#[h]:: Codex

[exilethegame]

Is there a Plaithian language?

Plaithus just speaks Common, which most of the world did/does. Vygranders also mostly speak Common, but nobility in Vygrand often speak in Mavikras, which is a language built off of the study of magic. The language in itself is actually magical to an extent, so one has to be very careful in how they phrase things, which is why the wording for Vygrandian translations is often vague or sort of "off."

And Vrithkan is a pidgin language! Vrithka doesn't have a unified government, and the island was originally just mythosi for a very long time. A lot of groups in Vrithka have their own languages (Nikke + Jost speak Gyrivis, which is a language unique to gorgons in Vrithka), so when those groups came together Vrithkan sort of just formed slowly.

[doodleswithangie]

I got to draw for @theknightswhosay's fic for @go-minisode-minibang! She wrote a beautiful story that blends pre-colonial Filipino mythology with the Good Omens universe. Read it here!

[Image Description: Fanart done for a "Good Omens" historical fanfic, set in pre-colonial Philippines. It is a realistic pencil sketch of Crowley sleeping, done by Aziraphale in his journal. Alt text provided and copied below the cut. End ID]

Continued Copied Alt Text

Crowley is curled up on his side, his long dark hair spilling over the pillow. He wears a traditional loincloth tied with a cord around the waist. His limbs and torso are tattooed with heavy lines and zig zag patterns.

End Copied Alt Text

[codex-entry]

i know im going to need play Fear & Hunger but my first attempts put me off so hard that I'm just not looking forward to it. It's not even that it's fucked up/gross/relentlessly cruel, it's that it feels like all those things are just there in service of being miserable for the pure purpose of generating misery.

[lilac-sweet]

I’ve seen a lot of posts discussing whether Solas and Mythal’s relationship was romantic in nature, or it was some kind of mother/son deal, but I think the answer is a lot simpler and staring us all in the face: Solas was Mythal’s dog.

So a lot has been said about how toxic Mythal and Solas’ relationship was, and I’m not gonna get into all that. What I will say, is that I believe the relationship’s power imbalance may have become gradually bigger after Solas took physical form at Mythal’s behest.

When Solas said: “I will always follow where you go”, we should take note of the word “follow”. Solas did not lead with the other Evanuris; he followed Mythal and had her markings on his face. Much like how Ghilan’nain followed Andruil, yet their relationship was romantic, and Ghilan’nain quickly agreed to take on a leadership role when offered. Solas did not. We don’t know whether he was never offered one or that he simply had no desire to lead (both might be true), but the disparity between Mythal and Solas’ positions were noted by those around them, and was interpreted (we hear it from Elgar’nan) as Solas being Mythal’s “lapdog”. This interpretation seemed to be the general consensus- proven by the many dog-like statues in Mythal’s temple, and Solas symbolically becoming known as a canine.

We don’t know how Solas felt being compared to a dog - perhaps the comparison seemed flattering/ less condescending in the beginning: we know that there are strong bonds between people and their animals in dragon age: Davrin and Assan, Kell and Hafter, and the general lore about Marbari dogs. “Turlum” is a powerful thing (as we see with Davrin and Assan) and may have been exactly how they felt about each other.

When we explore the lighthouse we come across a piano and a codex entry called “memories of a duet”:

the relief of private achievement, away from well-meant misunderstanding and mindless worship; an unspoken joy in the center of rising, perfect echoes.

Finally, a beloved memory surfaces. A smiling glance, meeting at a crescendo; a shared moment of understanding; seeing completely, and being wholly seen.

This entry seems to sum up their relationship quite well: “away from well-meant misunderstanding” (could refer to a romantic interpretation of their relationship), and “seeing completely, and being wholly seen.” (Turlum)

Whatever the relationship had started as, the power imbalance seems to have reached a peak around the time the Evanuris decided they wanted to lead their people as gods. We don’t know whether there actually was a power difference between the Evanuris and the rest of the elves when they were all spirits: my guess is there was one, but not a huge one: perhaps the difference between a normal person and a mage. When the Evanuris decided they were gods, they made a hard line in the sand: separating themselves from their people, and separating Mythal from Solas. This is also where the “lapdog” comment from Elgar’nan seems incredibly condescending.

The markings on his face no longer symbolize devotion, but ownership. He burns them off and instead of a dog becomes a wolf (using the allegory of Elgar’nan). An obvious metaphor here is that the markings symbolize a dog collar.

He frees the elves but becomes an unwilling symbol himself, thus separating him from his people after already having been separated from the Evanuris. The man literally becomes a lone wolf.

However, Mythal and Solas’ love for each other continues, and is obviously still strong when Solas asks Mythal to run away with him (at this point he must feel desperately lonely). What happens to Solas when Mythal dies can only be imagined: there’s a reason why Assan follows Davrin in death.

For the first time in his physical life he is truly alone and has to figure out who he is without Mythal. The only role he has ever known away from her, is the rebel leader. He doubles down on his efforts to stop the Evanuris and destroys the world of the elves in the process. His grief and regret over Mythal and the home of the elves chart his course from when he wakes up until inquisition.

With a friendly inquisitor and especially a romanced Lavellan he finds a new role, or rather, he rediscovers himself before Mythal: a spirit of wisdom. For the first time in a long time he also finds a companion: someone he can rely on. Someone who eases that lonely ache he must have felt for millennia.

There are many cool aspects of the Crestwood scene (romanced Lavellan), but the one I want to highlight is Solas’ reaction to the vallaslin: when he decides to tell her the truth of who he was/is, but chickens out the last second. He panics and the fact that he immediately jumps to the vallaslin says something about how tied it is to him psychologically. He doesn’t force Lavellan to get rid of it, but he certainly does his very best to convince her. It is the moment Solas truly sees Lavellan as his mirror image and his equal. She is another lone wolf, mindlessly worshipped and ostracized, but she still wears that damn collar.

I am convinced Solas knows rationally that the vallaslin no longer means what it once meant - Lavellan can even insist the Dalish have reclaimed it, and he still tries to convince her to get rid of it, because to HIM it symbolizes enslavement and it is a painful reminder of his own ties to Mythal (it is an even stronger parallel if the inquisitor drinks from the well and has Mythal’s markings).

This is also the difference between Mythal and Lavellan: one is the master (with every connotation) the other another wolf.

In conclusion: Mythal and Solas had the relationship of a master and their dog: a relationship that many with pets themselves can relate to, both in the aspect of devotion, companionship, and in the power imbalance. In a way the “mother” interpretation isn’t far off - it just so happens that Solas is a fur baby.

[croquettish]

A Hans Capon Character Analysis

Part 1: Hans' Disillusionment with the Nobility

I went into this wanting to write one thing and then instead ended up writing something different entirely which, after watching it get stupidly long, I decided to split in two. So you can consider this an analysis triptych (they other two are already drafted and ready to go). It's still stupidly long, so I apologize for that.

We know that Hans learned what the platonic ideal of a noble looked like and from that point on did his very best to live up to that ideal. He saw what he was supposed to be even while realizing that he could never live up to that ideal. Hans spends all his time trying to reach for perfection only to find his best only ever being at best shy of where he wants to be. More often, his best is far removed from where he thinks he's meant to be / supposed to be.

This is a theme that comes up several times throughout the game. First, when they're at the inn in Troskowitz where Hans pulls the "excuse" about why he can't do work:

I say "excuse" in quotes because the more time you spend talking to Hans the more it becomes obvious that he actually believes what he's saying. All that stuff about the three states of man is 100% something that he was either taught directly or overheard. It's entirely possible that he once tried to help out the castle staff and was told he wasn't allowed to do that because it went against the will of God. Like I fucking love AUs where Hans and Henry met as kids, but there's a non-zero chance that any attempt to do so, if not simply preempted, would have been shut down by Hanush and the others around him. This is what it means to be a noble, Hans. You're not allowed to do any of these fun things. You have a job to do. You're going to rule Rattay someday and that comes with certain responsibilities.

Here are some choice excerpts from that conversation:

I want to draw special attention here to the role that Hans places himself in, the role of the Bellator, a protector of others. This is what he's allowed to do. Remember that for later.

The other thing I want to draw attention to is this bit:

This isn't just about losing face. This is about the fact that he grew up hearing how wrong it would be for him to do peasant work. This is about the fact that he was told that if he did this, he'd be going against God, and everyone would think less of him for not acting as he's supposed to / required to. Not just in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of society.

Remember how I said that Hans has an idealized notion of nobility? That applies here as well. As the codex entry on the Three States of Man tells us, this is the ideal medieval society, one that is meant to be conducive to peace. That lack of social mobility and freedom that Hans has been chained by his whole life has a purpose: to ensure harmony.

But the script he's so used to, that he clings to so desperately, fails him. Harmony could not be further from his reality. Case in point, at the beginning he tells Henry that he can protect him with his name and therefore his own noble status:

But then, that doesn't turn out to be true. He does everything in his power to declare his noble status, to invoke his name, even places his arm behind his back and attempts to bow in order to properly present himself as nobility to the guards at the Trosky Castle gates—all for naught. No one cares. Hans tries so fucking hard to stick to the script he's been taught his whole life, and no one gives a shit. Svatya makes fun of him, refuses to apologize, and then physically assaults him. Instead of seeing Svatya getting clapped in the pillory, he is.

During the divorce era, he once again tries to grasp for any amount of familiarity from his old life by turning to hunting. It's a noble sport and something he's good at. Camping and going out to hunt, being out in nature over an extended period of time, these are all things he's done before. Things he can comfortably fall back on. If he forgets about the fact that he's alone—no Henry, no horse, no hunting dogs—he can almost pretend he's back in his old life.

Even his attempt at romancing Enneleyn at the wedding fits into this desperate attempt to cleave to his understanding of his noble title. (This is a point that also crops up in this fantastic analysis of Hans' character by @codeword-art, that Hans knows what people think nobles should be like, this including a love for women. This post and the one that preceded it are analyzed in greater depth in part two of this analysis.)

And then even that is torn from him when he's told he'll hang for poaching. Nobility was the one thing that was supposed to act as a get-out-of-jail-free card for him, his guaranteed fallback. Nobility was meant to remove the noose from around his neck... and then failed to do so. What's the point of being a noble if no one believes that you are one? What's the point of being a noble if it only comes with a lack of social skills, a lack of relationships, and a lack of freedom? What's the point of sticking to a script if everyone refuses to play their parts? Growing up, nobility always acted as a panopticon for him, surrounded by people's judgments of him. His character, his aptitude, was always everybody's business. But that pain, that judgment, always came with benefits before.

This illustrates for Hans, quite clearly, how quickly those benefits can be stripped for him and made meaningless. Nobility can't save him. Nobility has only ever taken from him, and then, when he needed it most, it wasn't there for him as a parachute.

At the end of Next to Godliness we can talk to Hans about what he's going to do with Arse-n-balls. And if Henry advises Hans to punish him, first Hans tries to defend him.

At which point Henry invokes his noble status and suggests that letting this transgression go unpunished would lead to people questioning him in his position:

At which point Hans folds quite quickly:

How much do you reckon Hans' worldview was shaken in hindsight, upon realizing the reality of the punishments he might have subjected people to. A day in the stocks or pillory? Being hanged for poaching? Suddenly he's seeing these things from the perspective of a peasant and what that might feel like.

Nobles are meant to protect people and dole out punishments only when necessary. But this whole system is so easily upended the second corruption gets involved.

He's next confronted with this issue in a big way if you decide to sell out Olda and go to Semine with Hashek. Despite von Bergow's wishes, Hashek wants to burn the place down to the ground along with all the people in it. Everyone is to die. This isn't what von Bergow wanted (and if you do agree to Hashek's plan, he is appropriately outraged after) and while Hans questions if the two of you did the right thing if you decide to go against Hashek's wishes, he's quite distressed if you don't go against his wishes and kill everyone. It puts him into a funk for quite a while after and leaves him viewing himself as inherently tainted by the experience.

Horrified as he is that Olda, as a nobleman, would side with Zizka and co (and expresses this right after the possible torturing if the truth is discovered), he's just as horrified that Hashek, a nobleman, would order the slaughter of innocents. He objects on several occasions but mostly goes along with what Henry says, only questioning what the right decision was after.

Nobles are supposed to be better than this. If he was expected to do better, to be better, to live up to all these unachievable ideals, why does no one else give a shit?

The next time this crops up in a big way is after the Maleshov rescue when Hans become quite upset at the sight of a destroyed village. A conversation with Brabant follows that showcase a number of Hans' feelings on the matter:

This is unjust, he says. Because in his eyes, the nobility should be above such dirty, underhanded tricks to get what they want. Brabant insists that the village will be resettled before long ("people die, it's what they do" etc etc) and that this is just how war is.

Hans, however, is unsatisfied:

Here too we see his idea of the Bellator and what that means for him as a noble. In Hans' eyes, their job is to protect the common people. To do everything in his power to make sure that these atrocities don't happen.

If Henry then agrees with him, Hans says something else telling (regardless of what happens with Semine):

These things happen because of his failure. He's a Bellator, a noble who should be capable of protecting people. Instead they failed at Nebakov and he was captured. The death of these people, to Hans, is on his own head.

We know that our boy Luke lost rizz points with pretty much everyone because he decided to burn down the village near Maleshov during the siege, but this too is a moment that's worth remarking on. In the moment, Hans defers to Henry and insists that well, they're in a war, aren't they? But after von Bergow's interrogation, he has quite a few things to say to Henry:

On the flipside, if Henry goes against Dry Devil, Hans praises his actions while simultaneously acknowledging that he wouldn't have been strong enough to do the same:

It's interesting that at this point in the story he trusts Henry (not a noble) with ethical judgments far more than either himself or other noblemen. Deferring to Henry isn't entirely new for him, but that's another post entirely. What matters here is that we're witnessing the wool being pulled from Hans' eyes in real time here: the inherent superiority of nobles is rapidly evaporating.

In addition to that, the fact that he's constantly put into the position of damsel in distress means that he's frequently saved or protected by Henry. He's not the Bellator of his own life. Henry is. Henry is more noble in Hans' eyes than any noble he's ever met. This even comes up at one point early in the game, following their first romance option:

I'm sure I don't need to point out how this means that Henry effectively dismantles Hans' sense of self only to build it up again. All his self-esteem was rooted in the fact that he's a capable Bellator, a defender of the people and worthy of his position as a noble. Then Henry comes in, does it all better despite his peasant upbringing, and then shows Hans that he has value in spite of what he perceived all his faults to be.

Even before the siege on Maleshov, Hans is slowly starting to build up an increasingly robust view of himself as a Laborator. I talked about this in more detail here, where we see Hans volunteer himself for manual labor that we see no one else in the game do other than Henry. In fact, it's something that is often (and jokingly at that) offloaded onto Henry. But here, Hans presents the far more noble position (in this case, dealing with the hunted game) to Henry while taking the manual labor task for himself.

With what noblesse oblige is Hans left with then? Stripped of all the artifice, what remains?

Just his word. The word of a nobleman.

Hans and Henry both get into an argument with Hanush at the end of KCD1 when he gives Toth his word that his safety will be ensured if he lets Radzig and Lady Stephanie go. Henry is (understandably) upset that Hanush will just let Toth go, but Hanush insists that his word as a nobleman is his bond. At which point Hans steps in to argue that they may as well not honor that bond:

Henry also argues, but Hanush ultimately comes back with this:

It's a point that sticks with Hans, and we see it invoked fairly early on in the game:

It's also challenged right toward the beginning as well. Henry responds to what Hans says with something that makes no sense, invoking the idea of one's word but here in the name of him being a blacksmith:

@antivanwine14 recently made a spectacular post about precisely this. There's no such thing as the word of a blacksmith. It doesn't carry the same weight whatsoever. But Hans decides to take it that way regardless:

No pretension, no posturing about the importance of a noble's words over those of a peasant. Either Henry has been elevated in Hans' mind (no doubt) or nobility is losing the special, unique lustre that it might have once held for him (almost certainly true as well).

We fast-forward a bit. His next encounter with the word of a nobleman is at Raborsch, where his word is given... for him, when he's engaged against his will. If you ask me, this changes things. In a big way. Hans has very little, but the one thing that he thought he had was his word to give. Every thing he swears by from that point forward serves as a reclamation.

And the first thing he does with that reclamation is swear that he'll be there for Henry just as Henry was there for him:

(and then he did, etc etc)

I do find it curious here that he doesn't invoke the word of a nobleman here in this promise to Henry. Instead, he swears by God, their mutual belief system. Giving Henry his word isn't enough anymore. As if Henry has outranked it in his eyes. I wonder if he thought back to the moment when Henry responded to Hans' word as a noble with the word of a blacksmith here. Unlike social stratification, this is a place where they are on equal footing.

The next time that Hans does give his word is at Maleshov during the siege: von Bergow's safety in exchange for both Rosa's safety and von Bergow's agreement to switch sides.

This makes sense. He's speaking to another nobleman here, someone who would understand what it means if the word of a noble is given.

And it is, of course, then immediately put in danger by Sam:

If Sam kills von Bergow here, he takes the last remaining vestiges of any sort of sense of self or identity from Hans. Nobility is losing its lustre, he's not a worthy Bellator and instead always has to have Henry saving his ass, and this is all that remains. What is a noble without his word? As Hanush told him very clearly at the end of the first game, his word is his honor. And without honor, he's nothing.

What's left if the artifice is stripped away? If all he has left to him is his word, if that too is rendered meaningless, Hans, in his mind, will be left as nothing.

It should also be noted here that Sam is not held back by the rules of this society that Hans is so solidly part of. Much like queerness, he exists well outside of it, as both Jews and sodomites were considered heretics. Sam has that freedom that Hans so badly longs for, but it comes at a considerable cost, that of oppression. It's risky to exist at the fringes of society.

As @hallowedlore perfectly put it (in private conversation), when Sam attacks von Bergow, a statement throwing into question why he should care about the rules of their fancy nobility, the only thing that stop him is the threat of violence from Zizka. Death, not social decorum.

Hans is clinging on to this bit of identity with all his might here as though it's a life-raft. And Godwin immediately backs him up, reminding him that what he did there mattered.

But it doesn't get him very far. And certainly not with Sam, who couldn't care less about pleasing a Christian god. It strikes me as curious (and topical) here that he comes away from the big roundtable discussion with von Bergow and the other nobles feeling like insignificant shit while their talk at the Devil's Den did not leave him feeling that way.

Being a nobleman was meaningless here too. His nobility didn't matter one bit, all that mattered was being the strongest personality in the room. And Hans is anything but that. That boy is made of insecurities, his outward facing personality all a mask behind which is only hot air.

Only his jealousy regarding Sam's inbuilt relationship with Henry makes him turn back to old patterns:

See, Henry? He's different from us. But the argument doesn't work on Henry and barely even works on himself.

Increasingly, Hans realizes that the nobility isn't where he feels like he belongs the most. This worldview of his is fucked and all wrong. Who went and decided that he should be a Bellator while someone like Henry isn't?

Because he does associate Henry with nobility in a big way. When Henry goes to ask Hans what he should do about Erik's offer of a duel, Hans thinks it over and then comes back with this:

These are different times. Are they? Or is it just Hans' heart that has changed here? Because right after this, he asks Henry to stay. To forgo honor and nobility and not put himself in unnecessary danger.

The aftermath of the silver heist likewise serves as a painful reminder of what is waiting for him on the other side of all this: a marriage that he doesn't want to a woman he doesn't know. What benefits remain of nobility? All he'd see by this point is obligations. No one listens to him, no one cares what he has to say except for Henry. All the bluster is ultimately meaningless. He doesn't belong with the other nobles, and all his best attempts at fitting into the mold fail him. All his life he's spent his time trying to be like those around him, trying to be someone he isn't, and it's never good enough.

The people he feels most comfortable around, Henry and Godwin, are both people with ties to nobility while wanting as little to do with titles and related obligations as possible. They both have social mobility to a certain extent. The opposite of nobility, to Hans, is freedom.

Shorty after the attack by the Praguers, Hans goes to wait for Henry in front of his room. When Henry asks him how he's doing, because he's clearly got experience leading troops, Hans laughs it off:

If there was any doubt left that he views himself as an incapable Bellator, this is excellent proof, backed up even more later on following the suicide mission:

This is what being a noble has gotten him. People's judgments and expectations, obligation to marry and carry on a family line, and the ability to play God and decide who gets to live and who dies. All he wanted was to protect people. Instead he gets to send them to their deaths.

This will come up again in part two, but it bears mentioning here as well. After getting laid, Hans vents to Godwin about how much he hates that no one ever treats him like an adult. He's a noble and an adult, and none of it ever seems to matter:

Who's "they"? Because the rest of what he says mentions that he thought the Trosky delivery would make "them" take him seriously. This isn't just about Hanush. This is about all nobles. That he'd finally fit in.

But he doesn't, and he won't.

When Hanush arrives at Suchdol, he highlights that everyone there is a hero for their deeds there, but it doesn't matter. Hans once more has his noble obligations shoved down his throat, which effectively feels like the last straw in this disillusionment. Nobility has granted him nothing but pain and any child of his would suffer the same fate. There's even some easily missed idle dialogue you can walk in on where they're arguing about precisely that. It doesn't matter what he does, how heroic he is, how many good deeds he performs, at the end of the day none of it ever mattered (read left to right):

It always strikes me in that conversation how unbelievably bitchy Hans sounds here. The "I'm glad you noticed" could not be cuntier. He is not happy. And even then, Hanush barely offers him any guarantees.

Effectively, this leaves Hans open to questioning the harmony of society as it was taught to him and, in questioning it, realizing that that harmony never existed to begin with. He spends the whole game realizing that the social order he's been subjected to and thought he fit into perfectly is not only illogical but also something he has despised his whole life. This is discovered not only because he was shown an alternative in his own shift into more of a Laborator beside Henry (who to him embodies the qualities of a Bellator far better than he), but also in his own queerness.

It doesn't escape me that there's something to be said about Suchdol here. During the siege, Henry and Hans effectively live outside of the bounds of nobility or social stratification. Everyone is equal in the face of Hunger and Despair. And it's only in this space, this place outside of what is and isn't deemed acceptable by society, that Hans finds it in himself to kiss Henry. To breach every code of conduct he's ever known. Because they're already in the space outside of social acceptability. Hell, the entire Devil's Band is situated in precisely this space just by going against Sigismund. You couldn't ask for a more perfect environment for Hans to step outside of the bounds that have held him since birth.

This is even shown even more starkly with this anon's point in mind about how it goes if you don't romance Hans:

This is unjust. Henry is only in danger because he's not a noble. There's something to be said about agency here, but that discussion has to wait for part three of this analysis triptych. Nothing about this social stratification serves him any longer, all the more so when he romances Henry. It's also why he seems so uncertain about the two of them when Henry returns, and they are meant to return to reality and the expected social order.

This social order that was meant to bring with it harmony for all is the same social order that would demand that he marry and beget an heir. Why should he try to fit himself into this cookie cutter mold if he never fit to begin with? As we see with Barnaby especially, being discovered as queer spells an existence at the fringes of society if not outside of it entirely. Queerness is inherently and by definition at odds with social order, thus returning us to the nobility vs. freedom dialectic. And regardless of which of the two Hans ultimately chooses, obligation or what his heart wants, that disillusionment can never be undone.

Part 2, Part 3

[themoonweaversden]

All 179-244 (or so) codes that were found so far (no spoilers)

Note: As far as I'm aware if you input any word after selling your soul to Bill and press the knob you'll get the same result. I still think it's important to highlight the ones that didn't have any result once you imput them normally the day the website updated (AUDIOLOG, BUBBLES, CLEAR, CONTRACT, SMALL) these may have been just an error since it has been fixed since then

#

3466554

29121239168518

333 Sundapple Lane Cozy Creek IL 60714-94611

A

ABUELITA

ADASTRAPERASPERA

ALEX HIRSCH / ALEX / HIRSCH

AM I BLANCHIN

ANSWER

AXOLOTL

B

BAAAA

BABY / BABY BILL / LALALALALA / MOMMY / DADDY

BILL / BILL CIPHER / CIPHER / ILLB / LLIB REHPIC / REHPIC

BLACK SHEEP

BLANCHIN / BLANCHING / BLANCH

BLENDIN

BLIND EYE

BOOBERRY

BURN SIDE

BURNED INSIDE

BYE GOLD

C

CAESAR ATBASH VIGENERE / MULTILEVELMARK

CARD

CARYN

CIPHERTOLOGY

CLONE / TYRONE / PAPER JAM

CONSPIRACY

CRAY CRAY

CRYPTOGRAM CODEX

CURSE WITTEBANE

CURSED

D

DEATH

DEER TEETH

DESTRUCTION IS A FORM OF CREATION

DIONARAP

DIPPER

DIPPY FRESH

DISCO GIRL / BABBA

DISNEY / MICKEYMOUSE

DISPENSE MY TREAT

DIVORCE / BREAKUP

DORITO / NACHO / CHIP

DUCHESS APPROVES / THE DUCHESS APPROVES

DUCKTECTIVE

E

EASTER EGG

EMMALINE BUTTERNUBBINS

EUCLID / SCALENE / SCRIMBLES

EUCLYDIA

EVEN HIS LIES ARE LIES

F

FAMILY MATTERS

FBI / CIA / NSA

FILBRICK

FIXINIT1

FORD / SIXER / STANFORD

FORDTRAMARINE

FORGET THE PAST

FUCK / SHIT / BITCH / SLUT / SEX

FUCK YOU ALEX

G

GIDEON

GIFFANY

GLASS SHARD BEACH

GLOBNAR

GOD / HELP ME / SAVE ME / FRILLIAM

GOODNIGHT SALLY

GRAVITY FALLS

GREBLEY HEMBERDRECK

GUN / THE GUN

H

HAROLDS RAMBLINGS

HECTORING

HEY NERD

HISTORY

HOLOGRAM

HORROR / CREEPYPASTA / ANALOG HORROR

HOTXOLOTL

HOW WILL I DIE / WHEN WILL I DIE

I

IM STILL ON YOUR MIND

IRREGULAR

IS HELL REAL

IS THERE AN AFTERLIFE

J

JOURNAL 1

JOURNAL 2

JOURNAL 3

JUST BLEND IN

JUST FIT IN

K

KINGS OF NEW JERSEY

KOOK

KUBRICK

L

L IS REAL 2401

LIAR LYRE

LIES

LIFE

LOVE / BOYFRIEND / LONELY

LOVE YA BRO

M

MABEL

MASON

MATH / GREECE / SHAPES / GREEK / PLATO / GEOMETRY

MCGUCKET / FIDDLEFORD / OLD MAN MCGUCKET

MEOW / MEOW WOW

MONSTER

MORALITY

MOUNTAIN DONT

MYSTERY

MYSTERY SHACK

N

NAITSUAF

NO

NOT A PHASE

NOTHING

O

OCCURREMUS ITERUM

OH YES THEY BOTH

ONE EYED KING

OROBOROUS

OWL TROWEL

P

PACIFICA

PAPER IS BOOK SKIN

PEAK

PINATA

PINES

PLATINUM PAZ

PORTAL

Q

QUESTION

R

R34LITY

RAT

REALITY

RIDDLE

ROBBIE

RUBBERHOSE

S

SCARY / SPOOKEMUPS / SPOOKY

SCIENTOLOGY

SEASON 1 / SEASON -1

SEASON 2

SEASON 3

SEVEN EYES

SEVERAL TIMES

SHAVE YOUR GRANDMA

SKELETON

SKIBIDI / FORTNITE / ELON / CRYPTO / DOGE / GYATT / RIZZ

SOMETHING

SOOS

SORRY

STAN / STANLEY PINES / STAN PINES / STANLEY

STOD EHT TCENNOC

SUCK IT MERLIN

T

TAD STRANGE

TANTRUM

THE BOOK OF BILL / BOOK OF BILL

THE DUCHESS APPROVES

THEORY / MATPAT

THERAPRISM

THEYLL SEE / THEYLL ALL SEE / I SEE

TINSEL SNAKE

TITANS BLOOD

TJECKLEBURG

TOBY DETERMINED

TORTURE MENTALLY

TOURIST TRAP

TRIANGLE

TRIGONOMETRY

U

UNIONMADE

UNIVERSE

UNREALITY

V

VALLIS CINERIS

VIRUS

W

WADDLES

WEIRD

WEIRDMAGEDDON

WELL WELL WELLBEING

WENDY

WHICH RELIGION IS RIGHT

WHO ARE YOU

X

XGQRTHX

XYLER / CRAZ

Y

YES

YOU CANT KILL AN IDEA

YOURE INSANE

Will update if more are found

[felassan]

Just poring over some of the new images. ◕‿◕ DA:TV spoilers under cut.

Another shot of Rivain Coast, which we can tell from the image but is also known from the file name. this environment was seen in the Thedas Calls teaser. the remains of the large sea creature are really cool and interesting to me from a biological perspective. like is it a creature we know, or something like the Cetus, or something as-yet-unseen by us? it makes me think of Ghilan'nain's beasts of the deep, and the Tevinter Nights map, which showed all manner of sea monsters in the seas around known Thedas. it also makes me think of this codex entry, which talks about whales, squid, giant worms, dragons hunting underwater in the sea, etc, as well as the DA:TV concept arts we've seen which involves sea monsters. what if we held hands and got married.. while standing under the flower-bedecked arch of the jaw of this giant skull..? 🥺 in Thedas Calls we could also see the remains of some beast on the Rivaini shore; I wonder if this is that same area of the shore but from a different angle/viewpoint.

the other focal point of this screenshot is the boat. the red things on the side look like shields, and they remind me of a stylized version of the Qunari symbol. red is also a color associated with Qunari, from things like the distinctive red-rope clothing. but the boat also really reminds me of Taash's design and color scheme. maybe it's associated with Taash, or it's a Lord of Fortune vessel more broadly? if you look at Taash, two, the aquatic blue-green is her main color, accented by bits of red, just like the boat. the pointy bits and triangular shapes of the boat remind me of her pointy armor with triangle details. idk, even the hoop (even though it's a totally normal thing to have on a boat) 'feels' familiar. like I could totally buy that this boat is associated with Taash's group or something. or maybe, shut up MJ, ignore the hoop, but the blue-green and red is notable still. but also maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there hh :)

in this first screenshot I also simply spent a while looking at the sunlight through the palm fronds :') there are coconuts or something similar in some of the trees. I'm also curious about the ruins here (right hand corner) - remains of fortresses or watch-towers that were guarding the coast against invasion?

Another shot of Rivain Coast, which we can tell from the image but is also known from the file name. this environment was seen in the Thedas Calls teaser. again, in this image we can see part of the skeleton of some giant creature, and I wonder again if we're seeing this (or one of these, if there's more than one) from a different angle in this screenshot. we can see more of the sea-ruins in this one, and part of the wall has a crenellated top like it was a rampart and the other part looks cylindrical like it was a tower/watch-tower of some kind. nearby we can see a campfire on the go with a cooking pot heating over it, and is that maybe a hammock set up behind it? camping near a giant skeleton like that would be so metal.. and I wonder if it's simply environmental art/scenery, or maybe there are a few maps where as we explore them we establish lil camps as we go again as like in-map waypoints or something. and in the top right, we can see part of the mast and rigging of a different boat, I guess a shipwreck.

what do you think this other wooden structure from the top right is btw? part of another ship's mast/rigging?

this shot is taken from a place in the shade, like from the mouth of a cave or from under an overhang of the cliff, which reminds me a bit of the perspective from under an overhang here. we can see a tangle of driftwood bleached by the sun, elf warrior Rook (love the ragged cape/cloak), Bellara, and Taash, looking soo cool and nonchalant as she Casually Leans, Casually. Taash is so cool aaa! love her piratey boots and in this shot we can see that her dragonscale-looking armor extends to her legs also. (I hope Rook can have piercings and jewelry like Taash's, whether it's from inside CC or items gathered in the world._ the big coins are ornamentation, part of Taash's outfit, just like how Lords of Fortune who have survived a couple of years are allowed to display.

also in this image are big green pots. I wonder if we can smash them open, RPG-style, to find loot or potion restocks. wasn't there something like that in the gameplay video? ^^

another thing that gets my attention in this screenshot is these blue-green banner- or standard-looking things.

whom do you suppose these standards are associated with, like which group..? in this area the Lords of Fortune are active, and the Qunari also have a presence in part of Rivain. the material that they are made from remind me of the blue-green gem of Taash's 'horn' and the blue-green material on the boat from screenshot one. if the standards are Qunari, I wonder where the familiar Qunari symbol is? for the Lords of Fortune, we don't know much about them or the specifics of their aesthetic yet but I'd be looking for their octopus symbol or classic piratey stuff like skull and crossbones or something. so who? I also can't place the standard from or being associated with anywhere else either (but if I'm missing something pls lmk ^^). here is what it does remind me of though.

The spine-like spiky pole with the suggestion of paired centipede-like legs coming off of it; the dual-prongs at the shoulders, even the crossed-over aspect, and especially the curved shape at the top.

In Thedas Calls, as the camera pans over Rivain and over its Coast, the speaker at this point says "Glory to the Risen Gods. They've come to deliver this world". I remember us wondering about the connection between these gods and Rivain. maybe these signs/standards were erected by new cultists of Ghilan'nain, and this is part of their spread? Rivain is a country surrounded by a lot of sea, and it has strong nautical themes like the piracy. Ghilan'nain has sea associations of her own, like her creatures of the deep and her monster-form rising from the sea in that one concept art. and something has caused the Lords of Fortune to lose dominion in the area and something seems to be unsettling the dragons in the area. and the Chantry has less influence in Rivain, there's more variety in religion there. but also maybe I am just reading waaay too much into the coincidental shape of a sign LOL. Ghil Goggles. maybe it's nothing and they are just fancy anchors or other pieces from wrecked ships hhh.

as an aside, I love the skybox here in 'screenshot two'. :)

This image shows Arlathan Crater, per a filename. Elf Warrior Rook, Grey Warden again by the look of their (massive!) shield, Bellara (looking all curious/inquisitive) and Harding, looking out over this beautiful and fantastical viewpoint. These ruins look so grand, even in this state and with magic gone from the world. Imagine what Elvhenan looked at its height, before the world was un-made.

For this screenshot, I highlighted some things. ^^ -

The detail of roots in and partially in the ground in the bottom left; the mist effect; the thought put into the Celtic knotwork-looking detailing on the 'tower' in the foreground; in the background just beyond that could that be a waterfall? Makes sense, there's a lake below and mist everywhere. The familiar curved arches and similar shapes of ancient elvhen architecture; gold-capped towers shining so brightly in the sun; the shimmer and reflections on the water; rocks and chunks of ruins floating in the air the way things do when Fadey stuff is going on or the Veil is disrupted/thin; the detail of small trees growing on top of a tower, having seeded there (this happens irl too). Also in general the detailing of things like paint or etc having faded off walls, the exterior parts of stonework on stone walls having crumbled away in patches, chips in the gold.

There is also a statue of a bald ancient elf. I wonder whom of? They lack a distinctive Evanuris head-piece shape, but I'm sure there were depictions of Evanuris without those, or depictions of other notable elves or other powerful elves like their chosen.

The water makes me think of the concept art where the party are swimming underwater looking for treasure or something. Maybe swimming is a thing in this game? I would bet that over time and/or thanks to the recent reality-warping that has been occurring in Arlathan Forest, that some ancient elvhen ruins and artifacts have become submerged in water.

In the foreground is a chair with a tome on it. A book a Veil Jumper was using in their research, or found and was reading, and their resting/lookout point? ^^ we know that we will spot Veil Jumpers working away and researching in Arlathan. next to that is a golden object which I wonder, is it either 1) a telescope or spy-glass of sorts which a Veil Jumper has been using to study the ruins across the lake or 2) an ancient elvhen artifact that they've found (it is gold after all), and that maybe Bellara could use Tinker on it to use it. You can see a similar gold-orb type object in the distance in this shot of the team fighting in Arlathan (that one looks on/activated). between this object and all the floating rocks in this image, I'm reminded of the bit in the Game Informer cover story article that says to reach a certain place in Arlathan in the opening hours of the game, we must first remove the floating rock rings and how to do so, we must use Bellara's Tinker to interact with a nearby piece of ancient elven technology.

If these artifacts remove the floating rock rings.. maybe it's because they are reducing the 'Fadey'-ness of a place by.. reinforcing reality there. Which makes me think of the artifacts in Solas' quest in DA:I, Measuring the Veil. He said that when we activated them, they strengthen the Veil and help prevent additional Veil tears, and they were also gold looking things, and orby-looking too with their aura when active.

This image shows Arlathan Crater, per a filename. This time we have elf warrior Rook, Neve and Lucanis. This looks to be at a similar viewpoint located not far down from the one with the chair in the previous image; if you look across the water to the ruins, you can see the tower with the ancient elf statue with the two trees growing near its top, just from a slightly different perspective. I feel like the barrels, boxes, cart and planking is Veil Jumper stuff, like field provisions and equipment and stuff when they go on expeditions or something maybeukuh. ^^ another beautiful shot.

Lucanis is smoll. :)

This image shows Arlathan Forest, per a file name. Elf warrior Rook, Harding, and Lucanis (still smoll <3) explore ancient elvhen ruins. another beautiful shot. :D I love the big Totoro-style umbrella leaves and Harding looks so cute here. and I love purple as an 'iconic color' for Rook so much. we've seen this Grey Warden elf Rook in quite a few images now. I count at least 4 blades on Lucanis. On the stonework just behind Rook's head you can see more of the knotwork-esque pattern. also in the background here we can clearly see a door to this temple[?]-place. I really like how even the door is in this distinctive ancient elvhen shape, they really committed to recognizable distinct architecture and design styles for the different nations/cultures/asset-sets etc. ^^

The main point of interest in this screenshot of course is the pair of golden hands, an ancient elvhen artifact of some kind I assume. it brings to mind the artifact Bellara uses, which has been described as a "gauntlet" (something one wears on the hand/forearm). look at the diamond/triangle patterning on the inside of the wrist that we can see - like the triangles in the ancient elven tech/gear Veil Jumpers use. Maybe this artifact is designed not so much to look like 'hands' but specifically 'gauntlets'? it could just be the lighting, but the green glow around the hands look to me like this artifact's magic is active/that it has been activated. other gold pieces are magically[?] suspended in the air above it. I wonder if these pieces are actually moving, like they each spin on a slightly different axis/rotate? that's what the angling of them in this still looks like to me. Maybe they move when the artifact is active? also, up there is the triangle motif again, this time in a way that makes me squint. the biggest ones give that part the impression of a sun, with sunrays (also like the Veil BUBBLE shown in the Tevinter Nights map below). the curved lines give the impression of the 'concentric circles' motif which is sometimes used to represent the Veil. the paired triangles in one of the layers give the impression of the black-gold banding, and triangles like these seem to sometimes represent the Veil, Fade or magic.

(re-eyeing old bubble imagery now btw, since we know there are Veil Bubbles in DA:TV. like the giantest bubble, the whole-ass Veil itself, in the TN map, and the bubble around Solas in his 'me and my fursona cast the Veil' fresco. see also in these images - the triangles)

So I wonder if, when these 'hands' are activated, does it have some effect on the Veil? ^^

the other thing the hands remind me of is the Dead Hand landmark (see Trivia section) in DA:I. it's found in the Dales and contains an elven shrine. it's not far from Ghilan'nain's Grove, and it also has an interesting magic puzzle involving the lighting of torches and balls of light. detached stone hands in DA:I, detached gold hands in DA:TV, both 'holding' magic in them.

Lastly this image is included because it's actually a slightly different moment to the one here (ability wheel pointing at a different icon) ((I covered in the rest of the contents of this image in a previous post in this series)). where in the last one we could see Harding has a move called Shred, in this one we can see that Bellara has a move called Fade Bolts. it detonates, applies Shocked on hit and sunders the target. I wonder if these are bolts of Fade-energy in the shape of arrows that she fires, or arrows that she fires from her magical gauntlet-bow and because it's magic she never misses or they have extra effects on impact.

There were also two screenshots in this 'batch' which were stills from the gameplay video, which I won't include here: the one showing blood splatter, and one of Harding as she talks to Varric.

[cucumber-icepop]

Website spoilers under the cut! Every password I could think to try, being updated as I go

If you input the password "Cipher" it takes you to the Wikipedia page for Triangles, and if you put in "Bill" it takes you to a Youtube video of a Sesame Street song about triangles!

"Billcipher" takes you to the Wikipedia page for the eye of providence

"Ford" takes you to a page written by scientists(?) discussing his hands.

"Euclydia" brings up the text "DIMENSION NOT FOUND" :(

"Alex" takes you to the Google search page for flannel. Cool

"Pines" brings up the text "A GOOD FAMILY TREE"

"Stan" brings up an Ebay page for brass knuckles. (This happens with "Stanley" too!)

"Blanchin" brings up a Youtube video on how to "blanch" vegtables.

"Dipper" brings up a slip of paper written by Bill telling him that he needs to stare directly into the sun to crack some of the codes in the book.

"Mabel" puts star stickers all over the webpage!

"McGucket" brings up the Cotton Eye Joe song on Youtube.

"Soos" brings up a few pages written by Soos about what it's like being the new Mr. Mystery. There's pudding on the page

"Pinata" (a code suggested in Soos' letter) pulls up a video of a Bill pinata being beaten, Alex is voicing him in the video. Get him!!!!

"Baby" pulls up a Bill ultrasound????????????

"Blindeye" pulls up an image WITH CODES!!!!!!!! LET'S GOOOOO

"Prism" doesn't work, but corrupts the prism on the screen.

"Gideon" pulls up audio of Gideon singing.

"Pacifica" brings up a letter written by Pacifica (and Mabel!!)

"Season 1" brings up text about "Season -1" of "Antigravity Falls"

"Season 2" brings up "Season 1", and "Season 3" brings up "Season 2". There is no easter bunny there is no tooth fairy

"Divorce" brings up the O'Sadley's logo (the beer Bill drinks) and a zip file???????? The zip file is just the png of the logo

"Wendy" pulls up a page where Wendy tricks the viewer.

"Robbie" brings up a chatlog between him and Thompson, they summon Bill

"Reality" brings up the text "IS AN ILLUSION"

"Universe" brings up the text "HOLOGRAM"

"Rat" brings up text saying "THURBURTS' NUMBER?"

"Weird" brings up A VIDEO OF WEIRD AL?????

"Gravityfalls" brings up text saying "NEVER HEARD OF IT"

"Waddles" brings up a website called "Pig Placement Network". It's a pig adoption website!

"Death" brings up text saying "LIFE'S GOTH COUSIN"

"Life" brings up text saying "LIFE: 72% COMPLETE. NOW LOADING: DEATH"

"Axolotl" brings up text reading "YOU ASK ALOTL QUESTIONS"

"Fuck" brings up a picture reading: NOT S&P APPROVED! WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP" and a picture of soap lmaooooo. This also happens if you type in "Shit"

"Thebookofbill" pulls up text reading "HIDE IT UNDER SHIRT DURING PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE" ??????

"Mason" (I can't believe it took me this long to try that) brings up a page written by Dipper where he writes some anagrams. Ford has written something about a Cryptogram Codex on the bottom of the page.

"Cryptogram Codex" causes another zip file to be instantly downloaded. It contains different fonts for some of the codes used in TBoB!

"Theraprism" brings up this image

Very cool

"Love" brings up an image of Bill's stupid romance novel

"Journal3" pulls up text reading "THE JOURNAL FOR ME"

"Journal2" pulls up text reading "THE JOURNAL FOR YOU"

"Journal1" brings up text reading "THE JOURNAL OF FUN". Journal is looking less and less like a word to me

"Sorry" brings up the full picture of Ford and McGucket in college. What if I cried

"God" pulls up a video of a Bill statue in an aquarium with an Axolotl

"Lies" brings up a long page written by Bill, where he talks about lying and reality. It ends with a short video of flickering text reading "LIE UNTIL YOU AREN'T LYING ANYMORE".

"Scalene" and "Euclid" both bring up text saying "LIFE FORM NOT FOUND" I'm in shambles

I'm going to end the post here, I've been doing this for an hour, and the people running the main codes Google doc already have most of the results down. Aohurz av hufvul dov ylhkz aopz, zahf dlpyk, huk kypur dhaly!

[foxx-queen]

there's something fascinating to me about the fact that mythal's fragmented spirit went on to try and help the world. we don't know how much her spirit was fragmented, or how many pieces there were, but I think this appeals to me because it does connect with lore from the previous games

veilguard all but confirms the popular theory that andraste carried a piece of mythal's spirit. people have been talking about the mythal/flemeth/andraste similarities for years! morrigans cryptic comments seem to tell us that that same fragment later came to flemeth after she was 'betrayed by those sworn to love her', which is I think confirming the version of flemeths backstory that she was married to a poor poet who sold her to a lord, who then killed the husband and imprisoned her.

whatever her faults, flemeth has frequently popped up to help when the world needs it. we know she's spent time with the dalish over however many centuries, since they have their own name for her. even just looking at the previous games - we wouldn't be here without her. the warden? dead. hawke? dead. inky? lasts a little longer maybe, but still dead. I defs wouldn't say she was a 'benign' influence like emmrich says, but if not for her intervention, we simply wouldn't be here.

but there's other stories throughout the history of thedas that have been attributed to mythal.

there's yavana, an antivan witch thought to be a daughter of flemeth, who's protecting high dragons since they'd vanished from the world prior to the start of the dragon age, who is implied to contain a fragment. (this also makes me wonder, if this is a separate fragment of mythal, did flemeth go around finding her fragments and putting them to use? is this a fragment of the fragment flemeth contained? many questions)

there's tyrdda bright-axe, the mother of the avvar, who led her people to fereldan at the advice of her lover, a spirit in the form of an elf, who was said to be the lady of the skies. nice that mythal had a gf for a while, as a treat

in the hissing wastes in dai, we find the remnants of an ancient dwarven thaig built on the surface, the only known of its kind, that pre-dates the first blight. the codex entries imply that when they left because of a civil war between the dwarves, they knew to be wary of dragons, even though they'd never seen one before. there's a statue of mythal watching over the tomb of paragon fairel (the dwarf who led them to safety). did mythal lead these dwarves to the surface in a hope to help them given what was going to happen once the first blight happened? it's not hard to imagine she had regrets over the dwarves and the titans, and that she might've wanted to atone by helping in some way.

flemeth tells us in da2 that 'regret is something I know well'. while we don't know exactly what regrets mythal has, it's clear she has them, and it's easy to see that she might be watching over this world to make up for her part in breaking the one that came before.

is the fragment you meet in the fade a bit of a bitch? sure. I probably would be too if I'd spent hundreds of years unable to do anything but watch the world, when my very nature was to help it, and my only friend had never visited me but instead went on to try and destroy the current world out of a very misguided attempt to make up for our mistakes. and still, even though this is the fragment that's never grown from spending time in the world, she still helps us. of course she does.

however much I'm not really satisfied with the conclusion of her story (I wanted to see that vengeance that would shake the very heavens, I wanted to see her fight with us against elgar'nan, and instead it culminated in her just being used to persuade solas) I do think that the fact that she cares about the current world has always been there in the previous games. it's funny actually, because as much as the writers keep telling us the dalish were wrong about their gods, mythal ended up becoming what they believed of her. protecting the world as best she could.

biggest complaint was she should've been voiced by kate mulgrew tho

[pricklytriangle]

I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood you, sweet KCD2 codex!

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THAT MARKVART VON AULITZ IS YOUNGER THAN RADZIG KOBYLA??

AND BY 10-20 YEARS?????

EXFUCKINCUSE ME

W H A T

[voydhund]

um. big TINAWDC spoilers.

LOTS of shit im gonna piss. this was made /w a ton of help from @neorails, and a friend!

Last warning, all spoilers!

. ~ △ ~ .

1: PASSWORDS

"AD ASTRA PER ASPRA" - Two images of pages written by Ford, with stickers and doodles on it from Mabel.

"AXOLOTL" - "YOU ASK ALOTL QUESTIONS"

"BABYBILL" - An image of, [you guessed it,] baby Bill in an ultrasound, with text that reads "CONGRATS, GUESS WHATS GROWING INSIDE YOU RIGHT NOW! SEE YOU IN 9 MONTHS PAPA!" [I giggled at this one way too hard]

"BILL" - opens Triangle - Wikipedia

"BLINDEYE" - An image of an eye test, with a code that reads

"BOYFRIEND" - An image of a book called "The Love Triangle" with audio of a woman reading it.

"CIA" - "YOUR WEBCAM IS ON. WE ARE WATCHING"

"CIPHERTOLOGY" - "CURIOUS?"

"CRYPTOGRAM CODEX" - Downloads a file with Bill's fonts.

"CONSPIRACY" - A video of someone talking about the site while it was on the page with Soos, stressing out trying to figure out the meaning. Me too.

"DEERTEETH" - "FOR YOU, KID"

"DOGE" - "LIFE PRIVILEDGES REVOKED. NOW RELEASING POISON GAS."

"DORITO" - Screamer jumpscare [i jumped]

"DUCKTECTIVE" - "DUCKTECTIVE STARS IN ''LOVE, QUACKTUALLY'' COMING TO: ''OI, ITS THE COCKNEY CHANNEL, INNIT?'' THIS FALL"

"EVENHISLIESARELIES" - An image of Ford's chess piece. Under it, Bill is talking with someone about Ford in the theraprism.

"FORDTRAMARINE" - An image of a file by Ford, talking about colours that cannot be perceived without 'Continued contact with extradimensional phenomena.'

"GIDEON" - opens either sweat resistant bolo ties on google, or audio of him 'singing' a song, before whispering 'I love you forever Mabel.' [I hate this place.] May also lead to "sweat resistant bolo ties." [I never got this, but Neo said it did]

"HECTORING" - A record of a song about Bill, and someone who fell for his tricks. Mentions to 'Leave him behind,' and the fucking "im a little different" shirt.

"HOTXOLOTL" - An image of Dimensional Authority Most Wanted, talking about Bill and the henchmaniacs. Red pen X's out Bill, writing "DEAD?" above him, circles the last seen and writes "WHERE DID THEY GO??"

"JUSTFITIN" - A video of a father and son playing a game called 'Perfection.'

"KINGSOFNEWJERSEY" - Downloads a file with Stan and Ford's secret code.

"LIES" - a REALLY long popup by Bill. At the bottom it reads "LIE UNTIL WHAT YOU WANT TO BE TRUE BECOMES TRUE. LIE UNTIL YOU CANT REMEMBER WHATS A LIE AND WHAT ISNT." and then in large, glitchy text, "LIE UNTIL YOU ARENT LIVING ANYMORE."

"LLIB" - Opens Jazzy Triangle Meets A Square Square (1969)

"LLIBREHPIC" - Opens Jazzy Triangle Meets A Square Square (1969)

"LOVE" - An image of a book called "The Love Triangle" with audio of a woman reading it.

"MABEL" - Stickers decorate your lab with a nice 'POP!' sound. after a few times of using it, text reads "LAB NOW FULLY MABELIZED."

"MCGUCKET" - Opens Cotton Eye Joe [🙂<3]

"MORALITY" - An image of a paper with 9 drawings of animals fighting or eating another animal. Text reads "CAN YOU FIND MORALITY IN THE NATURAL WORLD?"

"NAITSUAF" - An image of an article about selling your soul [For FUN and PROFIT!] written by Bill.

"NOTHING" - "SOMETHING"

"PAPERJAM" - An image of Tyrone, text reading "Here, he's your problem now! Just keep this guy from liquids!" under it.

"PINATA" - A video of someone whacking a Bill pinata while it protests

"PINES" - "A GOOD FAMILY TREE"

"ROMANCE" - An image of a book called "The Love Triangle" with audio of a woman reading it.

"SCIENTOLOGY" - "SUPPRESSIVE PERSON DETECTED"

"SHAVEYOURGRANDMA" - An image of a chapter of a book talking about the human life cycle, written by Bill. [The children yearn for the mines.]

"SIXER" - An image of a case report on Ford talking about his extra finger. There appears to be a word written under "Placebo" in small text. Also notably reads "If i could kidnap him and bring him to our secret cloning lab" obscured by a black marking.

"SOMETHING" - "NOTHING"

"SORRY" - An image of McGucket and Ford in collage(?). Ford is covered in sticky notes. [☹️]

"SOOS" - An image of a really long note from Soos, talking about Bill and his experiences as The New Mr. Mystery. Lots of cute doodles.

"SPOOKEMUPS" - An image of a book titled 'SPOOKEMUPS: The Book Of Bill" written by B. Cipher, with audio of a man reading it. It's about a boy getting scared by things and assuming it's Bill.

"STAN" - opens one of seven ebay pages that lead to Brass Knuckles, Colonel Sanders Tie, Shriner Fez, Male Girdle, 8-Ball Cane, Dogs Playing Poker, Gold Chains For Old Men. After going through all of them, the WHEEL! OF! SHAME! made by Bill appears, exposing some random secrets and shames. The last option reads "HOW HE BEAT ME," and when pressed, a note reads "He didn't! IM STILL HERE, SUCKER!"

"TOURISTTRAP" - An image of a page of a pamphlet, talking about 'The Caves Of Mystery.'

"TYRONE" - An image of Tyrone, text reading "Here, he's your problem now! Just keep this guy from liquids!" under it.

"VALLIS CINERIS" - A video of Baby Bill with his parents, only silhouettes of static. a text to speech says "Why did you do it?" three times.

"WADDLES" - Opens Pig Placement Network

"WEIRD" - A video of Alex(?) trapped in the screen, shouting at Bill to let him out.

"WEIRDMAGEDDON" - An image of a newspaper titled 'THE GRAVITY FALLS GOSSIPER,' with articles about how absolutely nothing happened. Never mind all that!

"WENDY" - An image of a note from Wendy that reads "Whatuppp cursed book! I've got a totally legit way to ward off evil triangles, and I wrote it in the bottom right corner of the book. It's totally worth it, I promise! Stay cool dork!"

"WHOAREYOU" - "I COULD ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION"

"XYLER" -

. ~ △ ~ .

2: CLICKABLES

The golden tooth of the skull:

The Book Of Bill:

The Bill on the dagger in the book:

The 'McGUCKET LABS' on the top of the computer:

The eye in the bottle:

. ~ △ ~ .

3: CODES

this segment is a little iffy,

On page two of The Book Of Bill clickable

Solved: uh. maybe. check my blog?

During lightning strikes:

Solved: Vallis Cineris. It's a password!

The colours on the blindeye eye test probably arent codes, because they read "euclmriannrepttgccvisignnsuwepvisidnn." you can try though. ARE a code! they read "EUCLIDEAN DEPT OF VISION SUPERVISION" !

The blindeye eye test itself is apparently a ceaser cipher, but i havent found an answer to it yet.

working on adding to this, theres a LOT.

[evanhereonearth]

Thank you for opening prompts! I have one that has been bothering me for a long time, but i can't write it myself, so i need help( ...

Solas healing the unconscious Lavellan and helping and protecting her in her dream in his wolf form like in this codex by Adan.

https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Codex_entry:_Patient_Observations

I know I know this is pretty popular topic for fics and art, but it's actually canon and I love this idea soooo much... I need all the details I just can't resist

Interlude, Tarasyl'nin

Day One

It was not supposed to happen this way.

Solas fights to keep his visage still despite being the only person within twenty paces of the prisoner. She is, after all, the only one in the Chantry dungeon.

Her hand spits and sparks with the Anchor's power even now, flashing green light through the cell. Even with layers of earth and rock between Solas and the open sky, he does not need to look to know it responds to each and every one of the Breach's fits and starts.

It will kill her; it is only a matter of time.

Yet, somehow, it has not killed her yet.

For all his years and experience, Solas is at a loss.

She should not have been able to walk physically in the Fade, not one of these creatures of today's world. Even a mage, or what qualifies for one here. His lip curls with the thought; it is akin to calling an Orlesian poodle puppy a wolf. He has awoken in a time where every living soul simply thinks Orlesian poodle puppies are wolves.

Yet she is elven. Perhaps that can explain it. Some remnant of the People in this distant shadow.

Her body thrashes as the Breach expands, and Solas instinctively reaches out to take hold of her left hand. His mana reacts to the touch even as his skin bursts into tingles where their skin makes contact. The Anchor jerks with such violence that he can almost hear it screaming.

"Need a Templar over there, mage?" one of the guards calls out, perhaps alerted by the sudden burst of light from the Anchor.

"No," Solas replies shortly. "This is no new development. A Templar negating magic would only seek to mask her symptoms, and for there to be any hope of understanding, I must see her symptoms as they arise."

It will not be long before Adan returns from his rest break. The apothecary has also suggested Templar involvement. Solas grits his teeth with the frustration of the thing. He could easily be overruled if something here does not improve.

The Breach once more wobbles back into equillibrium, at least as much as such a thing can be said. Solas places his thumb on the prisoner's wrist.

Her heartbeat flutters in her pulse, fast as the beating wings of a bat clawing its way through the air. Solas removes his thumb, using it instead to push back first her left eyelid, then her right. Pupils still dilated, so black they engulf all but a ring of verdant moss green at the edges of her irises. They remain evenly blown, however. A small mercy that this woman at least escaped without a concussion.

No small feat, considering she tumbled approximately twenty feet out of a rift to hit the ground.

As usual, she responds to none of his minstrations.

The Anchor ought to be his, but Solas has long since learned the futility of clinging to what ought to be instead of what is. What is dictates what is possible to change.

What is stretches his patience and his fortitude as tight as the veil itself around the Breach. He stifles an ironic chuckle. His own handiwork, the veil, the product of his own cleverness battling with his relative inexperience with blood magic and pure desparation. Even a year after waking, he can scarce believe he succeeded--and even scarcer believe the price.

For now, it is moot. He is weak. He was never equal to his ancient foes, and he is not, apparently, equal to this modern enemy.

Nor is she.

Solas gazes upon the prisoner. He has avoided looking at her face, only allowing himself to see blurs of pale skin and a smattering of freckles cast with green the colour of her eyes in lines he does not wish to acknowledge.

But he must. Acknowledge what is.

Here is what is.

First: He failed to appropriately caluculate the possibility of his orb not killing Corypheus. Corypheus lives, Solas's orb is in his possession, and this Dalish woman somehow thwarted Corypheus's ritual to claim the Anchor.

Solas would be a fool not to be thankful for that twist of fate.

Second: The Dalish woman has survived, despite all odds to the contrary. Survived the blast by instinctively using the Anchor to tear open a rift into the Fade and close it behind her--there is little other possible explanation--and survived walking in the Fade even with her middling connection to it after millennia of this world leaching away everything that made the People his People.

Third: She lives still, and the Anchor, while spreading, while certain to kill her eventually, is not spreading as quickly as he thought it would.

Fourth: The Anchor is far from the only threat to her life. The human Chantry in all their blind hubris may well murder her out of their own hysterical fear; they may do the same to him if he cannot help her sufficiently to keep her alive long enough to attempt to seal the Breach.

Fifth: The Breach is an abomination. Solas cannot linger too long on the emotions of its effects; if he allows himself to feel the pain of every spirit torn through the rifts or the Breach itself, he will tear himself to pieces.

Sixth: This woman is the best and only chance they have to seal the Breach at all. The Anchor may consume her, but she is no longer expendable.

A final thought, more fancy than finality, is that ironically, she may also be his single best hope for surviving this calamity.

He forces himself to look upon her face.

Her features are delicate without being dainty, the grace of a rapier against one of the Seeker's broadswords. She carries forward the strong nose bridge of the Elvhen, high cheekbones, a jaw well-defined with a chin that almost makes her entire face appear heart-shaped. Her lashes flutter in her fitful sleep, crescents of black against her too-pale skin. Despite her flesh being sallowed by her body's struggle to live, her freckles stand out in warm relief. Not unlike his own, Solas supposes, a dusting of them, invisible even at a few paces, but up close, they soften her. It's oddly charming. A single darker freckle dots the upper right corner of her lip. Not far from there, the indentation of a dimple rests.

A fleeting thought hits him like a lightning strike, that if she were to smile, that dimple may bury her right into the heart of him.

Absurdity. Solas shakes off the thought.

Black hair tangles in waves and loose curls around her head, a single curl remaining defined just behind her left ear. A perfect ringlet, pristine despite her predicament.

An odd detail to notice.

He is avoiding the rest, but he must let himself see.

The green inked into her face. It dances across her cheekbones, up the bridge of her nose, fans out over her forehead. He's heard the guards snort and scoff at the "tree" on the "knife ear's" face, but Solas knows it is no tree.

Even the Dalish think it is a tree, branding themselves slaves in their ignorance. Fools. And she is, very obviously, a Dalish fool for doing the same.

But Mythal's vallaslin is no tree.

It had to be hers, did it not? Perhaps he could look upon any of the other Evanuris' blood writing without flinching, but Mythal's? One would think that after ten millennia of struggle, the pain of it would have subsided somewhat. Mythal is thousands of years dead.

Yet here she is again, reminding Solas of how deeply her bindings worked their way into the flesh he never wanted. His still bears the scar; even when he cast her out of his skin, he needed the reminder to never allow someone such power over him again.

Mythal's vallaslin is no tree. It is not even veins, blood or lyrium or otherwise, despite its resemblance. It is neither of those things.

It's him. It's every spirit like him.

Mythal who nearly emptied the Fade of its Wisdom, built bodies for all like him, branded them all with their own self-portraits. "We are the best of both physical and Fade," she told him once as she wheedled him into following her into the depths of despair and ruin. Out of love. Love she always professed to return, but like a mother overrun with children beyond counting, his place as her favourite mattered little when all were only tools to her.

Solas tightens his lips, staring down at the prisoner. He seldom allows himself to even think so candidly; his love for Mythal, her turning away over and over to become what he despised, the glimmers and scraps of hope she tossed him until that final dreadful day, the reminder of his failure to reach her. All this time.

His own vallaslin had hardly healed on his face before he knew it to be naught but a reminder of everything he'd given up, everything he'd lost. Everything he sacrificed.

And now here it is, branded again on unwitting skin.

It was not supposed to happen this way.

For a moment, Solas is not certain what he means. His own existence? The Anchor? Corypheus? This tragic creature sleeping before him?

He has no answers. He does not even know her name.

Only that he must save her life.

His mana stirs as he delves through her, seeking any remaining injuries that could impede the progress of her healing mind. If her body strengthens, perhaps she will wake.

For this moment, at least, they share a fate.

***

Thank you so so much for this prompt!!! I got carried away and will have to probably do a Part 2 and Part 3. >.>

My little hearrrrt.

[monk-the-carlo]

H

ello brothers and sisters. kindly i have been taken in as an initiate at farnham monastery because my God-given visions were unsettling the peoples of my small town. my holy duty is producing an illuminated manuscript illustrating and describing my visions, perhaps produce very many manuscripts to be compiled upon my death in a codex, lest take me the plague. #carlocodex seems to me the appropriate name for a compendium, not that i have been thinking very much about it... i am a humble servant of God..

(*this monastery is not real, peruse #monkposting for further information)

Prithee do not read my diary entrys that i have dropped herein 🙏 haha... lest?

NOR mine personal illumination pages

at any rate thou can find mine brothers and sisters and also laypersons and animal companions in the Farnham Masterlist

[intpstyle]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Review Pt. 3 - "How to move on?", On Community

DA:TV Spoilers ahead!

Pt. 1 is here, Pt. 2 is here

The capital-h Hero brings me to the second point: community. One could argue that Rook simply doesn’t have the luxury of breaking – there is too much on their shoulders. The game drops multiple hints in that direction, but (again) doesn’t seem to fully commit to the idea. Just one scene of Rook pacing their room, frantically going over battle plans, tossing in their sleep (even just staring out into their aquarium with a furrowed brow for a particularly stoic Rook - anything!) before a companion knocks and they put on their smiley/calm “Yes, I am the boss and have all the answers” demeanour would have been worth gold. What a fantastic opportunity, too, to have them break in front of their Love Interest and their Love Interest alone! As some other reviewers have already mentioned, I also would have loved ANY codex entry mention of the other companions being worried about Rook. As it is, Rook stands alone.

This is reinforced by the game mechanic that only allows Rook to eavesdrop on conversations in the Lighthouse rather than join them, the odd mirthless reactions when you buy companions gifts, the much-maligned book club that never asked you to join, etc. I was also missing a scene like the Inquisition card game that showed everyone just …hanging out. If there is enough time in-between the world saving business for a book club, there is enough time for a shared meal or two, maybe with storytelling and reflecting on the adventures the team has already overcome. Before the final battle, Solas says something to the effect of Elgar’nan choosing only pawns that grasp for power like him, while Rook has assembled a team of skilled professionals and invested in their skills, which is why they will win. And … yes. But for my taste, the game does not invest enough on either side of heavy is the crown; leaders stand alone // we win with the power of friendship; we’re like a family! When escaping from Fade Prison, we see the hands reaching for Rook and can piece together that they have been gone for weeks, but why not show us the moment Rook tumbles through, back into the Lighthouse, back home, and their team huddles around them with victory cries? Say what you will about The Dawn Will Come (or even the jailbreak scene in Origins!), but there is no scene that fullfils a similar function here. All we get are (hilarious!) snippets of Venatori fangirling over Rook, but when has Rook reached this level of prominence? Where are the in-between steps?

All that to say: once again mirroring Solas, but not in a great way, both Rook and Solas stand alone. While I appreciate the story for Solas we got, it is a shame that his vast elven network did not play any role in the plot, and it is a shame that Rook does not seem to be affected by the juicy parts of having to move on from anything ever, leaving them somewhat removed and in an almost supervisory position towards the other companions (which is also not explored in much depth). The main theme of Mythal relieving Solas of his sole responsibility and guilt, and Rook helping every companion with their quest is that “you don’t have to go through this alone. We can move on together.” I just wish this had been stressed more, particularly in regard to Rook.

One last thought on choices: another change that could have taken this game to the next level would be to commit to the follow-through of danger. I loved D’Meta’s Crossing and was so excited to get into “real” Dragon Age territory, but the fantastic build-up with shuffling through the dripping blight and people losing their minds left and right should have been a high-adrenaline boss fight or cut scene, not a rather tame moral decision on leaving the mayor to his fate or not. Same for Mila, the girl in Weisshaupt – she’s a brilliant character and adds real tension to the siege, but to not have a single scene where she’s truly in danger? Missed opportunity.

Anyway, it is easy to criticise a cake when it stands baked before you, and considering that the oven was malfunctioning, that the ingredients were hard to get, that the chefs were underpaid and overworked, and that the restaurant owner at some point wanted a soufflé, it is still a damn fine cake. Every creator puts themselves in their creations to some degree, so I wonder if there isn’t also a sad and rather obvious reason why Rook feels so under-pressure, unallowed-to-break, and alone, and why the catharsis is not included in the game itself. Respect to the Bioware developers that pulled through – may they be rewarded in the way they deserve and the industry currently does not allow.

So yes, all in all, Veilguard was a 7/10 for me, and I can’t wait to see where the series will move on to from here.  

[autumnarchfeyartwork]

Some colour scheme templates for High Elves, in a similar style to the Uniforms & Heraldry book.

Gonna make my own fake U&H page like how I did the fake codex pages for my Eldar, but I figure someone might find these blank versions useful.

[book--brackets]

DragonLance: Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (1984-1995)

Once merely creatures of legend, the dragons have returned to Krynn. But with their arrival comes the departure of the old gods--and all healing magic. As war threatens to engulf the land, lifelong friends reunite for an adventure that will change their lives and shape their world forever . . .When Tanis, Sturm, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint, and Tasslehoff see a woman use a blue crystal staff to heal a villager, they wonder if it's a sign the gods have not abandoned them after all. Fueled by this glimmer of hope, the Companions band together to uncover the truth behind the gods' absence--though they aren't the only ones with an interest in the staff. The Seekers, a new religious order, wants the artifact for their own ends, believing it will help them replace the gods and overtake the continent of Ansalon. Now, the Companions must assume the unlikely roles of heroes if they hope to prevent the staff from falling into the hands of darkness.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (2005-2015)

While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (2023)

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger (2009-2012)

Alexia Tarabotti is labouring under a great many social tribulations.

First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire (2016-present)

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children  No Solicitations  No Visitors  No Quests 

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

Codex Alera by Jim Butcher (2004-2009)

For a thousand years, the people of Alera have united against the aggressive and threatening races that inhabit the world, using their unique bond with the furies--elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal. But in the remote Calderon Valley, the boy Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. At fifteen, he has no wind fury to help him fly, no fire fury to light his lamps. Yet as the Alerans' most savage enemy--the Marat horde--return to the Valley, Tavi's courage and resourcefulness will be a power greater than any fury, one that could turn the tides of war...

The Belgariad by David Eddings (1982-1984)

Long ago, so the Storyteller claimed, the evil God Torak sought dominion and drove men and Gods to war. But Belgarath the Sorcerer led men to reclaim the Orb that protected men of the West. So long as it lay at Riva, the prophecy went, men would be safe.

But that was only a story, and Garion did not believe in magic dooms, even though the dark man without a shadow had haunted him for years. Brought up on a quiet farm by his Aunt Pol, how could he know that the Apostate planned to wake dread Torak, or that he would be led on a quest of unparalleled magic and danger by those he loved - but did not know? For a while his dreams of innocence were safe, untroubled by knowledge of his strange heritage. For a little while...

Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers (2021-2022)

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.

One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.

But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.

They're going to need to ask it a lot.

The Once and Future King by T. H. White (1958)

Once upon a time, a young boy called "Wart" was tutored by a magician named Merlyn in preparation for a future he couldn't possibly imagine. A future in which he would ally himself with the greatest knights, love a legendary queen and unite a country dedicated to chivalrous values. A future that would see him crowned and known for all time as Arthur, King of the Britons.During Arthur's reign, the kingdom of Camelot was founded to cast enlightenment on the Dark Ages, while the knights of the Round Table embarked on many a noble quest. But Merlyn foresaw the treachery that awaited his liege: the forbidden love between Queen Guenever and Lancelot, the wicked plots of Arthur's half-sister Morgause and the hatred she fostered in Mordred that would bring an end to the king's dreams for Britain--and to the king himself.

Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong (2001-2012)

Elena Michaels is the world’s only female werewolf. And she’s tired of it. Tired of a life spent hiding and protecting, a life where her most important job is hunting down rogue werewolves. Tired of a world that not only accepts the worst in her–her temper, her violence–but requires it. Worst of all, she realizes she’s growing content with that life, with being that person.

So she left the Pack and returned to Toronto where she’s trying to live as a human. When the Pack leader calls asking for her help fighting a sudden uprising, she only agrees because she owes him. Once this is over, she’ll be squared with the Pack and free to live life as a human. Which is what she wants. Really.