#better version of secret invasion

[olsenmyolsen]

You Left Us

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dark master list

Pre-(A Good Version of) Secret Invasion (Female Skrull Reader X Carol Danvers)

Summary: What happens when Captain Marvel returns after all this time...

Word Count: 5.4K

Content: Carol feeling guilty for leaving, Manipulative Nick Fury

It's just past sundown as black boots hit the ground with purpose.

A blonde woman in a white tank, black jeans, and a leather jacket moves through the small town until she reaches the street with the bar she's been looking for.

She pulls open the door and (Drumroll)...

Carol Danvers walks into a bar.

Jokes aside. You look up from your place behind said bar and watch the blonde scan her blue eyes across the other patrons until she lands on you. For a very brief moment, you feel small as her gaze lingers on you until she starts to come closer. "I need a name." The taller-than-you than you blonde says in a tone that drips with authority. You smile at her voice and decide that she can't be that bad.

Right?

"Ya know... Most people order first." You slide a drink menu in front of her that she doesn't even look at. "I'm looking for someone." She looks at you, and you can tell she's not messing around.

You sigh.

"Promise to order something if I help you?" You ask, making her smirk before nodding. "Okay, take a seat." You gesture to a bar stool that she slides into. "I'm looking for a woman." This makes you smile and laugh. "Aren't we all?" The blonde tilts her head. "I'm serious."

"Me too." You crack a smile and get nothing in return. You sigh again and lean down on the bar. "What does she look like?"

The blonde thinks before opening her mouth. "She's taller than me. Black hair. Blue eyes. Not like mine. She's... tough-minded. By the book. To a fault sometimes." The blonde chuckles a bit, surprising you.

You lean up and grab a rag as silence falls between you and the woman across the counter. "Know her?" She asks. You shake your head. "Sounds like a tough girlfriend, though." You slyly add. "Oh, she's not my girlfriend!" The blonde says matter-of-factly and a little too loud.

"Okay. Sure." Your voice goes a little high to let her know that you don't believe her. "What can I get you to drink?"

"So you don't know her?" You shake your head and lift up the drink menu. "No. I don't know your girlfriend. Order."

The blonde rolls her eyes at you. "Like I said, she's not my girlfriend."

"Okay..." You say before you open and close your mouth because what you want to say is, "okay so who is your girlfriend!" But that's too much, and she's not even looking at you now. Her blue eyes are darting across the drink menu.

"I'll take this one." She points to a cocktail of your own creation. "Coming right up." You smile and gently take the menu from her hand before getting to work. The blonde watches you intensely. But not long. She looks away when you look up at her after finding the correct bottle of mix.

"Can I get a name?" You ask as you start to shake the liquids around in a cup. "Yeah, her name is Mari-"

"No, no, no. Your name." The blonde closes her mouth. "I want your name." You smiled as the woman across from you was surprised by your interruption.

"It's Carol. Carol Danvers." She says.

You lay out a napkin and place a glass onto it before filling it with her blue cocktail. "It's Carol. Carol Danvers." You repeated as she watched your face concentrate on pouring the drink. "What about you?"

You easily give her your name before going to ring up her drink, but stopping. You turn back to blonde just as she puts the blue drink to her lips. She takes a sip and tries her best to hide the grimace on her face.

She fails, though, when her eyes meet yours.

"I'm sorry." She says while you laugh. "It's okay. I figured.." It hurts you a little bit, considering this drink was your idea to put on the menu. You go to take it back, but she stops you. "I don't hate it."

"Ah, yes, because people love drinks that they don't consume." You reply with a wink. Carol smiles at you, and you feel your body quickly get warm. She has an incredible smile.

"How about... a bourbon." She states.

"Of course." Youthink as you toss the blue drink while fixing her what she really wants. "You could've ordered this before."

"Yeah, but I thought if I ordered something special, you'd help me find Maria Hill." Her face gets serious as she waits for you to react to the name.

But you don't budge.

It's almost as if you don't know who she's talking about.

Almost.

"Ah, the not girlfriend." You say, making Carol sigh. "She's not my girlfriend. She's not even my type." She answers as she gets flustered when she sees your smile. "That's besides the point! I need her to lead me to someone!"

Your smile turns into a smirk, and Carol sees it. You look Carol up and down. "And who might that be?" You ask, only earning a half-playful squint of the eyes. "Why should I tell you?" You shrug. "You don't have to. But maybe just because I don't know this Maria person, maybe I know their boss."

"Trust me, if you don't know Maria, then you don't know who's above them."

You nod your head, agreeing. "Alright. Fine." You stop and take a quick look around. The rest of the patrons still around. "Can I ask you something?" Carol lifts her face up to look at you before leaning forward, grabbing the bourbon glass again, finishing it off. "Sure."

"What makes you think I don't know Nick Fury?"

What you just said makes Carol stop. The softness she's been letting slip rightens itself. You watched her furrow her brows and clench her jaw.

"Who are you?"

You ignore Carol's question and cup your hands to make your voice louder. "Alright! The bar is now closed! Don't worry about your tabs! I have a family emergency, so if you could please leave that'd be great! Thank you!"

The handful of patrons look at one another before groaning that they must leave but are happy that they don't have to pay.

Carol keeps her face stern and eyes on you as you watch the people file out.

"Take care." You pat the back of an older gentleman as he leaves. You close the door and lock it up before cautiously returning behind the bar. You feel like prey with the way Carol watches you.

A tired sigh leaves you as you lean back against the counter. Carol rises from her seat. "Who are you?" She clenches her fist and starts to tilt her head. "I won't ask again."

"Carol, let's not do this." You say, lifting a hand as if it were a white flag. "Then you better start talking." Her fist begins to glow as she grits her teeth. "How do you know Nick Fury?"

"Come on, Carol." You laugh and grab a cold beer from behind the bar. It's not your typical drink choice, but it looks pretty cool to drink if you're trying not to seem intimidated. "Who doesn't know the man with the patch." You put a hand over your left eye to boost your point. "I mean, he's a legend, is he not?"

Carol lowers her fist as you keep your calm demeanor. You walk around the back of the bar and to the half door, swinging it open to enter the common area.

You and Carol are now on the same side. She keeps a watchful eye on you as you walk closer and closer. Beer still in hand. "The man who founded a team of heroes all those years back." Carol backs away while still remaining stern as you sit down at the bar stool next to her. "Nick Fury." You sigh and look Carol in her eyes. "The man who said he would help us after you left." Your voice cracks when the you leaves your mouth.

Carols face falters.

"You're a Skrull.."

You nod your head and look away from Carol Danvers—the Captain Marvel. You scoffed as you thought about it. "So good luck finding him." You take a sip of the gold liquid and do your best not to react to the taste. "I sure as hell haven't heard from him since the blip... or even before."

Carol just watches you deflate your body as the words pour out of you. She didn't know what to expect when she walked into this bar, but a Skrull wasn't one of them. And in a matter of minutes, she went from being flirty to angry to feeling sorry with a good mix of guilt.

She did leave.

She helped others find homes out in the cosmos, including a smaller colony of Skrulls. But the ones here on Earth... She never came back for.

She could make excuses about why she didn't, whether it be because of one Lieutenant Trouble or the fact that she was scared to let people down. Regardless, she put her focus elsewhere and only returned to Earth when it was absolutely necessary.

Like today.

Which led her to you.

Carol looks over you again, and you can feel her eyes on you, but you don't make a remark about it. Instead, you let her look over your favorite pair of Vans, high-waisted jeans, and green flannel. Her eyes scan themselves down your rolled-up sleeves and to your hands. The veins going down to your fingers.

She watches as your right handle fiddles with the silver ring hanging from your neck.

It was the first real thing you ever bought for yourself.

Carol looks up and takes note of your features. From your scarlet lips to your eyes. She loves the way your hair flows down.

She would be lying if she said she didn't find you attractive. Carol did.

But to Carol, this wasn't your actual body. Right?

But to you, it was.

You've spent more time in this human disguise than your own Skrull form.

As strange as it is to some. You love it.

"Are you done?" You ask as you turn back to look at Carol. "I get it, but you can stop." You go to take another sip of your beer, but Carol takes it from your hand and sets it down away from you, making you look at her. "You said you haven't heard from Fury even before the blip. What do you mean?"

You look at Carol as if she's joking, but you can tell by the look of determination in her eyes that she has no idea. "You really don't know." You say not knowing whether you should be hurt or happy that Carol Danvers doesn't know about the way Nick Fury used Skrulls for his battles. "Just like you, he left us. Abandoned us. Threw us to the sides when wars from invaders above could be won with humans."

Carol can tell how much this has affected you. It clearly hurts to talk about, but you don't look like a soldier or talk like one.

But that's when it clicks.

"You lost someone?" Carol softens in the bar stool next to you and even makes the cautious effort to place her hand on your arm.

"I lost everyone." You sneer back but don't remove your arm from her hold. You look into her blue eyes, and Carol sees how the sadness is threatening to spill out. Without meaning to, Carol gently rubs her hand up and down your arm. It brings you comfort, and in this moment, you once again take in the beauty that is The Captain Marvel.

"I'm sorry." She says to you, making you look back from her lips to her eyes. "I'm sorry for your loss. I know these words don't do much, but you shouldn't have had to fight Fury's battles."

And just like that, a sincere apology and moment makes you sour.

Carol stops the movement of her hand as she can sense the tension coming off of you. "Well, it's not like you were around." You pull your arm away from her and get up. "Hey!" Carol gets up and follows you as you begin walking towards the back of the bar.

"That's not fair!" Carol counters as you pass your manager office to the bar before stopping at the set of wooden stairs leading up to your place. "Fair!?" You stop to question before turning around.

"You left!" You yell at the blonde, who doesn't back down. "You fucking left, and you want to talk to me about fair? I watched my parents die! I watched my brothers and sister become toys in a game that I never wanted to play! So don't talk to me about fair when you don't understand!"

Carol is quiet. She holds up her hands and takes small steps towards you. The closer she gets, the more she sees how the tears are beginning to fall. "I'm sorry. You're right." Carol says. "I don't understand." She puts her arms by her side as she stands right before you. "Help me. Help me understand." Carol looks deeply into your eyes.

You swallow the lump in your throat and hold one of your hands out as the other wipes your face. "Okay. Come on." You say through your broken voice. Trusting her.

The guilt lingers in Carols' mind as she takes your hand.

Little did you or Carol know how the touch of your hand lit the fuse. Fingers wrapped around one another before you led her upstairs to your place.

Your home.

You two are quiet as you open the door. Carol quickly surveys the open floor plan of your apartment. Modest is the word she would use.

It wasn't much, but it was home.

When you kicked the door shut, you gingerly removed your hand from Carols. "It seems kinda redundant, but would you like a drink?" You make your way towards the fridge in your kitchen. Conveniently placed to the left of the front door. "Whatever you grab is fine." You didn't acknowledge Carols answer; instead, you opened the fridge door and grabbed whatever two hard seltzers were waiting for you.

You turned around and placed them onto your cheap dining room table and waited for Carol to approach. She still stood at the door, taking it all in. She wouldn't lie. The more she looked around, the more she got it—an inside look into what makes you, you.

But eventually, Carols' eyes landed to you sitting at the table. And with a courtesy smile, she came forward.

"I hope mango is fine." You said as you cracked open your strawberry one. Satisfied that the taste of beer is out of your mouth. "That's fine." She says as she makes her way to the chair opposite of you. "I like your place." Carol is being genuine, and you can see that. "Thanks."

You take another sip before asking: "What would you like to know?"

Carol thinks and looks over your face. "How old are you?" She squints her eyes in a playful manner, reminding you of the Carol that was flirty not that long ago. "Skrull years or human?" You ask with a sheepish smile.

"Whatever you feel comfortable with."

You nod, grateful for that answer.

"27 human years." You tilt your head. "I think."

Carol nods and takes a look around your living room before her eyes look back. "What do you do for fun?"

You weren't expecting that, but you couldn't deny that removing the tension from the room is nice.

So you smiled. "When I have time, I watch movies, play games, listen to music. You know, the normal things." Carol nods. "Normal things." She quietly repeats and can't for the life of her remember the last movie she watched.

You notice Carol's hands grip the seltzer just a little harder. "What about you?" You look to Carols' curious eyes. "What do you do for fun?" Carol covers up her surprised face and stammers to think.

"Umm..." She tilts her head in thought as it slowly dawns on you that Carol Danvers is too busy to relax. Or to have fun. "It's okay." You interrupt her thought. "Forget, I asked." You sip your drink and look away from her blue eyes. But she shakes her head. "It's not like I don't like to relax... I just..." She sighs and goes to speak, but you cut her off.

"Carol, it's alright. Seriously, forget I asked..." You open and close your mouth to stop yourself from saying more, but Carol catches it. "What?" She asks in a less than soft voice.

You give in. "I guess... I just hoped something fun would've been worth your time up there." You point up to the sky. "I guess it would've made me feel... I don't know... better knowing that you had fun at some point, but it doesn't appear so. All work, no play." Carol stares at you. "I heard a human male say that once."

But that's not what Carol is staring at you for. "Why would that make you feel better?" Carol asks, and you bite the bullet. "Because then..." You clear your throat. "Because then you would've had another reason for your absence."

That hurts Carol, and you honestly weren't trying to hurt her. But sometimes your words shoot to kill when you don't mean to.

Carol leans back into the wooden chair, causing it to creak. The only noise audible aside from the Captain's exhale. "I'm sorry." Carol looks up to see your eyes on her. "I am. I'm sorry for not being here for you and your people." Carol leans forward as her voice grows to be more gentle. "I'm sorry you got dragged into fights that should've never been around. What others did to you was extremely unfair. I should've stopped-d them and kept my p-promise..."

Before you, Carol Danvers breaks.

She feels guilty and hurt for what had happened. She takes the blame and knows whatever she does now will not stop what has already happened.

Carol lifts her right hand to her face to cover her mouth as her left arm falls to the table. She looks away from you as tears fall from her gorgeous eyes. "I'm sorry." This time, she's apologizing for her emotions.

What a silly thing to apologize for.

You let go of the can in your hand and reach your arm across the table. Your hand is open to her. Carol sees this and shakes her head, but you don't budge. "Take it." You whisper.

Carol wipes her eyes and sniffles as she lets her hand lay into yours. The contact of her warm hands sends chills across your body.

You sit like that and look at Carol with admiration for what she's done, and for the first time, you're seeing Carol Danvers as something more than a myth or a so-called hero.

Instead, all you see is Carol.

A beautiful blonde woman who is doing her best not to let snot dribble out of her nose.

It's cute.

"Here..." You remove your hand from hers as you get up to walk behind Carol. The blonde, missing your contact, turns her head to watch you. She sees you go into the living area to pick up a box of tissues sitting in the middle of your coffee table. She smiles and turns around before you notice her eyes on you.

But you felt them.

When you return to the kitchen, you hand Carol the box and watch as she embarrassing blows her nose and clears her throat.

"Trash is behind you in that cabinet." Carol turns around and opens a cabinet door. "Huh.." She says a little too loud, making you raise an eyebrow—something the blonde sees. "I- I was just thinking maybe I should put the trash can I have on the ship into a smaller area so it's not in the way. Or smelling..." She looks away from you once she finishes rambling, afraid you'll be angry at her for mentioning another thing that's kept her away. Aka, her ship. Or because you'll ask her why her garbage she smells so much.

But you do neither.

Instead, you step closer and fold your arms across your chest. "Why do you only have one trash can?"

Carol turns back to look up at you. "What?" You smile at her and let out an exhale of a laugh through your nose. "I said why do you only have one trash can? Don't you have a cat?"

Carol nods. "Well, technically, he's a flerken... so what's your point?" You tilt your head with your arms still crossed. "My point is, is when the flerken... you know... what do you do with the waste? Put it all into the same trash?"

Carol does her best to bite back a smile, only confusing you. "What?" It's now your turn to ask.

Carol stands up with a her smile showing. "Flerkens don't poop.. they eat, spit up, and lay eggs."

Excuse me!?

"They lay eggs?!" You exclaim, waving your arms around with a fright. Carol nods her head in a duh manner before picking up and finishing off the rest of her drink, as your mind can't wrap your head around a cat laying eggs.

You're only knocked out of your thoughts when Carol shuts the cabinet where your recycling bin was kept. Thus, bringing you and Carol back into this post-apology reality.

"You know..." You say, interrupting the dead air falling between the two of you. "For the record, I truly don't know where Nick Fury is." You shift your weight from one foot to the other.

Carol nods and inhales with a click. "I figured. Any word on Maria Hill?"

You smile. "Ah, the girlfriend." Carol playfully rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "For the last time. She's not my girlfriend."

"You're right." You say, taking a step closer. "She's not your type." You look Carol up and down. She sees it and unbeknownst to you.... You are her type.

"Like you are?" Carol says back to shock you, but all it does is make you smirk. You take another step closer. And in a hushed tone, you say: "You and I both know that I certainly could be."

This makes Carol blush, and lucky for her, you walk past her as her cheeks grow red. Carol never thought you would be that bold.

You never knew you were that bold!

The words left your mouth quicker than you could stop them, which is why you're now standing by your shelf of movies. Ignoring Carols eyes on you. Hoping the look on your face will quickly fade.

Carol turns around and sees you shift your weight again as you hold the ring hanging off the necklace between your fingers.

Carol knows she should fish for more information or just leave and continue her search for Fury. But she doesn't want to. She's been alone, on her own, for so long that having company is good. But having good-looking company is even better.

Regardless of how rocky your situation-ship started.

"Looking for anything in particular?" Carol says, appearing by your side. You keep your eyes forward as Carols blue eyes linger in your mind. "Something you might like..." You respond. "I might like?" Carol looks at you with scrunched eyebrows. You nod before turning your head, and when you do, Carols face turns from one of confusion into a smile. Which in turn makes you smile.

"Well, how's the search?" Carol raises an eyebrow and bites her bottom lip. "G-good." You feel your cheeks flush and hate yourself over your stupid stutter because of a pretty smile.

You turn away and grab whatever two movies are in reach to get the attention away from your face. "Maybe these..." You hold out for Carol to take.

"Terminator 2, and... Scott Pilgrim Vs The World?? Okay, there's no way that second one is real?!"

"How come?" You ask, genuinely curious by Carols sudden declaration. She flips the Blu-Ray to the back. "First off, he's a man named Scott. No hero is ever named Scott- hold on..." You're about to correct that she literally knows a hero named Scott when: "He has to beat 7 evil exes for this girl that he likes!?!" Carol looks up at you with a mixture of glee and distaste.

Carol thinks the plot sounds fun, but she's worried about how they're gonna stretch out the story coming from someone who could kick the seven evil ex's ass. No biggie.

You just nod and take Terminator 2 back from her to put on your shelf. "So you wanna go with that one?" You point to the movie. "You mean I can keep it?" Carol asks, misunderstanding you.

"Oh.. no- I mean you can, but I meant like that's we to watch- like we could watch it. Together." You nervously ramble and gesture to the TV behind you, and thankfully, Carol picks up on the hint and squints her eyes before smiling. "As fun as that sounds..." She hands you the movie. "I still need to find Maria."

Your smile turns flat, and you sadly take the movie from her hands. "Right."

"She's not my girlfriend." Carol points sternly at you before you can say anything. "I know." You laugh.

"Still don't know where Maria could be?" You shake your head. "Estonia? Fiji? Anywhere, honestly." You think as Carol sighs. "But." Carol stands up straight. "I know there's a colony hiding in Russia. Rumor is they have a leader. Someone like me. Someone who's lost everything."

Carol frowns at your words and steps towards you, but before she speaks, you cut her off.

"I forgive you." She stands in front of you with her mouth dropped. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize."

Carol closes her mouth and swallows as she nods. "Thank you."

"Of course." You whisper before clearing your throat. "Gravik." Carol raises her head, waiting for you to continue. "That's his name. Their leader." Carols nods again.

"And Carol?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember, we were all put into tough spots. I don't know much about Gravik or how far gone he could be. But I'm sure that could've been me."

Carol understands you and thanks you again before stepping closer to you. You don't move. She takes the movie from your hand and carefully drops it onto your coffee table. Carol then takes your hands in her own and looks you in the eyes.

"You didn't lose everything. You have me. I promise."

Carol then moves her hands out of yours and brushes them up your arm. And before you know it, her arms are wrapped around your back as you are pulled into a hug.

It's gentle and soft as each of you test the waters. Leaning into one another feels nice and complimentary. Once settled, you inhale and feel butterflies erupt in your stomach.

Carol Danvers smells like Vanilla.

She discovers that you smell like Lavender.

"You have me." She whispers as you feel her breath hit your ear. You bite your lip and make an agreeing noise. "I should go.." The hug finally ends, and yet the both of you want don't want Carol to leave.

But she promised.

"Yeah..." You give Carol a sad smile and walk with her to the door. "You don't have to walk me out," Carol says as your feet hit the bottom of the steps leading back to the main entrance. "I know, but I wanted to."

Carol loves that.

As you and Carol reach the front door, you stop. "Oh shoot. Wait here!" You say, confusing Carol as you turn around and run away. "What?!" She asks, only to hear you yell, "Wait!" Followed by your feet running up the stairs.

It takes less than two minutes for you to come back down. Carol smiles when she sees you, and it grows when she sees what's in your hand. In fact, she laughs. "You didn't!"

"I did." You wave it at her. "Here." You give Carol your copy of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. "I have no way of watching this. Believe it or not, Earth is the only planet with Blu-Rays." She laughs as she speaks.

"I know." You reply.

"It's for when you come back." You sweetly say, making Carol happy. You trust her. "For when I come back."

Carol opens her arms for a hug, which is when you get bold again. You kiss Carol on the cheek as you accept the hug, momentarily stunning the hero.

Before she leans back to look at you. Red in the face.

"Hey, if you're going to kiss me. Kiss me."

As her words hit your ears, Carol leans forward and connects her lips with yours, and the soft, sensual sensation your lips got from just her skin explodes when you feel her pillowy lips. You close your eyes and savor this moment.

"Wow."

You agree with Carol as the two of you hold each other. Neither alone. You lean your forehead against the blondes. "Can I ask you something?" You open your eyes to see her already looking at you. "Go ahead."

"When I do return, how will I know.. that you're you."

That's a good question. You think for a moment before commenting to an answer. "Play Take On Me by A-Ha. I like the acoustic version more, and if you play the original, I'll be sure to tell you that." Carol listens to your words and grins to the thought of you belting out Take On Me.

"That could work." She smiles.

"Besides. You'll know it's me." Carol leans out of the embrace and cocks an eyebrow. "You're so sure?"

"I'm positive."

Carol smiles brightly and takes your words as truth. She then looks up to the sky. "I should go."

"Okay." You tell her, but the night is just starting between you two, and you don't want it to end. But at last, Carol unwraps arms from you. The feeling of her long finger on your skin makes you jolt. "Will I ever get to see you in your true form?" Carol asks as carefully as possible. You understand and don't get upset.

Instead, you smile.

"You're looking at her." You say, making Carol smile at you before grabbing your hand. "I trust and know that I'll be ready for whenever you do want to show me."

You nod and appreciate it. "But this is me, Carol."

Carol begins to glow. "And this is me." She winks before lifting your hand up to place a kiss on your fingers. "Remember my promise."

You nod. "I will. Good luck, Carol."

"Stay safe, Y/N."

Carol takes a few steps out from the awning of the bar. She looks back at you before turning into light, shooting like a rocket up and towards the infinite cosmos.

You smile and go to fiddle with the ring around your neck before remembering...

-

Carol lands in her cloaked ship that's in high orbit of Earth.

Goose, the every alert flerken, is immediately there to greet her and to meow about her lack of pets. "I'm sorry, Goosie." Carol pets the flerken and gives her some head smoochies before marching over to a console.

She taps buttons on a pad before a scan of Earth shows up. Carol hits some more buttons, causing the image of Nick Fury to pop with red letters on top.

MISSING Last Seen: SABER Base

Carol looks at Goose, biting her lip to form a plan. But then Carol remembers about the gift in her other hand. "Oh shit." She ungrips the Blu-Ray and paces over to her personal corner on the ship.

She goes to place the movie on to her side table, except something rattles inside. She freezes. Huh? Carol picks up the case again and hears the noise.

How did she not hear this earlier?

Carol opens the case to find the movie still intact, put sitting on top is your necklace with your phone number and a note.

"I'm happy I have you." - Y/N

Carol wore your necklace every day after that.

Until three years later when you gave her a new ring.

dividers by @/benkeibear

[princessjojo-x]

8th House Synastry ✨

eight house rules sex, transformations, merged energies, deep attachments & bonding at the deepest level. this is a a highly intense, fated, addictive, intoxicating, sexual & sometimes frightening rxship. expect obsession, control, friendly competition & high physical attraction. the potency of this aspect can be felt the moment partners meet one another & will intensify the more partners get to know one another. but if partners can handle it, this connection can lead to a beautiful & long lasting rxship, with great learning & genuine devotion. the concept of soul mates being found in eighth house synastry can be true.

within this synastry, everything is felt too much & seems more intense; even a simple glance can send shivers down one’s spine, even small disputes will be hard to forgive & forget. partners will have the highest of highs together & the lowest of lows together. platonic or sexual, interactions with one another will have a very intense undertone. it can even be an enemies to lovers dynamic or a love/hate rxship that hurts so good. the connection becomes much deeper than partner’s anticipated. they planned to have a noncommittal & fun arrangement. but they suddenly want to have an official rxship & hate when that cant be fulfilled. it’s hard for partners to just be “cool” or “superficial” with each other.

if second house is self sufficiency, eight house is merging with someone else. within this emotionally deep rxship, there’s a depth that pervades the connection & binds the partners together, for better or worse. partners suddenly want to change their life path to align with the other. for example, changing their location or career just to be interlocked with one another. it can be so painful if the attraction isn’t mutual which can lead you to act in ways you never thought you’d act (stalking, love spells, extremely possessive behaviour). but if the attraction is mutual it can be one of the most beautiful & deepest rxships.

one subconsciously sees the other as a blessing delivery or redirection to their life, even if they’re being mistreated & the rxship is toxic. this aspect almost always involves blessings disguised in suffering, so it’s not best placement for synastry, unless its backed up by stronger & more grounded placements

it's in the darkness that we find the light & it's in the intensity of these rxships that we find our true selves. romantic or platonic, these rxships are often fated & transformative. their involvement with each other will drastically change both of them. they meet each other to teach each other a lesson they’ll never forget. even though the transformation process can be utterly harsh & traumatic, it produces a new & improved version them. similar to a major surgery, it fixes the problem within but definitely leaves a scar, so you remember the pain of the recovery process.

if second house is our self esteem, eight house is our weak spot. this is where our secrets reside so partners unknowingly uncover each others rawest layers. forget small talk & superfical relations. expect to unveil each-others deepest wounds, fears & desires. even if one is too scared of revealing themself, the other can read them like a book regardless. even if one is typically not the type to disclose their business, they will naturally share their whole life story with the other. partners will be able to open up completely & be understood in a way they never have before. partners bond by delving beneath the tip of the iceberg. but this can become their only point of attraction to one another, whilst their other basic needs for a rxship are not met. many people can't handle this synastry bc its so invasive & overwhelming. eight house governs the deep parts of ourselves that we want to keep hidden. when those parts are seen we feel vulnerable. partners know exactly what to say to either bring up or take down each other. this is an all or nothing rxship which flows deep enough to hurt or heal both partners. it will either cause everlasting love or everlasting trauma.

eight house governs our inner power. planet is able to easily see everything house is capable of. this breeds a rose coloured glasses effect. planet perceives house as more attractive, scary, important etc than house actually is. but this may cause planet to feel intimidated, threatened & jealous. planet’s envy of house provokes planet to gossip or betray house. on the other hand, planet may feel fascination & admiration for house. this causes planet to talk abt house a lot & this is where the infamous obsession comes from. planet may become obsessed with houses hidden side which prompts planet to cross a lot of houses boundaries. for example, planet going through houses phone or diary. when healthy, planet could have a desire to empower house or planet could feel more empowered around house. when unhealthy, planet feels powerless around house & wants to prove themselves to house. what the power struggle is abt depends on the planet. for example, venus causes a power struggle over who’s the most popular, beautiful, wealthy etc.

if second house is the sugar daddy, eight house is the sugar baby. partners may feel urged to give or gain from one another. it's advised to connect with someone you have this synastry with if they have a higher position than you professionally or materially so you can learn from them & gain from the rxship.

since this is such an intense connection, it is difficult for partners to leave each other completely. whenever partners try to move on, there is a sense of being haunted (which is amplified if accompanied by twelve house synastry). for example, you accidentally bump into their friends or family, you see their name eveywhere, you hear the songs they like, you find people with similar faces to them. being constantly reminded of them is why it’s so hard to let them go.

(virgo/libra/sag asc or aquarius placements)

Moon Conjunct 8th House

moon becomes fascinated & obsessed with house emotionally & sexually. moon needs to know everything abt house, including secrets which aren’t shared with anyone else. moon will even cross some boundaries to get this info. moon either doesn’t realise or doesn’t care abt how weird this behaviour may seem. despite house being attracted to moon too, house feels constantly analysed by moon. moon feels the need to spend a lot of time with house to know how they are or see if they need something. house senses the power they have over moon.

however, if there is no physical attraction between these partners or many other bad aspects elsewhere, this connection can become extremely annoying for partners. if these two become enemies there will be no boundaries when it comes to what they will do to take each other down.

moon can be scary obsessed with house & very controlling over how house expresses themselves. moon turns this obsession into a dislike, becoming houses biggest hater, competing with house, gossiping abt house, etc. this can be be very one sided on moons part.

whether they are lovers or enemies, there is no denying house provoke something so intense within moon & moon feels deep emotions when in the company of house. partners always feel what the other feels.

there is always a fear of vulnerability from both partners within this synastry.

(aquarius moon or virgo asc)

Venus Conjunct 8th House

there is a lot of feminine energy & themes here unlike ‘mars conjunct eight house’. this means manipulation, guilt trips, pettiness & emotional outburst will occur frequently. expect strong possession & obsession too, which will be amplified beyond belief if venus is insecure in any way.

venus embodies pluto traits & behaves more tense. house will protect venus from the world. there is a mystery surrounding house that venus can't seem to wrap their head around.

there may be a lot of secrets shared or a lot of secrets kept in this rxship. the rxship may remain a secret from the public eye.

the sex will not be the “one-night stand” type. it will be emotionally deep, affecting both partners.

(aquarius venus or libra asc)

Mars Conjunct 8th House

theres a lot more masculine themes & energy here compared to ‘venus conjunct eighth house’. no matter how airy or earthy mars may be… mars feels very thrilled by house & feels a sense of urgency to conquer house. mars feels compelled to bond & merge with house on every level bc they view house as their guilty pleasure. mars finds themselves constantly observing & intensely infatuated by house in a scorpion way. mars often expresses random & intense bursts of needing to physically touch or be in close reach to house. mars can take on a very intense energy around house that others will pick up on but the sheer depth is something that’ll always only exists between the two partners. convos between the two are very 1 on 1, even with people around them. initially, house feels scared & timid towards mars since mars has such a straightforward, pushy, dominant & rushing approach. house needs to see progress before completely losing their restraint & expressing their feelings. however, house simultaneously feels extremely sexy, mesmerised & aroused by mars’s raw desire. house can read mars very well. mars may provide for house. mars doesn’t forget abt house easily bc house changes mars’s life. rxship may be difficult to end bc mars will be persistent in continuing the rxship.

s3xual tension between partners is powerful & even others can feel it. this can cause partners operating more on instincts & lacking awareness of basic emotions. theres a strong need for physical intimacy & touch. for example, gentle touching or outright fighting. s3x if ever allowed can easily become addictive. partners have s3x like the world is going to end, possibly in forbidden places or secret spots. the s3x involves a lot of teasing, power plays, helping each other masturbate & holding each other as close as possible. s3x is use as an escape or release of stress. s3xually mars takes on a aggressive & passionate role whilst house can become very wild.

since this is the house of taboo, the attraction may be wrong in some way & the rxship feels forbidden even if it’s not. it may be a secretive dynamic where nobody knows they’re together or people wouldn’t expect them to be together.

despite partners feeling intrigued & excited for each other, there’s possibility of heavy feelings (frustration) for one another. one day they love each other, the next day they want to avoid each other. traumas can show through this rxship, like deep talks at night or triggering each others deep wounds. they like to pull each other, but neither takes the bait.

(libra asc or aqua mars)

[sweeneydino]

*BIG INHALE* Hi! I’ve been rotating the Spikeangelo au in my brain for a while, and things might get incomprehensible real quick. Not all questions, some just comments... 90% of this is just musing as the train of thought jumps rails and causes massive casualties; no need to answer all if you chose to answer any.

1. The fact that Master Splinter lets Titan live with them BEFORE he knows that he’s a version of Mikey, even after the attempted murder… man will look at a mutated turtle, ask, “Is anyone going to adopt that?” and not wait for an answer.

2. In Turtle Temper, Splinter says, “Spike, chew on your leaf if you are in the mood for a story”. Ronin has a choice here: pest Raph by eating, or troll Splinter by not. What choice would he make?

3. It seems like during the Slash and Destroy episode, Titan already had his outfit. If so… where did he get the clothes? The little turtles don’t really wear anything (and their clothes would be much smaller), so unless Splinter has a secret goth wardrobe, the only thing I can think of is that Raph is Very Optimistic about how tall he’s going to get, and has stockpiled clothes accordingly.

4. A while back you mentioned Titan “chewing [Shredder] out” after Shredder kills Splinter during the Triceraton invasion. The image you drew made it look like a tirade, but the first thing that came to mind for me was… more along the lines of using Shredder as a dog toy.

5. You said that after Slash and Destroy, Titan hides for a while out of shame. When does he rejoin the others? Before the invasion, *during* the invasion, after? Does he join the farmhouse arc, or does he do as canon Slash does and defend NYC while the rest of the turtles are gone?

Ah... there's a very long part six that's just about the ghosts... I don't think I'll be bothering you with that today.

When I see these types of asks, I can never control the squeal that comes out of my mouth. I love detailed analyses about my aus

:D

I also love completing things, so let's do them all!

1) Yep! Idk whats with the Splinters, but if it's turtle-shaped and needs a home, well say no more!

When Spike turned to Titan, Splinter already sensed something off with him, something more familiar than a family pet, but he would never figure out why until their lair is attacked by the kraang at the start of the invasion.

It's hard not to realize that your son's former pet knows moves (and shows a strange amount of wisdom) that you're 90% sure you never taught or shown to any of your sons.

2)

I think he's still upset about the pizza. Or Raph's anger.

3)Dumpster diving?

I'll be honest, I forgot to write it down... So we will stick to this simple solution for now🗿

4)

Okay, well... Shredder ALMOST became a dog toy. Let's just say that (this will totally not be a future comic)

5) He reunites with them after the newtralizer arc! After a little convincing ofc

When the invasion begins, he's with Splinter and Leatherhead, having defended their home and now searching for the turtles. They find Shredder after they exit the sewer, and Titan isn't too pleased to see the old bastard, attacking him in a rage once he hears about Leo's possible "demise."

Unfortunately, when he gains the upper hand, Titan is the one caught off guard and knocked into the machine, crushed by the pipes.

Before Shredder could really begin his usual evil monologue, he becomes distracted with Leatherhead, allowing Splinter to check on Titan and help him out of the pile of metal. Despite the likelihood of having a huge bruise on his ribs, he'd be fine. Even better if he could get rid of all their issues right there in front of him.

The one wrestling an alligator. And somehow winning.

And when he sees that devil in that all too familiar armor toss leatherhead into the pit, he's all too ready to kill him.

Yet he can't. Because He's not the only one wanting to prevent the past from happening again.

Splinter sends him away to find his sons, Titan's brothers - well, sorta - and even if he wants to bring Oroku Saki, the worse pain imaginable, he's more concerned if they are okay.

...

Okay, well, if the rest of them are okay

COUGH COUGH.

He'd find them, with him.

And uh. I think Leo's perfectly fine.

So when they decided to leave for April's farmhouse, he stayed in the city to search for Splinter and the other Mutanimals after leaving Leo with the others.

Maybe he sees himself as a burden.

Then the rest you make up on the way 👍 /j

This was very fun! Maybe I should just write paragraphs or smol little chapters with much more detail and flow🤔

Nah, I'll just draw.

Can't wait for the looooooooooonnngggg part six :D

[clarks-letterman]

𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧

a/n -- just a gender neutral, simple, and short smut for halloween! (so short, just haven't been in the zone lately) - happy halloween!

words -- 1.1k (verryyyy short)

warnings -- handjob (Johnny receiving), bad dialogue/ooc (maybe, wrote it as all Johnny Cage's applicable)

~~~

“Johnny.” You censured, eyes laying on him as he walked into the common area of his mansion. The size made it hard to tell where the line of each room ended and began.

He could tell where your disapproval laid, “You said I either have a thick skull or a tiny brain.”

You didn’t say those exact words last night. It was no secret that Johnny was a big spender, even when he lacked the money to afford a shining quality like that. The night before his big halloween party, and his chain of other parties left this one unplanned, so he splurged on decorations and booze that, thankfully, wasn’t as old as Mileena. You had told him that he either had a thick skull or thought with his dick. And now, he stood before you in a cheap halloween costume.

“So your answer to that is… this?” Your hand flagged him from the neck down, where his body was covered in a full-bodysuit made of shrunken wool that hugged his every inch. Thin vinyl was plastered over it to replicate a cartoonish version of the skeletal system, like he was getting an XXX-ray. His upper body was fine, and surprisingly clothed unlike his previous record of annual exposure. Just south of his torso is where the trend continued this year, an extra piece of fabric made for his dick to fill out was apparent as the rest of his costume funneled down his legs and to his feet. Almost like a onesie, but nothing less than explicit. Was he seriously going to walk around like that at his own party? At least he wouldn’t have to ask for someone to hold his beer as he would have an unsteady walking-shelf to set it on that sprouted off his waist. Black may be slimming, but it could never hide his beast.

“I got a matching doctor costume and it was buy one, get one. No extra expense.” He waved it off, suggesting that it was no big deal. After last night, he had no clue if you were ready to leave Cage alone in his mansion or stick with him through another seasonal spending spree. 

“Guess that’s it then. Johnny Cage is getting an exam.” You patted the printed sternum of his bodice, right about where his upper-chest would be. The notion ushered out a form of tension squeezing around Johnny’s lungs. Something the X-ray couldn’t find and something your watchful eye couldn’t discern.

He tittered on the first few syllables, “Gnarly movie title.” One thing about Johnny was that he didn’t act like he had something to hide.

“Just don’t let it be a horror flick.” You still couldn’t shake the fact that he wanted to watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers right after extra-terrestrial visitors had come to his home.

“I was thinking horror-comedy with a surprise cameo—me!” Johnny hurried out of the room and noisily cleared off the decorations on his marble-white kitchen counter by shoving them to the floor. He saw you follow in his steps at a slower pace, eye’s going from him to the scattered decorations all over the floor. “I know, I know. I’ll clean it up after.”

“I never said I was mad,” you started to jump the gun and make an assumption. Maybe Johnny should have handed you a prop gun and uniform from one of his old buddy-cop movies given how trigger-happy you were, “It just means I get to see that ass after we deal with this.”

Your hands found purchase with something else to squeeze, though. His thighs, lanky yet toned, made the fabric wrapped around them look uncomfortably tight. It was the most apparent on his boner, acting like a cock sleeve, or better yet, a black and white sock that was the typical cum-dump for someone of Johnny’s mental age. 

“So, you said you were having some discomfort?” You let your hands ghost over him, pretending to feel around and find the source of his issue.

“Yeah, Doc. All my skin is gone and so are my organs and my… everything.” His hands took ahold of yours and guided you directly to his crotch, as if they had strayed to far and he needed to put them on the right path.

The hint was clear, so you quickly grasped his half-hard dick. Each pulse in your hand made it firm up even more. “Well, there’s something here… like, it’s blood… rushing.”

“What’s the diagnosis?” He feigned a wince and looked away, ready to hear the impetuous calumny.

“That you’re super dead… and maybe decapitated.” 

“Give me some relief in the afterlife?” He said weakly, reaching up to grab your arm. 

You giggled, trying to keep it under wraps and not break character. “Johnny, what’s the plot of this?”

“Just give me my peace…” He controlled his voice so that it slowly faded away and his eyes shut with camera-perfect timing, one peeping open to see your reaction a moment later as if it was your cue to speak up.

You laughed it off, choosing to not convolute the plot anymore and giving the skeleton his last wish. That was the best this a fake doctor-spouse could do for their partner, after all. Your hand hadn’t left the hold on his cock, feeling it practically burn against your skin, even through the cheap wool and vinyl. Johnny must not have been wearing anything under this bodysuit, since his face contorted as you jerked his shaft up until the tip. The unseen mushroom head was sensitive on the flat side, so you let the cloth and pressure against it do most of the work to rile him up.

It seemed to work and Johnny was undone within minutes. His back arched away from the cold marble he laid on, then his hips followed in a similar direction. Going up, he forced himself into the palm of your hand until the base hit the entrance of the tunnel your fingers formed around him. Something that physically and emotionally separated the two of you brought you closer, and Johnny got off on that idea more than seeing his own reflection. 

Johnny’s hips kept bucking once the dam had burst. Glossy white percolated through the fabric and dribbled down the length of his covered shaft. As his desperation pushed him to the edge, he thrust himself into the air one more time, and the fabric had stretched enough for it to tear at the tip.

“Guess the party’s cancelled? No halloween costume means…”

“Well… I lied, earlier. It was a two for one, so I got four.”

[felassan]

Thoughts on the new Dragon Age: Dreadwolf teaser THEDAS CALLS, and other new things about the game from DA Day 2023

[post under cut due to length]

(ﾉ `･∀･)ﾉﾞ New stuff! Let's goo!

Other than chatting about the new stuff with some friends, I have avoided reading other posts (and other peoples' speculations/theories from other websites/platforms) about it. I like to try and get it all out my head onto 'paper' before doing so (it's fun seeing the few things I get right and the more things I get wildly wrong in theorycrafting hhh). after this post I'm super excited to dive into other speculations, compare and contrast and also read the thoughts of others on things I will have totally missed!

this post will mention some things I already mentioned in previous posts.

First, I think it's interesting that the "Welcome to Dragon Age" text blurb on the website has been slightly updated. the old version reads:

“Enter Thedas, a vibrant world of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities. The Dragon Age is a time of warring nations, savage combat, and secret magics. Now, the fate of this world teeters on a knife’s edge. Thedas needs a new hero; one they’ll never see coming. Forge a courageous fellowship to challenge the gathering storm. Friendship, drama, and romance abound as you bring striking individuals together into an extraordinary team. Become the hero and light the beacon of hope in their darkest moments.” [can be seen here]

The new version reads:

"Enter the world of Thedas, a vibrant land of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities – steeped in savage combat and secret magics. Now, the fate of this world teeters on a knife's edge. Thedas needs a new leader; one they'll never see coming. You’ll forge a courageous fellowship to challenge the gathering storm. Friendship, drama, and romance will abound as you bring striking individuals together into an extraordinary team. Become the leader and light the beacon of hope in their darkest moments." [source]

I like "the world of Thedas" better as it makes for a nice call back to the World of Thedas lore books. The reference to "warring nations" has been removed which I find curious, and what remains is savage combat and secret magics only. I wonder if it was decided that some 'warring nations' storyline elements would take more of a back seat? e.g. the Tevinter/Qunari Antaam war or Qunari Antaam invasion of Tevinter and other northern nations. - in favor of focusing on the array of other stuff, factions, threats and plot-threads that's going on, like Solas' plans/the Veil, the threat of the Evil Gods, whatever's going down among the Wardens, all the new factions (Lords of Fortune, Shadow Dragons, Veil Jumpers), red lyrium etc? there's certainly lots the plot could involve and explore without a nations at war plotline/backdrop. The Qunari Antaam invasion has been covered a lot now anyways in short stories, Tevinter Nights, and the recent comics, and I'm reminded of how the mage-templar war in the run-up to DA:I seemed like it would be a bigger part of the game's plot than what it turned out to be.

Also interestingly, a new "hero" has been changed to new "leader". Become the "leader", not become the "hero". I feel like these words have kinda different connotations. what are the connotations of "leader" as opposed to "hero"?

I also like the Thedas Calls tagline. this teaser reminded me of parts of the DA:I "A Wonderful World" trailer, in that both are showcasing the varied regions we'll visit and locales that will feature in the game. and yk, I am super enjoying BG3, it's an amazing game that is really fun and beautiful and I've put loads of hours into it, but I miss the world&worldbuilding of DA. Thedas is calling to me indeed ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` )

Now, the fate of this world teeters on a knife's edge. // "a spike of lyrium sprang from the base of the idol, so that all at once, it was not merely an idol, but a ritual blade."

I also wanna take a moment to compile in one place the various lines posted by the BW and DA Twitter accounts:

"Thedas is on the cusp of revelation and on the brink of damnation."

"This is Thedas. 💜 Enjoy it while it lasts." ("What does that mean?!")

"The Dread Wolf readies to make his move."

It's well-established by now that Solas has been Planning things and that there are imminent threats (not just Solas) to Thedas. it's also pretty commonly thought that the Veil will indeed be brought down in or prior to the next game - that would change the nature of Thedas as we know it, and the nature of reality. one version of Thedas would end as a new world begins (or the old world returns?). these snippets also sound like general fantasy/marketing/high-stakes SAVE THE WORLD! / THE WORLD IS UNDER THREAT OMG taglines. lines from the DA:I marketing era ("Will you stand against [the darkness/fires above]? Or lead this world to its bitter end?", "Lead Them Or Fall") weren't super accurate to the contents of that game. so I'm not sure how much we can read into them. but they sound cool and serve a purpose. (even the Gear Store account is in part in on it btw, "unveiling" the new merch in the store hh).

I also like the suggestion that a sort of bronzey color accompanies the purple color themeing now. it's neat.

To the trailer. The teaser is "a mix of gameplay and cinematics". It "represents [a] game in development". it's in-engine. we're told that there will be a full reveal of DA:D in the summer of 2024. what might a full reveal entail? sounds like a kind of detailed showcase right? showing new companions, showing gameplay, story trailers and story information, in-depth looks at specific systems in or aspects of the game like skill trees or CC or something etc. when might that be exactly - perhaps Summer Game Fest, or during an EA Play type event? they could also just do their own showcase.

also overall I liked the teaser, I thought it was neat, it looked and sounded cool.

the new blurbs from the latest blog are relevant to the trailer, so let's put them here too.

Ever the pinnacle of mystery and intrigue, the Crows watch from the deep shadows of beautiful Antiva. Something, however, is amiss, and they are set on uncovering the source.

-

Upon eastern shores and sunkissed sands, the Lords of Fortune no longer hold dominion over the coasts of Rivain—not when dragons are growing bolder and laying waste to their ships.

-

To the far west, three Grey Wardens patrol the Anderfels. Tremors have been creating disturbances of late. Their cause is unknown. Upon the distant horizon, a storm of ominous intent brews and darkens the skies.

-

We see a shot of Antiva and the port-city of Treviso. this city is in northern Antiva, on the coast of the Rialto Bay. The Antivan Crows originate from the lands surrounding Treviso, and it’s an important city for the guild still, as well as the seat of House Valisti. Fittingly in this shot in the trailer we see a corvid in the foreground, and more flying from Treviso in other parts of the map.

Treviso has been captured, occupied, burned and liberated several times during the Qunari Wars and the New Exalted Marches, and in recent times irl and in the post-DA:I Thedas timeline, in the short story As We Fly it has been occupied and invaded by Qunari Antaam. ("The Antaam will rule Antiva. And Treviso will learn to kneel." / "Out of time, like your city. And soon, the world" / "Treviso will be free.")

He smiled and signaled for his men to halt, making a show of raising his war hammer to his shoulder, emphasizing its weight. "Out of breath?" he called.

I'd also like to note that while the blurbs reference tremors in the Anderfels, the trailer map shows fault lines/cracks in other parts of Thedas, as here in Antiva.

Next we see a shot of the Treviso skyline at night. corvids fill the night sky and it sounds like we can hear them cawing. on a tower or rooftop is a statue of a crow (in fact there's more than one of these), and the rooftops with the roof tiles and those distinctive domes look like they would be super fun to do some Assassin's Creeding on. it's cool to see this locale from previous teasers and previous concept art pieces come to life again. Does anyone see any hint of the Qunari Antaam occupation of Treviso being ongoing in this shot? I could be missing something.

"We fight for everyone, and we always will. The Crows rule Antiva." Who could the speaker be? Andarateia Cantori, Caterina Dellamorte, Noa de Acutis, a member of House Valisti, Crow Lady who is from concept art, the "another Crow" or "friend" who picked up the contract in As We Fly, someone new? What she's saying is also of note. the Crows are a guild of assassins who basically run Antiva, not freedom fighters per se. but as we can see in As We Fly, as the Crows have been combatting the Qunari Antaam occupation of the city, the Treviso populace have begun in part to see them as something akin to freedom fighters who are "fighting for us!" Noa and Neri, a pair of old Antivan Crows, discussed how the Crows are trying to free Antiva, and the Crow message being intentionally shaped in response to the message of the Qunari Antaam occupation:

"Pity,” said Noa, smiling across her drink. “I'd enjoy killing a few pretenders.” Neri smiled back. "Noted. But until then, we craft our message to answer theirs." He raised his cup. "The Crows rule Antiva." Noa answered with her own. "And Treviso will be free."

The Antivan Crow speaking in the trailer is echoing this message. it could also be a sincerely-held belief or principle for her of course. Teia for example seems to lean this way, and in Tevinter Nights it's detailed that before Houses and masks, the Crows were monks near Treviso. using some herbs they poisoned a local duke who was terrorizing a village; they did what needed to be done to protect the Antivan people. over the years, they've apparently lost sight of that. (with a Crow in TN saying that now it's all about family and blood instead of a claw working as one, and disparaging them for being all about money when, in the beginning, they were protectors who fought for Antiva and for the people. he felt that they had chosen profit over patriotism somewhere along the way). so for some Crows it's an actual sentiment and not just a crafted message. Tevinter Nights also mentions how the Crows are mostly heroes in Antiva (protecting it as it lacks an army), with Antivans tending to romanticize them as freedom fighters.

As for the blurb, I wonder what is amiss in Antiva? the Crows are apparently set on on uncovering the source of things being amiss in Antiva. Does this pertain to the Qunari Antaam invasion? Or is it to do with what Teia and Viago were investigating in one issue of Dragon Age: The Missing (which was of course a prequel comic)? they were in Vyrantium on a contract to kill Lady Crysanthus, because there were rumors of her unsavory connections and questions that needed to be answered. They believed that she was working with the Venatori, helping them to operate freely in Vyrantium while they laid their plans to plan a move against the Imperium. At the end of the comic, they say that they will report to the Crows what they learned with Varric and Harding, as "the Crows must be made aware that the Venatori are seeking to make a concerted move against the Imperium". that's Vyrantium and Tevinter ofc, but it could be part of some greater tangled thing. I'm also reminded of how in the Lucanis story, we learned that someone mysterious had contracted the Crows to kill a bunch of prominent Venatori. the Venatori were like "bro we will not cower to foreign mercs like the Crows". So perhaps they are cooking up something bad in Antiva because of this stuff between them?

in any event, per Tevinter Nights, with half her Talons dead, Antiva is more vulnerable than ever, and so something being amiss there does not sound good!!

The accompanying art piece from the blogpost (all three of these are beautiful ^^) shows three Crows on the Trevisan rooftops, looking out over the canals at night, one a bearded human man, one an elf, and one person who is facing away from the viewer's perspective.

-------------------------

Next we move to Rivain. See here for prior posts on: the Evil Gods and cephalopods

I wonder if the placement of the squid monster ON/AS Rivain is just fun art/general foreboding 'oh no, the bad gods are coming',-themeing, or does it mean that an evil god is specifically rising in or under Rivain and that Rivain is in more danger? it's super clever art having the monster god be Rivain on the map anyways hh and it looks cool. I also think that it doesn't just look like a cephalopod - minus the tentacles, it looks like the head and snout of a dragon. I know the monster is following the shape of Rivaini landmass and so that's why, but it struck me nonetheless. (also I like the parallel imagery of a draconic squidthing vs draconic wolf in Fen'Harel's dragon-wolf form..)

it's a nice and ominous/threatening touch that the creature's eye turns to the viewer and the pupil dilates on catching sight of us. the creature's tentacles writhe and pour out of Rivain into the rest of northern Thedas. and when the trailer later shows a map of Tevinter coast, much of the center is entangled in tentacle-like or snake-like tendrils.

btw are these lines implied shipping lanes, cool lines because cool art looks cool, or something else? I ask because they reminded me of the repeating circles motif and the geometric type patterns in the vinyl art.

"Glory to the risen gods. They've come to deliver this world." - Risen Gods plural, there isn't just one of these bad ominous risen gods. and the Dread Wolf (though, despite the Fen'Harel cultist/followers in TN I don't think that he's one of those being referred to in that line) clearly isn't the only thing that has been "rising" in Thedas, there are multiple other ancient godlike entities other than Solas afoot. The tentacles and squid remind me of the Cekorax (see Evil Gods and cephalopod posts linked above), which is neither demon nor spirit and came from somewhere past the Veil. this creature could be of a similar ilk, like maybe the Cekorax was a mere mook type mob (that's the vibe it gave. a herald of what is to come but not anywhere near like being a big bad itself) compared to this trailer squid which is more like a king of its kind or something. the Cekorax also said that "things are rising" in the story it appeared in. I also note that like the Cekorax, the true nature of the Old Gods is yet unknown - are they demons, spirits, Great dragons, something else?

Cephalopods also commonly in fantasy-type media have dangerous, demonic, cthonic, Lovecraftian, interdimensional type vibes and symbolism going on, e.g. the Illithids in BGworld. In a Dragon Age context, this makes me think of the Void/the abyss, eluvian travel, implied 'spaces between' and how the Crossroads is like a sort of pocket dimension. cephalopods are ofc also sea creatures, and so this also reminds me of the imagery where the Fade (another realm) is described as being watery or being like a sea in nature (the well of all souls, emerald waters of the Fade, the sea of dreams etc). You can see why these creatures are portrayed as or were designed to be tentacley and cephalopody. this is becoming a ramble I know but it's all connected somehow aaa.

On the speaker during this segment: perhaps they are a Tevinter or Venatori Old God cultist, that's the sort of vibe I get from them. worship of the Old Gods still persists in secret parts of Tevinter society to this day, with cults to them existing. in recent times in Thedas, we've seen numerous examples of these:

"the Blood Band is an Old God cult led by Fallstick. They hate templars and don’t view blood magic as being inherently evil. the Last Moon are/were a cult dedicated to Lusacan. Early in the Dragon Age, they abducted and ritualistically murdered several people. Their goal at that time was to cause the start of a terrible battle, in order to cover Thedas in “a night that will never end” (Lusacan being the Dragon of Night).  Magister Aurelian Titus also led a cult. Titus wanted to return all of the Imperium to the worship of the Old Gods. He tried to use the Dreamer abilities of himself and his cult, bolstered by the Magrallen artifact, in order to brainwash Thedosians. He had a vision of a restored Tevinter where slaves knew their place and the Chant of Light and the Qun were both purged from peoples’ minds. He said “The old gods. The dragon gods. We shall become them”. there’s also a tale of a group of Old God cultists who departed mainland Thedas on a trio of ships in the late Storm Age to try and reach the mysterious uninhabited land of Amaranth, across the eastern ocean. Their expedition was supposedly never heard from again" [source]

I note with scared hamster fear btw that the Amaranthine Ocean is in the east, the land beyond it is called Amaranth, Thedosian people go there or try to go there and never come back, and the land there is said to be devoid of any sentient species and yet when former settlements are found they were empty and the only survivor had been driven mad and killed themself. meanwhile, the Executors purport that they act on behalf of powers across the sea, they are cloaked from head to toe and smell of salt/brine like the sea, and they have a history of being active in the east of Thedas and Thedosian countries with eastern coasts. It was said that "those across the seas will come soon enough". I have also speculated before since literally the time of Tevinter Nights's release a link between Ghilan'nain and the Executors, given that they smell of salt/brine/the sea, given the salty/briny smell of her monster lab creecher pools, and given the sea monsters she created, giants of the sea, of which some she left alive "in deep waters, for they were too well-wrought [though these could be cetuses], and Pride stopped her hand":

"Ghilan'nain kept herself apart from the People. She used her power to create animals none had ever seen. The skies teemed with her monsters, the land with her beasts. Andruil hunted them all, and after a year of killing, approached Ghilan'nain with an offer: the gods would share their power with Ghilan'nain, but only if she destroyed her creations, for they were too untamed to remain among the People. Ghilan'nain agreed and asked for three days to undo what she had made. On the first day she struck down the monsters of the air, except those she presented to Andruil as a gift. On the second day she drowned the giants of the sea, except those in deep waters, for they were too well-wrought, and Pride stopped her hand. On the third day she killed the beasts of the land, except the halla, whose grace she loved above all else. This is how Ghilan'nain was made youngest of the gods. —Story of the elven god Ghilan'nain, author unknown"

Back to this line: "Glory to the risen gods. They've come to deliver this world." here, I presume, are two of these risen gods, or these two are the risen gods. the one on the left has a watery motif with those wavy lines (water pouring off them as they rise from the sea), or it looks like seaweed hanging from their crown. in the concept art piece it's also depicted bursting out of the sea.

People connect the lefthand figure to Ghilan'nain, among others. The figure on the right has pointed ears. I think they are Ghil and Elgar'nan.

This speaker also reminded me of the Jaws of Hakkon trailer. the Jaws of Hakkon past and present tried to bring their dragon-formed god to life or free him to destroy the Lowlands. the old Inquisitor and then the new Inquisitor then fought to save Thedosian lands from Hakkon. An Avvar (Gurd) with a not dissimilar English accent to this second trailer speaker (a non-RP one) says "blood will spill before the new moon". the trailers then both end with a godlike entity speaking a threat: "Lowlanders, I am the breath of winter, the cold wind of war. Join me in battle and die" and "All the world will soon share the peace and comfort of my reign". I am not saying that I think the second speaker in the Thedas Calls trailer is an Avvar, a Hakkonite or an Avvar devotee of a different god, or that I think the final speaker in the Thedas Calls trailer is Hakkon or another Avvar god btw. just that I was struck by the similarity of theme and patterns that repeat in Thedas, echoing across time and dimensions.

If not an Old God cultist, I could also see the second speaker being a Venatori or Venatori-type person. the speaker is obviously a follower or cultist of some kind of these "risen gods". the Venatori are arguably a cult, although not precisely of the Old Gods exactly but of one of the High Priests of the Old Gods, the Conductor, who we knew as Corypheus. They see/saw Corypheus as the Elder One and a deity, essentially, and want to restore the glory of Tevinter. They revered him and believed he’d turn them into god-kings when he became a proper god. Although routed by the Inquisitor in DAI, as we know they’re not gone. and Corypheus wasn't the only High Priest of the Old Gods, or the only ancient magister that breached the Fade (and there was more of them besides just the Architect). it's also possible that rather than one of Corypheus' contemporaries the modern Venatori have simply switched to straight up Old God worship, sans Cory-style middleman, and this is a modern Ventatori speaking - and in Tevinter Nights, one prominent Venatori loyalist tried to release a demon that was sealed under Minrathous in a ritual attempt to bring about “Minrathous’ return”. It was thought that the demon is so powerful that only a god (like Corypheus) could summon it. you sure could restore Tevinter to supremacy if you brought back its ancient powerful gods. but more on the god stuff later.

Back to Rivain.

The cave rocks and stalactites give the sense of a toothed maw. the sea water is so bright and blue! in the distance in the sea looks to be a statue (of Andraste?). there's ships wrecked in the waters. the vegetation looks vibrant, and on the shore looks to be the skeleton of a great creature, maybe a dragon or a giant squid type creature that beached and died or died and was washed ashore. I also wonder why there are stalagmites among the ruins? as in why would people build buildings around stalagmites or rock protrusions like that. curious. also, it's cool to see this locale from previous teasers and previous concept art pieces come to life again. Also I feel like the blue dome structure is somehow notable. it feels familiar??

We should also talk about the Rivain blurb. The Antivan Crows in Antiva are not alone in facing something amiss in their nation. The Lords of Fortunes' dominion over Rivaini coasts is slipping because dragons are growing bolder and laying waste to their ships. indeed, the trailer shows a wrecked ship, as does the accompanying art piece, which also features a red dragon curled around a chest of piratey treasure. What could be causing the dragons to grow bolder and attack ships? Is something upsetting or stressing them in the way that wild animals irl may lash out to humans when stressed or predate human livestock/attack humans the more humans encroach on their territory and deplete their natural food sources? Is something or someone controlling them in order to cause havoc (we have examples of people controlling dragons in DA)? Or as dragons, can they just innately sense that something, such as a potential return of dragon-formed dragon-gods, is coming, and are getting stirred up by that feeling? Have they been Blighted or maddened by something? there's that "eastern sea" motif cropping up again btw, and the Rivain blurb also made me wonder if this DA:D codex was written in Rivain about one of the dragons there, especially since it's about a dragon that can swim and catch prey underwater:

this particular dragon has been hunting more than she needs, which could tie to destroying ships (or just be because she has babies). she's also not been attacking [REDACTED] unless they get close to her den, where her babies are. I think it's a fair assumption that the [REDACTED] thing in this codex could be what's behind the weirdly-behaving dragons on the Rivaini coast, and that it's redacted because it's spoilery. I also think it's interesting that this codex specifically mentions the dragon preying on.. squid, a cephalopod. what if she or other dragons in the area ate Cekorax-level mook squidguys that had been like schlorpin' around or near Rivain of late and were driven mad or corrupted by it or something? :<

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Next the trailer travels to the Anderfels, with a roar of battle during the transition. someone yelling a battlecry, and the clang of sword. the third speaker sounds like a hardened fighter, a seasoned commander. he is speaking when he's about to be attacked, or in a pause in battle - like he's in a fortress that is or soon will be under seige. there are cracks, faultlines in the ground in the Anderfels, just like there were in the Antiva map. and indeed, the Anderfels blurb specifically tells us that the land there has recently been shaking with tremors that have been causing disturbances, tremors of unknown cause. around the Anderfels in this map shot are smoky billowing clouds, representing the "storm of ominous intent" that is brewing and darkening the skies, encircling the Anderfels in a way that reminds me of the way the Blight encroached on Fereldan lands on the map of Ferelden in DA:O. the cracks go towards Weisshaupt. we can probably say that we are going to Weisshaupt in DA:D just like we're going to Treviso in DA:D, and we can probably say from this trailer that Weisshaupt is in imminent danger, or maybe even already under attack or laid to waste. it's cool to see this locale from previous teasers and previous concept art pieces come to life again. "far west" also makes me think about the Volca sea and the place beyond it hinted at in World of Thedas, where ships came captained by dwarves talking of a cataclysm.

The griffon obviously represents Weisshaupt fortress. I'm so excited to finally go there for real (but worried about what is happening there). "Grey Wardens don't hide in our castle. I won't ask good soldiers to turn tail and run." - The situation sounds dire. This line also reminded me of Davrin's line in a previous trailer where he heroically said "Nobody dies on my watch! For the Wardens." (I don't think the speaker is Davrin though, the Davrin line just further adds to the stakes of the bad situation the Wardens are probably in rn). Remember, things weren't sounding good for the Wardens in the various DA:I and Trespasser epilogues:

The Grey Wardens of the south slowly rebuild in the months following the events at Adamant. They declare it time for the Order to emerge from the shadows, to join the rest of humanity in fighting their ancient foes. Rumors abound that they severed ties with their leaders at Weisshaupt, and that a bitter war now rages between them. What becomes of Hawke/Loghain/Stroud/Alistair is unknown – save that all news out of Weisshaupt soon ends. Does the sudden silence indicate a battle within... or something far worse? - Those Grey Wardens who survived the battle at Adamant ventured north into exile. They returned to the mighty fortress of Weisshaupt, and word slowly spreads that a battle for control of the Order has erupted. - It is said that Loghain/Stroud/Alistair leads these Wardens in their rebellion, a fight to change the Order from within. - If Hawke reaches Weisshaupt with them is unknown. Indeed, before long, all news out of Weisshaupt ends. - Slowly, the Wardens withdraw from across the north as well. Some believe the ancient order is on the verge of vanishing forever.

There's basically a Warden civil war and Weisshaupt has gone dark, and the Wardens are on the brink. Romanced Warden Blackwall kept getting increasingly urgent messages summoning him to return to Weisshaupt, and eventually when they became too urgent to ignore, he left for the sake of duty, and then years passed and he never returned and is implied to have fallen in the line of duty. (btw, maybe a Warden splinter faction/Warden civil war is the explanation of why we are now seeing a variant version of the traditional Grey Warden heraldry?)

I wonder if this speaker is the First Warden or a high up Warden who is opposed to the First Warden (or a male Hawke who survived DA:I and went to Weisshaupt in the epilogue?? probably not, because by the Trespasser epilogue Hawke has returned and been helping Varric in Kirkwall). I am leaning towards a different leader Warden who is opposed to the First Warden, as opposed to the First Warden themselves. Reason being, the FW commands from Weisshaupt HQ (holed up in a castle) and does not sound to be very frontline battle-like or heroic, unlike the speaker. the FW is said to be mostly caught up in Anderfels politicking, as there the Wardens are regarded as basically nobility, and the FW offers little guidance to the Order or its commanders. they are said to be mostly a figurehead, and even the Hero of Ferelden themself, right after stopping the Fifth Blight could "expect little assistance or guidance so far from the Anderfels" cleaning up the darkspawn dregs in Ferelden in Awakening, because:

Even those close to Weisshaupt learn to suffer alone. The murmurs are true—the First Warden is often embroiled in the politics of the Anderfels and has little opportunity to consider worldly matters. I would like to believe it is a matter of survival, not of political self-interest. [source]

This line, "Grey Wardens don't hide in our castle. I won't ask good soldiers to turn tail and run", it doesn't sound like something such a figurehead would say. assuming it's still the same First Warden in command, it sounds like the FW's focus in the years before and since the Fifth Blight IS political self-interest rather than survival or for the Order's survival (distracted from the Grey Warden original purpose/duty at best, potentially something much darker and far worse, in that way that Wardens are wont to do - see what they got up to in DA:I etc). it sounds like the FW's actions have caused a segment of the Wardens to resent them and maybe rebel, try to take control back of the order. this is probably part of what's caused the schism/civil war/disarray. and I think the trailer speaker sounds like someone who is opposed to the FW and their 'type of Wardening'. I would not be surprised if this is a sort of rebel faction leader that we meet, and if in the years since DA:I, it's no longer Loghain/Stroud/Alistair that is leading the Warden rebellion to change the Order from within and is instead this speaker. (you could easily write that 'in the years since, X had to go and do something elsewhere and Speaker Warden took up the reins'. Heck if it's 9:52 some of them could have been due their Calling.. this would also remove the need to spend the resources to have 3 models and 3 sets of specific lines for the 3 characters in the same role. instead of a "Wrex or Wreave or Wreave2 oR EVEN HAWKE" situation, in the time since DA:I the quantum for that whole role could have been collapsed and it's just like "hello, I am previously-unknown Krogan Leader, Warden Wron Wreasely".)

Anyways, I think the next shot is also the Anderfels (the trailer shows 2x Antiva shots, 2x Rivain shots, 1 Tevinter/general northern Thedas shot and so it would make sense for these two to be 2x Anderfels shots), specifically I think it's Weisshaupt, and I think it shows Weisshaupt after some kind of attack or cataclysm, explaining what the epilogues were alluding to and why it has gone dark. See here.

"[this image is Weisshaupt] after some kind of attack? like the ruins of Weisshaupt after something terrible went wrong. There’s a blue flag in this image like there are in this one. in this image of Weisshaupt something terrible, bright and green and magic (Fadey?) is going on outside. this last image to me has the feel of the ‘aftermath’ of that one, especially if it was a kind of magic explosion/attack. in the new trailer, the Grey Warden character is still talking when it pans to this scene, and it pans to this scene right after the view of the Anderfels on the map, where we saw cracks in the ground spreading ominously towards Weisshaupt. the trailer also shows 2 shots of Antiva and 2 of Rivain. I think there’s 2 of the Anderfels too (map + this one) before the final view of 1 pic of the northern coast. last time we heard from the Wardens as well, it sounded like some weird and strange and dangerous stuff was going down there too." [source]

So it sounds like this is what's befallen the Wardens, beyond their general disarray from their civil war. this image is so interesting to me. there's a green tinge in the sky, reminding me of the Fade/Breach and as mentioned, of that concept art. the atmosphere is so dark and ominous, lightning cracking in the sky just as the ground on the maps cracked with fault lines. it heavily reminds me of the Bad Red Lyrium Future in DA:I in atmosphere and tone, and if you look here there could be the suggestion of red lyrium on this door (alarm klaxon!!).

also, is it just me, or can we see the pattern of carved griffon wings on this door/gateway or the stone around the door/gateway in this shot? also when the lightning flashes and illuminated things for a moment, I wondered if there were a few tiny figures on the clifftop in the distance, but maybe I am just seeing things.

The red lyrium is obviously alarming. it and the whole atmosphere of this shot immediately reminds me of the old EA Play 'spooky tree' teaser, with its dark skies, ominous setting, and red lyrium coiling around the tree and on parts of a building.

I am wondering if ^ this is the same place as this. (no it doesn't look like dry badlands Anderfels climate conditions, but if a magic cataclysm of some kind has taken place or things got somehow warped, local climate conditions could also be impacted unnaturally). Another reason beyond the red lyrium that I say this is: these shots also look to be from the same location, and what have we here?

A statue of Andraste in the 'red lyrium darkspawn' location, and a statue of Andraste on the Anderfels map in the new teaser. I know the Anders are devout and there's the Our Lady of the Anderfels statue of her there. and I know that there's also a possible statue of Andraste in the Rivain coast shot, and indeed of her all over Thedas. but I'm 👁️ because the presentation of these ones juxtaposed like this struck me, as did the similar conditions from the 'spooky tree teaser'/'red lyrium darkspawn' location compared to the 'Anderfels 2' shot. if red lyrium darkspawn would surface anywhere, I could see it most likely to be in the Blight-wracked Anderfels, and I could also see some of the Wardens fucking around with red lyrium in order to try and gain power to combat the Blight, or information about the Blight in order to stop it (red lyrium being Blighted), and so inadvertently causing red lyrium to spread all over Weisshaupt. we also have this concept:

of a barren wasteland, red-eyed (red lyrium..) creatures/undead, a red lyrium afflicted ruined part of a big building like from a fortress, a red lyrium-affected tree twisting towards the sky, and the ever present 'trapped Evanuris Dragon Age 4 concentric circles' 'concentric circles with hemispheres' motif in the sky. and again the ominous atmosphere, darkness, and green tinge in the sky reminds me of the 'Anderfels 2' shot in the new trailer.

Aside from that, what are these rings? is it part of a puzzle, or part of a platforming type mechanic? the thing they remind me of rly is the rings from the Jaws of Hakkon DLC. these were part of the ruined structures of a temple Razikale (an Old God, which.. of course the Wardens fight them in Blights when they become corrupted into Archdemons) in the Frostback Basin. in the quest On Ameridan's Trail, the Inquisitor pulls leavers to activate these things, which are trail markers, and they point to the next trail marker through a ring. the first of these markers is outside of Razikale's Reach, and activating them all gains the Inky access to the next quest.

maybe the rings in the teaser are part of a similar mechanism? I feel like it would be a sort of delicious and tragic irony if one of the two last remaining Old Gods (who btw are Lusacan and.. Razikale) were slumbering in the Deep Roads right deep beneath Weisshaupt. or perhaps Weisshaupt itself was built on the site or on the bones of a temple to the Old Gods? as to why that wondering is relevant, in this scenario maybe the ring things were part of a temple to the Old God that once stood on that site?

all of this is interesting considering we know that Wardens fight corrupted Old Gods as Archdemons, the Old Gods sleep trapped underground until burrowing darkspawn find and Taint them, two remain, "glory to the risen gods" and there are tremors in the ground in the Anderfels. and especially considering the DA:D concept art that people often call the 'Double Blight' concept art, which features a Warden and companions fighting darkspawn with 2 horrid weird Blighted-looking Archdemon-looking Old-god-looking dragons in the background. especially considering the 'gold dragon' and 'dark dragon' in the vinyl art. etc

so it seems that a sleeping Old God rising/escaping from underground could be a potential reason for the tremors in the Anderfels. BUT there are other very possible reasons too. these include: the Titans, who are "the pillars of the earth" and possessed of massive, tectonic-platelike power; the cataclysm from across the Volca Sea somehow spreading to the Anderfels; and the underground Ghilan'nain (ol' Ghil crops up again) monster labs from Tevinter Nights. in Horror of Hormak, some Wardens venture into the Deep Roads, find mutated darkspawn, yellow-green lyrium, a sea salt/briny smell, and deep elven ruins with the monster lab carvings on the wall. an enormous centipede monster comes out of the pool. the story ends by telling us that Ramesh has to warn the other Wardens, as the lab he found was only one of twelve. so it's also possible that the tremors are another one of these monster labs and another monster rising from a pool.

There are also some interesting inscriptions from Razikale's reach, written by those who worshipped her.

To She Who Winds the Skein of Wisdom, we dedicate this citadel. Dragon of Mystery, bestow upon your faithful servants your ineffable truth. Grant us eyes to pierce the darkness and souls to bear the wounds of your labyrinth.

For me this harks back to "Enter the world of Thedas, a vibrant land of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities."

Razikale, O Shadow Which Obscures the Path Ahead, deliver your faithful, save us from the silence which devours

This reminds me of "Glory to the risen gods who come to deliver this world."

Dragon of Mystery, return to us, we beg you.

"The risen gods": risen, returned

If the Imperium has fallen, we shall build it anew. This citadel shall be a new Minrathous, and we who serve the Twisted Path shall be its Magisterium. Praise be to Razikale—may our raised voices reach her and bring her back to us at last.

Bring her back, risen. Building Tevinter anew, "all the world shall soon share the peace and comfort of my reign". I'm not saying I think Speaker 4 is Razikale, just that these things remind me of one another. Lusacan perhaps however..

The other thing about the Andefels is that in the accompanying image from the blog post, there's a brewing storm on the horizon. I imagine that if an Old God or other monster roses from out of the ground in a dusty land it would cause a big old dust cloud or storm that darkens the skies. I wonder if this is what this art piece depicts? the eye is also drawn to the small red items in the bottom left hand corner - some kind of plant, or small red lyrium crystals? also as an aside I liked that one of the Wardens is an elf. Maybe that's Antoine, and the Warden sitting down is Evka? they could just look shorter because of sitting down and the angle though, and I guess the weapons of choice don't match for these two Wardens to be Antoine and Evka. also I thought the knightly Warden's spear/polearm was cool and think it would be super cool if those were options for warriors as weapons in DA:D.

Lastly the trailer pans to this shot, which shows part of northern Thedas - including Tevinter - coastline, and other parts of the Thedas map which have featured in the new trailer thus far (panned out).

It doesn't say "Tevinter" on the map in that shot, but we're looking at the Nocen Sea and the land around it, including Seheron. On the right are the white spires of Treviso city in Antiva again, Crows flying out from it. Beyond that is the hint of Rivain, with its 'squid'. We can see Minrathous clearly on the left, and a mass of tentacles or snake-like pattern twining through Tevinter (mentioned here) but which have not yet reached Minrathous. Cracks in the ground in Tevinter are also apparent, and so it's likely in Tevinter too. we can also see Arlathan Forest (breathes into paper bag) and the outline of the mountain called the White Spire.

In the Forest is the suggestion of aravels, which remind you of these 'flying aravels' (halla circled, elven scene pictured) / 'flying ships' from this concept art, which in turn resemble Dalish aravels. I feel like this in turn confirms that this concept art is of a place nearby or in Arlathan Forest:

which, given that the Veil Jumpers are an alliance of Dalish mages and hunters along (with some non-elves), it makes sense that there would be elfy/Dalish-looking aravels/ships there. Aravels were said to float by a magic method in a specific scenario in the Last Flight, but perhaps, given the space-time reality warping happening recently in Arlathan Forest (DA: The Missing, Ruins of Reality), and the Veil Jumpers' eponymous ability to navigate this, perhaps this explains why the aravels can float in this area, in a place where up is down and down is up etc. also the floating rocks stuff is classically Fadey, classically magic. In turn, the biome/vegetation etc in this art crops up a lot in the Veil Jumper images, see here (the yellowy/amber vegetation, the trees, floating stuff etc).

Now about Speaker 4, "all the world shall soon know the peace and comfort of my reign". As he speaks, the purpley foreboding clouds float over and encircle northern Thedas. Speaker 4 could be one of the 'risen gods' that Speaker 2 refers to earlier in the trailer (Speaker 4 obviously isn't Solas). This section reminds me a lot of the DA:I Enemy of Thedas trailer. I don't think it's Cory, but the vibe, voices and sentiments are similar. The Elder One comes etc. Cory was all like "Bow before your new god and be spared", "I am worthy of godhood" etcetc. I wonder if Speaker 4 is another ancient Magister like Cory, one of the others of that group? Some other fanatical Tevinter cult leader (as opposed to cultist like Speaker 2 may be), like a Venatori leader, or the Archon or the Black Divine? the voice of the squid monster? one of the Forgotten Ones? one of the Forbidden Ones - the Formless One? an entity we've not yet heard of? the voice of an Old God, two of whom have now risen/returned? ("Risen" would make sense if you had to literally.. rise out of the ground LOL). I sorta lean towards the Old God or Old God priest/ancient magister idea, because when Speaker 4 finishes speaking, his voice deepens and "reign" rolls into the SFX of like a big beast's growl or rumble, like a dragon growling. & and the Old Gods are dragons, and a divine pretender like Cory already had a dragon himself. If it is an Old God, we could probably guess at it being Lusacan, as the voice sounds like a dude and Lusacan is referred to with he pronouns. and Lusacan is one of the two remaining sleeping OGs along with Razikale (who in contrast is referred to with she pronouns). Call of the Dark also said this:

“Lusacan, the Dragon of Night, calls to you. He lives where it is darkest and waits for the day he will rise. Drink of his blood and know the power in darkness: either fear the Night or wield it."

I guess Lusacan's day could have come? "The darkspawn yearn to awaken and corrupt Lusacan to start a new age of darkness." we talked about the Last Moon cult already,

the Last Moon are/were a cult dedicated to Lusacan. Early in the Dragon Age, they abducted and ritualistically murdered several people. Their goal at that time was to cause the start of a terrible battle, in order to cover Thedas in “a night that will never end” (Lusacan being the Dragon of Night). 

it wouldn't be the first time Lusacan has cult followers of late. the eternal night idea is interesting to me too. the speaker doesn't say "MY REIGN WILL BE BLOODY, FIERY, AND AWFUL I WILL TORTURE YOU ALL FOR ETERNITY". it will still be bad and he is still gonna rule, but he frames it in terms of a creepy sense of peace, security and comfort. night-times can obviously be creepy (fear of the dark etc) but they're also a time of peace, quiet, when we sleep in our beds, comfortable, underneath blankets in the blackness, ensconced in darkness. a 'in the womb' type darkness I guess, shared eternal sleep, Sloth in DA:O type vibes. (thinking also again of Titus' cult where he was going to use Dreamer abilities to brainwash all of Thedas and become a dragon god/old god. Dreaming links to that imagery of peaceful comfortable sleep, and if you were brainwashed to think you were living a peaceful live in a comfortable place, well, you would.).

Another possibility is that Speaker 4 is an Evanuris, who are said to be 'Evil Gods' that would return if Solas brings down the Veil. - and I think this is what's most likely precisely because of the "Evil Gods" stuff in Trespasser and the BioWare 25 year book. Flemythal needs/needed Solas' plan to succeed and them to be released for her to take her vengeance and kill them, you can't kill someone locked away from your realm in magical prison. I also wonder if it's Elgar'nan because of:

and

(staff shape), as well as:

there is also the eclipse-style imagery in the in-game Dragon Age: Dreadwolf cinematic and a bunch of previous sun/moon motifs/references floating around e.g. Dalish lore holds Mythal created the moon and was born of the sea (so a moon connection there via the tides), and that Elgar'nan opposite her is the Eldest of the Sun, the guy who buried the Sun, the Pools of the Sun etc. also those art assets of overlapping spheres, repeating/concentric circles etc. [...] left [in the vinyl art], silvery dragon - Mythal? right dragon (which is gold-toned despite the blackening) - Elgar'nan, after he’s approached her [maybe as the figure on the rock promontory] and then murdered her and taken her place as the god, ruler, dragon who presides over all? moon and sun, moon dragon and sun dragon, beauty and destruction.. the shape of the 'right-hand’ dragon’s horns match the evanuris headpiece on the ring which is in the biggest hemisphere, and of the 7 gods those headpieces apply to (9 Evanuris, minus Mythal and Fen'Harel), the 'biggest’ naturally is the patriarch leader opposite Mythal, Elgar'nan. [quoting myself from here]

If it was Elgar'nan I would ascend, primarily bc I simply think he is the most metal of all the potential options ('wanna fight Elgar'nan' since 2014 squad!!). and also I am for some reason an Elgar'nan truther, like if you said, MJ, you're just suggesting literally all possibilities here in this post, who do you think it actually is and you can only choose one in your answer? (Elgar'nan, and I think this is him too). But I would like to say that the actual things the speaker says remind me somewhat of Falon'din, god of death and fortune and guide in the Beyond. There is A Certain type of vanity inherent in the idea that if you ruled all the world, everyone would be knowing the peace and comfort of your reign. sounds more vain and insidious than random basal cruelty or tyranny. and Solas says of Falon'Din in the Temple of Mythal:

"I do not believe they sing songs about Falon'Din's vanity. It is said Falon'Din's appetite for adulation was so great, he began wars to amass more worshippers. The blood of those who wouldn't bow low filled lakes as wide as oceans. Mythal rallied the gods, once the shadow of Falon'Din's hunger stretched across her own people. It was almost too late. Falon'Din only surrendered when his brethren bloodied him in his own temple." 

And like Tamlen identifies this statue as Falon'Din in DA:O (and also noting that this statue follows a design which was an old discarded design for the Old Gods' appearance before the title of the series made it so they had to change them into dragons). I could imagine the peace and comfort of my reign line coming from such an entity. So I feel like in a way Falon'Din matches the vibe of the line more than Elgar'nan, who seems to be more of the fiery anger, aggressively lashing out type.

But MJ, I hear you say, how can Speaker 4 be an Evanuris rather than an Old God when it peels off into a dragon growl? Well my friend, there is dragon stuff up in the Evanuris' grill as well, may I introduce you to the idea that: "The Evanuris Were [all] Dragons[haped sometimes]"

of course, if you subscribe to the 'Old Gods and Evanuris are the same, or linked somehow' theories, it could be both an OG and an Evanuris, or both, in a manner of speaking. and there is a link for example between Falon'Din and Lusacan suggested by Tenebrium. in which case the Razikale pairing could be Razikale-Ghilan'nain for instance, given the Ghil presence in the lore and the monster labs etc.

"Called "Shadow" in the common parlance, likely due to the ancient association of the constellation Tenebrium with Lusacan, the Old God of darkness and the night. It is odd, however, that the depiction for this constellation has always been an owl and not a dragon, even in the Tevinter texts. This lends credence to the widely-held belief that Tenebrium was a name meant to supplant an older, elven association—perhaps with the elven god Falon'Din, sometimes represented in tales as a giant owl. There is, of course, another explanation: owls are nocturnal hunters, and among earlier people, were considered terrifying omens of loss."

Speaker 4 also sounds like a or one of the big bads. ofc 'Solas is not the real big bad, something else is afoot' is a long-running theory, the idea that he's a red herring or perhaps 'The Dragon' to something else (perhaps Mythal or another non-supergood entity that he's trying to stop, say, Speaker 4), like how Loghain is an antagonist but he can even be recruited, and the real overarching enemy in that story is the Blight/Archdemon.

The trailer ends with an echoing, wolf-Fen'Harel howl. I thought it was neat how that followed right after the rumbling draconic growl, like a warning of the danger of that entity, or Solas following in its trail on its heels to oppose or try to stop it, yelling a war cry as they go to do battle or something. the dragon growl into wolf howl also reminded me of Fen'Harel's draconic wolf/lupine dragon appearance as described in TN.

Overall, I feel like the speakers in the trailer aren't companions but important NPCs we will meet (for example I think Davrin sounds like a more likely Warden companion than Warden Speaker 3 from this trailer).

In general, the trailer showcases, or rather teases, some of the locations we will go to in DA:D and confirms Antiva, Rivain, and the Anderfels along with the already-confirmed Tevinter. I wonder if we will go to Nevarra at all? the scope (at least four countries) seems like a lot but I would guess that these would be smaller zones within each of the countries, like the different zones for the main questlines in DA:O or something, rather than straight up an open-world or four massive open-world maps. With the water in Rivain coastline, I wonder if swimming makes its series debut? and with so many different countries involved, I wonder again about us travelling around via eluvians on a commandeered portion of the eluvian network, and it + the Rivain stuff also makes me think of the common fan theory that we will have a ship base. Minrathous and Treviso are also on the coast incidentally, we could like sail between them.

It also seems that the trailer lends credence to the idea that these three factions, Antivan Crows, Lords of Fortune, and the Grey Wardens are important factions in the game. Perhaps we will have a companion from each of these groups, or perhaps these are different backstories (I'm saying backstories because we don't know if it's selectable backgrounds like in DA:I or playable origins like in DA:O, and because I feel like playable origins isn't as likely) the PC can be from. this would make sense, as we need to "find people he doesn't know", while in Tevinter Nights groups which Solas seems to have more detailed knowledge of, and groups which are interested in moving against Solas, were mentioned (Carta, Mortalitasi, Tevinter Siccari, Qunari Ben-Hassrath, Inquisition remnants, Executors - note that the Lords of Fortune, Antivan Crows and Grey Wardens were not among these). Wardens can be any class and the order has humans, dwarves and elves in it. The LoFs contain humans, dwarves, and elves and there's no lore saying mages can't be LoFs (mages would make good treasure-hunters too). the Crows contain humans and elves, Calien d'Evaliste was a mage Crow. given where Crow recruits sometimes come from you could probably write a Surface Dwarf Crow. there are assasins in the Carta, so it's not like a dwarven assassin is a crazy idea or something.

Some of the text from the blog entry is also worth mentioning. at the top, character focus and a "few returning characters" (I wonder if this means characters beyond Solas and Varric..?) was exciting. other quotes of note compiled below:

we’re sharing a look at a few of the in-game locations you’ll explore on this new adventure (and perhaps a little more for those who listen closely). The stage is set. The Dread Wolf is ready to make his move.

More locations if we listen closely? is there hints hidden in the trailer audio? can anyone confirm?

This time, you’ll be venturing to places unseen and returning to places from long ago.

Does this mean we will visit ruins of / what remains of ancient places in Thedas in DA:D, that we will visit places back in time temporally in DA:D, see echoes in the Fade, or that in DA:D we will return to locations we visited in earlier games in the series?

We stand on the precipice of change.

hello Flemeth advice/prophecy reference (“We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment... and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly.”)

This time, however, much more of Thedas is yours to see. The desolate, beautiful badlands of the Anderfels with curtains of distant mountainous spires. The twisting canals and gleaming towers of Antiva, where Crows may lurk in any shadow. The turquoise seas of Rivain with its rushes of greenery and hardy sea-faring people. And of course, there’s more.

Anderfels badlands: the DA:D team's location scouting visit to Drumheller badlands in Alberta now makes sense. ^^ this description of the locales is also 👌

We felt this was best for the tale we wanted to tell this time and we hope you enjoy it as much as we have! It’s allowed us to create many more locations than past games, including both some you’ve longed to go to…and some you’ve never heard of before!

ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ places we've never even heard of before! The places Beyond Thedas like Amaranth and Par Ladi, type of places, or places we've never even heard the names of before ever?

An insult that he took as a badge of pride. An insult to inspire hope in his friends and fear in his enemies. That is what Fen’Harel, the Dread Wolf, truly is. Not a man who sees himself as evil, but someone who believes he’s fighting for a good cause and is willing to get his hands dirty.

dragon age dragon age dragon age

we’ll have much more to share with you as we approach Summer 2024.

this comment makes it sound like there will be a few bits of info in the lead up to Summer 2024.

Know this, though: The Dread Wolf has not been idle these past years. His reach is far, and soon his plans will come to fruition—a cataclysmic rejoining of magic and realms hundreds of years in the making. Will you be able to stop him? We hope so.

I wonder if these past years in-world are the timeskip that takes us to 9:52? the cataclysmic rejoining of magic and realms again make it sound like the Veil is definitely coming down.

anyways those are some thoughts for now. ^^

if you have any thoughts pls let me know. ^^ also I'm sorry that this post is so rambly and it like talks about multiple theories all mashed up at once, has some repetitive elements etc. but if you read this far I hope you enjoyed dragon ageing with me. (❁´◡`❁)

[yanderes-galore]

A romantic concept of Peter Parker if you can please????

Oh wow I never actually did the MCU version of Peter so let me see what I have for this fic. Aged up as usual. This takes place in no specific movie.

If you like this you may like the two concepts I did for Comic! Peter;

Comic! Peter General Concept

Comic! Peter with Civilian! Darling

Yandere! Peter Parker Concept

Main MCU Version

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Stalking, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Jealousy, Paranoia, Invasion of privacy, Secret picture taking, Kidnapping mention, Murder mentioned, Dubious relationship.

Peter is such a relatable character and yandere.

He knows how to get along with his darling even with how awkward he is.

Peter's also very innocent and awkward at times, despite this he feels comfortable around you.

Peter's yandere behavior is Overprotective, Obsessive, Manipulative, Emotional, Caring and Moral.

He's a hero that would never kill/have a hard time killing for his darling.

Peter holds a ton of responsibility and it feeds into his obsession.

He wants to keep you safe but fatally wounding others to achieve it would have to be a last ditch effort.

Other Marvel heroes aren't quite the same as they have more experience and know sometimes... there is no choice.

Peter is pretty classic with crushes.

During high school he's been so occupied with being Spider-man he still hasn't gotten any better at talking to crushes.

He struggles so hard to be friends with you but is relieved when he eventually manages it with stuttered conversations and personal pep talks.

Peter gets really awkward and shy towards his darling despite his friendly demeanor.

To put it simple... Peter is a nerd at heart.

He loves to talk to his darling about superheroes and sci-fi....

He adores you even more if you like the same things as him.

Peter seems like your normal every day student just trying to get his final studying in. (finals for high school or college)

You two have average talks and are just good friends.

It takes awhile before you uncover the iceberg that is Peter Parker and his obsession with you.

Peter is the type to be completely lost in his crush when he starts his obsession.

He daydreams and watches you in all the classes you have together when you still go to school.

Peter's ashamed to admit it due to his inner morals as a hero but... he does stalk you.

He can climb walls and perch on trees/balconies.

The temptation to use his power to fuel his new addiction is a bit too strong for him.

He promises to look away if you're changing or anything!

He just likes to know you're safe... and maybe take a few pictures.

Peter is overprotective both as a civilian and Spider-man.

When he's just Peter it's usually due to a feeling of paranoia or jealousy.

He's very awkward with it at times but you can tell Peter is tense when others are a bit too friendly with you.

It's not entirely possessive behavior as it stems from a fear of you getting hurt instead of it being entirely from jealousy.

If Peter tried to threaten anyone it doesn't come off as threatening unless he's really mad.

He saves violence for the villains, however.

When asked about his behavior Peter just says he's worried about you.

If anything this just makes you think he's an anxious person and isn't the biggest red flag.

Peter shows overprotective behavior as Spider-man too.

That's the reason for most of the stalking.

As Spider-Man he feels he needs to keep you safe and often tries to keep villains away from your home.

If they ever did find you then he's swooping in and protecting you with his life.

Peter has dealt with a lot of traumatic experiences as a hero and it bleeds into his obsession with you.

It makes him more hesitant about the people around you after what he's seen.

Peter is overly obsessive of you to the point it's invasive.

He listens in on coversations about you and writes down whatever info he can about you.

Whenever you're mentioned in conversation it causes Peter to perk up and start listening.

He fantasizes about his crush on the daily...

So much to the point he gets distracted.

Peter can be manipulative.

Even more so if you know he's Spider-Man.

After all you may listen to everything he says due to him being a hero.

Peter tries to be subtle with manipulation.

Small things like influencing your opinion of people or a decision you plan on making.

He dislikes the idea of you developing crushes that aren't about him and tries to make you hate the person.

He feels a bit guilty but tells himself it'll be worth it....

There's also the big lie he tells himself and you; "What he does is for your own good."

That's not always true.

Especially if he's starting to get his obsession out of control and suggests moving in with you or tries kidnapping.

Peter can be emotional about his darling.

If you're hurt he panics... he's always worried about your safety...

He also takes arguments to heart.

If you had a fight and you called him something like a monster?

Peter thinks about it for a long time... it eats away at him.

Peter also tends to blame himself a lot.

If you're unhappy he blames himself.

If you got hurt he blames himself.

Peter also gets overly excited about you.

Being one of the younger Avengers he hasn't quite gained a stoic facade yet, even with what he's been through.

Which means Peter shows emotion of all kinds a lot during his obsession.

Peter is moral and caring.

Even if he has the typical yandere issues he knows to not kill.

If he ever did then it's if he has no other choice.

He also cares a ton for your own feelings and emotions.

Peter wants to make you smile as your hero.

He doesn't want you to fear him.

He wants you to love him!

Peter will be a yandere that can hide his tendencies.

He's still clumsy and may mess up at times but overall can hide it.

Peter, even with the yandere tendencies, can be a good boyfriend.

He does not like bringing any sort of harm towards you, like restraining you with webs.

But will if he has too.

Overall, Peter isn't too bad of a yandere and has innocent intentions towards his darling...

Even if the paranoia gets to his head and makes him way more worried about you than he should be.

[musclesandhammering]

Unpopular Phase 4 & 5 Opinions

Quantumania is the worst Phase 4/5 movie. And it wasn’t even because “kang got beat by ants.” (I liked kang in this movie). It’s just that the Spy Kids aesthetic & bad acting & overall weird vibes just weren’t for me.

Love and Thunder is no worse than Ragnarok. I would argue that it’s better in a lot of ways, actually. I really liked it.

Taika Waititi ruined thor with bad humour all the way back in Ragnarok tbh, but y’all weren’t complaining about it then 😒.

BuckySarah is better than sambucky every day of the week.

The Marvels was a good ass movie & they’re one of my favorite teams in the mcu. I’ll never forgive cbm sites & online dudebros for killing the hype from the moment the film was announced.

I adore America Chavez & Kamala Kahn and I want to see them in everything. They must be protected at all costs.

Multiverse of Madness had shitty characterisation & basically just copy-pasted the ‘grief made me go off the deep end & hurt people, then I realised and stopped myself’ storyline from Wandavision… but Wanda was extremely selfish & apathetic to other people’s suffering from the time she was introduced in the mcu. MoM didn’t make her like that.

Wanda should’ve been looking for Vision (her actual real life boyfriend whom she spent years with irl) in MoM instead of the kids that weren’t even real that she spent like a week using as characters in her sitcom.

Making everyone forget Peter Parker wasn’t profound or poetic in any way- it was just frustrating and needlessly cruel.

I’m begging marvel to understand that heroes don’t have to be in constant suffering to be heroic & villains don’t have to sacrifice themselves to achieve redemption. Let characters heal and atone, you absolute weirdos.

What If…? is the most boring show ever. I’d rather watch Secret Invasion or She-Hulk.

Season 2 of Loki is, in a cinematic & artistic sense, the best marvel project period.

Loki season 1 was meh- more of a fun au than anything because his characterisation kinda sucked. Season 2 fixed it, though, and made it way easier for me to incorporate this version of Loki back into the larger mcu.

Having Steve stay in the past with Peggy was stupid af.

I don’t hate Peggy (or Captain Carter), though. I actually think she’s pretty cool.

I don’t really love Steve. He’s arrogant & they never really let him have flaws & something about him being a perfect metaphor for the American military industrial complex (and marvel painting that as a good thing) doesn’t sit right with me.

The Illuminati got done dirty and the only reason they went down so fast was because Wanda had all that plot armor.

I thought the retcon of having Wanda be “destined” to become the Scarlet Witch since birth was an annoying cop-out. Her powers originating from being experimented on with an infinity stone was way more interesting.

Loki & Wanda have almost the exact same powers.

Nebula deserved a bigger rule in killing Thanos & everything else moving forward.

I love Kathryn Newton but her acting as Cassie Lang was the worst acting I’ve ever seen in the mcu, like it was outrageously bad.

I’m glad Sam is the new Captain America and not Bucky.

The fact that Bucky probably isn’t gonna be one of Thee lead characters in the upcoming avengers movies feels sick and twisted.

Secret Invasion was actually passable until the G’iah scene at the end. That ruined it. And Nick Fury deserved way better for his solo series.

Kang is so much more interesting than Doctor Doom. I really hope they just recast him.

Carol Danvers does NOT deserve the hate she gets.

I actually disliked Carol until The Marvels. That movie made me a stan.

The way people treat Monica as Wanda’s little inferior pet creation or smth & then brag about it is uhh very sus.

I don’t like sylvie (bc she’s an amalgamation of 3 different comic characters- which killed any hopes of them appearing individually in the mcu, the creators used her existence to butcher Loki’s genderfluid rep, & she was written poorly) & I HATE sylki (bc it’s weird & unnecessary).

Marvel isn’t dead. I actually love where they’re taking things. But that’s just me.

[tmnt-crossover-polls]

DOOM round 1 part 2

Rotten reflections summary : when strange movement in a pharmacy catch's Casey's eye one night, no one could have known the stress, panic and confusion the next few months would bring a turtle not in their right mind ends up in an unknown place with even more unknown threats lurking around every corner, with a hurt little one there's nothing he can do but what his mind screams. 

When the world crumbles summary : Two months after the death of their master and the defeat of the Super Shredder, the 2012 turtles get news of another Kraang Invasion. So the turtles make a plan to storm Dimension X and take Kraang Prine down once and for all. However instead of ending up in Dimension X, the turtles end up in a much more neon, colorful dimension with no way to get back home and a full scale invasion on the horizon. Luckily they soon meet their much more colorful counterparts, who will help then get back home. Hopefully.

Atomic pets summary : after the events in the first episode mikey discovers a tiny reptile near the explosion, feeling bad and not wanting to leave it behind he decides to keep it, not realizing it was one of Draxum’s latest experiments. Hijinks ensue with the tiny reptile slow becoming not so tiny and harder to hide from his family, Mikey must learn to keep his atomic breathing giant reptile pet a secret from the rest of his family before they find out.

Not turtles forever 2 or is it summary : Taking place after the events in Turtles Forever and the Rise Movie, 03 Donatello wanted to make another Universal Transporter in order to discover different turtleverses, but something glitched with the machine, and the turtles from Universe 2018 ended up being thrown into Universe 2003 like a bunch of turtle rag dolls! All the turtles are a bit taken aback by their counterparts. The 03 turtles can't believe how strong and powerful the 2018 turtles are, and the 2018 Turtles are shocked at how distant the 03 turtles are from one another. After quite a few emotional talks, a battle or 2, and a plan to get 03 Usagi and Leonardo together, all the turtles soon start to rely on one another, and become about as close as one big mutated family could be! Only problem is, while attempting to get their turtles back, the Hamato clan in Universe 2018 might have ended up doing more harm then good while trying to locate Leo using his broken Odachi.

Lair meshing summary : After Draxum accidentally messes around with some of Splinter’s mystic artifacts, he accidentally merges the Rise Turtles’ reality with the 2012 reality. Now the two families are struggling to get along with versions of themself who understand them better than anyone else does. Leo causes problems on purpose, Donnie commits crimes, Michelangelo learns to cook and Mikey just wants his family to start getting along

Many names of hamato Leonardo summary : Leonardo believed that he was walking to his death when he tossed Casey into that portal. But someone else had something to say about that. A dimension away, a young Donatello wanders out of the lair when he should be taking a nap with his brothers. Never in a million years could he imagine exactly what his little adventure would lead him to. Or, future Rise Leo ends up in the 2003 universe, with no memory of arriving and no way home.

Once a hamato always a hamato summary : Leo gets trapped in the prison dimension only to get sent to the undertale multiverse a little while later. Leo gets changed into Error, the forced god of destruction. Years later he finds a way home! Now he has to get reacquainted with his family while as figuring out how to get his new friends to his world... And, figure out if the reason he was able to in the first place was due to some nefarious plot...

@nicoforlifetrue

@tmnt-obsessed-ace

@wandering-ghost

@lionalovit @poems-art-darkness-n-more

@just-a-lil-turtle-with-knives

@easterartist

[supportingjatpcast]

Where to find the JATP Cast as of December 12, 2023

happy three years to this account! Time to do my thing and update yall on where you can find the cast now! this will be under a read more for those of you who want to scroll past! Have a good one!

Madison Reyes- Julie Molina (@themadisonreyes on Instagram)

Julie and the Phantoms

The Bad Seed Returns

All Kinds of Love (available on all music streaming platforms)

Allie Mitchell Must Win (in preproduction)

Charlie Gillespie- Luke Patterson (@charles_gillespie on Instagram)

Julie and the Phantoms

The Class

Love You Anyway

Chevel Shepard: Good Boy (music video)

The Rest of Us

Madison Park: better w/o you (music video)

Conséquences (six episodes)

I Am the Night (pilot episode)

Speed Kills

Charmed 2018 (Pilot and Episode 2)

Naomi Sequeira: Pastries (music video)

2nd Generation (episodes 1-6)

The Next Step (season 5, episode 17)

Degrassi: Next Class (season 4, episodes 8 and 10)

The Outlaw League

Totally Killer

The Get Back Girl (postproduction)

Suze

Deltopia

Debbie Gibson: Love Don't Care (music video)

Owen Patrick Joyner- Alex Mercer (@owenjoyner on Instagram and Twitter)

Julie and the Phantoms

Acapulco (season 2, episode 3)

Knight Squad

Henry Danger (season 5, episode 9)

Slime Cup (season 3, episodes 1-6)

The Thundermans (season 4, episode 15)

The Veil

It’s On

100 Things to Do Before High School

Nickelodeon’s Ho Ho Holiday Special

Something Here (postproduction)

Jeremy Shada- Reggie Peters (@jeremyshada on Instagram)

Julie and the Phantoms

Interrupting Chicken (season 1, episode 3)

Dragons: The Nine Realms

Multiversus

Adventure Time: Distant Lands

Cookie Run Kingdom (English version)

Scars

Denton’s Death Date

Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Adventure Time

Mr. Student Body President

Spiderman 2018 (season 2, episode 1)

Cheerleader Nightmare

Blooms Adventure Time TD

When Jeff Tried to Save the World

DreamWorks Voltron VR Chronicles

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series

Gloria Talks Funny

Cartoon Network Live

Surfs Up 2: WaveMania

Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations

Lego Dimensions

Badly Drawn Animals

Adventure Time: All’s Well That Rats Swell

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M

Adventure Time: Game Wizard

Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom

Adventure Time: Card Wars

Aliens in the House

Adventure Time: Ski Safari

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don’t Know!

See Dad Run (season 2, episode 8)

Incredible Crew (season 1, episodes 1-18)

Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?!!

Paranorman

Adventure Time: The Wand

F.3.A.R.

That’s What I Am

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (season 1, episode 18; season 2, episodes 6, 18, 19; season 3 episodes 1, 3)

Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey

Parenthood (season 1, episodes 4-5)

Healing Hands

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Chowder (season 2, episode 24)

FusionFall

Cold Case (season 5, episode 1)

The Loop (season 2, episode 4)

Lost (season 2, episode 12; season 3, episode 21)

Ghost Whisperer (season 2, episodes 21-22)

Shark (season 1, episode 16)

Southern Comfort

Nip/Tuck (season 4, episode 13)

Bambi 2: The Great Prince of the Forest

No Rules

ER (season 11, episode 6)

The Incredibles: When Danger Calls

Team America: World Police

Miracle Run

Good Girls Don’t… (season 1, episode 4)

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (season 1 episodes 2,3,5,7,10)

Vintage (available on all music streaming platforms)

Ballerina (available on all music streaming platforms)

Mad Love (available on all music streaming platforms)

Midnight Promises (available on all music streaming platforms)

Jadah Marie- Flynn Taylor (@thejadahmarie on Instagram)

Julie and the Phantoms

Family Reunion (season 4, episodes 4-5)

Home Invasion (season 1, episodes 1-6)

Sarah Jeffery and Jadah Marie: Audrey’s Christmas Rewind

Descendants 3

Descendants 3: Good to Be Bad (music video)

Ready Player One

Mann and Wife

Blue Bloods (season 7, episode 8)

No Safe Place (preproduction)

Sacha Carlson- Nick (@sacha_carlson on Instagram)

Julie and the Phantoms

9-1-1 l: Lone Star (season 3, episode 14)

American Housewife (season 3, episodes 6-7)

A Christmas Story Live!

Sacha Carlson & The Light (check out his band!)

Savannah Lee May- Carrie Wilson (@savannahleemay on Instagram)

Julie and the Phantoms

A Cowgirl’s Song

The Secret Lives of Cheerleaders

Knight Squad

Cousins for Life (season 1, episode 12)

Bizaardvark (season 2, episode 20)

School of Rock (season 3, episode 6)

Keep Moving (postproduction)

Booboo Stewart- Willie (@booboostewart.art on Instagram)

(look, i adore booboo. i do. but this man has 113 acting credits on IMDB, and there is no way that i am typing all of them out and including exactly what episodes of shows he’s in. love you all, but i do actually have a life outside of stanning the jatp cast, so im just linking his imdb page here. happy searching babes!)

Carlos Ponce- Ray Molina (@poncecarlos1 on Instagram)

(Carlos has 52 acting credits, and many are in Spanish, a language that i do not speak. check out his IMDb page here.)

Sonny Bustamante- Carlos Molina

Julie and the Phantoms

7th & Union

Law & Order True Crime (season 1, episodes 3-5)

New Shoes

Heaven’s Flume

Cheyenne Jackson- Caleb Covington (@MrCheyenneJackson on Instagram)

(Cheyenne has 66 acting credits. I'm not typing all that out, because I doubt that you want to read all of that. Check him out here!)

[mariacallous]

One of Russia’s most famous 20th-century novels has returned to the Silver Screen. Infamously difficult to capture as a motion picture (more mystical observers even speak of a curse), Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” is back, reinterpreted by American-Russian filmmaker Michael Lockshin. The new movie stars Evgeny Tsyganov and Yulia Snigir in the titular roles and features German actor August Diehl (Gestapo major Dieter Hellstrom in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds”) as the story’s demonic character Woland. Meduza reviews the controversy surrounding the film’s director and funding, the book’s cinematic history, and Lockshin’s adaptation.

The political controversy

Michael Lockshin’s “The Master and Margarita” averages an impressive 7.9/10 rating with more than 43,000 reviews at KinoPoisk and leads Russia’s box office in its opening week after earning 57.3 million rubles ($640,000) on its first day in theaters, but the director was making enemies before his film ever sold a single ticket. Self-described patriots denounce Lockshin as a Russophobe, a traitor, and a neoliberal besmircher of the intrepid Soviet secret police. They call him a hypocrite, too, in light of the fact that this new adaptation of Bulgakov’s classic was made (in 2021, before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine) with 800 million rubles ($8.9 million) from Russia’s Cinema Foundation, the state’s key funding agency for the domestic film industry. 

Lockshin, who now resides in the United States, declined to answer Meduza’s questions about the backlash in Russia, saying he’s not yet ready to comment on the situation. On Telegram, pro-war channels have circulated screenshots of Facebook posts that are now hidden from non-friends where Lockshin shared independent reporting about the war in Ukraine, wrote that he’s donated to Ukrainian organizations, warned that future generations of Russians will be paying reparations for the “tragedy they brought to Ukraine,” and compared the Putin regime to Nazism in Germany.

State propagandist Tigran Keosayan has advocated criminal charges against Lockshin, while Trofim Tatarenkov, a host on Russia’s state-run Sputnik radio (who admits that he hasn’t even seen Lockshin’s movie), called the filmmaker “scum” and fondly remembered how such “enemies of the people” were shot during the Stalinist era.

Previous adaptations

In May 2016, poet and literary critic Lev Oborin wrote an essay for Meduza answering several “questions you’re too embarrassed to ask” about Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita,” including the most shameful of all: Can I just skip the book and watch a movie version instead? The short answer is, yes, you can always skip the book. In fact, unless you’re a student or some other kind of hostage, you can skip the movies, too. But since you asked, there are at least two previous screen adaptations of “The Master and Margarita” worth knowing about.

The better-liked version, at least until now, has been Yuri Kara’s 207-minute film, made in the mid-1990s but not released until August 2011. Meanwhile, in 2005, Vladimir Bortko created a miniseries for Russian television that was criticized for uneven casting and even worse special effects. Unfortunately for Bortko, the 10 episodes drew deeply unfavorable comparisons to his beloved 1988 adaptation of Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog.” 

It’s also tempting to contrast Bortko’s miniseries with Kara’s adaptation — particularly how the two portrayed one of the novel’s most visually scandalous scenes: Satan’s Grand Ball. Filmed almost a decade later and made for TV, the sequence in Bortko’s series “looks almost puritanical” compared to Kara’s film, noted Lev Oborin. In raw terms of nudity and violence, this assessment is hard to contest:

So, is Lockshin’s adaptation any good?

Anton Dolin (a prominent Russian film critic who might be best known to casual Internet users as the interviewer who provoked Ridley Scott into saying, “Sir, fuck you. Fuck you. Thank you very much. Fuck you, go fuck yourself.”) liked Lockshin’s adaptation quite a bit. In a review published by Meduza, Dolin writes that the film “manages to retain the sharpness of the original source, which mocks Soviet power, and at the same time offers the viewer an innovative perspective on a classic text.”

Dolin praises Lockshin’s “Hollywood flourishes” and his capacity to juggle the book’s “genre and intonation incompatibility,” which has plagued past interpretations. The new adaptation brings a “circus element” to the story without sacrificing the script’s “rigidity,” says Dolin, while also “condensing the vastness of Bulgakov's novel into a coherent and clear narrative.” (You’ve been warned, formalists.)

Lockshin’s film takes some liberties with Bulgakov’s classic. For example, in the novel, the Master character doesn’t emerge until the middle of the book, leaving the reader to wonder about the title. In the new film, however, the main plotline belongs to the love story between Margarita Nikolaevna (the unhappily married wife of a Soviet functionary) and a writer she calls the Master. According to Lockshin’s script (which he co-wrote with Roman Kantor), the secondary narrative involving Pontius Pilate’s trial of Yeshua Ha-Notsri (Jesus of Nazareth) is a play within the story written by the Master and pulled from production by Soviet censors after its opening performance. (In a feat of authenticity unprecedented in modern Russian cinema, the Jerusalem scenes, which comprise roughly 10 minutes of the film, are performed in Aramaic and Latin.) Meanwhile, all the adventures across Moscow involving Woland and his entourage are presented as figments of the Master’s imagination as he slowly loses his mind under state persecution.

As Lockshin has argued in comments promoting the movie, Dolin says Bulgakov’s novel enjoys heightened relevance in contemporary Russia, and the new film makes menacing villains of NKVD executioners while presenting even more revolting characters in the Soviet elites whose conformity and hypocrisy enabled the Stalinist regime.

Dolin praises the decision to cast August Diehl as Woland, the mysterious foreigner whose visit to Moscow sets the plot rolling in the novel. Diehl’s Woland “is a real find,” Dolin writes. The German actor plays the character as “an infernally sarcastic gentleman in black” who resembles Satan “more than the thoughtful, sad wisemen from various Russian interpretations of the same character.”

A cartoonishly scary foreigner, complete with a spooky German accent, Woland turns out to be the creation of the writer’s wounded mind, his alter ego, writes Dolin. The censorship and persecution the character faces in the film are a “chilling reproduction” of mechanisms that resonate more in Putinist than Stalinist Russia, Dolin argues, highlighting some lines that wink boldly at modern-day realities, including nods to Crimea, oil production, and military parades.

Lockshin’s adaptation also features a fantastical version of Moscow that recalls the visionary designs of artists in the Higher Art and Technical Studios, which flourished in the 1920s before crumbling under Stalinism. In this universe, Moscow completed the Palace of the Soviets, altering the skyline in a delirious finale that depicts the city ablaze. This scene, in particular, has upset several state propagandists.

Dolin notes that Margarita is absent from the story for much of the film, but she reappears in the final act as a heroine on her own narrative arc. In the character’s scenes as a witch and then a queen, Lockshin’s intentions and the meaning of the novel’s title finally become clear, says Dolin: 

It’s not the imagination of the writer that transforms the grim reality but exclusively the emotion that is capable of elevating you to the heavens, of burning cities, and punishing or pardoning with the mere force of thought. In the end, Lockshin’s film is not about Satan, not about Moscow, not about Pilate, and not about totalitarianism, censorship, or creativity, but about love. It alone makes a person invisible and free.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Small Tears of the Kingdom changes that could have done a lot

(at least according to me, the one singular flawed person writing this post)

In my desperate attempt to close off the Tears of the Kingdom season on my side of the internet (failing so far), I wanted to join the proposals of a couple of small restructurations/rewrites I've seen on my dashboard. These wouldn't change much of the game, but enough to boisten some of the themes and make the experience both more open and more streamlined. They try to ignore a lot of my own biases towards what I would have loved to see explored within the game and focus on what already exists (I said try). These changes are not only story-driven but also focus on quest design and narrative reward logic, which puzzled me even more than the story itself.

It's obviously not the end all be all of everything, there's a ton of small things that aren't fully adressed, etc.

Here are the 3 main tenants of this proposal:

We know about Fake Zelda by the end of the tutorial section. We see glimpses of her all the way, even though Rauru doesn't seem to be aware she's here, and most of our obstacles come from us trying to reach and save her. Then, by the end, she tries to kill us in the Temple of Time, and we realize she's fake and a lure (it could be a small mini boss, nothing too severe; just something to prove we understand combat). It could also be an earlier occasion to have Ganondorf shit-talk us using his creepy voice through her body, that could build up a better sense of rivalry going forward and make the betrayal of him using her body sting much more than it does in the current version.

Ganondorf, using Fake Zelda, tries to antagonizes each region of Hyrule towards their princess --and, the very important part, it works. The kingdom is splintering apart as he plans his return and his invasion. The goal in each region is not to vaguely solve the weird local problem, but, using the regional hero that knows and trusts Link, to prove that whatever is happening isn't Zelda's fault. This allows to build some sense of tension and stakes, makes us deeply empathize with an overwhelmed Zelda trying to step up as a leader in the aftermath of the Calamity and isn't here to defend herself (and then when we learn where she is and what she did it hurts so much more). The camp where Purah is could also double-down as the beating heart of Hyrule trying to reconnect with the suspicious regions suffering the turmoil isolated from each other.

The Dragon's Tears questline is overhauled, and that can happen in two simultaneous ways. Some of these memories remain Zelda's, but now only some of them, perhaps those who are connected to Zelda's decision to become a dragon without ever spilling it out (and could even focus more on her insecurities as a young ruler and her relationship to her ancestors), remain sprinkled into the land to reward those who want to understand more about her motivations. But now, each of the secret stones collected along the way also function as tears, and instead of being treated to another delicious serving or The Imprisoning War? The Demon King??? we get to discover a little bit more of the mystery. The way it could work is quite simple: the Sage introduces us briefly to their own perspective into the war outside of a voiced cutscene to give the writing more flexibility regarding what the player already did to avoid repetition ( :) :) ), and then plays a pre-determined cutscene in a linear fashion, which is one of Rauru's memories embedded within the secret stone and tells the story of the fall of his kingdom to Ganondorf. (also bonus: now Zelda's tears don't embody the entire kingdom anymore, which was very strange and never sat right with me)

So what we did is to separate the different stories while intertwining them: Zelda's struggles and sacrifice on one hand, Rauru's regrets and bitterness on the other (lololol sorry), and Ganondorf's attempt to break the kingdom apart --which would feed into both Zelda's anxieties and Rauru's long winded defeat. The bonus to this approach would also be to question Hyrule's legitimacy: the various races would then need to decide, after having actively questioned the young princess, that they actually still believe in Hyrule and a future they all get to live in together.

This would also give a little bit more teeth to Ganondorf's motivation, his deep envy for the power of Hyrule and the fact that his own people chose it over him, let alone everyone else. As for the Link's motivation, trying to have everyone see that Zelda is worth it and stop that evil force from shattering her image while also acknowledging the faults of the past could make the player invested in wanting to bring Zelda back down after everything she went through and all the sacrifices she made to prove herself a worthy ruler (Rauru's forcefulness in assimilating the realm under his banner even though he meant well being his actual character flaw that Mineru could eventually acknowledge, to give her something to do instead of... feeling bad for no clear reason!! Also just *give emotional weight* to that time she holds Rauru's hand again when she swears fealty to Link, this was so simple and obvious how was it not given the time it needed for us to care about what was lost!!! aaa)

Yes, it's still about the power of love and sacrifice over ruthless domination, but now characters have a little bit more agency and we feel a little less like they have a zonai knife under their throats the entire time forcing them to always be happy and enthusiastic about swearing fealty to the immortal kingdom. They find out about the past but get to redefine their future instead of falling over themselves in worship; literally using pieces and bits of the past in the form of zonai tech to rebuild their own kingdom and their future dreams. Together they are stronger; but because they all chose to believe in that mantra instead of having it being imposed by long dead kings and faceless ancestors expecting them to die for a war that shouldn't concern them.

(Also, obviously, the gerudo region has to reckon with the Demon King being particularly angry at them for betraying him, and them deciding to reject his rule a second time and embrace their own path, because in the original TotK Ganondorf being gerudo could be removed entirely without any consequence, which is pretty sad since it's basically an enormous part of what makes him compelling as a villain for a lot of people and keeps him from being a completely generic Nintendo stock villain!!)

And honestly? Beyond a couple of dialogue changes and slightly different setups and reasonings for Link to do certain things, especially in the various regional quests? Most of everything else could stay roughly the same. The bones are here! They're just arranged in a really weird way.

(except for Ganondorf surviving as a big bad dragon in the end through the sacrifice of his mind to immortality because that's just much more interesting than turning him into a supernova --but that's really a bonus honestly)

[oneatlatime]

The Waterbending Master

Finally! Only took the whole season to find one.

This one apparently also has commentary. I'll leave it off for now.

After countless episodes without, we finally have another hybrid animal. Behold:

A koala Sea-otter? That makes noises like a Raven. Alright.

Sokka saying "I'm not one to complain" is a) pretty damning evidence of his amount of self-awareness b) self-deprecating sarcasm c) a funny line that I'm reading too deeply into

Why is Appa flying so low anyway?

Subtle signs that these guys are way too used to relying on bending: -no railings -no alternate propulsion source (seriously, not even an oar?) -no emergency supplies in case a trip runs long (I don't even see an emergency sandwich, and come on guys, it's not like waterbending controls the weather)

Random pinball bumper style ice stabbies does seem like a good defense though.

Not so subtle exposition dump from Zhao the asshole. Avatar writers are usually better at integrating catch-up dialogue. Looks like Aang will be arriving just in time to defend the Water tribe from the invasion that, ironically, he summoned. Talk about self-inflicted problems. Do you think if Aang had found a waterbending teacher somewhere else, the Fire Nation would have left the water tribe alone for another hundred years? Aang's been learning on the run; they could have picked up a single waterbender and hightailed it back to some cave in the earth kingdom to learn there. Or the water tribe could have sent a waterbender out to find the gaang as soon as rumours of the avatar reached them. See? This was avoidable.

Always love me some sea-bison.

They have bending doors like Omashu. Actually is this a door or a lock? I think the water level is changing.

Is this a hybrid animal? The yak thing, not the two legger.

Last time you got a hero's welcome, Suki's village burnt down. Foreshadowing?

How often does this lady see sea-bisons? She just passed by one and didn't even bat an eye. Is there a secret sea-bison colony that's spent the last 100 years hiding from the fire nation in the north pole?

Music Night! Need a better lyricist.

What's going on here? Did they roast a giant turtle thing and now they're cooling it to serve by dunking it in water? Did they feel the need for a steam effect for the guy's speech so they heated up a giant thingy and dunked it in water? Is it a weird boat thing? It looks like it has a face. I bet it's a ritual object.

Are these pot stacks the water tribe version of Totem Poles?

Oh nuh uh. Nope. 16 is way too young to marry.

This girl is so into him I can feel it through the screen, the dvd player, and the 15+ years since this aired.

Even the head guy's like "yeah, he's an asshole, What can you do?" Let's put this asshole and Zhao the asshole in a room together. They can out-asshole each other. Should be fun.

Remember back in episode three when I said that Zuko needed to learn how to lie? This is why.

Nevermind, we don't need to put Zhao and Paku in a room together to out-asshole each other. Paku wins. As far as I've seen, bending is not gender specific, either in who gets it or how it's taught/used. What kind of idiot would tell someone born with the ability to wield an incredible weapon that, actually, they aren't allowed to? How did this attitude get instilled in the first place? Why didn't the first guy who ever said this get slashed to death by ice stabbies thrown by the ten nearest female benders? Are these northern water tribe people so unbothered by the war that they can afford to sideline 50% of their forces? More than sideline, render incapable of defending themselves or others? Obviously this tribe is far too privileged if they can afford this attitude. And also far too bored. I guess hiding behind that giant ice wall for 100 years left them so understimulated that they turned on themselves.

Bad attitude? Fucking bad attitude!?! There's only one guy in this episode with a bad attitude and it isn't Katara. Zhao looks downright pleasant compared to this Paku guy.

Question for Paku: why would the Northern Water Tribe's rules apply to a Southern Water Tribe member?

My god these two are so cute. Sokka could propose they disembowel whale carcasses for their activity and the princess would say yes.

So the parrot lizard did survive the fall over the waterfall.

They're little tiny children. Katara, who has spent her whole life wanting to learn to bend to fight, has literally been shoved back into the igloo with a bunch of babies to learn lady-bending (no offence to the babies). How how HOW is she so calm right now? If I were in her situation, I think I'd be so angry I'd be ugly crying. And also plotting how to murder that Paku guy.

WHAT.

Paku the asshole is apparently a proponent of the tell don't show philosophy of teaching. The Tell-while-doing-unspeakable-things-to-my-lunch don't show philosophy.

Unexpected backstory. This lady must have been pretty close to Gran Gran if she recognises a carving she presumably wore for maybe a few months about 50 years ago or more. Also this lady is shockingly dumb if she can't see why Gran Gran left this misogynistic hellhole, but I guess it can be hard to see it while you're in it.

Nitpick time: How does the teacher recognise this? Isn't this just the water tribe symbol? Probably the most common symbol in the whole north pole?

Nosferatu Zuko. Nosferzuko. Zukoratu? Iroh's pause here was so long that I checked in case I had muted by accident. And how does your crew being taken by Zhao the asshole make your crew traitors Zuko? Orders are orders.

So we're adding asassinating royals to our list of reasons Zhao is an asshole. I think he's won the title back from Paku.

Fuck this port I guess.

Zuko's dead. Huh. Bye then. Gotta say I don't get why he's so big in the fandom.

This princess sure does send some mixed messages. At least she didn't ghost him.

"Master Poophead." My God. It's perfect. Why didn't I think of that?

Aang passing on what he learns to Katara. Why didn't I think of that either? My plan was to get Katara to launch unprovoked attacks on Paku's students and study how they defend themselves until she can copy / surpass them. Mostly so I could watch Katara beat the crap out of sexists.

Die mad about it you troglodyte. Disrespect? How nice it must be to have enough of your culture left that it can be disrespected. And you're going to deny the avatar training, thus dooming the whole world to death via fire nation, because you're butthurt? Freakin manbaby.

YES! YES! BEAT HIS ASS! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!

"I know. I don't care." + "I'm not doing it for you." = I'm officially in love with Katara. I took a while to warm up to her, I admit the first few episodes were a little rough, but this seals the deal.

This screenshot sparks joy. Last episode Aang bitchslapped a fire nation guy with air. This episode it's Katara's turn with water. The Firelord Uber-Bitchslapped Zuko with fire a few years ago. All I need is an earth bitchslap and my collection will be complete. Avatar: master of all four bitchslaps. Also this wouldn't have worked to goad Paku into fighting if he was half as mature as he thinks he is. Although he gets points for being harder to goad than Zhao in the Deserter.

In an episode where the A plot is Katara, the B plot is Aang, the C plot is Zuko, and the D plot is Sokka's love life, the writers still manage to fulfill the Beat up Sokka quota. Good job guys.

If only she'd aimed a couple of inches to the left. This show already includes a kid getting his face burned off. Surely a Poophead being separated from his nose is ok?

That's twice now she's lost her necklace. If the carving has lasted 50+ years, surely it's earned a metal chain rather than a hair ribbon?

Gran Gran! Bullet dodged! Excellent call!

That's a lot less beat up than I was expecting. And Iroh has never once given the impression that he isn't quietly ride or die for Zuko, so why would Zuko not expect Iroh to help him? Because Zuko isn't terribly perceptive? Because the writers needed a way to deliver yet more exposition?

I did notice that the healing lady specified that Gran gran was in an arranged marriage but Poophead was talking about love. Again, why was Gran Gran leaving a mystery?

Underrated moment of wisdom from Aang here. He gets why the princess is upset and he's twelve! But I'd bet good money that the idiot on the right has no clue what's going on.

Princess ran so far away that it's night time now. This episode is not subtle anywhere, so I figured that the princess being engaged was the cause of this whole blowing hot and cold thing. Despite being 16 and fictional, Sokka handles mixed signals and rejection with 10000% more maturity and kindness than many unfortunately non-fictional grown men I've met. Kudos to Sokka for being honest and respectful.

Even redeemed, Poophead is still an asshole.

Well that's a problem.

Fire Nation ships would be a lot more intimidating if they didn't look like shoes.

Final Thoughts

This episode was a lot of exposition, a lot of set up, and even some catch up. And it was not done as gracefully as this show usually does it. More than once the dialogue between characters felt like two actors lecturing the audience rather than the characters we know.

This episode also had twice the concentration of assholes. A Zhao episode I can deal with. An episode with a one shot asshole where Zhao doesn't appear? I could also deal with. But TWO grade A assholes in ONE episode? No. Too much.

My whole-hearted congratulations to Gran Gran for seeing Poophead for what he was, and refusing to put up with it. Leaving his ass didn't make him get the message. 50+ years alone didn't make him get the message. The granddaughter that ought to have been his being so disgusted by his conduct that she attempts to cut his face off didn't make him get the message. There was no way that this idiot was going to change. So congrats to Gran Gran for making an excellent call, leaving his ass to freeze, and getting two most excellent grandchildren instead.

I also have to applaud Sokka and Katara for not being bitter about the Northern Water Tribe. I can't help but notice the spectacular architecture, complete with embellishments and unnecessary non-structural doodads. Let's do a quick comparison (ignore the ship):

Left has one waterbender. Right has all the waterbenders. We know that Northerners can travel south thanks to Gran Gran. The North couldn't have sent one sneaky waterbender to at least make the south a ship-proof wall? That chief guy has some audacity calling Katara and Sokka their brother and sister or whatever when they've evidently left the south to rot for a century. And I know the Fire Nation, the War, bla bla, but you guys are so bored behind your walls that you're cannibalising your own capabilities based on gender just for fun.

RANT INCOMING

Since I'm on the topic, can we talk about how STOOOPID it is to separate your combatants from your medics? Here's a secret about combat medics: they're both. They learn the basics of combat, and they learn the basics of emergency medicine (And a LOT of other stuff besides). Basic training includes basic first aid for EVERYONE.

Because here's the thing. People who get hurt beating the shit out of other people are usually hurt in an environment where beating the shit out of people occurs. If they are injured enough that they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then unless they can treat themselves on the spot or their fellow soldiers can administer first aid or get them out, they die.

Alternatively, if they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then medics have to be sent in. A medic who doesn't know how to fight who gets sent into the zone will - guess what? - get the shit beaten out of them. Now you're two men down at present, and who knows how many more you're going to lose over the next few days because you're down a medic. So unless every single waterbending fighter in the Northern water tribe is going to go into combat with a waterbending healer literally attached to them, there will be mountains of unnecessary losses and avoidable injuries.

Now let's look at this from the other angle. What happens if the enemy breaches your defences (because all your defenders are merrily bleeding out from wounds their bending could heal if only they'd learned how) and then makes their way to your combat hospitals? Which are full of soldiers who are too injured to fight and healers who don't know how to defend themselves? Apart from the whole living surrounded by their element thing, waterbenders' greatest advantage in a fight appears (to me) be to be their miraculous healing powers. Katara completely healed her burnt hands to the point where there wasn't even scar tissue and she had no training at all. A skill that can erase burns (the thing firebenders give you) negates the fire nation's greatest weapon - their fire. Any fire nation general who's not an idiot would therefore target waterbending healers, maybe even over waterbending fighters. So any fire nation commander would absolutely put 'capture field hospitals' as one of their top priorities. This is a kids' cartoon, so let's ignore historical precedent as to what happens to nurses caught in field hospitals behind enemy lines and say that the fire nation would defeat the waterbending healers.

Let's paint a quick picture here: in the background, a field full of waterbending fighters sidelined by treatable injury. In the middle ground, an inexorably advancing wall of firebenders. In the foreground, a field hospital full of defenseless waterbending healers. Just peachy isn't it?

How fucking UNSTOPPABLE would a bender able to shrug off a fireball to the face then turn around and take out a firebending platoon be? Get one hundred - no fifty - benders who can both heal and fight, have them advance in two rows: Front row fights, switches with back row when they're injured, gets healed up, rotates back up to front row as a replacement. Functionally unstoppable barring the need to eat and sleep (so long as they bring their own water). The Northern Water Tribe had decades to develop that. Unlike the south, they had the time, the resources, and apparently so little going on that they took up sexism to pass the time. The wasted opportunity here burns. See kids? Sexism hurts the sexists too.

This northern attitude is just dumb. It's illogical. It's stupid. I'd call it a ham-fisted unsubtle after school special of a plotline if it weren't a fictionalised version of something that's literally baked into to many cultures worldwide, past and present.

RANT CONCLUDED

What else can I say about this episode? Aang and Sokka had like three lines each, but they were very in character. Sokka and the princess are cute together. Zuko and Iroh had a good dynamic when they weren't acting in service to exposition. This whole episode really feels like part one of a two parter.

I think something might have been off with the narrative weighting of this episode. There was an honest to god assassination attempt and I forgot.

While the shot of Paku looking put out that the ice disk landed so close to his face was funny, I would have preferred it if Katara had gotten in one hit beyond her bitchslap. Just one. His ego needed the beating which it got via the necklace thing, but I would have liked to see actual beating too.

If I had seen this episode as a child I absolutely would have lost my mind over Katara getting to beat up a sexist. I'd bet good money that this episode did lots of good for the self-esteem of little girls who saw it.

Katara's plot line is like the plot of the Waterbending Scroll episode, but in a positive light. In that episode her selfishness regarding bending got them in trouble; in this one it helped. Seen in that light, the fact that it's the necklace rather than Katara's skill that gets through to Paku is a bit undermining, but if "magical girl has such impressive skills that the sexist dinosaur throws away decades of sexism for the chance to be her teacher" had been the plot instead, I'd probably be complaining about cliches instead.

All in all, a bit clunky, a lot of set up, and too many assholes and frustrating idiocy for it to go on my rewatch list. Feminist beat downs are good for the soul, but I'm not sure they outweigh Poopheads.

[brightnote]

Better plot for Secret Invasion

in the first episode when Fury and Maria try to retrieve the bombs, the bombs actually are in the fake out bags, but then skrulls acting as Russian police find them with the bags and "arrest" them but instead they are replaced with skrulls!! G'iah and Talos then have to work against them and skrull Rhodey and G'iah and Talos shape shift as Fury and Hill battling it out against the evil skrull versions of themselves. Wouldn't this show be epic?

It is kind of crazy to think a show called Secret Invasion only had like two people we know who were swapped with skrulls and we only saw one of them for a minute and he had no relevance to the story at all.

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY/Swords of Fate: Arc Kingdom

Chapter 1 - The Omen

Fairy tales. Myths. Legends. Stories with dashing heroes and sinister villains. Many of these tales share a common source and many diverge from their original tellings. No two versions of one story are ever exactly the same. They evolve, shift and adapt. This is one such a story. In two worlds of aura and magic, there was a young man who desired fo cherish and protect. He never imagined that he would be the one to pull the legendary sword from the stone. With that simple choice, he carved a new path for himself; the path of a hero and the path of a king. And so begins the story of the Arc Kingdom.

—1st June 734 AGW, Remnant - Kingdom of Atlas, Solitas—

Jaune and his team threw off their thick coats as soon as they entered Atlas Academy. Even in the summer, the bitter cold of Solitas still packed a punch. The heat from the generators hit them like a truck. Team JNPR all hummed delightfully as they welcomed the warmth.

Jaune: Woah man!! That's muuuuch better!

Nora: Ahhhhhh!!! It's good to be out of the cold.

Pyrrha: Oh my. *looks around* this place is magnificent!

Ren: *nods* It is remarkable indeed.

The inside of the building had royal blue marble floors, with ivory white walls, pictures of the various locations of Solitas and the alumni of Atlas Academy Huntsmen and Huntresses. Walking down the corridor was the headmaster of the school, General James Ironwood, sporting a five o'clock shadow. Accompanying him were two new faces. One of them was a young man with auburn hair, green eyes and who wore a white coat over an emerald green suit. Next to him was another man with long, white hair, light purple eyes, wearing dark purple suit.

James: Team JNPR, welcome to Atlas Academy. *smiles* It's great to see you again after so long.

Pyrrha: It's great to see you too, Headmaster Ironwood. Are you enjoying your summer break?

James: *chuckles* As much as I'd like to, I unfortunately can't. There's always work to be done if we want to stop the threat of the grimm.

Ren: Evil truly never sleeps, huh?

James: And neither do huntsmen and huntresses.

Jaune: *raises hand* Um, Headmaster? Who are your friends with you?

Dr. Roman: Oh sorry about that, *chuckles* I was waiting for Jimmy here to introduce us. I'm Dr. Romani Archaman, from Vacuo. Most of the students here just call me Dr. Roman. It's very nice to meet you.

Nora: Hi there, doc!

Dr. Merlin: And you may call me Dr. Merlin. I'm an old friend of Ozpin's. It's a pleasure to meet you all.

Pyrrha: Very nice to meet you too. *smiles*

Dr. Roman: James has told us so much about you and Team RWBY. I heard that you all managed to fight back against a grimm invasion in Beacon. That's insane!

Jaune: *chuckles* Well, that's a little exaggerated-

Dr. Roman: Not at all! For first year students to fight back, let alone survive is a fantastic achievement! You should all be proud of yourselves!

Ren: *shakes head* We were just doing our jobs as huntsmen and huntresses. Making sure everyone got out of there alive.

James: And it was thanks you, RWBY, SSSN, ARBN and the other students from all the academies that countless lives were saved that day. It's no small achievement, it was heroic. For that, I thank you. *bows*

Jaune: Well... uh... we're always ready to help out when needed.

James: I'm glad to hear that, because it's time I showed you what I, Roman and Merlin have been working on. Come with me.

Team JNPR followed James and the two doctors down the corridor. They approached the elevator and entered inside. Team JNPR noticed that below the buttons to all the floors was a keyhole. From his pocket, James took out a key and placed it in the keyhole, twisting it. The elevator started to go down and Nora's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Nora: Are we going to a secret basement?

Dr. Merlin: *chuckles* Something like that.

The further they went, the more ominous it felt. Pyrrha felt her skin crawl. She was reminded of what happened one year ago when she was led underground back at Beacon.

Jaune: *holds Pyrrha's hand* Are you okay?

Pyrrha: *shakes head* Not really. But thanks, Jaune. *smiles*

The elevator finally stopped and the door opened. As they stepped out, what they saw was almost otherworldly. The room was lit by a brillaint blue light. At the center was a large, blue holographic sphere floating above them. Surrounding it were several silver pillars. Team JNPR were in awe.

James: Team JNPR, I give you Project Arcadia.

Nora slowly walked ahead of her team and gazed at the sphere. She noticed something oddly familiar about it. There were shapes that looked just like the landmasses she saw on the maps of Remnant.

Nora: Is that Sanus? Anima? Menagerie? Solitas?

Dr. Roman: To answer all of that, yes. You're looking at Remnant.

Dr. Merlin: Though to be more accurate, it's a Remnant. But not your Remnant.

Nora: Wait what?

Pyrrha: I'm sorry?

James: What you're looking at here is another Remnant, one of many.

Jaune: One of many? As in like a multiverse?

James: Precisely.

Ren: Why would you have a projection of another Remnant down here? What's going on?

Dr. Merlin: *raises hand* I believe I can explain that. A few months ago, I had a vision of a great disaster that would befall the other Remnant. *deep sigh* Ozpin was dead... and the Kingdom of Vale had fallen. Nothing leff but ruins and scorched earth.

Team JNPR: What?!

Dr. Merlin: Yes, dead. At the hands of the dark witch, Salem. I believe you've heard of her?

Jaune: We've heard of her alright. She's an old enemy of Ozpin's. Ever since he's told us about the history between them, he's been training us to fight her.

Dr. Merlin: That's Ozpin for you. He's made the right decision.

Nora: O-Ozpin's gonna die? And Vale will... burn?

Dr. Merlin: That might be what the vision showed me, but I'm determined to avoid that fate as much as possible. This is where you four come in.

James: When Merlin told me of his vision, he mentioned that Salem gathered a group of rogue mages. Their magic was enhanced by a special Relic, of sorts; The Holy Grail.

Team JNPR: *eyes wide*

Dr. Roman: According to Merlin, this Relic is supposed to grant miracles. Perform feats of magic unattainable even for the most powerful mage. But if his vision comes true, that means Salem would get her hands on it.

Dr. Merlin: One way to avert this disaster would be to destroy the Grail. If that happens, Salem would be weakened. She could still be a formidable threat, but not enough to be invincible.

Pyrrha: Hold on... you want us to stop her, don't you?

Dr. Merlin: I'm afraid so. This is what Project Arcadia is; a form of multiverse travel.

James: *points to pillars* These are known as Coffins. Merlin and I were able to combine science and magic and use it for a new form of technology called Rayshifting. It transforms your body, breaking it down into its soul form, known as a Spritron. Once that's completed, you are then transferred into the universe. Or at least, that's how it's supposed to work.

Dr. Merlin: As this is a prototype, we cannot physically send you to this alternate Remnant. Instead, we can send your conciousness into the body of your alternate self.

Team JNPR couldn't believe what they were hearing. This wasn't an ordinary mission. Jaune was trembling.

Jaune: Wait a second... I don't get it. Why do you need us to help you with this mission? What's so special about us?

Dr. Merlin: Those are fair questions, my boy. In the vision, Ozpin was surrounded by the bodies of knights. Among those were you, your Team and Team RWBY. Clearly, he sees great potential in all of you. Why else would he train you to fight Salem? Or choose one of you to be the host of the Fall Maiden?

Pyrrha: How did you-?

Dr. Merlin: Nothing gets past me, Miss Nikos. *smirks*

Jaune: *slowly backs away*

Pyrrha: Jaune!

Nora: Woah there! *gently grabs him*

Ren: Do you mind if we think about this for a moment?

Dr. Roman: Of course. We understand that we're asking a lot from you. Take one of the vacant dorms and rest up for the night.

Pyrrha: Thank you, Dr. Roman. Come on, let's go.

[Atlas Dorm]

Jaune sat on his bed and stared at the ceiling. The more he stared, the more he could feel an overbearing weight on his chest. Beside him sat his friends, unsure of what to do.

Pyrrha: Is everything alright, Jaune?

Jaune: *turns to Pyrrha and sighs* I dunno, Pyrrha. I just... this is a lot to take in. I mean, we're talking about a multiverse here! On top of that, they want us to go inside... ourselves to prevent Vale's destruction? That's a lot of pressure!

Nora: You're telling me. I mean, they expect us to just drop everything and say 'yes' to this? We're dealing with unfamiliar technology here. What if something goes wrong?

Pyrrha: These are friends of Headmaster Ironwood. Ozpin seems to have put a lot of faith in them. If he trusts them, then so do I.

Ren: Just because Ozpin trusts them, that doesn't necessarily mean we should. Something about Merlin doesn't seem right. For all we know, he could be lying.

Pyrrha: Ren, you're being ridiculous.

Ren: Am I? I don't think it's wise to just take what Merlin is saying at face-value. The fact that they want us for this mission and not have Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang or anyone else join us is pretty suspicious if you ask me.

Pyrrha: Look, I'm not saying that it isn't weird or that we shouldn't be cautious. I agree that something doesn't feel right. But think about it for a moment, what would Merlin have to gain from lying to us? And why would Headmaster Ironwood, a friend of Ozpin's, want to go along with it?

Nora: Agh! This is making me my head spin! Jaune, what do you think we should do?

Jaune: ...I need some air. *promptly leaves the room*

Jaune slid down the wall in complete exhaustion. He felt like he was letting his team down. He was the leader and he knew that they were counting on him to make a decision right now. But he was struggling. No matter how many times Jaune thought about it, there wasn't an easy answer to this. He reached into his pocket and took out his scrollphone. He dialed the number of the one person who understood the most; Ruby. Facing the camera, he waited until he saw her face. He felt a wave of relief upon seeing her again.

Ruby: Hey there, Jaune! How's Atlas?

Jaune: Hi Ruby. Uh, yeah... it's... okay.

Ruby: *frowns* What's wrong?

Jaune: *sighs* It's kind of a long story.

Jaune explained to Ruby about the dire situation he and his Team were in. His fingers were trembling so much that he nearly dropped the scrollphone.

Ruby: Hm. That's pretty rough. Do you think you can trust this Merlin guy?

Jaune: I'm not sure. I mean, if this other Remnant's survival hinges on us, shouldn't we go and help it?

Ruby: Well... what does your heart say?

Jaune: *small, nervous chuckle* It says I should go. I've always wanted to help others and protect those who need it. Even if that Remnant isn't my own, I should go and protect everyone there. Heroes go and fight the battles make sure we all live a better tomorrow, right?

Ruby: *giggles* Well if that's what you feel, then you have your answer. Good luck, Jaune and tell the others that too.

Jaune: Thanks Ruby. You're the best.

Ruby: *shakes head* No, you're the best. Make sure you come back in one piece, we still need to hang out at the Sweet Shack. *giggles*

Jaune: You can count on that, no problem. See you, Ruby.

Ruby: See you, Jaune.

Jaune hung up the scrollphone and held it close to his chest. Seeing Ruby made his heart flutter. He put his scrollphone away and opened the door to come back inside, only to see Nora, Ren and Pyrrha tumbling onto the floor.

Jaune: What the?! Were you guys evesdropping?

Nora/Pyrrha: ...no?

Jaune: Even you, Ren?

Ren: ...I got curious.

Jaune: *shakes head* Never mind. Look, I think we should help out Merlin and Ironwood. We all signed on to be huntsmen and huntresses. That means we do everything we can to save people from grimm and other evils. It'd be pretty irresponsible to just back out.

Pyrrha: That's a very mature decision, Jaune. I'm with you.

Nora: You can count me in too. If we can handle an invasion in our world, then a witch from another world is no problem at all.

Jaune: Ren?

Ren: I still think something's off about this... but if you feel it's the right thing to do, then I'm with you all the way.

Jaune: Thanks guys. *smiles* Now come on, we've got a cup to destroy!

[shieldagent93]

I think it's been long enough that we can all admit it now.

Agents of SHIELD did Flashpoint better than The Flash (CW and DCEU versions).

Agents of SHIELD did Secret Invasion better than Secret Invasion.

Agents of SHIELD was just far better than people would give it credit for.

[bonefall]

OUTDATED: Bonefall Rewrite History Lesson

Hey there! This post is outdated! I rebranded to the Better Bones AU a while back. This post is still up for posterity's sake, but if you found your way here looking for a History Lesson, please go HERE instead!

Here’s that history lesson I promised!

I hope that this makes an accessible guide to the Bonefall Rewrite as a whole. Because I’m trying to be succinct with a really big project, this guide will just contain a brief recap of each ‘time period’ as I’ve rewritten them, followed by a straightforward list of eras.

Each arc has an Era Name to refer to the events that happen in it, instead of just referring to the nearest main series arc. 3 Eras create a Period, which carries a unique theme. I hope that they help to summarize events better!

There are 5 Periods so far; Ancient, Chivalric, Slash-and-Burn, Reaching, and Shifting.

Period 1: Ancient Period Dawn/Code/Skyfall Eras (This is the equivalent of Dawn of the Clans, Code of the Clans, up to Cloudstar’s Journey)

The Ancient Period is remembered through dramatic legends, exaggerated into fantastical myths and losing exact details over time. History becomes more 'accurate' and realistic as it becomes more recent.

Its first era, the Dawn Era, is the Clan's creation myth. It's an epic tale of the fall of the Great Clans of Lion, Leopard, and Tiger, and the rise of the modern 5. The founders are remembered on a level close to gods.

The Code Era that followed is remembered as a series of parables, each with a lesson about its attached part of the Warrior Code. The bulk of the code was formed in this time, but continues to be altered to the modern day.

The final, the Skyfall Era, consists of the events that eventually drove SkyClan out of the Forest. It’s largely used as a cautionary tale about how twolegs cannot be trusted, not as a lesson about how to prevent it from ever happening again. SkyClan is largely blamed for the reasons it was eventually banished.

Period 2: Chivalric Period Ripple/Crusade/Campaign Eras (This stretches from the exile of SkyClan to the death of Raggedstar, and includes books like Mapleshade’s Vengeance, Yellowfang’s Secret, and Bluestar’s Prophecy) 

The Chivalric Period is considered the ‘golden age’ by the Clan’s battle culture standards, full of deadly battles, invasions, and the largest revision of the Warrior Code in Clan history; it would remain unmatched until the later events of The Broken Code.

Its first period is the Ripple Era. After the exile of SkyClan, Dawnstar’s successor, Ripplestar, led a rebellion hoping to make space to bring them home. Its failure was taken as a sign the Clans were righteous. 

The next period was the Crusade Era. The drowning of Mapleshade’s kittens and the subsequent murders infuriated StarClan and caused them to give Darkstar a new commandment, leading to the Queen’s Rights. Oakstar tried to repent for his sins by starting crusades on the twolegplace, giving the era its name.

The four Clans dabbled in these crusades, until the Campaign Era, when Heatherstar began a war to take the Mothermouth Moors from ShadowClan. This sparked new inter-Clan conflict, as all four fought to reshuffle borders. From this time of war, the seeds of Thistle Law germinate in its founder’s mind.

Period 3: Slash-and-Burn Period Thistle/Fire/Ash Eras (This covers The Prophecies Begin, the reworked versions of Firestar’s Quest and Spottedleaf’s Heart, and other events in the same time.)

The Slash-and-Burn Period was a time of massive political upheaval for the Clans, beginning as Brokenstar took power and implemented Thistle Law into practice, reaching crescendo when Fire Alone saved the forest from Tigerstar, and ending during the destruction of the forest territories.

The Thistle Era was slowly born from the erosion of the Warrior Code during the brutality of the period before it. Thistle Law is a strict and bloody interpretation of the Code, emphasizing loyalty above all else, and is named after its founder Thistleclaw. It officially started when Brokenstar took power, as it was the first time Thistle Law was put into practice.

The Fire Era began when Firestar became an apprentice of ThunderClan. With his selfless actions, defiance of old customs, and Bluestar to mentor him, he founded a counter ideology known as Fire Alone. This came to a head with the Battle with BloodClan, which ended in the honorable defeat of Scourge and negotiations thereafter.

The Ash Era was a time of relative peace and reckoning, brought about through relations with new neighbors in BloodClan and truce between the forest Clans. This lasted until the destruction of the forest forced the Great Journey on them.

Period 4: Reaching Period Journey/Power/Omen Eras (This covers the later half of The New Prophecy, Power of Three, up to the battle with the Dark Forest in Omen of the Stars.)

The Reaching Period is so named because the entire period was defined by reaching new things. A new home, new understanding, new planes of existence… it’s fundamentally a period of new things, and acquiring them.

The Journey Era includes the trip to the lake, a brief stay with the Tribe, and officially ended with Mudclaw’s Rebellion and the punishment of the rebels that came after. The Clans don’t completely agree on when this period ended exactly; ThunderClan is partial to Brackenfur’s appointment as deputy, RiverClan argues that it ends with the sudden death of Leopardstar.

The Power Era was a calm but tense period of the Clans adjusting to new life at the lake, shifting borders and attempting to assert independence, as if it was a push against the oncoming tide of inter-clan cooperation. ThunderClan and its leadership, Firestar and his deputy Brackenfur, pushed for diplomacy until Brackenfur’s mysterious murder, followed by Firestar shortly after, thrusting Bramblestar into sudden power.

The Omen Era crashed into existence with tumult, the clans plunging into paranoia and violence. The Dark Forest grew in strength as the Clans engaged in pointless squabbles, and Lionblaze pushed his children, Ivypool and Dovewing, into danger for the 'greater good'.

Period 5: Shifting Period Revision/Rearrangement/Reckoning Eras

(This will cover the events of A Vision of Shadows, Tigerheart’s Shadow, Squirrelflight’s Hope, and The Broken Code)

The Shifting Period is about changes, as the Clans finally reckon with their culture producing the threat of the Kin, the territory shift to accommodate SkyClan’s return, and finally the tyranny of Ashfur.

During the Revision Era, Darktail seized discontent within ShadowClan to create a movement he could use to destroy them. Many half-clan cats, ex-dark forest trainees, and other code objectors joined his movement, only to find out he was using them. The Kin was only put down with the return of SkyClan, and Darktail's death marks the end of this era.

The Rearrangement Era refers to the literal rearranging of borders to welcome SkyClan to the Lake, a move that sparked war and controversy, even causing them to attack peaceful neighbors to make room. An amendment to the code was made in this time-- that all clans had a responsibility to ensure the preservation of the other 4.

And finally, the Reckoning Era was sparked by the possession of Bramblestar's body by Ashfur. Exploiting the code and resentment towards disloyalty sparked by the previous eras, Ashfur pushed Ivypool into being his pawn, eventually killing her daughter Bristlefrost for being in a half-Clan relationship. Bristlefrost sacrificed her own eternity to finally end Ashfur's tyranny in the Dark Forest, leading to the newest addition to the Warrior code-- Bristlefrost's Law.

And that catches us up!!! I won't be adding A Starless Clan to this list until it's all totally released, and for now we're all caught up!

That was a lot, so HERE'S just the straightfoward list of Periods and Eras, no notes, no nothing.

Ancient Period - Spans from the Sun Trail to the Exile of SkyClan.(Reworks books such as: Dawn of the Clans, Code of the Clans, and Cloudstar’s Journey)

Dawn Era Code Era Skyfall Era

Chivalric Period - Spans just post-Exile of SkyClan to the death of Heatherstar. (Reworks books such as: Mapleshade’s Vengeance, Tallstar’s Vengeance, Pinestar’s Choice)

Ripple Era Crusade Era  Campaign Era 

Slash and Burn Period - Spans from the Rise of Brokenstar to the Destruction of the Forest. (Reworks: Bluestar’s Prophecy, The Prophecies Begin, first half of The New Prophecy)

Thistle Era Fire Era Ash Era

Reaching Era - Spans from the Journey to the Lake, to the Dark Forest Battle. (Reworks: Power of Three, Omen of the Stars)

Journey Era Power Era Omen Era

Shifting Era - Spans from after the Dark Forest Battle up to the death of Bristlefrost. (Reworks: A Vision of Shadows, Squirrelflight’s Hope, The Broken Code)

Revision Era Rearrangement Era Reckoning Era