#creating conscripts

[governmentmandatedryujinstan420]

releasing this from the hj discord dungeon because the public populace was in agreement also i'm chronically offline on tumblr and need to fix that for my chronically online ahh

[nonprojectspecific]

TumblrCreatedConlang Poll 15

The speakers of TumblrCreatedConlang are non-human humanoids living in a mountainous region with a Csc climate. They have a technology level roughly equivalent to 8th century Europe and abundant magic, with most people being users of magic.

[paper-mario-wiki]

there's a game which automatically conscripts you into play when you create a tumblr account, and its scoring rubric looks like this

and if too many of the things you want to have sex with are in the pink zone of this triangle you score low.

you have probably seen this game played without realizing it. whenever somebody says "hear me out" they are looking to score more points.

[edenaziraphale]

There's a lot to be said about the weaknesses and strengths of the writing in Dragon Age games, but for me there's nothing that trumps the way the writers' implicit biases shine through in their treatment of various characters. Anders and Solas showcase the very worst of this. Functionally Anders and Solas could (and I would go so far as to say should) operate as foils to one another. Anders is a victim of decades of abuse at the hands of both individuals and a system that demonized him from a very young age. We are given information about his childhood and time spent in the circle that makes it explicitly clear that Circles are an unjust and abusive system that traumatized him so much that he fled multiple times regardless of the fact that he knew the abuse would escalate each time he escaped. In the end, he chooses to chance death and lifelong struggle via conscription because it is his only shot at escaping his current reality. After that, in DA2, it's made clear that Kirkwall's circle is even worse. Karl is made tranquil, the templars are mad with power, and it's heavily implied that the tranquil are utilized as sex slaves and that some templars may even be selecting mages for tranquility based on their desire for them alone. In the light of all of that, Anders makes a very desperate and destructive choice. Regardless of how players feel about his actions, it's not really up for debate that the context surrounding them creates mitigating circumstances and a sympathetic backing. He was attempting to affect positive change for a group of people facing fates that the game makes clear are worse than death. Despite this, the game's writing treats him as an unsympathetic villain whose actions are not only reprehensible, but completely beyond the realm of human understanding. That dynamic at the end of DA2 carries into DAI. Solas, on the other hand, is on a quest to undo his own actions. His initial construction of the Veil and the problems that it caused can be viewed with (some) similarity to Anders circumstances in that Solas was attempting to right a wrong done by someone else, but the key difference is that, unlike Anders, who was a powerless victim attempting to free other powerless victims, Solas was on a revenge quest to avenge the death of his friend and had an incredible amount of power within the system that he existed as a part of.

His actions had horrific consequences that birthed what is essentially an entirely new existence for everyone in Thedas eons before the start of any of the games. He finds the outcome of his own actions intolerable, and seeks to reverse them. He harms friends and allies to do so, and makes it explicitly clear that he does not care who he harms or what the consequences are to Thedas or the people who live there in his quest to bring back the version of the world that he liked better. Functionally, Solas makes an excellent villain. He stands out from Anders (who operates in his narrative as a symbol of the rage and disenfranchisement of the powerless) as a representation of power and ego unchecked and the damage that they can cause.

Unfortunately, the writing of the game treats him as though he is the tragically complex victim of forces outside of his control when he is in fact the over-powered puppeteer. He is very much the master of his own destiny and he intends to be the master of everyone else's destiny as well by ripping apart the fabric of reality. No character in the series better demonstrates the writer's biases than Varric, who, as a narrator for DA2, essentially acts as the moral arbiter telling players how they should and should not feel about events, explaining what is and is not moral. His reactions to Anders stand out in sharp relief against what we see of his reaction to Solas in the Veilguard releases so far.

To be clear, I don't hate Solas as a character. I think as a villain, he works very well. His complete and total disregard for the wellbeing of others paired with his affect of wise and gentle mage are compelling to witness. His motivations are understandable from the selfish and self-centered core of us as people. He's a fantastic reminder of what happens when we decide that we know what's best with no input from others, when we pursue our desires above all else beneath the veneer of wisdom. He's fun, well rounded, and interesting. He is not, however, a tragic and morally justified sadboi victim of circumstance, and I resent that the writers treated him as though he was.

[martincrushcameback]

First couple sketches for the Superhero AU!

I need superhero names for them lol.....

Welcome to a world where Supers have to register their powers with the government and are automatically sent for training with the Hero Defense Force (whether they want to or not)! But if your powers are deemed too dangerous you will be sent for "Decommissioning" (naughty powers get sent to the pit) definitely so that the Villains don't get a hold of you and not for some absolutely nefarious purpose no siree..... >.>

Most supers nowadays hide their powers because they don't want to be conscripted, but you better hope they don't catch you avoiding conscription. People with more than one power are called DTs (Double Troubles) and they're highly sought after because they are more powerful than the average super.

Martin has ice powers he uses primarily to create shields and super strength. He was found out in his late teens when they manifested. Chris has animal telepathy and was discovered much more recently (he also has future visions he can't control that he's been hiding). The two are placed on a Hero Squad with Aviva (The only known Technokinetic to have full control over her powers in the world), Koki (Human GPS who can locate anyone and anything in the world so long as she has a piece of something that is theirs), and Jimmy (who has healing and calming power but he hides the latter because it's a very exploitable power).

Together they have to fight the villains who have all been fighting against the HDF for a long time for nefarious purposes. (Or are they?)

Anyways Chris's visions eventually get him caught and he's taken for Decommissioning...... >83c

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Dark Humor

Dark Comedy - (or black comedy) a genre of film, television, and literature that brings satire and dark humor to subjects that are depressing, frightening, unpleasant, or taboo.

The best dark comedies simultaneously entertain and expose corners of the human condition that make the audience uncomfortable.

Films in this subgenre of comedy create catharsis by heightening the absurdity and irony of painful subjects, imbuing them

Tips for Writing a Dark Comedy

If you’re writing a dark comedy script, there are several screenwriting tips that will help you transform your dark sense of humor into a great dark comedy.

Start from the truth. A great dark comedy approaches its subject matter with truthfulness, and the best comedy offers absurdity based in reality. No matter how uncomfortable your subject, emotional honesty is necessary if you want the story to resonate.

Build three-dimensional characters. Many writers populate comedic films with two-dimensional characters who exhibit funny quirks but rarely experience growth or change. That works for farces and slapstick, but given how bleak dark comedies can be, it helps to have three-dimensional characters who tackle serious subjects in human ways. Of course, you can still write these characters into situations rife with black humor.

Push boundaries. Even if you're committed to grounding your story in truth, you can still push boundaries into the plausibly ridiculous. Sinister subjects and gallows humor make for a memorable genre film, and you can write dark comedy within the realms of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror and still maintain a sense of authenticity.

Know your ending. Even the funniest comedy writers need space to brainstorm comedies with serious topics and dark subjects. Even as you explore plot twists, make sure you always know where the story is going. If you stack a dozen dark humor jokes on top of each other, you might write yourself into a corner with no satisfying way to reach a conclusion. So make sure you have a plan. Indulge in funny ideas as they come to you, but leave yourself a way to bring all the funny threads to an organic resolution.

Examples of Classic Dark Comedy

Hollywood has produced a wealth of dark comedies, the highlights of which include:

Dr. Strangelove (1964): This dark satire from director Stanley Kubrick skewers the arms race at the heart of the Cold War. Though the subject matter (impending nuclear annihilation) couldn’t be more serious, the tone of the film is characterized by slapstick and silliness.

Fargo (1996): Perhaps the most celebrated of Joel and Ethan Coen’s many films, Fargo is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes very dark tale of a kidnapping gone wrong. The Coen brothers handle unsettling subject matter in this film with a level of understatement that, at times, is jarringly funny.

Pulp Fiction (1994): Like the best dark comedy movies, this genre-bending Quentin Tarantino film deals with touchy subjects like drug use and violence yet maintains an upbeat energy that keeps it from ever getting too bleak.

M*A*S*H (1970): Robert Altman’s comedy later inspired a TV sitcom. Set in a military barracks during the Korean War, the film debuted in 1970 at the height of the Vietnam War and touched on the absurdity of war in a time when Americans were actively being conscripted into military service.

Harold and Maude (1971): On the one hand, director Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude is an unlikely and odd tale of an intergenerational romance. On the other hand, it's a stark meditation on death. As a dark comedy, it succeeds in both its aims.

Source ⚜ More: Notes ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs ⚜ Dry Humor

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

How bad did things even get during the Time War anyway?

How bad was the Time War?

The Last Great Time War was a complete breakdown of cause and effect, logic, and everything that made the universe vaguely comprehensible. It lasted 400 years linearly, but in reality, it was an eternal, ever-shifting conflict fought across countless time periods and alternate timelines. By the time it ended (sort of), even the concept of victory had stopped making sense.

🌀 The War Broke Time Itself

⏳ Time was rewritten constantly. Battles weren't just fought in space—they were fought across entire timelines. Victory could be erased retroactively, and some battles lasted for centuries in one version of history, seconds in another, and never even started in a third.

🧬 Entire species were unmade, then remade, then unmade again. Some were wiped out so thoroughly that no one even remembered they had ever existed. The Daleks seeded themselves throughout different epochs to ensure their survival in multiple timelines.

📖 History itself became a battlefield. Some battles ended before they began, and some never ended at all. Some were fought, won, and then rewritten so that the losers always won instead.

🧠 Conceptual warfare existed. Imagine an army that only exists if enough people believe in it. Imagine ideas being used as weapons, timelines unravelling into paradox knots, and reality breaking under strain.

💀 Millions were killed and brought back to life every second. Time Lords and Daleks alike resurrected their own forces on an industrial scale—a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth, ensuring the war never ran out of soldiers.

💀 Unthinkable Casualties

🔥 Planets were burned from time. Not just destroyed—erased. No ruins, no survivors, no memory they had ever existed.

🌌 Entire galaxies were reduced to cinders. Some were aged into dust in seconds. Others were trapped in permanent time loops, reliving the same devastation forever. Some were sealed in paradox bubbles, their populations stuck in an infinite moment of destruction.

👥 Whole civilisations were conscripted, wiped out, or worse. The Time Lords and Daleks weren't the only players—countless other species were caught in the crossfire. Some were recruited without their knowledge, and entire populations were twisted into warriors who never knew they had fought.

🚀 Refugees couldn't run. Because the war wasn't just happening everywhere; it was happening everywhen. Some tried to escape into the past, only to find it had already been rewritten. Others fled into the future, only to arrive at their own extinction.

🌠 Species were erased just to remove them as a strategic variable. The people of Ysalus were completely wiped from history, while others were forcibly rewritten into weapons of war.

🔬 The Weapons Were Insane

💀 The Time Lords built weapons that erased you from history before you were even born. Some of them removed individuals so thoroughly that even the concept of them ceased to exist.

🌪️The Daleks created time winds that could strip you down to raw possibility. They could reduce a being to nothing but potential energy, scattering them across history as stray thoughts and fragmented echoes.

🛡️ There were living weapons that thought and felt, cities that consumed invaders, and paradox bombs that collapsed entire timelines. Some planets developed sentience mid-battle and chose to self-destruct rather than be conquered.

👁️ The Nightmare Child, the Army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres, the Could-Have-Been King…

🧩 The Time Lords created battle TARDISes that were piloted by soldiers who could be resurrected indefinitely. The War Council threw entire fleets of Time Lords into battle, knowing they could die, be revived, and die again.

👑 And the Time Lords Became Morally Dubious

⚖️ Gallifrey abandoned every principle it stood for. The Laws of Time? Gone. Ethics? Forgotten. Anything was permitted in the name of survival.

🎭 The High Council became so desperate that they tried to destroy all of reality just to win. In the end, the only way they saw to "defeat" the Daleks was to end the entire universe.

☠️ The Time Lords nearly became as bad as the Daleks. Some would say they were worse.

👑 Rassilon returned, and his idea of victory was ending the entire universe. He saw Gallifrey's survival as the only thing that mattered. If everything else had to burn, so be it.

🧩 Entire divisions of Time Lords went rogue, forming resistance movements against their own leaders. The War Master, the Barber-Surgeon, and Morbius all saw the war as an opportunity to further their own agendas.

🏫 So ...

It wasn't just a war. It was the apocalypse, written and rewritten over and over again, until the only solution left was to burn it all down. And even that didn't quite work.

Related:

💬|⚔️⌛How did the Time War start?: The complicated origins of the Time War.

💬|⚔️🔒How does the Time War time lock work?: The extent of the time lock and its current status.

📺|⚔️🪖The Could’ve Been King with his army of … etc.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features: ⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[whencyclopedia]

Weapons in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptian military is often imagined in modern films and other media as a heavily armed and disciplined fighting force equipped with powerful weapons. This depiction, however, is only true of the Egyptian army of the New Kingdom (c. 1570-1069 BCE) and, to a lesser extent, the army of the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE), when the first professional armed force was created by Amenemhat I (c. 1991-1962 BCE). Prior to this time, the army was made up of conscripts from different districts (nomes) who were enlisted by their respective governors (nomarchs). Although this early army was certainly effective enough for its purpose, it was not a group of professional soldiers equipped with the most effective weaponry. Egyptologist Helen Strudwick notes:

Soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdoms were fairly inadequately equipped. The only development in weapons since Predynastic times had been the replacement of flint blades with those of copper. (464)

Weaponry in ancient Egypt developed in response to its necessity. The early bows, knives, and axes of the Predynastic Period in Egypt (c. 6000-c.3150 BCE) through the Old Kingdom (c. 2613-2181 BCE) were sufficient in putting down local rebellions or conquering neighbors on the border, who were similarly armed but were not the most efficient. As Egypt expanded its influence throughout neighboring regions and came into conflict with other nations, they needed to make a number of adjustments; one of these was in weaponry.

Early Egyptian Weapons

In the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt (c. 3150-c.2613 BCE), military weaponry was comprised of maces, daggers, and spears. The spear had been developed by hunters during the Predynastic Period and changed very little except, like daggers, the tip changed from flint to copper. Even so, the majority of spear- and arrowheads from the Old Kingdom of Egypt seem to have been largely flint. An Egyptian soldier would have carried a spear and dagger, and a shield probably made of animal hide or woven papyrus.

These weapons were supplemented during the Old Kingdom by archers who used a simple single-arched bow with reed arrows and flint or copper tips. These bows were difficult to draw, were only effective at close range and, even then, were not very accurate. The archers, like the rest of the army, were drawn from the lower-class peasantry and would have had little experience with a bow in hunting. Egyptologist Margaret Bunson describes the Old Kingdom army:

The soldiers of the Old Kingdom were depicted as wearing skull caps and carrying clan or nome-totems. They used maces with wooden heads or pear-shaped stone heads. Bows and arrows were standard gear, with square-tipped flint arrowheads and leather quivers. Some shields, made of hides, were in use but not generally. Most of the troops were barefoot, dressed in simple kilts, or naked. (168)

Weapons, and the military in general, did not begin to develop significantly until the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. When the central government of the Old Kingdom collapsed, it initiated the era known as the First Intermediate Period of Egypt (c. 2181- 2040 BCE) in which the individual nomarchs had more power than the king. These nomarchs would still send conscripts to the government when called upon but were free to exercise their own power and extend it beyond their districts if they wished.

This is precisely what did happen when Mentuhotep II of Thebes (c. 2061-2010 BCE) elevated his city from just another nome in Egypt to the capital of the country. Mentuhotep II defeated the ruling party at Herakleopolis c. 2040 BCE and united the country under Theban rule.

Continue reading...

[nonprojectspecific]

TumblrCreatedConlang Poll 27

Se Bvádo-o-rom-gréte-dneví-sehí-húdo-re-brem, or TumblrCreatedConlang, has a base 12 number system and with a base 6 subsystem in the modern language. Today we are looking at how numbers where originally written way back before there was a writing system.

The glyph for /x/ developed from the glyph for the number two reflecting the protoword for two *xaɹe. From that glyph we know that two was written with two vertical bars and a horizontal bar was used to track if tally marks belonged to the same count. From this three options for the proto system have been developed:

[fearfulfertility]

CONFIDENTIAL TRANSCRIPT

To: Senator [REDACTED], Congressional Committee on Population Sustainability

From: Director [REDACTED], Department of Reproductive Compliance

Date: [REDACTED]

Subject: Operational Justification of Surrogate Conscription

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Recent census data indicate reproduction rates have risen to [REDACTED]%, a significant improvement in national fertility rates and surpassing the [REDACTED]% emergency threshold used initially to justify surrogate conscription. While positive, abandoning our highly effective operational framework at this stage would pose political risks and threaten the stability we’ve carefully built. This transcript outlines the necessity and strategic value of continuing the surrogate conscription program, emphasizing its critical role in political control, administrative stability, and public perception.

MEETING TRANSCRIPT

Participants:

Director [REDACTED] – Department of Reproductive Compliance

Senator [REDACTED] – Congressional Committee on Population Sustainability

Location: Executive Lounge, DRC Headquarters

Date & Time:  [REDACTED], 17:30 hours

[BEGIN TRANSCRIPT]

Director [REDACTED]

Well, Senator, I suppose you’ve seen the latest census numbers—fertility's up across the board. Technically speaking, our crisis justification is fading quicker than expected. Some eager folks up on Capitol Hill might think this means we need to roll back the conscription program.

Senator [REDACTED]

Aw, c'mon now, Director. Ya ain’t thinkin’ about pullin’ the plug just ’cause a few extra babies got born, are ya? Shoot, son, half the fun of bein' up here is keepin' folks convinced there's a crisis. Gives us room to maneuver, ya see.

Director [REDACTED]

Exactly my thought, Senator. We've created something far too useful to just hand it back. The department’s grown into a real political powerhouse. Thousands of jobs depend on it—not to mention a few bits of fun here and there. Honestly, why would we want to walk away from all that?

Senator [REDACTED]

Couldn't agree more, friend. Hell, between you an' me, the DRC's become as American as apple pie—folks’d probably be suspicious if we didn’t keep this thing runnin’. Besides, plenty of my colleagues have gotten mighty comfortable with the perks, if ya catch my drift. Be a shame to disrupt their fun... uh… good fortune.

Director [REDACTED]

Oh, I absolutely catch your drift, Senator. The truth is, this program provides more than just babies. It provides stability, consistency—and the boys certainly are beautiful once their nice and plump? Plus, ending it now would open up a whole can of ethical worms. People might start asking awkward questions. I'd prefer we not give them that opportunity.

Senator [REDACTED]

Ha! Ethical worms, that's rich. The day we start worryin' ’bout ethics in this building is the day we both retire early, am I right? Nah, the public's happier thinkin' we're savin' civilization, one preggo whore at a time. Makes a mighty fine talkin' point at the barbecue, too. Folks eat it right up.

Director [REDACTED]

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Politically, this whole operation has been gold. We’ve built something that keeps the administration looking heroic and decisive—people trust us to handle things, no questions asked. Why let reality spoil a good time?

Senator [REDACTED]

Amen, brother. Look, just write up somethin' fancy ’bout demographic stabilization or some such thing. Keep the tone cautious, say we’re monitorin’ the situation, buy us another [REDACTED], maybe a solid [REDACTED] years easy. You know how the game goes—nobody reads the fine print anyway.

Director [REDACTED]

Perfect. We'll frame it as necessary caution—no rush to celebrate just yet. As long as the public believes there's still work to do, they'll never question our operations. That gives us political cover indefinitely.

Senator [REDACTED]

Exactly! And let’s be honest, the jobs, the contracts—hell, the whole kit and caboodle—it’s got a momentum of its own. It’d be downright unpatriotic to turn that gravy train around now. My friends up in Congress would tar and feather anyone who tried to put a stop to it.

Director [REDACTED]

Then we’re agreed. We stay the course. Keep everyone employed, comfortable, and blissfully unaware. I'll draft the usual vague assurances of ongoing evaluation—make it sound reassuringly scientific and absolutely necessary.

Senator [REDACTED]

Sounds mighty fine. Ya know, Director, it’s always good catchin’ up. Folks out there think we're all business, but they don’t know how much fun we have keepin’ this circus runnin’.

Director [REDACTED]

Couldn’t agree more, Senator. I’ll send you the draft memo tomorrow morning. Let’s keep the good times running.

Senator [REDACTED]

Speakin' of good times, I gotta hand it to ya, Director. That little visit you arranged for me at Site [REDACTED]—that was somethin' else. Beautiful beach, sunshine, nothin' but relaxation. And them two boys you sent to keep me company? Well, son, let’s just say you sure know how to show an old senator a mighty fine time.

Director [REDACTED]

Glad you enjoyed yourself, Senator. I made sure those two were hand-picked… and heavily dosed with the [REDACTED] serum to make them… very compliant. Consider it my personal thanks for all the unwavering support you've thrown our way.

Senator [REDACTED] 

Ha! Well, I appreciate it. Tell ya what, seein' ’em relax and enjoyin' themselves out there on the beach was a real treat. Could hardly believe how big they were gettin', though. Good lord, Director, you're certainly keepin' those boys productive.

Director [REDACTED] (laughs):

You know my motto—maximum output, maximum efficiency. Those two were some of our top performers, too. Healthy, fit, very full. Figured you'd appreciate the quality assurance firsthand.

Senator [REDACTED]

Quality assurance indeed! Now, I've seen my fair share of your compounds and your boys in various stages—but relaxin' with 'em out there on that beach? That was a whole new level. Ya know, it was almost surreal, watchin' those young fellas soak up the sun with bellies so big they couldn’t even stand without help. Lord Almighty, Director, ya sure keep ’em productive, don't ya?

Director [REDACTED]

Hope they met expectations?

Senator [REDACTED]

Exceeded ’em, Director! You know, though, watchin' them big boys struggle to move even a few inches—felt like watchin' turtles flipped on their backs. Cute turtles, mind ya, but stuck all the same. But heck, your boys were always eager to climb into my lap for some attention. Pure entertainment and a little bit o' acrobatics, all rolled into one.

Director [REDACTED]

Well, Senator, we like to think of it as motivational entertainment. Besides, there are worse ways to spend the weekend. And, of course, we didn't want them too active. Can't risk early deliveries outside compound oversight.

Senator [REDACTED] 

Truth be told, I almost felt bad knowin' what awaited ’em afterward. But, hey, least they got one last vacation outta the deal, right? You spoil 'em, Director.

Director [REDACTED]

Only the best, Senator. Besides, these little "field trips" help boost morale among the handlers, too. A few perks here and there go a long way in keeping the whole operation running smooth.

Senator [REDACTED]

Exactly. Keepin’ spirits high, and bellies round, eh? That’s the ticket. You keep arrangin' trips like that one, and you'll never hear me complain, I guarantee it.

Director [REDACTED]

Duly noted, Senator. Consider it standard operational procedure going forward. Anything else I can arrange for you?

Senator [REDACTED]

 I'll let ya know, son. I'll let ya know.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

CONCLUSION

Given its strategic and political value, the recent positive fertility indicators do not justify dismantling the surrogate conscription program. Sustaining current operations provides employment stability, preserves political advantage, and ensures ongoing public confidence. The continuation of the surrogate conscription initiative remains both pragmatically and politically indispensable.

Respectfully submitted,

Director [REDACTED], DRC

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

ADDENDUM

RE: Follow-Up on Surrogates from Senator [REDACTED]’s Recent Visit to Site [REDACTED]

This addendum documents the current status of Surrogates S-142-244-M and S-129-129-O, who accompanied Senator [REDACTED] during his recent recreational visit to Site [REDACTED].

Surrogate S-142-244-M (Tridecuplets) entered labor [REDACTED] days following the Senator’s departure. After successful delivery of all 13 offspring, surrogate health rapidly deteriorated, resulting in expiration approximately [REDACTED] minutes post-delivery. Cause of expiration confirmed as [REDACTED] due to extreme [REDACTED].

Surrogate S-129-129-O (Quindecuplets) commenced active labor approximately [REDACTED] hours following the Senator's departure, successfully delivering 15 offspring. Post-delivery vitals indicated severe [REDACTED] rupture and systemic exhaustion, resulting in expiration [REDACTED] minutes after delivering the final fetus.

All offspring from both surrogates survived birth and have been transferred to standard neonatal processing. No further action is required.

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

Click Here to return to DRC Report Archives

[hawkatana]

So, given everything that's happened in recent hours, I thought I might give people who don't know about Gundam some stuff to learn about. Hopefully I can give a balanced and not-racist take like some people.

What is Gundam?

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino with help by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and animated by the studio Sunrise (currently Bandai Namco Animation, though I refuse to call them that), the original Mobile Suit Gundam released in 1979 to initially-limited success, though would gain popularity through a combination of fujoshis shipping the characters, the sale of plastic model kits referred to as "Gunpla" and a recut of the series into three compilation movies throughout the early 80's. And as of 2024 is the 66th highest-grossing media franchise of all time, beating out Scooby Doo, Minecraft and the Simpsons.

Also, I'm pretty sure it's what sparked Japanese sci-fi's obsession with O'Neill Cylinders.

The original anime takes place in the year 0079 of the Universal Century, where the Principality of Zeon: a nation composed of orbital space colonies declares a war of independence against the Earth Federation. This "One Year War" has already claimed half the human population by series start and is waged through the use of "Mobile Suits": bipedal mecha powered by a fusion reactor capable of effectively fighting out in the reaches of space.

Main character Amuro Ray is the son of a Federation engineer who lives in an out-of-the-way space colony, though soon finds his home under attack by a Zeon infiltration. After finding the secret Mobile Suit project his father was working on: the RX-78-2 Gundam, he fights off the Zeon invaders, though finds himself and a bunch of other kids conscripted by the Federation to fight the forces of Zeon aboard the ship the White Base. Throughout his journey, Amuro and the Gundam fight many battles against Zeon, including against their mysterious masked ace pilot Char Aznable.

The series was responsible for the codification (but not creation, people get this wrong all the time) of the "Real Robot" subgenre of mecha, where the robots were relatively more realistic and used as weapons of war as opposed to the more fantastical "Super Robot" subgenre pioneered by Mazinger Z and Getter Robo.

A major theme of the show, and the franchise as a whole is "War is bad", as demonstrated through this meme:

Yes, this is the original version of this meme format.

Anyway, Tomino, a renowned pacifist who grew up in the shadow of Japan's involvement in WW2 tried to use his platform as an anime director to try and tell a story that would get people to realise war's futility and brutality.

So I hear you asking, "That's nice and all, but what about the space lesbians who beat Destiel on their home turf?" Well, let's get into that.

What is the Witch From Mercury?

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, or "G-Witch" for short is one of the more recent entries in the Gundam Franchise and a (very) loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Set in the year 122 Ad Stella, the solar system is under the de facto control of the Benerit Group: a megacorporation with borderline-medieval internal politics that maintains a system of capitalism that benefits Spacians at the expense of those who live on Earth.

Main heroine Suletta Mercury enrolls at Asticassia School of Technology owned by the Benrit Group at the behest of her mother: CEO Prospera Mercury of the Mercury-based Shin Sei Development Corporation, and wins a Mobile Suit duel against a bully in her own MS: the Gundam Aerial. This however means she has now won the hand in marriage of daughter of the Benerit Group CEO: Miorine Rembran, beginning a series of consequences that shape the very political landscape of the solar system.

G-Witch was a massive hit, both critically and commercially. The first episode: the Witch and the Bride attracting record numbers for the studio and the Gunpla kit for the Aerial is currently the best-selling Gunpla kit ever.

Contrary to popular belief, G-Witch is not the first piece of Gundam media to feature a female protagonist. That honour would go to the 2002 Japan-only manga École du Ciel, nor would it have the first queer main character, which goes to 1999's Turn-A Gundam (and if you were to ask any fan of the series, they'd so it goes back to the very beginning). But it became notable for its lesbian representation in anime (in spite of Sunrise's attempts to downplay it, to the anger of the director, writer, producer, artists, animators, cast, fans and even their own parent company Bandai Namco who forced them to back off).

One thing I need to clarify: You don't need to have watched the original series to enjoy G-Witch. They're not even in the same continuity.

So if you're interested in the series and you've only watched G-Witch, I'll give out three recommendations for you all to enjoy:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Gundam 00 takes place in the year 2307 (the only series to use our own calendar), where the world is divided between three global superpowers: The Union of Free & Solar Nations (The Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Japan), the Human Reform League (China, South, East, Southeast and Central Asia) and the Advanced European Union (all of Europe, including all of Russia west of the Urals) who each control a space elevator near the equator and wage proxy-wars in Africa and the Middle-East over Earth's dwindling resources. This eventually culminates in the emergence of Celestial Being: a terrorist group consisting of Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tierria Erde, all of whom use powerful "Gundam" Mobile Suits and try to forcefully impose global peace on the Earth.

00 is pretty slow-paced and is more about the world than the individual characters, but said characters are really well-written, especially the characters from the three power blocs who are the de facto protagonists as they try to stop what are in their eyes a bunch of crazed terrorists preaching a hypocritical and incoherent ideology of "peace through force".

And to address the elephant in the room, this series is VERY post-9/11. Constant talks about terrorism, proxy-conflicts in the global south (especially the Middle-East), religious extremism, dwindling resources and the wars fought over them. While the franchise has always been political and of-its-time, you can just tell 00 was made in the mid-2000's. Again, it's good. But just something to keep in mind.

Turn-A Gundam

Turn-A Gundam is one of the weirder elements of the franchise for a myriad of reasons. Not the least of which being its unique setting taking inspiration from the famous sci-fi novel War of the Worlds.

In the Year 2345 of the Correct Century, human civilisation is at a level of technology reminiscent of the late-19th/early 20th centuries, save for the Moonrace on... well, the moon. As part of their queen Diana Soreil's plan to reintegrate both Lunar and Terran societies, several scouts are sent to the planet to set up their return to the planet. One such scout: Loran Cehack integrates into Terran society as a driver for the wealthy Heim family, though at a coming of age ceremony for the family's second daughter, a member of the Moonrace attacks the technologically-inferior Terrans. However, a mysterious mustached statue breaks apart to reveal a "White Doll": the Turn-A Gundam, allowing Loran to fend off the invaders. rest of the series becomes more of a mystery to how the supposedly-peace loving Moonrace could allow of such brutality.

The setting of the Correct Century timeline alone is one of the draws of Turn-A, though its excellent characters and compelling mystery also help a lot.

I do however have two warnings for people interested in watching it. The first is that this series was never dubbed. While it did receive an official sub in 2015, there still isn't a dub for the series. So if that bothers you, there's your warning.

The other is that there's a pretty big twist in the latter part of the series that while I will not spoil it here, it's such a big deal that I can't not mention it. It doesn't make any sense, and it actively detracts from not just the series, but the whole franchise. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't ruin my enjoyment, but a lot of people don't like Turn-A for that alone.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Favourite entry. Don't care. It's peak.

In the Year 60 of the Future Century, war has been abandoned by the nations of humanity in favour of the Gundam fight: a quad-annual fighting tournament between Gundams representative of the countries of the world where the winner rules space until the next Gundam fight, all while leaving the Earth ecologically devastated in the fighting. Neo-Japan's Gundam Fighter: Domon Kasshu arrives on Earth seeking information on his older brother Kyoji, who killed their mother and led to their father's arrest before stealing the experimental Devil Gundam to Earth, beating up every Gundam Fighter in his way. However, he eventually learns of far more dangerous revelations about the incident.

G Gundam is to put it bluntly: bat-shit insane. And I love it. It basically took a look at the then-stagnating franchise in the wake of the wet fart that was Victory Gundam and said "I know what can save this franchise, Bruce Lee movies!" And it somehow worked.

Word of advice: watch it dubbed. Mark Gatha absolutely kills it as Domon every time, and puts just the right amount of ham into every line.

So yeah, that's some stuff on Gundam. This was a long post to write out. I'm gonna take a break now.

[drakorn]

Rewriting Veilguard Part 3 - The Grey Wardens

Rewriting Veilguard Part 2 - The Shadow Dragons

Disclaimer: I don't hate the game, I actually think it's quite great given the development hell Bioware went through in those 10 years. This is more of a hypothetical universe where there was less of that behind the scenes drama. Just a fun writing exercise.

Writing an Origin Story Mission for the Grey Wardens

So before we start, I would like to notify you of three minor changes I made to my previous blog entry regarding the Shadow Dragons:

Varric no longer tells us about Solas straight away. I believe that’s a bomb that would be more effective when dropped later, otherwise poor Rook might just be a tad overwhelmed.

Neve stays in Minrathous rather than accompanying Rook and Varric. Yeah, as much as I like the idea of your chosen faction determining your first companion, I don’t think it’s really doable given the circumstances a few other companions find themselves in at the start of the game.

The Dreadwolf title card does not appear just yet. I found a better spot to use it later.

Now that we have dealt with the Shadow Dragon origin story, let us move on to the Grey Wardens. And here, we are going to have some fun because boy do I have ideas for this one.

The Grey Wardens were kinda the faction I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to playing at first and there’s a reason for that. You see, we already played a Grey Warden in DAO, and I actually like each game’s protagonist being someone very different. However, when I think about it now, there is some narrative logic to it. If DAV truly is the last Dragon Age game (which is very up in the air right now), it makes total sense to have this choice to bookend the story. You started as a Grey Warden, and now you’ll finish as one. Plus, with the Blight giving us its last hoorah in this one, it only makes sense to put the Wardens in a more prominent position once again.

So, without further ado, let us jump into the Grey Warden origin story!

Creating Rook

We start a new game, Varric gives his opening narration about the overall state of Northern Thedas, and this time, we click on the Grey Warden origin. The little blurb reads as follows:

“You are a Grey Warden. An ancient military order sworn to battle the ever-present threat of the Darkspawn, the Wardens undergo secret, unbreakable rites that grant them supernatural powers against the Taint. As the last surviving member of the Dornen outlaws, you joined the order after a passing Senior Warden invoked the Right of Conscription at your execution and gave you the chance to fight another day. But what you will do with it, that is up to you.”

Right there, we have a great canvas to paint with when it comes to sheer roleplay. We are a former criminal, the last survivor of a group known as the Dornen. Our group wasn’t, like, evil, but we were enough of a presence in the area in and around Hossberg to cause some proper trouble. The Anderfels is a dangerous land, the most dangerous one in Thedas. People don’t live, they survive. This means that many turn to unlawful ways to make ends meet. But being a former outlaw beautifully lines up with the theme of second chances the Order gives to so many people.

In DAV, our Warden’s name is Thorne. “Dornen” is the German words for “Thorns”. The Anderfels’ linguistic and etymological side is mostly based on German (“Anderfels” meaning “Other Rock” or “Weisshaupt” meaning “White Head”). So wouldn’t it be a fun idea if “Thorne” isn’t really the Warden’s last name but just the name they ended up going with? They arguably never knew their family name and the Dornen were as close to one as they could have gotten.

Unlike Mercar, your racial choice won’t really have that much of an impact here as the Wardens accept everyone into their ranks, as long as they can fight. However, if you choose to be a Qunari, it will add a few unique dialogue lines about how few Qunari there are in the order. You are probably one of the only ones.

For this hypothetical playthrough, we shall pick a dwarf warrior, and I’m giving him a big ginger beard. Just going full Lord of the Rings here.

Alright, so we just generated our Thorne, and now we get to hear Varric’s continued narration. We get a series of those beautiful tarot-styled illustrations with Varric’s voice telling us what’s been happening with the Wardens for the last decade. The Wardens in the North specifically have been all gradually returning to Weisshaupt Fortress, by order of the First Warden. They have become much more reclusive and secretive than they already were and are sharing practically nothing with the outside world. Something’s definitely going on. And Varric thinks it might be part of something larger.

Weisshaupt Fortress

And now, for the first time ever, we get to see Weisshaupt Fortress in all its glory, a gigantic fortress carved into the very mountains, the great headquarters of the Grey Wardens that withstood for over a thousand years.

I really like the way Weisshaupt is portrayed in DAV, my only gripe is that we never get to actually properly explore it. I was…surprised by that, actually. So what better way to explore Weisshaupt than have it be part of the Grey Warden origin?

This is place filled with such incredibly rich history. Just imagine, this place has existed since the First Blight, an event older than Andraste. This is an absolute field day for lore enthusiasts such as myself.

As soon as Weisshaupt appears, we get a grand reprise of Inon Zur’s DAO main theme, establishing it as the Warden leitmotif. Now that we are able to properly play as a Grey Warden again, we are just eased back into that feeling. We might not be playing the Hero of Ferelden anymore, but we can definitely bring back the nostalgia. Music is such an important part of storytelling, it’s insane how much a well-chosen theme can do.

Meeting High Constable Janos

Thorne arrives at Weisshaupt after a recent patrol through the mountains and we are greeted by High Constable Janos, the second-in-command to the First Warden. For some reason that rank never comes up in DAV, so we’re just going to include that here.

Here we’re going to establish that Janos was the Warden-Commander who invoked the Right of Conscription during our execution all the way back in Hossberg a few years ago. But why would the Right of Conscription even work in a time without the Blight? Well, this is a fair question for any other nation than the Anderfels. But the Anderfels is constantly threatened by darkspawn incursions, making it the only nation where the Right of Conscription still holds weight without a Blight. Given how the First Warden is often seen as an advisor to the King/Queen, one can also say that the Wardens’ whole “no politics” spiel doesn’t really apply in the Anderfels, either.

Janos informs us of an upcoming mission, assigned by the First Warden himself. Thorne is to meet him, Janos, and a few others in the war room later that day. It is something quite urgent.

NOTE: Throughout the prologue, Rook is still referred to as Thorne, given that “Rook” as a nickname does not exist yet.

Exploring Weisshaupt

Before we head off to the war room, we get a chance to properly explore Weisshaupt for the first time. And there are some interesting things to be done here:

Thorne can walk in on a recruit training session hosted by Davrin. Yep, if we’re a Grey Warden, we get to meet Davrin a little earlier than every other origin. We won’t know anything about his secret griffon mission yet, so for now we just meet him as a trainer. We learn that Davrin and Thorne joined the Wardens at roughly the same time and initially disliked each other due to their different pasts. But over the years, they grew to a mutual understanding since that’s just what being part of the order does to you. In this encounter, we get to train the recruits with Davrin for a short while, even do a sparring session between the two of us.

We come across a few recruits who are yet to undergo the Joining. From here, we learn that there hasn’t really been a great influx of Wardens recently as people just don’t see the necessity. And while the Right of Conscription applies in the Anderfels outside a Blight, it does so only when the alternative is a crime verdict. The recruits know about the Joining already, so we can either reassure or prepare them for the possibility of dying.

We learn from the general chatter as we traverse Weisshaupt that many of the older Wardens are getting ready for their Calling. Since there’s such an unusually high number this time, they are organising something akin to a massive group exodus into the Deep Roads. From the same chatter, we also learn that there has been a staggeringly smaller amount of recruits every year. Some of the older Wardens are worried.

We can enter the library and meet Valya from the Last Flight novel. Instead of just leaving the Wardens for an unspecified reason like in DAV, here she stayed, survived her Joining, and has since been promoted to Chamberlain of the Grey, the order’s chief archivist after her predecessor embarked on his Calling. Her role in rediscovering the griffons had a huge part to play here, but we don’t know that yet. She has also entered a relationship with Caronel who has been promoted to Warden-Commander of the Anderfels. From Valya, who is also in charge with gathering reports from Wardens all around the world, we learn how the Wardens in the South are doing, and it’s quite something. Nathaniel Howe is now the Warden-Commander of Ferelden and operates from Vigil’s Keep. Yes, all Wardens have been ordered to return to Weisshaupt, but Ferelden is an exception to this summon as the First Warden deems Amaranthine  being an actual Arling and two Grey Wardens ruling the country as too valuable of an asset to just drop. The same can’t be said for Orlais, though, as we learn that the Orlesian Wardens, currently led by Stroud and Thom Rainier, have fortified the Warden stronghold outside Montsimmard and are currently acting as peacekeepers. In addition, Bethany is currently overseeing the still-standing Griffon Wing Keep. The First Warden looks at them with disdain for refusing to obey his orders, but he also can’t, in good conscience, declare war upon them as every Warden is valuable.

NOTE: Here we see some of our World State shine through. In this playthrough, Hawke was left behind in the Fade, allowing Stroud to be a force for good among the Wardens. Blackwall took back his original name of Thom Rainier and became a proper Grey Warden. Since Hawke took Bethany and Anders to the Deep Roads in DA2, Bethany was made a Grey Warden. Nathaniel Howe was recruited and both Vigil’s Keep and Amaranthine were defended properly, allowing the Wardens to once again maintain a strong presence in Ferelden. As mentioned in the previous post, Alistair and Cousland currently rule Ferelden. And, as we're about to see, Avernus has been left alive and allowed to ethically continue his research.

While still in the library, we get to read a few letters sent to Valya. One of them is from Cousland, dating back a few years now, stating that she is close to making progress on how to stop the Calling but that this is the last letter she’ll be able to send as she’s embarking to places where communication just isn’t possible. Another is from Stroud, stating his regret for how things turned out. Here we get some hints as to what happened when he came to Weisshaupt during DAI. Apparently him and the First Warden clashed on ideals, the First Warden insisting on staying distant and secretive and Stroud being in favour of change. The third letter is from Ramesh, the Warden from Tevinter Nights who discovered one of Ghilan’nains labs and is now searching for the other eleven. The fourth and final letter is a report from Avernus and concerns the progress of his superior Joining ritual. All of these are just codex entries as I doubt we'd get to see this publicly.

Meeting the First Warden

After exploring Weisshaupt, we enter the war room, where Jowin Glastrum, the First Warden himself, awaits us. Joining us in the meeting are High Constable Janos and Warden-Commander Caronel.

Now, let me make something very clear about the First Warden. I like that he’s old-fashioned and traditionalist in DAV, I think it was very in-character of him to act distant and dismissive towards people outside the order. However, he is also a Grey Warden first and foremost at heart, he has Thedas’ best interest in mind. He isn’t here just because of status and standing, no, he clawed his way up the ranks through valiant deeds. We know that many Wardens in the Anderfels come from noble lines and still have ties to those. While the First Warden is of a noble house, he doesn’t use that as something to flaunt over the Wardens. His idea of having ties to noble families is a strictly pragmatic one: the more ties, the more aid, the more recruits. While he might not get along with outsiders, he absolutely respects the Wardens under his command and, while not always agreeable, would never meaninglessly sacrifice them. He’s harsh, strict, often an asshole, but still a Warden at heart.

The First Warden briefs us on a mission: A strange crack into the Deep Roads has opened near the village of Lavendel and a darkspawn horde is gathering for a full assault. Wardens Evka and Antoine are already on-site, preparing the defences.

The First Warden orders us to take charge of the village’s defences alongside Caronel. Under no circumstances are we to abandon post. High Constable Janos will arrive with reinforcements to secure our victory. The idea is to lure the bulk of the horde out of the Deep Roads so that we can slay most of them.

We can inquire why Thorne was chosen for this, since our presence alongside the First Warden, the High Constable, and the Warden-Commander is pretty insignificant, to which the First Warden answers that we are very much due to becoming Senior Wardens ourselves, it’s just this one last assignment left until our promotion.

After the briefing, we leave the war room and encounter Davrin again, with whom you can share in your either excitement or humbleness. In any case, Davrin congratulates us on the soon-to-be promotion, claiming how deserving of it we are and how he would have never thought so upon our first meeting all those years ago.

If we wonder why Davrin wasn’t chosen to head to Lavendel, he’ll tease that he has something else going on, equally important, but won’t tell us what it is just yet as it’s top secret (wink wink caw caw).

Reaching Lavendel

We depart Weisshaupt and leave for Lavendel, a small but significant village not far away from Hossberg. We take a few newly joined Wardens with us, a group consisting of the recruits we met earlier at Weisshaupt.

Upon entering Lavendel, we are approached by Evka and Antoine, who have been busy preparing the defences. From the ensuing conversation we gather that Thorne is very well-acquainted with them, similar to Davrin, having shared in many patrols across the Anderfels with them.

While Caronel takes charge of the mission, he trusts your judgment on matters as it is your time to prove yourself further in the eyes of Weisshaupt. High Constable Janos leaves you be now and heads off to prepare the reinforcements on the other side of the hills.

In the distance, a faint dark red cloud indicates the approaching darkspawn.

Preparing for Battle

Before the darkspawn assault begins, we have the chance to explore Lavendel a little and engage in its defences. During this short segment, we have a few encounters to experience:

Naturally, we can talk to Evka and Antoine and reflect on some of our past adventures together.

We can speak to the new Wardens we’re supposed to co-lead with Caronel, either inspiring them or telling them to be realistic and not too hasty. It’s obvious many of them joined because of the heroic notion surrounding being a member of the order.

We can encounter Mila and her father, Lavendel’s blacksmith. Yeah, I haven’t made them occupants of Weisshaupt just yet, you’ll see why in a bit.

We can inspect the defences, which boil down to barricades, a few ballistae, and, of course, the Warden stronghold just outside the village. If we explore enough, we see a very large and lose rock on a jagged edge right next to Lavendel. Maybe this will be useful later? Since we took the extra time to look around, we can now have that in the back of our head. We can also spot a crack in the stronghold’s basement and encourage quick repairments to be made.

We can speak to Caronel and share in thoughts about the coming fight. All of us Wardens can sense the approaching darkspawn. Caronel isn’t too worried as it’s just a minor skirmish, albeit with a larger-than-usual horde. And why worry? We’ve got Janos swooping in with reinforcements, anyway. We can talk about Caronel’s promotion to Warden-Commander, which was very recent. It is surprising how one so young climbed the ladder so fast, to which Caronel responds that it’s really not so uncommon anymore, given how Ferelden’s Warden-Commander got the title only a year after joining. Well, granted, she took down the Archdemon and somehow lived to tell the tale, but the point stands.

Before we commence the battle, there is one big choice to be made about our position and that of the villagers. While Evka and Antoine suggest to pull all Wardens and villagers into the stronghold and brave the storm there, Caronel would rather only keep the villagers in there while us Wardens head out into the open and prevent the darkspawn from getting to them in the first place. We don’t really have enough Wardens to divide, so we must make that choice now.

Send both the Wardens and the villagers into the stronghold and fight on close and narrow ground. The villagers are at risk from getting into the heat of battle, but the Wardens will be close by to defend them.

Send the villagers into the stronghold and let the Wardens fight in the village itself. While the villagers will be more vulnerable in terms of sheer distance away from the Wardens, the darkspawn is less likely to even get near them.

For the sake of this playthrough, we choose to evacuate the village, and ourselves, into the stronghold. We feel confident but would rather keep our charges close to us. Being a former outlaw in the Anderfels has taught us how one should never leave their goal out of sight. Our aim is to defend, not to gloriously destroy. This shows us that Thorne is willing to cast the pride of glory aside and choose an arguably safer path.

An Old Friend

Our decision made, we deliver a short speech to the villagers, instructing them to head into the Warden stronghold. We shall follow suite immediately and position ourselves on the walls and in the courtyard. Since we’re familiar with the darkspawn’s habit of digging tunnels, we’ll make sure the basement is accounted for as well.

Once the villagers and Wardens head to the keep, we are approached by a most familiar face: Varric Tethras. This is certainly a surprise. While we’ve never met him in person, we’ve certainly heard and read about him. Varric says he was passing through on an errand of his own and figured he might as well aid Lavendel’s defences with Bianca. While we can question the sincerity of this statement, we can use any help we get.

Varric comments how many Wardens would seek out the more daring and glorious path and is pleased to see that we’re not one of them.

The Battle of Lavendel

Right so we’re all hunched up in the fortress, and the atmosphere is intense. Now, all of us sense the evil just outside our doorstep. The dark red cloud is directly above us. Everyone looks to Thorne and Caronel for leadership while Evka and Antoine keep morale up. Varric, while being easy-going, is very much battle-ready now.

The darkspawn slowly creep through the village like a dark carpet of disease and corruption. We hear the deafening screeches of shrieks in the distance and see various hurlocks and genlocks make their way between the buildings. At this point, a thought comes to us, one we share with Caronel. Holy shit, that’s a lot of darkspawn. And no sign of Janos yet. Where is he? Where are the other Wardens? Surely this can’t be less than the bulk of the horde yet. This is almost like a new Blight.

A horrifying thought grips us and we quickly sense into the Taint for any signs of an Archdemon’s song. To our relief, we hear nothing. The relief is short-lived, however, as the darkspawn reach the stronghold and send in a wave of shrieks to scale the walls.

We engage in a properly gritty fight against the darkspawn and can make use of several ballistae on the battlements. But we quickly realise that this place is just not at all well-prepared. Evka and Antoine’s pre-defences, alongside our inspection, are all that’s keeping this place from being overrun. Why is this in such a shoddy condition?

We then hear fighting from the basement. Ah, so the darkspawn did attempt to dig through. Good that we halted their progress by mending that crack, giving us time to respond.

We head into the basement and confront some hurlocks and genlocks. After the skirmish, we sent several grenades into the tunnel below, causing it to collapse without damaging our infrastructure too much.

Returning to the courtyard, we see something strange. A few of the shrieks have reached a group of villagers, but instead of slaying them, they’re trying to abduct them alive. While this wouldn’t be strange if all villagers were female, given that darkspawn need broodmothers to multiply, they are taking the men, too. What…?

We make short work of the darkspawn, and at this point, some of our newly joined Wardens have fallen, but only the Wardens. Now would be a really good time for Janos to show up.

At this moment, we hear loud dum, dum, dum. Huge footsteps approach. We look at each other and have all the same reaction: Ah shit.

The gates to the courtyard break down and a huge ogre walks in. Oh boy, here we go. Now would be a really good time for Janos to show up!

We take down the ogre with great difficulty and see that another large influx of darkspawn follows. After dealing with those, the fighting ceases for a moment.

We head to the battlements and see another group on the outskirts of the village. Then we remember the huge loose rock. Oh yeah, baby.

We quickly load up a ballista and aim across the village, towards the jagged cliff. It takes three shots for the edge to become lose enough, but it works. The huge rock collapses upon the newly approaching darkspawn horde, squashing them all beneath, but taking some of Lavendel’s houses with it.

The relief is short-lived, however, as we can still sense the Taint in our heads. Further away, past the outskirts of the village, we can already see a new horde of darkspawn amassing. And still no sign of Janos.

We gather a quick emergency meeting between the Wardens, and some start speculating that…Janos might not be showing up. Evka and Antoine are of the same belief, while Caronel holds on to the hope that reinforcements are on their way. Why wouldn’t they be? Wardens stick together.

But what about us? What do we believe? Janos personally recruited us all those years ago, he personally saw to our training. Why would he…but where is he then? Why isn’t he coming? Maybe he was held up? But by what? Was there another darkspawn horde on the other side of the hills? But why can’t we sense them? In fact…why can’t we sense any other Wardens in the immediate vicinity aside from us?

Wherever Janos might be, we have to hold out on our own. But if the darkspawn keep coming, we won’t hold out at all eventually. And if the Wardens die, the villagers will be…what exactly? Killed? Or taken? No villager has died so far. Why is that? What’s going on here?

Eventually, Thorne concludes that if we are to survive, we must seal that damn entrance ourselves.

But how will we go about this? Do we take all Wardens with us, or just a few?

Take all Wardens to the Deep Roads entrance. The villagers are exposed but the darkspawn may be largely drawn to us given that they haven’t even as much as injured anyone else yet.

Take Evka and Antoine and leave Caronel and the other Wardens with the villagers.

No matter what we choose, we are going against the First Warden’s orders to not leave Lavendel under any circumstances until reinforcements arrive. And at this point, if we are to survive, we have no other choice. We tell Caronel and the other Wardens to secure the villagers’ retreat from Lavendel, while Thorne, Evka and Antoine head off to seal the entrance to the Deep Roads. Caronel is hesitant at first but comes to agree with you. In Death, sacrifice, true, but the sacrifice has to mean something. Varric offers to accompany us but since he’s no Warden, we refuse. He’s more useful with protecting the villagers without risking getting instantly blighted.

Approaching the Crack

With Evka and Antoine at our side, along with several grenades from the stronghold, we head across the dark hills. A few darkspawn break off from the main horde and try to stop us, but we make short work of them.

After a few short skirmishes, we reach the entrance to the Deep Roads, a very steep crack located between two rocky hills. It is guarded by two ogres. The rest of the horde have already departed for Lavendel. It’s now or never. We might be fewer but two ogres…we can take them. Maybe.

We throw ourselves into a fight with the two giants and slay them after exchanging some fierce blows.

Now that we have a short breathing moment, we must quickly go about sealing that entrance. However, looking at it reveals that we can only collapse it by doing so from below. No use doing it from up here. But this action would cause the Warden who does it to be trapped.

We look at Evka and Antoine and order them to give us the grenades. They initially refuse but we remind them that as Warden Thorne, we have been given charge of this mission. It’s either us or no-one. We take the grenades and bid farewell to our favourite Warden couple, ordering them to return to the others. We then recite the oath of the Grey Wardens between us. “In Peace, Vigilance,” says Antoine. “In War, Victory,” says Evka. “In Death, Sacrifice,” says Thorne.

The Deep Roads

We descent into the cavern and find ourselves immediately struck by an overwhelming sense of the Taint. There are more darkspawn here, and they are coming.

We quickly go about preparing the grenades, when we are suddenly stricken by a strange sense. It is similar to the Taint, but also different, almost…purer. Suddenly, we become incredibly aware of the cavern around us. We can sense each layer, each type, each consistency. We can sense hidden passages, the tunnels the Darkspawn are digging right now. And we feel…whole, strangely so. And this is only something we experience if we picked a dwarven Thorne, for we are experiencing Stone Sense.

At this moment, a figure approaches us from the dark, followed by darkspawn. We look up and see a tall, cloaked being, wearing dark armour that we can’t recognise. We can definitely sense the Blight in it, but it’s…weirdly different in a way we can’t describe. The figure has veins of lyrium writhing all around its form, red lyrium.

It speaks to us, but we can only hear its voice in our head. It asks us to stop, to let be done what must be done. When we ask who and what this thing is, it simply refers to itself as “The Emissary”. While the Emissary won’t tell us exactly why it wants the villagers, it hints at a great and regrettable mistake that has to be rectified before it’s all too late.

Being the Warden we are, we attempt to still go through with our grenade plan, but the Emissary casts a spell of pure, raw magic on us, causing us to be knocked against a wall. But we refuse to go down fighting and challenge the Emissary to a one on one.

Similar with Laskaris in the Shadow Dragon origin, the Emissary is a fight we aren’t meant to win. But if we lower its HP to 0, the cutscene will be a little different.

In our seemingly dying breath, we hurl the grenades against the weakest parts of the crack, which we can clearly determine due to our Stone Sense. The Emissary howls in fury as the rocks descend upon us, sealing the Deep Roads off of Lavendel for good. All turns black around us.

Saved

But strangely enough, this isn’t the end. We wake up back in Lavendel and see Varric. He says he followed us in secret as he had a feeling we might be needing assistance. When Evka and Antoine showed up without us, he increased his pace and the three made it just in time. Varric climbed down and found us in the rubble, saving us from certain death.

Evka and Antoine join us and profusely apologise for leaving our side, despite us ordering them to do so. Well, it seems the Wardens in general have a feeling for disobedience as of lately.

When we inquire about Lavendel, we are told that everyone is save and none have been taken. This is because of the time we took to explore the place before the battle. By sealing the basement and collapsing the great rock, the darkspawns’ numbers were too few for what came next.

But…what came next? We find out the moment we walk outside.

A whole entourage of Wardens hurry about Lavendel. The reinforcements arrived after all. Or so we think.

High Constable Janos and the First Warden approach us. When we remark on the lateness of the reinforcements, the First Warden orders us imprisoned. What? Why? For disobedience, of course. We see that Janos is uncomfortably silent during this exchange.

But we saved Lavendel. We repelled the darkspawn horde and sealed the entrance to the Deep Roads. What could he possibly be so mad about? It can’t just be about disobedience, right?

Well…as we slowly, horrifyingly learn from the conversation, Lavendel wasn’t meant to survive. All who were there, Wardens and villagers alike, were supposed to fall to the darkspawn.

Here we get the context: the Calling has been manifesting in more and more older Wardens. At the same time, Weisshaupt is receiving fewer and fewer recruits. This combination will eventually have the effect of the order facing extinction. And outside the Anderfels, the Right of Conscription means less than nothing now. The world has grown complacent in a world without the Blight, even though the recent one has only been twenty years ago. And the Anderfels doesn’t have a large enough population to feed the ranks on its own.

By using this abnormally large darkspawn horde, letting it consume villagers and Wardens alike, the First Warden hoped to convince the nobility to encourage greater recruitment again. It can’t be a coincidence that the Calling has been manifesting increasingly more frequent now.

But Thorne has been a thorn in this plan’s side and ensured that the First Warden’s plan backfired spectacularly.

Shocked, we turn to Janos and ask him if he was aware of this. Yes, he was. In Death, Sacrifice. In War, Victory. And the war isn’t over as long as Razikale and Lusacan still slumber beneath the surface.

Caronel has been stripped off his rank as Warden-Commander of the Anderfels and Evka and Antoine will be assigned to very far-away duties for the foreseeable future. Thorne, however, as the instigator of this chaos, is to be tried for disobedience and treason.

This is where we can lash out, accusing the First Warden of having lost his way. We can also add that Lavendel’s villagers wouldn’t have died anyway as the Emissary wanted to collect them. When we tell the Wardens of what we saw beneath the surface, the First Warden, as we would assume, does not believe us, assuming we’re using this as a convenient excuse to paint ourselves in a more heroic image. Janos, however, knows us, so he isn’t so sure.

At this point, Varric chimes in and argues against trial and imprisonment, stating it as just a waste of effort. Instead, he offers to take Thorne away for a matter of great importance. The First Warden objects, stating that Weisshaupt’s affairs are to remain its own. Janos, however, in a change of tone, takes Varric’s side. Whatever Thorne’s reasonings are, one can’t deny that we are a true Warden. NO matter the disobedience, we fought against the Blight and won. There will be other opportunities to gather more recruits, but we do not deserve a trial for doing what we joined the order for.

The First Warden eventually relents. Remember, he is still a Grey Warden, with Thedas’ best interest at heart. Him doing this whole Lavendel thing was him acting out of desperation to keep the order alive in the long run. The morality is incredibly questionable, he’s definitely an asshole, but he is not heartless. Rather than putting us in chains, the First Warden suspends us from all Weisshaupt duties and instead tasks us with travelling the lands, searching for new recruits until further notice. Dismissed.

Leaving Lavendel

When the First Warden leaves, Janos makes an attempt at conversing with us, apologising for sending us into death. We can be either understanding, or angry, or just hurt. Despite our rough exterior, we are hurt because Janos was the one who saved us from another execution in the first place. Janos definitely feels bad about it, but orders were orders. Yeah…orders were orders, we respond.

Varric approaches us and confesses that he’s not here by accident. He’s looking for someone among the Wardens to accompany him on a very special mission of the utmost importance. He heard from some of his contacts that Lavendel would have fitting candidates. And he is certain he just found the one. What exactly are we doing, now that we’re stuck with him? Varric promises to reveal everything in good time. Now, he would very much like to get out of this place. We can either go immediately or have some final conversations. Being the completionists we are, we of course choose the latter.

We can talk to Evka and Antoine and just be glad that we’re all still alive, despite being given rather shitty jobs now. Well, that’s a no on the promotion for now, right? But we’re confident we’ll see each other sooner rather than later.

Caronel honestly doesn’t even care about his demotion. He’s just glad he survived and is now able to return to Valya. But if he were still Warden-Commander, he would make us Senior Warden in a heartbeat. Sometimes, one simply has to defy orders.

We can talk to Mila, who excitedly announces that her father has taken Janos’ offer to be Weisshaupt’s new blacksmith, given that the fortress desperately needs one again.

The Wardens who were under our command during the battle look up to us in awe and call us a hero and inspiration, no matter what the First Warden says. They actually pretty much despise him now as he was so willing to just let them die.

Once all of this is done, we head to Varric and and half-enthusiastically announce our readiness to depart. Varric smiles and welcomes us to the team. What team? Oh, we’ll see. But he recommends us going by another name for the foreseeable future as the First Warden might just be petty enough to make our life more difficult by telling foreign Wardens or members of the nobility about our streak of disobedience and conspiracy theories. Well, that’s easy enough, we say, back in the Dornen, the others used to call us “Rook” for that one time we headed straight in and brought down a very well-connected Hossberg nobleman. “The strongest piece on the chessboard,” Varric chuckles. “I like it.”

Now going by Rook once again, we head off with Varric. As Lavendel is nearly out of sight, we turn around and look at the gathered Wardens one last time. This…is not how we pictured leaving the order one day. But no, we haven’t left it. We’re just…taking a vacation. With a heavy heart, we turn back to Varric and follow him into the unknown.

And that’s it for this one! Now we have our Grey Warden Rook origin story. It’s a lot, I know, but the Wardens have a lot of material to work with. And the whole plot surrounding the Emissary will make sense later, I promise.

Next time we shall be heading off into Arlathan Forest to draft a potential Veil Jumper origin story! Stay tuned!

Rewriting Veilguard Part 4 - The Veil Jumpers

[makimacult]

what's the deal with this "love" thing anyways? — part two.

read part one

and now, on the flip side: the humans (a witch is still a human being according to dante, and the extras state that witches can give up their demonic contracts to be human again.) who are intimately familiar with love.

has love saved dante and verge? love certainly did not save mother rosa.

the intersection between love and duty is something mtefil interrogates. leah takes the duty of revenge for her family upon herself & ultimately her love for barbara triumphs.

dante has chosen duty over verge—and what is his thought process for doing so? he is one of the few adult exorcists, he understands verge's grievances with the church, he is clearly miserable (& suicidal. and does in fact kill himself!) so why then does he stay?

something to consider in the mtefil universe is that hell and demons are real. <millions may have died> if beelzebub was allowed to continue his rampage.

who would've stopped him if not the church? beelzebub is most malevolent of the demon lords (he's even referred to as <the worst of the worst> in the latest chapter lmao) but truly, what would stop leviathan or mammon from also cutting a path through a continent? it's not their style to do something like that, but how do ants understand the thought process of giants?

[1] the church exists out of a fear that is concrete in the mtefil universe & i really do appreciate the manga's writing in this regard. it would be very easy to make the church tropey one-note jrpg villains, yet the extras (im too sleepy to add sources rn, but if you send an ask i will note them) take pains to confirm that the church is not a monolith, believers exist within the church that disagree with the overall direction, there's even a schism between the pope and cardinal heisenberg—

and of course ultimately this does not cancel out the church's crimes against innocents.

the church styles itself as benevolent defenders, but to the more cynical church adults (i count daniel and dante here) they see themselves as a necessary evil. see how clinically dante and daniel talk about priest here.

these are adults who have internalised being a cog in the greater machine. they're aware that they are fighting a losing battle (demon lords after all, regenerate and humanity's sins can never be completely cleansed) and they have resigned themselves to that. they feel for the younger generation, but they're all of them soldiers that have been conscripted into a war that's been going on longer than they ever existed.

the demon lords are an unstoppable force, and the church is an immovable object, and witches, human victims like leah's family, and demons like imuri who want to find a peaceful existence—will be stuck between them unless the status quo changes.

the question of god.

this section is just my conjecture—but i personally think we will never really see god in mtefil. we get both views of god:

god as terrifying, high-handed and cruel, and god (or faith) as salvation for the people to hold onto when they have very little else.

schrodinger's cat—two important panels i think of when it comes to god's position in the mtefil universe is priest telling verge that it sounds like he believes in god (and indeed, priest uses scripture from the gospel of john to save people later in the chapter) and dante accusing verge of wanting to "take even god away from people."

verge has come to the conclusion that the current story must be destroyed and rewritten, and god as currently conceived is evil. dante (my interpretation here) insists that god as currently exists is still preferable to no god at all (& remember that this is a practical line of thought given we haven't seen how sinners and the damned are treated in gehenna...)

imagine: you know hell is real; would you still kill god (who is ineffable and ambiguous, for the chance of creating a better world? it's a decision only someone who is extremely determined can make-and i am so interested in what the witches' endgame is.)

lastly: i personally think it would be rather cheap of the manga to straightforwardly state that the faith the church cast has in god has been misplaced, and that god is malicious. like dgmw—growing up, his dark materials was one of my favourite books. im familiar with and love narratives about killing aod. tonally however, i do not think mtefil will go here.

reference to the page where imuri watches in awe while the exorcists save people—this, to me, is what potentially the endgame of the manga could be. a reordering of the world where exorcists do not have to fight demons, and miracles can be used to save people, and not just kill demons.

if you've read this far, thank you. i'd love to hear other people's takes (must add that i am very bad at replying on tumblr tho. i shall try my best.) also tumblr deleted half of this post while i was typing it up so. apologies if i sound incoherent as fuck.

[authoralexharvey]

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN STARS AND SALT, a WIP Intro by @authoralexharvey

GENRE — dark fantasy || adventure

INSPIRATIONS — The Tiger's Daughter, Final Fantasy 10, I Am Setsuna, LoZ: Wind Waker

POV — first-person directive

TAGS AND TROPES — adventure, angst, (non-MC) chosen one, established couple, finding your purpose, grief, lgbtq, marital problems, post-apocalyptic setting, post-flood setting, queer worldbuilding, quests, sacrifice as an act of love, seafaring, tragedy, travel

WARNINGS — animal attacks, emotional trauma, mentions of plagues, self-sacrifice (NOT suicide), violence

STATUS — draft 0

GOAL — ~80k words

THE DETAILS

CHARACTERS

Edera, the woman who married a star. To many, she bears no significance outside of this fact, which has now caused an identity crisis in the face of Seren's prolonged absence.

Seren, the star who fell from the heavens. For a year and a day, she was conscripted as all Celestine are to watch for the world-devourer of legend. After being the one to witness its return, she becomes desperate for solutions.

SUMMARY

There was and there was not, in the oldness of time, a star-born woman and her hapless wife who ventured on an arduous quest... Star-born Seren has been gone for a year and a day, conscripted as all Celestine eventually are to track the cosmos for signs of a legendary devourer of worlds. When she returns home, her wife Edera couldn’t be happier… until Seren confesses that she herself has seen the World Devourer’s return and that, because she was the one to see it, she must be the one to stop it. Unwilling to allow them to be separated again, Edera and Seren must venture across their drowned world in a harebrained effort to save it. But as darkness looms in the fringes and a strange rot afflicts the world they love, they will have to race across the raging sea to avoid being consumed. But just what is it that lies at the end of this mission? And how can they stop a force so much larger than themselves?

Details of this post subject to change as the drafts continue.

TAGLIST (Ask to be added!)

@surroundedbypearls , @magic-is-something-we-create , @ceph-the-ghost-writer , @firesidefantasy

[starlightshadowsworld]

Two people who I would’ve loved to see face Fukuchi and challenge his ideals are Yosano and Kunikida.

Fukuchi and Yosano both suffered the brutalities of war. He was not ashamed of the people he tortured along the way.

While she was an unwilling and for a long time an unknowing torturer to the soldiers. And was horrified once she realised what she was being used for.

Fukuchi left the battlefield with a renewed sense of hatred at the world. He saw others as disposal if it meant achieving a larger goal in the name of peace.

Yosano left the battlefield with a renewed sense of hatred at herself. She saw herself as a curse, believing her ability to cheapen human life which she now saw as so much more important.

Also also Yosano was used by Mori to fulfil his goal of creating an immortal regiment of soilders. And that’s basically what Fukuchi was doing with the whole vampires as humanities army.

As for Kunikida, everything that Fukuchi represents and pretends to be is what Kunikida actually embodies.

Kunikida risked his own life to save Aya at the train station. While Fukuchi said he’d protect her and then had her hunted her down.

Jouno realised that helping people is much more enjoyable to him than hurting anyone. And he turned on Fukuchi for not holding those beliefs.

But asked Kunikida to join (okay threatened) when he saw his ideals were stronger then he thought.

When he saw that Kunikida truly cares about protecting the innocent even at the cost of his own life. And all that shit is connected to me especially when it was Aya that Jouno conscripted to help him.

Yosano and Kunikida are these great examples of what Fukuchi could’ve been. Of the path he could’ve taken if he chose to move forward and heal rather then seek to destroy.

And they would’ve absolutely understood with and disagreed with every sentiment he makes.

It’s probably why he tried to have Yosano executed and tried to destroy Kunikida’s ideals.

[memories-of-ancients]

Petronius Maximus --- The dipshit Roman emperor who caused the sack of Rome because he was an arrogant dipshit.

Petronius Maximus was a wealthy Roman politician born in 397 AD to old Roman money. Like many wealthy Romans he went into politics and throughout the early 5th century climbed the ranks of Roman government until he became one of the most powerful men in the Western Roman Empire. He was crafty and he was ambitious. He was also a dipshit and an asshole.

By the 450's P. Maximus had a clear plan, to create a power vacuum in Rome that he could cunningly fill. He began by turning the emperor at the time, Valentinian III, against his magister militum Flavius Aetius. As magister militum Aetius was commander of the Roman Army, and had proven himself a master tactician and brilliant diplomat. Through military victories and diplomacy Aetius was barely holding a crumbling empire together. Maximus convinced Valentinian III that Aetius was looking to usurp his throne. Thus in 454 Valentinian summoned Aetius to his palace and personally murdered him with his sword. Maximus had organized the death of the most talented Roman official in the empire, which in the grand scheme of things was probably a big mistake. With Aetius dead, Maximus expected he would take Aetius' place as magister militum. However Valentinian refused to appoint him as magister militum. Thus in 455 AD, Maximus had him assassinated, hiring two of Aetius' bodyguards to do the deed as revenge.

Several powerful Romans claimed the Imperial throne but Maximus managed to beat them all to the punch by taking over the Imperial Palace and immediately marrying Valentinian's widow, Licinia Eudoxia. Licinia didn't know Maximus had murdered her husband at the time but had suspicions. He also forced her daughters, Placidia and Eudocia to marry his sons. Through deceit and murder Maximus had managed to weasel his way into the Roman Imperial family and was now creating his own Imperial dynasty. Thus Petronius Maximus had become Emperor Dipshit, ruler of the shiny turd of what was left of the Western Roman Empire.

Problem was, when Emperor Dipshit married off Placidia and Eudocia to his sons, he canceled Eudocia's arranged marriage to Hunneric, who was the son of Geiseric, king of the Vandals. The Vandals were a Germanic tribe that had set up a prosperous kingdom in the former Roman province of North Africa, and were constantly raiding the Italian coast. Valentinian had arranged the marriage of Eudocia as a peace offering to Geiseric. Geiseric had received a letter from Eudoxia informing him that Maximus had killed her husband and was canceling the marriage of Eudocia. Geiseric was enraged at Empror Dipshit for canceling the marriage, and sent a Vandal fleet and army to Rome in response. "No problem" said Emperor Dipshit, "we got the Roman Army".

Except there was no Roman Army. Not really. After the death of Aetius the remains of the standing full time professional army had collapsed almost completely. Even Aetius was very dependent on mercenaries and allies. Nobody wanted to enlist in the Roman Army in the 5th century, with Romans going so far as to cut off their own fingers to avoid conscription. The Roman economy was a mess, the Imperial bureaucracy was riddled with corruption, the life of the average Roman was miserable, and by the 5th century most Roman emperors were snobbish, over-privileged, incompetent out of touch dipshits. The empire was dying and everybody knew it. Few believed it was worth saving, and nobody wanted to die for a dipshit emperor such as Emperor Dipshit. By 455 AD what was left of the Roman Army consisted of militia units called "limitanei" who acted as border patrolmen far away from Rome. For more complex military operations the Romans were fully dependent on mercenaries and allies. Emperor Dipshit attempted to enlist the help of the Visigoths, but they were like, "LMFAO nooo, you made your bed now lie in it!" I speculate they knew Maximus was a dipshit who was probably gonna get them all killed.

Emperor Dipshit knew it was a hopeless situation, so he made an announcement to the Roman people to flee and save themselves, then he too turned tail and fled. He was spotted by a large group of Roman refugees, who formed a mob and beat him to death. Good riddance. Emperor Dipshit's glorious reign lasted 77 days.

As far as sackings go the sack of Rome in 455 AD wasn't too bad. The Vandals were Christians, so the Pope was able to convince them not to do the more horrible things like rape and murder civilians, or burn down the city. So for the most part the Vandals refrained from bloodshed and arson. However they did take as many Romans into slavery as they could fit on their ships, and they also looted the city of almost everything of value. Even the bronze tiles on the roof of the Temple of Jupiter were pried off and carted away. Also Geiseric carted off Eudocia and married her off to his son Huneric.

The Vandal's sack of Rome in 455 is where we get the term "vandalism" today. Also did I mention that Petronius Maximus was a dipshit?