#my hyperfixations are converging hold on

[raisins-n-space]

anyway did you know there’s a mr spock asteroid because it’s very special to me yeah <3

[malarkeyrambles]

deep rock galacticglyphid post

drg is my latest hyperfixation i think i love this game so mcuh ive been thinking aboutthe glyphids a lot and their biology im not super knowledgable on bio i just really like the topic so i might get a ton of stuff wrong but idc disclaimer: because glyphids evolved seperately from earthbeings (duh cuz they're on hoxxes not earth) any similarities to earth creatures is most likely just convergent evolution extraterrestrial life could be extremely similar like the glyphids or completely different its all speculative. anyway, first things first: Bone Game

ok lets look at the glyphid grunt for a sec. Glyphids have two body segments, a head and an abdomen, and eight legs. Their front legs are usually enlarged for burrowing, attacking, and defending. These vary in size and shape depending on the bug. (most glyphid variants look like they have three body segments, such as the grunt shown above, but i believe that its just a protruding jaw as when it moves its head its entire body moves with it, and the Warden specifically has a much more obvious two-segment body plan due to its lack of sharp teeth and massive size difference in body and head) They may or may not have eyes, indicating that eyes were a trait they lost when they went underground. What separates them from spiders is their size, ability to vocalize, their eusocial hierarchy, and the fact that they probably have bones. Earth spiders are invertibrates, like all arthropods. We haven't seeen a glyphid skeleton completely before, but there is a lot of evidence pointing towards their true bony nature. They dont have typical exoskeletons that cover the entirety of the animal. They have "chitinous armor plating" as described by the bestiary that resembles more the armored back of a crocodile than an actual exoskeleton. This plating can be removed in battle and not impair the glyphid's movement, in stark contrast to an earth bug which if you removed its exoskeleton it would just be a pile of bug organs. Exoskeletons double as their skin. Also glyphid sw

armers have no armor and still are fine moving around. They also have defined teeth and jaws, unlike the mandibles on an earth arthropod.

(peeled glyphid grunt guard)

(glyphid swarmer with teeth and jaw visible) Lastly, and I'm not too sure on this one, but i dont believe an exoskeleton made of chitin could hold up a glyphid, yet alone some of the bigger ones. Praetorians are the size and weight of a midsize SUV, and they're not even the biggest glyphids get.

Solitary vs Eusocial

If you got this far you're autistic about animals like me and probably know what eusocial means. If you don't, it just means there's a queen and workers. Think ants, wasps, and bees. While it's generally a consensus that most glyphids are eusocial under one Queen (we'll talk about her later), I think not all of them are. The bestiary says that glyphids are a genus, not a species, meaning that different glyphids can evolve seperately from one another and can be able to live independently instead of in a caste system. Of these, I think the beasts most likely to be solitary are the Stalker, Menace, Stingtail, and Septic Spreader. These guys have extra tools and divergent behaviors (sneaking up behind you, digging around, keeping a distance to shoot projectiles) that seem, to me, like they are taking advantage of the fact you are preoccupied with the glyphid colony and trying to snatch you up as prey for themselves.

(from left to right) stingtail, septic spreader, stalker (below) menace

It also explains why, in some locations, there are random batches of glyphid eggs out and about. It could be this could be a clutch of one of the aformentioned solitary glyphid eggs, and all glyphids look the same when they hatch.

These swarmer nests could either be from the glyphid colony (we are in their territory, after all) or just a different variant of glyphid.

( the blue gem is not supposd to be in there usually, just the purple circles. I couldn't find a better picture.) insert super smooth segue into :

Glyphid Hierarchy

apologies for the crunchy image but i put together this tierlist to explain how I think the glyphid hierarchy works. The tierlist didn't have the stalker in it but it would have gone in solitary for reasons Ive mentioned.

Notes: Soldiers are specialized for fighting but they all have different roles. Slashers and exploders tend to flank and sneak up on their target, the latter being born literally just to die. Praetorians and oppressors are meant to soak up attention and, in our case, damage. Web and acid spitters are meant to take care of flying enemies ( probably mactera in the wild, but in our case it's dwarves on a zipline), and wardens support the ground enemies. the green baby glyphids that are in the solitary tier are called Glyphid Spawn, and they aren't actually a glyphid; rather, a fleshy monolith called a Brood Nexus (below) had taken the DNA of a Glyphid and created their own version of swarmers with it. icky.

Mutations and Anomalies

Certain bugs such as the Bulk Detonator, Dreadnought Hiveguard, and dreadnought twins are anomalies that either don't occur naturally or an unintentional byproduct of biology doin its thing. The Bulk detonator "is what happens when an exploder manages to not detonate during its volatile, and usually short, life." This description pretty much spells it out that these guys aren't supposed to exist.

also, look at their mangled faces and bulbous, pustuled bodies. Exploders are meant to be sent out and explode. I don't know what the glyphid colony does with these, but I don't think they let them stay. Too volatile, and positively humongous. They're the biggest glyphids by far and i think glyphids just wouldn't let them be.

I have no clue how the Crassus Detonator exists or how it turns an entire crater into gold when it explodes. The Dreadnought Twins are a Dreadnought that split into two in the cocoon. Assuming dreadnoughts pupate into queens (more about that below), it's likely that they would pupate into two queens, with possible ramifications outside of that (perhaps sharing energy in a cocoon means inhibited reproduction in some way?) I doubt they'd fight over power, because the dreadnought twins show impeccable teamwork when broken out, even to the point of one dreadnought will sacrafice some of it's health for the other if one gets too low.

dreadnought twins The Dreadnought Hiveguard is the closest we've got to actually seeing a Glyphid Queen. It's a dreadnought that's been baking for a while but hasn't gotten all the way there. It's impenetrable from everywhere and can spawn Sentinels to protect it. It then reveals three weakpoints on its face when all Sentinels are killed, and then reveals its booty weakpoint when the face weakpoints were deaded.

(from left to right) Hiveguard, Sentinels Because Sentinels don't come from the cocoon and dont spawn in any other area, my best guess about them is they lay dormant usually, letting the other glyphids fight. They only respond to the Queen, being her last line of defense. It'd make sense because the Hiveguard is the closest thing to a queen we've got, and it has a unique vocalization for summoning Sentinels.

Dreadnoughts, Praetorians, Queens, and Conservation

The glyphid dreadnought, at its base form, seems to be a grander Praetorian. They look similar, down to the tusks on their face, and even have similar attacks. They carry the same bite and slash that nearly all ground glyphids have, but they also have a projectile shot from the mouth.

(from left to right) Praetorian 3d Model, Dreadnought 3d Model If I had to guess, this could be a Royal Jelly Moment. To explain, lets look at earth honeybees. These guys are fed a substance called "royal jelly" as a larva until they are fed honey. Certain workers, though, are fed and fed and fed and even have the walls of their honeycomb cell lined with the stuff. These workers end up becoming juvenile queen bees and they start their own colony. Given the fact that Oppressors are canonically "aggresively mutated Praetorians", I believe they are simply praetorians that weren't fed Royal Jelly. Their armor grows, and their weakpoint abdomen shrinks.

In the game, it's heavily implied that the glyphids are without a Queen (the voiceline "Die like your mother did!" when killing glyphids comes to mind), and the only time we ever see a Dreadnought is in a cocoon, outside of the rare times it spawns on an unrelated mission. We are told explicitly that these guys arent in their final form and they will pupate into something much worse if we don't stop them, and there seem to be a lot of cocoons around. (There are 2-3 cocoons a mission and there is always an elimination mission available.) What i think is happening is Praetorians are mutating into Dreadnoughts which are further trying to mutate into Glyphid Queens to fill the empty spot in the glyphid hierarchy and they want to spew out so many glyphids that the mining operations on Hoxxes has to close down. This has a lot of implications. Firstly, glyphids are so plentiful without a queen. Imagine how insane they'll get with one. Secondly, glyphids are numbered. They aren't being replaced and DRG is killing hundreds of them a mission, potentially thousands on Deep Dives and Elite Deep Dives. (I tried an elite deep dive earlier today, got to about 897 dead glyphids on the third mission which i inevitably failed). Thinking about this really puts into perspective the damage DRG is doing to Hoxxes in the pursuit of more money and resources, polluting it with depleted uranium and plasma radiation and drill fumes and omoran heartstone lazerbeam juice and abandoned mining equipment, sucking it dry for its resources, and actively killing the rest of the wildlife that havent died from habitat loss. Glyphids are not the villain of this story. They are just following their instincts. It reflects how real-world corporations simply don't care about the earth that gives it its wealth and gives us life. I didn't mean for this rant to end the way it has, but please be grateful for the earth you stand on, appreciate nature, and don't litter. Also, if you haven't, play Deep Rock Galactic. solid game.

if only there was some salute or chant i could say to end this with a bang, one involving rocks, or stones, or something

[ruthlesslistener]

do you have any headcanons for anything you've been holding onto, but haven't had a good chance to post about? I love your fics and I wanna peer into your mind palace

Shhdhchs EXCELLENT bc ive had a lot of thoughts but this quarter + anxiety in general has been killin me

-Okay so I'm still hyperfixated on Destiny 2 bc of a DnDestiny game I'm in, but since Hollow Knight is a special interest and I read a couple of frankly stunning crossover fics (one with the Inheritance Cycle, one with Transformers, both are outstanding and I will recc them wholeheartedly if you ask- the TF one especially blew my tits clean off which is saying something bc I have zero TF knowledge, also its 500k words but I'm rambling), my brain has been essentially locked into the concept of a crossover AU where a couple of my D2 OCs get slingshot into the HK world via a fucked-up warpgate through wish-dragon magic, and it's now got me kind of obsessed with the idea of the world of Hollow Knight taking place on an alien planet that had some convergent evolution re: general insect body plans, but went off the fuckin' rails with everything else. So here's some worldbuilding thoughts on that:

-Their planet would be far from Earth and the origin place of the Ahamkara and precursor race to the Worm Gods, who are distant relatives to each other that took to the stars to opportunistically feed off of rifts in reality. They are in turn sister taxa to the Wyrms and Higher Beings from Hollow Knight, who also feed off of the wants, desires, and gulf between what-is-desired-and-what-is-true, but unlike the worms and wish-dragons, the Higher Beings are essentially 'settled' species. They're the farming civilization to the hunter-gatherers of their Destiny-based kindred, and yes, both branches of the family tree fucking despise each other and look down scornfully on the other's lifestyle. The Higher Beings view the Worms and Ahamkara as little more than scavengers, while the Worms and Ahamkara see the Higher Beings as glorified slavedrivers with sticks up their asses- though it should be noted that since the Ahamkara's whole deal so far has been malignant trickery as a hunting style, this doesn't neccessarily carry the same negative connotations that it would in our society. I also don't know enough about the proto-Worms to say how their race would react, but the Worm Gods as they are now certainly are something that Wyrms would look down on

-(Yes that means I have thought extensively about the Pale King's ghost bristling aggressively at a baby ahamkara barely a few hours old. In my defense, it's funny, and also I almost never remember to write him as the cold, prickly, arrogant ass that he is bc his kids make him Big Sad)

-The planet would likely be smaller than Earth with lighter gravity, though how much smaller I can't say because I'm not a fuckin' physicist. I just want an excuse for making fuckoff-huge animals a thing even beyond the inherent space magic thing going on

-Oh, and most life is underground because the atmosphere is thinner than Earth and so the upper surface gets bombarded with deadly amounts of radiation, which causes the mind-wiping effects of the Wastes (where the angle towards their sun is the greatest and thus the strongest). Ngl I did briefly think about potential magnetic field fluxes also being the cause of that effect but like, I cannot overstate how little I know of things outside biology

-HK being set on an alien planet lets me do wack shit with the species there too bc I'm no longer bound by comparing them to Earthbound species. For example, I can make Quirrel an isopod with cricket legs. Who's going to stop me, God? He doesn't exist here

-That also means I can stop being bothered by Herrah's dubious leg placement bc it would kill me forever otherwise

-Also, them being on an alien planet gives me even more of an excuse to never put traditional vertebrate species in there, which is great. I've said it before, but putting Earth vertebrates in the HK setting totally ruins all the fun for me because I love the concept of all the species diversity being made up of invertebrates, and that the 'advanced' bugs we see have filled the niche that vertebrates would have otherwise taken over. Like the carboniferous period but on steroids

General HK thoughts too:

-been toying with the idea of wyrms having a set of evertable inner jaws like polychaete worms, which would be used for keeping dirt out of the mouth and biting off chunks to eat, while the outer jaws (the ones we see) are used for killing, digging, and sparring with other wyrms. The idea is that the outer ring of mandibles bites big circular chunks out of the substrate, which then breaks off into tiny pieces they filter out in between gaps in their mandibles and pack down into tunnel walls as they move forward

-I've also been toying with the idea of them secreting some kind of mucus as they dig that's almost a calcifying substance, but now that I think about it, I can probs just put those glands in their frontal mouth so if they need to reinforce a tunnel (like, say, one burrowed in sand instead of rock), they can mix their saliva in with the substrate to chemically solidify the tunnel walls

-Which btw is a major thing for ecosystems bc the tunnels are used for lots of different things by lots of different species. Wyrms are terraformers baybee!! Kinda the same way wildfires are, but still

-I've also been thinking about maybe making it so that the row of plates I like to draw on their backs act as a secondary pair of belly scutes, which means that wyrms can slither just as easily upside down as they can on their undersides, which helps underground. It's not as efficient as the super-smooth scales on a blind snake, but that's the tradeoff they get for needing to be so heavily armoured

-I'm also leaning towards making marine/freshwater variants that are just straight-up bobbit worms on even more steroids, but since I already have fuckoff huge marine alien bobbit worms in a scifi setting of mine, I'd need to figure out a way to make them unique

-I learned that there's internalized folds of exoskeleton for muscle attatchment in my invertebrate biology course and got really excited about that being a potential basis for the formation of skeletal elements in the world of Hollow Knight- like, maybe bug bones started off as those lil folds (i forgot their technical name which is embaressing bc i literally just took the final this night) becoming stronger and deeper-set into the body to better support the weight of larger and larger bugs, and then it spiraled into a skeleton analogue from there. Being derived from the exoskeleton probably means that it would be less strong than our bones, but it would likely also be lighter

Misc:

-God I really need to write Hornet in Silksong so bad. Fuck. I need need need to write this mildly autistic unsocialized princess running amok in a civilization that isn't ready for her. Also my interpretation of Lace is basically an oc at this point but I don't want to do anything with her just yet bc that shits a lot of work, I just need to write everything down for her so far (and tbh Lurien probs also counts at this point but thats more filling a niche that TC left unfufilled)

-I've also got gijinka thoughts in that I'm leaning towards making Lurien a trans guy who didn't have any gender-affirming surgeries bc a.) I love love love making a variety of trans characters and b.) Hallownest isn't a society where the concept of being transgender is an issue, so there's no need to do it to pass, only to prioritize your own comfort. And since Lurien never expected to be seen in anything but his formalware, he never saw the point of bothering

-(The aformentioned point also applies to normal bug Lurien but this is more of a personal thing here)

-Need to focus more on how the latent magic of the god of a realm changes your eye colour, with the more intense the shade = the more involved you are with their magic. Using Lurien as an example again: his eyes were brown naturally, but after he became Watcher, they slowly shifted to shades of paler and paler blue. I also like the idea of Quirrel's eyes getting more blue the more memories of Hallownest he unlocks, until they're the same shade as the Blue Lake in his final scene

-This can also happen in reverse; for example, my Lace gijinka starts off with gold eyes to signify the church of Pharloom's hold over her, but then slowly revert back to brown as Hornet gives her more and more hope that the institution can be toppled, until they're eventually their natural deep brown with just the faintest flecks of silver in them (signifying Hornet's importance in her life)

-It just occurred to me the other day when I was at work that Striga and Morgana from Castlevania S3 are almost exactly how I imagined my Vespa and Herrah gijinkas to be and now I can't stop thinking about it. The main difference is that my Herrah is a fat spider-orc with tats and Vespa is a fae queen with bee features shimmering through her human veil, but still. Its uncanny

[velvet-apricots]

What is it about Gideon that you like so much?

So first of all to summarize everything below-

Okay now onto the mindless ranting and rambling.

So to be frank, the entire reason i first got into Gideon was a tiktok showing a few members of the hold and if the poster thought they were hot and I saw his armor and I was like "oh fuck he looks like the witch-king that's kinda hot. Oh man he has a hot voice too."

And then I went into a bit of a spiral and suddenly I bought the whole ass game just because I developed a hyperfixation on Gideon Ofnir. This is not an exaggeration.

Anyway, I love the tragedy of him. A man dedicated to the goal set before him, but in the end he seemingly gives up. I love how he has been there probably since the beginning, and he has seen the Roundtable hold's slow decline, and witnessed countless Tarnished fail and turn on one another.

What kind of man was he before that? Was he kinder? Was he hopeful? How do these losses affect him? Does he loose sleep thinking about those that are gone? Does he loose sleep over the things he's done to ensure the success of the tarnished? What did he learn that made him finally give it all up and turn on the player?

Most people just see a scheming fool, but I see something much more than that. Yes, he's an asshole, he's a bad father, yeah yeah I know all that, but he's one of the only surviving tarnished that is implied to have a great rune and still see grace, as the Two-Fingers expect great things from him.

I just wish more people could see past the first impressions and look deeper and THINK about him. Really think. AAAGH.

Onto the ranting part (and venting)-

I am so sick how people mindlessly hate on him. Most only hate him because he doesn't kiss your ass and instead tells you he expects you to earn your place. God forbid a man who is sick of people sucking up resources wants you to prove you can do what needs to be done. Others hate him because of the bad things he did, which okay thats fair! but Marika has killed more people and abandoned more children than Gideon ever did and she still has a huge amount of die hard defenders (I am one of them). Why is Gideon so universally hated? I just don't get it. =(

Also, totally petty of me, but I refuse to play the Convergence mod because they removed his boss battle and replaced it with some worthless dude that has no importance to the story at all., like WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? He's important! He's the leader of the Tarnished! He was your guide! His betrayal is narratively important and you just erase it because he's another npc battle? fuck that i'm not playing your mod then!

Anyway, yeah thats my tedtalk/petty ranting for the day. =)

[scolop98]

VOTE BERTHASAURA FOR DINOSAUR MARCH MADNESS 2023

​Berthasaura is just *barely* losing @a-dinosaur-a-day​‘s DMM poll and if the only remaining Noasaur loses to a friggin Spinosaur I might actually riot

A vote for Berthasaura is a vote for all Noasaurs, arguably the weirdest collection of non-avian theropods to ever exist. A vote for Berthasaura is, by extension, a vote for:

- Masiakasaurus “why are your teeth like that“ knopfleri of Prehistoric Planet fame, a genuíne Madagascan weirdo

-  Vespersaurus “only dinosaur that walks on one toe” paranaensis (yes that includes all birds), tragic second place of the previous round

- Limusaurus “are you sure that’s even a theropod” inextricabilis, which started out like normal little baby theropods before losing their teeth and becoming quasi-ornithomimid beaked herbivores, and its fellow Elaphrosaurines

- Noasaurids are also the closest relatives of Abelisaurs, which should be worth extra brownie points

And Berthasaura itself was no slouch either! In addition to being arguably The Most Ornithopod of any theropod (vote for wacky convergent evolution!), it evolved its toothlessness independently of the Elaphrosaurines, and was toothless its entire life! Friggin Noasaurs don’t even do toothlesness the same way twice apparently. Berthasaura also holds the distinction of being the second ever toothless non-ceolosaurian theropod to be described, and it had a nearly complete skeleton! Berthasaura was an ornithomimid before ornithomimids became cool (or even existed), an early-cretaceous throwback to Shuvosaurids, the first of a long line of weirdo theropods. Peak dinosaur, 9/10.

Meanwhile Ceratosuchops is what, a Baryonychine with a horn on its head? Boo, unoriginal, 4/10. The horn ain’t even that big. It’s only known from some fragments of a skull (again: compare to Berthasaura’s remarkably complete skeleton) and in all honesty I’m just tired of Spinosaurs at this point. I couldn’t even keep track of whatever Spinosaurus drama was happening back when I was deep in my early Covid paleo hyperfixation and I'm kinda scared to check in on it. Apologies to Darren Naish, but I’ve had a petty grudge against spotlight-stealing Spinosaurs since like the third post-2014 Spinosaurus paper and it sure as hell-herons ain’t going away now. Sure, Ceratosuchops was a heron-analogue with a cool name, but it’s not even a proper heron mimic. If you want some real convergent evolution, vote for Berthasaura. 

Am I deliberately skimping on Baryonychine facts due to a petty grudge against the most famous member of the family? Yes definitely absolutely. They get enough attention as is. And what do they have that Noasaurs don’t? Weird teeth and an aquatic diet? See Masiakasaurus. Big fore-claws? See Noasaurus. Large size? Overrated, and Deltadromeus might be a Noasaur so they even have that covered. Sail-backs and a semiaquatic lifestyle? That’s Spinosaurus bias talking, vote for Bajadasaurus or Annakacygna instead. Spinosaurs may be fan-favorite weirdo dinosaurs, but I think that Noasaurs were objectively weirder and deserve to advance in the polls. Vote Berthasaura for a weirder, wackier theropod (and a way to unload that pent-up anti-Spinosaurus grudge, if you like)

[stainlesssteellocust]

”I would say it was an elegant weapon for a more civilised age, but that would be a horrible lie!”, or, a random first draft snippet from way ahead of the content I’m ready to post that probably needs a do-over

“Now this brings back memories,” the Tsalal woman says, fiddling with the locks on the case, “I had much the same conversation with your wife. Fascinating woman. Hated my guts, of course, but that didn’t stop her from engaging me on our respective…niche artforms.” 

That takes me off guard. “You’ve met Mo?” 

“Professionally.” Violetta’s an External Asset, so I shouldn’t be that surprised. She’s probably met a lot of people. Still, it takes me off guard.

“To be honest, Howard, I came away a little intimidated. Yulia’s a fine device, but it’s hard to top a Zahn original, you know? Still, I have my pride.” She has an obsession, I’d say, as she removes the last clasp on the box, withdrawing its contents with an air that approaches reverence.

“Behold it.” 

Yulia is the length of a short sword and Violetta holds it like one, settling into an elegant guard. It consists of a bone-white haft covered in carved runes, set with a ruby at the base, and inlaid on two sides are-

“Leaves,” she follows my gaze and predicts my question, “technical term. Obsidian blades taken from the lava flows of Mount Ngranek. The sharpest natural substance on earth.” She grins then, or maybe it’s another Flehmen Response. Who can say. I remember something then, an old documentary, and in an effort to appear cultured I say:

“It’s a macana, right? A macahuitl, the Aztecs called them. They could take the head off a horse.”

“Could take the head off a man, too. The edges don’t break as easily as you’d think, though they struggle to pierce steel armour. It’s convergent evolution, though; this thing never saw South America until after the Age of Discovery. Not exactly a difficult concept; just a stick and some sharp things. No wonder they figured it out twice.”

She chuckles and continues:

“It is also a rather effective thaum lance.”

Violetta raises the weapon high and I see something else: metal inlaid into the odd white haft, circuitry that resembles enochian inscriptions. Lost in the throes of her hyperfixation, Violetta whispers on:

“It works on the same principles as alfar power maces, or those gemstones they use as batteries. The ruby at the bottom - that’s from near Ngranek too, from the mines at Tcho Vulpanomi, back when we dictated terms to the Tsalmoth kings instead of the other way around - that holds power, as does the haft, which was carved from the femur of a man ritually drowned in a cave somewhere on Quanche. The leaves carry some too but they’re mostly channels, directing the power into a blast that at four hundred meters makes a human body burst. 

“It still had trouble with steel. Just like the alfar ones it tends to take the path of least resistance, and grounds itself in heavy metals. Not very reassuring to targets unless they’re in a tank, of course.”

“You said “had”.” I question, and she smiles.

“Of course! That’s what the electronics are for. That and making sure it doesn’t try to kill me; it’s been in use since the White Age, and by now the thing is quite haunted. Allows me to channel and direct the mana supply. Makes it a lot safer to use…and rather more efficient.

“Tankers beware.” And Violetta actually winks. 

[kallypsowrites]

Game of thrones 8x03 Predictions

I honestly am so hyperfixated on Game of thrones right now and the next episode that I gotta make some character predictions. But in this case, I’m less interested about DEATHS and more interested about the character groups we will see in the episode. The director has already spoke about the difficulty directing a battle with multiple POVs. In Battle of the Bastards he was able to stick of Jon’s perspective all the way through. In this battle, there are many storylines going on concurrently. But he likely has them split up into character groups in order to make things easier to track. And based on those character groups, we can guess what might happen. And, I expect that in each group, there will be some kind of death to give us a ‘lowest point’ for each arc. So...let’s jump in!

Group 1: The non-combatants (Tyrion, Varys, Sansa, Missandei, Gilly)

First off we have the non-combatants. My guess is, a lot of the character in this group will be focused on in the beginning as they say some goodbyes but then will be regulated to reaction shots during key points in the battle. HOWEVER I fully expect a few noncombatants to not stay in the crypts. Namely: Tyrion and Sansa. I think Tyrion will go initially to the crypts on Daenerys’ orders but then decide that he can’t take sitting and waiting. I think Sansa might refuse to go the crypts all together, and if she does, she will also have a moment of going off on her own. I suspect the crypts to become a focal point in the eleventh hour of the episode as a ‘twist’ when suddenly the crypts are attacked. That’s a big chekov’s gun at this point.

Moments/relationships I expect to see: Tyrion and Varys discussing the weird vibes happening between Dany and Jon, Tyrion and Sansa discussing not wanting to sit and wait to see if loved ones will die (I.E. their families), Missandei and Gilly bonding over feeling like outsiders and Gilly comforting Missandei. The Crypts becoming to the site for a devestating and unexpected attack that will make me sad.

Themes I expect to be explored: what it means to wait during a battle, facing certain death and feeling helpless to do anything about it, the value of non combatant skills in a combat zone.

Possible dead: Missandei, Gilly or Little Sam. Expect many tears.

Group 2: On the Battlements (Arya, Berric, Gendry and the Hound)

We’ve already seen shots of Arya, Berric and the Hound inside, and of course they got a moment together in episode two. Not to mention Arya is going to want to keep close to Gendry. I think that they are going to be the first responders to the crypt disaster and crucial for when Winterfell first becomes overrun. Arya, perhaps, wanted to fight out in the field, but I imagine Jon wanting her to stay in a safer part of the battle to protect those who can’t protect themselves. For this reason, this group’s story will converge with the story of those in the crypts toward the end.

At some point, Arya and her group will see/hear something suspicious and go to investigate where they will probably find the crypts overrun. That is what causes Arya to run in fear. My guess is she also tries to find Sansa who likely wasn’t in the crypts at the time of the attack, but Arya has no way of knowing that. This is the most panicked and emotional we’ll have seen Arya since her near death experience in season 8.

Like the previous group, look for them to play the biggest roll toward the end of the episode.

Moments/Relationships I expect to see: Arya and Gendry before battle, one last bonding between the Hound and Berric before inevitable deaths, Arya and the Hound fighting together, Arya being with Sansa in the beginning and then frantically looking for Sansa at the end. Arya being hella cool with her new weapon but also finding herself up against an enemy that genuinely scares her.

Themes I expect to be explored: Confronting fears, facing the real possibility of death, true apocalyptic horror, facing enemies beyond what one ever expected and seeing very strong people break down because of it.

Possible deaths: Berric definetily, and Gendry as a possibility

Group 3: The Godswood (Theon and Bran)

Theon is protecting Bran with the rest of the Iron born and waiting for the Night King. I suspect that Bran has some sort of secret plan, since he can see all things and this plan might ultimately end in Theon’s death. Still Theon will fight bravely throughout, proving himself a true iron born. It’d be nice to see him shoot down the ice dragon as well, but I won’t hold out too much hope.

This is probably the group that’s going to get most trippy with it’s magic too since Bran is the focal point/target of the Night King. This is the only group where I genuinely don’t know what to expect.

Moments/Relationships I expect to see: Bran’s gonna give Theon that trailer speech about how everything he did brought him back home and it’s going to be hella emotional. Brave boy Theon is going to brave and fight for his little brother and I CRY. I expect Jon to intersect with this group at some point as well but I’ll get to that later.

Themes I expect to see explored: Mysticism and magic, family goes beyond blood, making a stand to protect what you love even though you know you could die.

Possible deaths: Theon

Group 4: The Left Flank (Jaime, Brienne and Podrick)

Standing with the Knights of the Vale, we have Jaime, Brienne and Podrick, all ready to do some fighting. The show was smart to give them several moments together last episode, showing Jaime and Brienne watching Podrick fight like proud parents, having Brienne act like a mother toward Podrick, having Podrick’s beautiful song of death foreshadowing.

This is going to be a kind of intimate character story in my mind. Where other groups have more face characters, this is principally about Jaime and Brienne and Brienne of Podrick, with Brienne really being the focal point. I expect there to be several close calls and brushes with death as well, and of course, Brienne and Jaime fighting side by side.

Considering how much the show spent on Jaime and Brienne’s relationship last time, I think this is the time that brings their feelings for each other to the forefront. We will see them fight for each other and be willing to die for each other and how they are truly two halves of the same sword (read: soul). I don’t think this will ultimately build to one of them dying tragically (not yet) but rather, it will push them to finally admitting their feelings in the battle aftermath, because they came so close to losing each other and they don’t want to miss their chance.

Moments/Relationships I expect to see: Some HEAVY Jaime/Brienne content, complete with looks that say so much in subtext, throwing themselves into the line of fire for each other, maybe a battle confession (am I hoping too much, yeah probably, but fight me). Brienne and Podrick of course, with Podrick making her proud with fighting. I expect him to save her once too, just like he saved Tyrion in the Blackwater. And I expect Brienne to be ripped apart when he dies and I expect me to cry a lot.

Themes I expect to be explored: Unspoken feelings, bad ass battle couples, facing death with honor and bravery, ‘at least if we die, we die together’.

Possible deaths: RIP Podrick and my soul cause I’m going to cry so much.

Group 5: The Right Flank (Tormund, Davos, Edd, Samwell, the rest of the North) and the center (Greyworm and Jorah)

I put these groups together because I expect them to converge at some point and I expect them to tackle similar themes. This is the corner of soldiers, and the corner of a lot of deaths. We’ve seen all of the characters get a prominent moment and I think this is the place where we see many of them fight for their right to live and die protecting those they love. This is where the beginning of the battle will hit hardest and where we will have some of our first deaths to show us that this is serious.

Undoubtedly, this group will have to retreat, and those who make it back to the walls will probably live. But in the retreat, I expect to see casualties.

Moments/ Relationships I expect to see: Sam and Edd bonding over NIght’s watch stuff one last time, Davos and Tormund wishing each other the best. One last conversation between Greyworm and Jorah about how far they’ve come fighting for Daenerys. It’s notable that Jon and Dany might cross over with this group as some of their oldest friends/allies are here.

Themes I expect to be explored: What it means to be a soldier/knight, what it means to fight even when you know you might die, what happens when your survivor’s luck runs out and a battle finally gets you.

Possible deaths: I put Jorah, Tormund and Edd as the most likely deaths in this group. Greyworm might die, unless Missandei dies, and then he will live to grieve. Davos and Sam will likely be the survivors.

Group 6: The Wild cards (Jon, Daenerys and the dragons)

Jon and Dany are wild cards because, while they start in the same place, I think they are going to end up in very different fights in this war. They will crossover with other groups and, ultimately, their arcs in this battle are the most in shadows because I think something wild is going to happen.

What I do know is that they will spend the first moments of the battle together and will part on bad terms. And, at some point, Jon is going to end up fighting on the ground, MOST LIKELY at the weirwood tree with Bran. Rhaegal might be injured or killed.

The one I am most unsure of is Daenerys who has had approximately one shot of fighting in the preview and it’s her riding Drogon. I know she’s gonna be in the air and that’s about it, so I like the mystery surrounding that part of the battle right now.

Moments/ Relationships I expect to see: Jon and Daenerys, obviously, having a lot of tension over the reveal which might result in plans going HORRIBLY wrong, because Jon that was a BAD TIME to say it! Jon and Bran when Jon inevitably crashes to the ground and fights to defend his little brother. Daenerys possibly seeing Jorah die and having a lot of grief about it.

Themes I expect to be explored: Power vs survival, want vs need, desperate final stands. The weakness of dragons against the winter and the dead

Possible deaths: Rhaegal is a possibility but I think this group is pretty safe for this battle. Not so much with episode five lol.

Woof. Okay, that was a long post. But, regardless, I am getting pretty excited for the episode and pretty nervous for my faves. Can’t wait to cry!

[esmeralda-anistasia]

#my hyperfixations are converging hold on#it’s actually named after the cat of the guy who discovered it but REGARDLESS i’m obsessed now

anyway did you know there’s a mr spock asteroid because it’s very special to me yeah <3