#plus there's my titanic hypothesis

[thresholdbb]

Every time I see the Fair Haven episodes, I wonder when exactly the village is supposed to be. Everywhere online claims Fair Haven is a 19th century program, but my limited knowledge of historical fashion always tries to place them at least at the turn of the century, probably around 1910s

They're all in tweed and daytime fashion being working class folk, plus more rural areas tend to run behind in fashion trends

Anyone more knowledgeable than me in this area have any insight?

[lampmanliveblogs]

I knew it! I had the feeling, once I saw the snow starting to fall. I had the feeling that she’d like, draw a snowflake or something to create ice. I just had that gut feeling, you know?

This is beautiful. Gorgeous.

”It means magic is a gift from the island. It means magic is everywhere.”

Hm, hm, hm… I wonder, I wonder… Now, obviously, Luz has no way of knowing this, and I could be reading too much into things… but the fact that magic is described specifically as  a gift from the Island… not nature or the world at large, but specifically the island… it makes me wonder if magic is supposed to be a gift from titan whose bones make up the island in some way?

That would certainly be an interesting take… though it might clash a bit with how it’s presented here. I’ll keep this hypothesis in mind, but not put too much stock into it until I have more to go off.

Luz, for heaven’s sake! Watch you fragile human body!

Didn’t I warn you all last episode about giving Luz another spell? She’ll be practically invincible unstoppable now!

Smash cut to best boy living his best life.

No joke, this got me chuckling a bit. It was just… so abrupt. We go from Luz exclaiming that she has to go and save Eda and sprinting of, to Hooty listening to some bops. It threw for a loop. A Hooty loop. A Hoopy, if you will.

…I…

I… I can’t even…

…

I guess Hooty got a fine booty now.

ugh.

Luz: ”Don’t worry guys, I’m gonna save you!”

Also Luz: Jumps off into the distance to go hang out with her girlfriend-to-be without saving anyone.

At least she admitted her wrongdoings and apologized to Eda.

”You fool! You activated my trap glyph! Mighty Glacier, Ice Pillar!” -Luz, probably

”Ew, love. Icky.” Eda, probably -me, definitely

LUZ! YOUR FRAGILE HUMAN BODY!

Hey, I just got in tune with nature while starring at this image of Hooty’s perfect visage and now I’m 99% sure Hooty’s face is also a magic glyph. The most powerful magic glyph. Luz, you should draw it.

And that was episode 12! Wow, I actually managed to get through it today. Didn’t think I had it in me. This was an interesting episode. Slowly but surely, deep lore is getting revealed and I’m here for it. It also had some really nice visuals, so that’s a plus.

Maybe I’ll get around to writing the post-episode discussion for episode 11 tomorrow, maybe I won’t. We’ll see. Until then, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!

[lairofsentinel]

I’m still not finishing this book  Tevinter Nights [I’m reading it super slowly because it’s not as engaging as I would like to... I don’t like short stories. I love deep long novels... so the change of format in the DA books series is working against me] but I’m still processing the short story called The Horror of Hormak. 

[spoilers ahead]

I can’t make much sense from a lore perspective. We know this place is not dwarven Deep Roads merely. It’s the Elven deep roads, something we already saw in the DLC of DAO. We know there is a bunch of lore that, so far it was told to us in small fragments along the previous books and games, they are the Shartan’s people, escaping from the “slavery” of the magisters (according to a Chantry point of view) or Fen’harel guiding them to a freedom underground (a vision that could be more closer to a “radical” Dalish one) We all know that the religious tale of humans and dalish share a lot of disturbing coincidences. So, in this part we have a fragment of something we were expecting to be “dwarven helping elves to escape their slavers”.  Now... the description looks different to that context:

This part was not only exclusively elven, but lacked of Darkspwan. In The Calling, we saw that the only places in the Deep Roads with these characteristics are the small lakes or rivers of pure “blue water” (that after DAI we understood as Titan blood) Is this room imbued in Titan’s blood? is related to titans? We know that before the Tevinter magisters happened, Elves were already in war against Titans. 

This is so impressive. Not because it pictures the elven king/queens or the elven gods as tyrants (we already know that thanks to Felassan and the book The Masked Empire)... it’s because there is reinforcement of the Blight into their people.

This may support one of two ideas I always kept in mind:

Elvhenan crafted the Blight to fight against the titans

, to corrupt them; they are the original “black magisters” in Andraste’s tale. However, this concept is immediately rebutal by my own brain telling me “but hey, the blue water is darkspawn filth immune”. So... there is something I'm missing there. Because there is an impossible clear logic here:

Lyrium =titan blood  (DAI)

Titan blood = rejects darkspawns and keeps the Blight at bay (The Calling, DAI)

Red Lyrium=Normal lyrium that was contaminated with the Blight. (DAI)

So, points 2 should prevent 3 from happening... but maybe magic is involved. Maybe Elvhenan found a way to force the Blight into the titan blood and finally corrupt it in order to win the war they had against them. Maybe it’s a process that takes too many centuries, which would make sense with the Red Ancient Thaigs found in DA2: the red lyrium seems to come from almost forgotten Thaigs. Thags that doesn’t seem to be very dwarven. Maybe “Elven Thaigs”. We can go feral from here.

But resuming the book... we also found hallas with many horns and being rounded, almost insectile, plus darkspawn-animals that seem to be a combination of many, the aravel more like prison-ships, elves being subject of torture/slavery... all these concepts brought to me memories from the elven paintings we found in DAI, and in the FADE! (I also always thought that the Qunari was a race made by the Elvhenan, an experiment with dragon blood - hence qunari look so draconic- and some other shit that made them a worthy army against the Titans. This bit of lore foind in this book (the knowledge of combine different creatures into a new one) may support a little bit this hypothesis)

I always wandered what the fuck these paintings have to do with DA lore... now, in this part of the book we have a hint: it’s related to elves and darkspawn. :O In the fade, we found some disfigured statues too, that may be simply representations of people being scared since we were walking through the path of the Demon of Terror, but there were many iconography meaning that this was related to the horrors of slavery. Since we found a lot of Tevinter art and Tevinter machines, we assumed this was the horrors of Tevinter... but.. what if this is a reminiscence of the terrors of the elves that were transformed into Darkspawn, and then the Tevinters exploited later?  Chronologically speaking, we know that the War against the Titans was older than Tevinter Magisters, and it was such war that weakened the Elves so much that Tevinter got advantage of it and claimed to be the big winner of the conflict, becoming the slavers of the elves. Almost nothing is collected into the Thedas History about the Titans, so everyone always focused the conflicts with the Tevinters and the elves. But who could say that slavery was not another things taught to Tevinters by the ancient Elvhenan? Besides magic and somniari stufff, they may have taught to the humans the “marvellous” advantages of slavery? Because elves were not all the same, Felassan told us that in The Masked Empire: there were the “magister elves”, the Elvhenan, tyrant ancient elves, and then the normal elves, most of the time slaves of the former.   This bit of lore got me super excited, and now I want to write a summary of a whole conversation I had with a friend of mine about all the possibilities and the lose-ends in DA lore.... Sadly, this book still doesn't help me to understand these images that were hunting me since I explored the fade. What are they? why are they there? why are they fucking happy?

[lairofsentinel]

Aw thank you so much @giant-sequoia. I always try to interpret DA lore without excess of conspiracy board-guy, because in general, writers develop a story with the goal of reaching the broadest target, and for that, you need to give them good clues to lead them to clear logic speculations.

Also, I guess because my job I have a hard training in following conclusions based on facts and not on too many baseless hypotheses. However, DA lore is still loose enough to force you to do some of those things at some points. Plus, I think that working with the axioms I determined when I started that DA lore blog helped me to stablish a "loosen system":

 I will mostly consider closer to the truth every piece of information that comes from Mythal-Flemeth, Solas, Felassan, Imshael, Corypheus (a bit biased, though, since he was a recent creature in this world during the Elvhenan glory), The Architect (technically, if he could recover his mind), and Valtra (since she is connected to a Titan now). Following this thought, sources of information coming from untouched Elvhenan ruins are always more valuable what a Chantry Mage may say in a Banter. Spirits and Avvar people have a better understanding of the World than any other modern theodosian creature.

With these axioms, we purified our ability to determine from what piece of information we should craft our hypothesis [clearly NOT from the Chant of Light, for example, lol]. The less reliable pieces of information would help us to see if our hypothesis can be “more or less” contrasted with how that fact evolved into a myth or a legend or was changed across the ages but it won't be the foundation of our hypothesis [for example, Fen’Harel’s story has a lot of common things with The Maker's, making us suspect that people took Fen’Harel’s story (something we know existed and have proofs) and modified it to turn it into the Maker’s Myths (something we know so far has been silent and we don't have any proof of its existence)] These processes are 100% anthropological real in our human history.

Now, let’s talk about your enriching comments :D

‘Bad Children All Get Eaten’

Yes! I noticed that too, but I didn’t comment it because I was not so sure how much of the Fade could be interpreted in that image. Certainly, the elongated triangles on the bottom [see that's they are not exactly elongated, but they become more elongated as we go more and more down] have the same style than the triangles we saw in murals where we can suspect “the Fade and the Waking World blend each other”. Elongated triangles seem to follow that meaning, at least, in the  Nick Thornborrow’s illustrations. Why is so important for me to clarify that this analysis only is supported on his illustrations? This artist was the main responsible in creating most of the Murals that we find in DAI Trespasser, and has been contributing to the general art of the franchise with a style that, in his own words, keeps the symbols consistent. Since he promised consistency, I’ve approached his art hoping to see the patterns in an attempt to scratch a bit more of lore information.

As you said, in Murals in DAI: Basics, we see that the equilateral triangle is mostly associated with the Fade, while the Elongated one to places where the Waking World and the Fade mix. If we translate this interpretation here, the lower part of the drawing should be related to the “thin Veil”, a place where both worlds combine, while the top of the image, to the most pure Fade [we see 2 equilateral triangles made out of circles].

This makes us suspect that this image is not about “the Waking World”, but the Fade, and these creatures are “eaten” by something that pushes them down, and probably makes them “fall” into the Waking World. Since the song talks about “temptations/behaviour” in a childish way, we could even interpret this tale as something created by spirits, to avoid other spirits to fall into the Waking World, that somehow, humans in Free Marches acquired across the ages and used it for their children. We see similar things happening with Dalish songs: they contain a lot of ancient Elvhenan details that were mixed, or twisted due to oral tradition among the Dalish clans, so the result is something so worn-out and faded, that it’s hard to see the original source from it.

Another detail that always caught my attention on this image is that the humanoid figures are all the same. They are only differentiated due to the symbol on their belly or head. Beside the symbol of the small spiral, the others can’t be speculated about, since we didn’t have any other clue to associate them with.

Corypheus

Yes! I know this etymology, but I didn’t highlight it in any post beyond small comments since it’s mostly a configuration that shows the relevance of the work of each of the Priest of the Old Gods: Corypheus was the leader of the group, and according to the Chant of Light text written y by Archon Hessarian: Silence 1-3, [the same text says it explicitly, Chant of Light - Part 1], they translate his name as “conductor”, as the means to which the Sidereal Magisters managed to reach the Golden City. This may be mainly because Corypheus was the main user/conductor of the Claws of Dumat, which is a device that seems to have been used in that endeavour [more detail in The Raw Fade - Part 1]. Architect was called that way because he made the “plans” for the ascension [or maybe he developed the claws for Corypheus, we can't say for sure].

However, your interpretation of the Chorus, and this relationship with song/music that we know later is related to the Blight and the Red Lyrium, is something I didn’t think about before. My main question about this interpretation is that it seems to put together that the song of the Blight and the song of the Red Lyrium are the same, but we were told already they were not [aside from one single small confusing line coming from Cole]. I made a compilation of all this info in Songs and elements that sing and whisper in DA Lore. The one saying this is mostly Cole, so since he is a spirit, he has a better understanding of the world even if his ways to explain it are so cryptic. It’s clear that the Blight has a song attached to it, and may be related to the Black City [or the entity trapped there], in the same way that normal Lyrium has a song to it, which is related to the Titans. Now, I never could be sure what truly was related to the whispers in the Red Lyrium, my best hypothesis is to a corrupted, angry Titan.

Thelm Gold-Handed

I really never considered this possibility. It makes sense with the statue where the first mention of Thelm happens. It may have a link with “Dirthamen’s owl” which is usually the creature that has the Golden Ring in its talon

BUT, on the other hand, we never have to forget that the owl is also a symbol of Andruil, we know that this inconsistency exists inside Thedas, and even Dorian highlights it to the player so we don’t forget about it.

That Thelm wanted the Golden City fits with Falon’Din [or even Andruil?], I just find it curious that he would need human armies for that, considering how lesser all other creatures were considered for the Elvhenan. The Stanza says nothing about the physicality of him, but certainly has an ambivalent wording in that case: he fed human tribes to use as armies and head to, potentially, a place we hypothetise may be Arlathan; he pushed these tribes until they screamed, “heed the dreams and cross the Waking”. We know that the Waking is the ocean between Orlairs and Ferelden, but may have a double meaning? Could these armies be elven/spirits pushed into the Waking World to conquer Arlathan?

However, if we keep applying this way of understanding the stanzas to the others, we find that the next stanza, when Thelm asks for marriage to Tyrdda, is triggered on the Maker statue, making Thelm a potential source for the Maker’s myth?

I’m not saying no to this interpretation, but certainly when we apply it to the rest of the stanzas gives us strange curious extra interpretations of other concepts we have been working around.

Maybe, a more in-between interpretation can be done: maybe the whispers that Thelm listened was from another Evanuris who wanted to conquer Arlathan. However, let's not forget how much the Elvhenan despised the form and the shape that the Titans reinforced. It was the Forbiden Ones who enjoyed it [ check "Exile of the Forbidden Ones" from Ancient Elven codices; Vir Dirthara]. Maybe Thelm was whispered in dreams by a Forbidden One.

Also, let’s not forget in all this interpretation that there is no 100% piece of info that makes clear link between the Golden City and Arlathan. And all these interpretations are using both cities as equivalents when they are, so far, a mere hypothesis up to the moment.

About the Blight and the Red Lyrium’s own will

I am afraid I'm not inclined to this interpretation, mostly because what I said above: the song of the Blight and the song of the Red Lyrium are not the same, we were told already they were different, The song of the normal Lyrium and the Red Lyrium ARE similar [they "fit"], but Red Lyrium’s is “angrier”, and this makes sense: it may have some remmants of the memories of the Titans. Let’s remember, thanks to Corypheus in Shrine of Dumat, when siding with Templars, that we learnt that lyrium is a good means to storage memories. So we can speculate without much inconsistency that the lyrium's song is related to the Titan’s ancient memories, and the Red Lyrium's, to the ones when they [or some of them] were corrupted.

The Blight has a song with undetermined origin: we only know through Avernus that it doesn’t come from the Archdemons as most Grey Warden think about, but from the Black City itself, and due to the last Vynil [Speculations about the Vinyl Art], we may speculate it may be related to Mythal and/or the Evanuris trapped in it. After all, we know that the song causes a compulsion to “release” the entity trapped there. For a refresher we can reread the compilation of all this info in Songs and elements that sing and whisper in DA Lore.

However, it's true that Red Lyrium has a codex about "Whispers Written in Red Lyrium." Which with Cole's comments make us deal with an inconsistency: On one hand, Cole says that the song of the Blight and the Song of the Red Lyrium are different, but then he says that the Red Lyrium contains "old whispers" asking for you to open the "door", which makes us relate to the same kind of need that the blighted creatures feel in their compulsion.

Another detail that came to me just while writing this: we have the codex of Raising the Sonallium , where we learnt that through song-based spells the Elvhenan could create pocket-worlds by using Fade essence. We have here an "ancient song" related to creation.

So, I'm still unable to say with certainty what all these songs are about.

Solium

This is a marvelous question I didn’t think about! Why they need a constellation to represent a Sun which already is in the sky during the day? Potential anwers that come to me: because they had no Sun, or because this "sun" is certanly not a sun.

Probably the answer will be in the true meaning we may discover about the “sun/stars” that the Elvhenan represented with overlaping rings, overlaping spheres, and “spheres of fire”. I’m pretty inclined to think that this Sollium is more closer to the concept of the Red sphere of fire than an actual sun. I made a lot of analysis and specualtions about these overlapping rings and star symbols in [Speculations about the Vinyl Art]

Dragon Age Iconic Patterns: The Sun

In this post I will try to extensively gather all the sun-based or sun-like imagery that we find in all the games of Dragon Age. From the most typical ones to those which may seem obscure or with a hidden allegory/design. I will qualify their resemblance with the Sun symbol as Strong, Weak or other.

This post contains the following symbols

Chantry Sunburst

Elvhenan Culture: Sun symbol among the Evanuris

Elvhenan Culture: Asterisk Symbol and Elvhenan Doors

Elvhenan Culture: Golden Ring

Elvhenan Culture: Crappy Sun

Elvhenan Culture: Elgar’nan and Sylaise

Elvhenan Culture: Murals

Tevinter Culture: Green Star

Tevinter Culture: different decorative elements

Dwarven Culture: Fairel and Dwarven art

Ferelden Culture: The Sun Face and the geometrical Sun

Grey Wardens and the Sun

Avvar and the Sun

Flemeth

Qunari, Par Vollen, and the Solium Constellation

DAO design

Free Marches Rural Areas

[This post belongs to the series “Analysis and speculation of Statues”]

[Strong] Chantry Sunburst

The most typical one that appears in DA series is the Sun or Sunburst with wavy rays, repeated so much along the games that we can identify it immediately. It’s the unequivocally symbol of the Chantry. We found it in many versions, and it represents the “dawn” with the idea of hope and “new beginnings”, but also the fire that “purified” Andraste in her pyre to let her ascend to the Maker’s side. In the posts of Andrastian Art [Andrastian Design: Stained Glasses], we also find that “balls of fire” [which can be interpreted as a Sun in another way] are shown to represent the Maker or the Faith in Him.

Andraste’s single spiked helm seems to be inspired in a single sun ray, at least this is what an illustration in the Chant of Light [book of World Of Thedas] seems to suggest.

In general, most of the representations of the Chantry Sun have 16 rays.

The same sun-like symbol appears in its Tevinter version when we see the Imperial Chantry; the only difference with the Orlesian one is that the Tevinter Sunburst has straight rays.

As a detail, in DAO, we had the typical representation of the wavy sunburst present in some strange devices of Tevinter origin, for example, the ones we found in [Brecilian ruins], while the main Church in Denerim, or in Haven, display spikes that, more than resembling a sun, look like thorns or even a thorny vine. This may be a consequence of an original plan in linking, design-wise, the chantry symbology with the thorny vines that represent the Blight or the Darkspawn [As we explained in the section “Non-mural symbol: Thorny vines” from Murals in DAI: Basics], or merely it was a limitation of the design of the game, as we know DAO suffers from.

We also know that tranquils should display this symbol on their foreheads, burnt with lyrium, but as we saw along DAO, none of them had it. Later we were informed that the devs had problems to add this mark on the npc, therefore, it was never shown until DA2. When it comes to this symbol, it is interesting to see that tranquils carry the metaphor of “a Sun burning their minds and emptying them”, which may or may not be related with Dwarves and their fear to the Sun and potential relatinship of Elgar'nar shoving a fire ball into their underground lands [More details of this concept in Deep Roads [DLC Trespasser]: Lower Walkways in particular with the codex  Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads,].

[Strong] Elvhenan Culture: Sun symbol among the Evanuris

Strangely close to the Chantry Sunburst symbol, we find the “half” sun symbol [tagged along the blog as Sun-head creature] in what we suspect was one of the ancient primordial dragon symbols that some Evanuris took over when they claimed Divinity [for more context, read Attempt to rebuild Ancient Elvhenan History]. It’s hard to say which Evanuris took control of this symbol, but we know there is a clearly sun-like symbol present in the Crossroads of the DLC [as a statue, check The Crossroads [DLC Trespasser]: Entrance] and in the Shattered Library [as an Eluvian, check  Shattered Library; Entrance and Courtyard]. With the release of the Vinyl, we also discovered and reinforced the hypothesis that this symbol belongs to or was co-opted by an Evanuris [read Speculations about the Vinyl Art for details] thanks to the image of an elf wearing a hat with that shape.

A consistent detail of this image is that it’s a half-sun with exactly 7 rays.

[Weak] Elvhenan Culture: Asterisk Symbol and Elvhenan Doors

If we extend this imagery, and check other symbols that may look similar to a sun, we find the ancient Elvhenan Doors [Elven Ancient Shard-based door], which top displays a pointy sun of 8 rays that may or may not be related to the Asterisk symbols [also related to the Titan’s core, which I talked about in the post of Murals  “The Death of a Titan”]. In the way the door gets illuminated when activated also makes us see a “circle” in it that can be loosely related to the “Golden Ring shape”. More details about this ring will be treated below.

This strange sun on the ancient door also makes us think in the Asterisk Symbol [made of 8 points], which lays at the centre of the yellow mosaic, which may be related to the core of a Titan [asterisk of 8 points too]. The link is immediate when we see that this asterisk is outlined by a shape that looks like a star or a Sun, inside a big ball with triangular-shape ends. This same symbol appears in the last Trailer of DA4, behind Solas, when he is presented like an Hermit, mysterious, apostate mage. Around this “sun” we can make out several concentric lines that may refer to a “Golden Ring”.

The Asterik symbol also appears in murals such as  “The Creation of the Veil” or “The Death of a Titan”, which allowed us to relate them with the core of a Titan and its immense power of "making real what you imagine"reinforcing the reality", but this symbol also appears in a corner of Solas’ tarot card.

The yellow mosaic also has some shapes at the four corners that may represent eluvians or something related to Mythal. In the mural of “the Temple of Mythal” from  “The actions of the Inquisitor”, we see that Solas draw a particular star of 8 points inside a door frame that resembles this “eluvian outline”, but it’s also the shape of the doors of the Temple of Mythal which represents Mythal herself in her dragon shape. All these symbols seem to reinforce the idea we explored in “The Death of a Titan”: Mythal seems to be related to the core power of a Titan represented by an asterisk that evolves into a golden ring and into a sun.

As I repeated several times in Speculations about the Vinyl Art, at times, we find some hints where stars or balls of fires [also understood as suns] are related to Mythal and Elgar’nan, making us suspect that, maybe, Mythal and Elgar’nan share a nature similar to Falon’Din and Dirthamen’s: apparently, the same creature with two different aspects from them. If this were the case, associating Mythal with the Sun would make sense, and it would also explain why, if Elgar’nan was so central in the Elvhenan culture, there are so few representations and statues of him, while Mythal overwhelms it.

[Weak] Elvhenan Culture: Golden Ring

During the last trailer of DA4, we see Solas turns into the Black Dread Wolf as a sun in the background becomes a moon [single golden circle] and later, it separates itself into concentric rings, that may or may not be related to the “Golden Ring” so deeply entangled with Elvhenan culture. Thanks to this imagery, we may relate the Sun to the Golden Ring [specially if we consider that the mural presented in Nation Art: Elvhen displays the yellow ring in a position that may be considered “the sun”, but also the "authority/power above"]

We need to remember that the Golden Ring’s presence is always associated with control, power, and occasionally to Mythal and Dirthamen. In the mural of the “zombie elves”, it’s above all of them, and due to this position, it could be interpreted like a “sun” or moon upon the controlled, zombified elves. But I’m not too convinced in this interpretation, since we already explored in posts such as: Nation Art: Elvhen, Exalted Plains: Ghilan’nain’s Grove and the Dead Hand, DLC: Jaws of Hakkon - Frostback Basin, Elvhen Tomb, Ancient Elven codices; Fen’Harel’s mountain ruins, The Crossroads [DLC Trespasser]: Elven Mountain Ruins; Vine-covered Tower, Murals in DAI: The Death of a Titan, and Speculations about the Vinyl Art that this ring was more related to control, power, or even forced change/shape in some cases. Due to its power or potential knowledge, it's also associated to Dirthamen Owl [which also could be Andruil's owl according some inconsistencies in the same Unreliable Dalish legends].

On the other hand, it’s never clear if this symbol may have morphed into a sun along the ages with the loss of memory that the Elves had throughout generations when they lost their immortality. However, I tend to consider that this Golden Ring may have changed into a Sun when it entered in contact with human groups, in the same way that I see the story of Fen'Harel gave enough context for humans to create the Maker myth based on him, potentially during the time of Halamshiral [for more details, read The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light]

This ring also appears in the last scene of DAI, when we defeat Corypheus, showing Mythal inside it, as bits of red lyrium sprout around it. This can be related to many speculations done in Speculations about the Vinyl Art, where we can conclude that another fragment/part of Mythal is still trapped in the Black City, corrupted, and contained by an immense power that may have been used before by the rest of the evanuris to control their own people.

The Golden Ring has also been seen enclosing Elven Tree Statues and Elven Orbs, implying its relationship with elvhenan power and/or Mythal’s [after all, we know that Mythal took the power from a Titan from which elvhen orbs were developed, and trees are also her symbol, according her vallaslin]. It's worth noting that the only working orb we saw in the game was Mythal’s, so far.

[Weak] Elvhenan Culture: Crappy Sun

There is also a strange symbol that I called “crappy sun” in the ancient tablet we find at the entrance and deep into the tomb of Forbidden Oasis: Solasan Temple [along this blog I’ve tagged it as “Stone in Razikale-Ceremony-style”]. It’s hard to say if it represents a sun or a breach. It may be related to a sun similar to the one of the Elven Ancient Shard-based door that, later, Tevinter co-opted to turn into the several versions of pointy suns we see in Tevinter Pre-blight ruins, [let’s remember they were not Andrastian yet, and still they had this symbology in their buildings and elements because it may have been related to ancient dragons, or taken from another elvhen symbology during the time of the Dreamers since there are some proofs, such as the Tevinter Mosaic [Invasion], that may show that Tevinter had a better relationship with elves back then].

Maybe the original symbol was related to Elgar’nan, as we see in his mosaic, where he shoves down the sun into the earth, and its rays are wavy and a bit “crappy”. If this relationship is correct, maybe what Elgar'nan shoved into the Earth to destroy the dwarves/Titans was not a sun but a breach? Again, a very unlikely hypothesis.

This “crappy sun” also has 8 rays.

[Strong] Elvhenan Culture: Elgar’nan and Sylaise

Elgar’nan’s mosaic was interpreted in the post Evanuris, and basically shows an elf shoving down a Sun of wavy rays into the Earth. It’s easy for us to relate this image to the unreliable Dalish legend of Elgar’nan [read Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance]. Elgar’nan is presented here as the son of the Sun itself, who tried to burn all life on the Land out of Jealousy, so Elgar’nan vowed vengeance against his Father’s cruelty, and his rage won against the fire of the Sun. Then, “Elgar'nan threw the sun down from the sky and buried him in a deep abyss created by the land's sorrow.”

This story can be followed later in the post Emprise du Lion: Pools of the Sun, where we find another unreliable Dalish legend claiming that this place has spring waters because it was here where Elgar’nan shoved the sun into the Earth. I also made a link to Sylaise considering the Elvhenan arenas we can see in this region, the presence of Sylaise’s Shrine, and her thirst for being always competing with someone. These details can make us suspect that this Sun could have been Sylaise [so deeply related to fire, the sun, and also as angry as Elgar’nan according the Song to Sylaise].

It’s very worth noting that these two legends, said by different clans, claim that Elgar’nan pushed the Sun into the Abyss. Another detail we have to assume is that "Abyss", "Beyond the Deep Roads" and "The Void" seem to be one thing related to the places where the Titan sleep [or even inside the Titan themselves] instead of a strange dimensional pocket we never saw before. This links the Elvhenan with the Dwarven in what we speculated in Murals in DAI: The Death of a Titan.

With this relationship, we see again the Sun as a weapon of destruction and control.

[Weak] Elvhenan Culture: Murals

Murals present a red sphere with rays that may imply a Sun .

In the mural “The Creation of the Veil” [1], we find a red sphere inside a black one, making us suspect it’s the big evil released by the Evanuris that Solas isolated with the creation of the Veil. Around it, there are seven “bubbles” with similar “rays” in grey and golden colours that may imply “gates” that would allow us the access to the central “sun” or red sphere.

In the mural “The Death of a Titan” [2] we talked extensively about the asterisk symbol, its representation of a Titan’s heart and all that power associated with it, as well as with Golden Rings. The codex in here speaks of a red sphere that contains fury, and maybe all of this can be related to a sun, or better said, the other way around: a Sun as a sphere of fire, related to fury, and buried below underground to contain its destruction. This also brings us some similarities with the unreliable Dalish legends about Elgar'nan.

In the mural  “Red Lyrium Idol” [3] we also commented how the image looks as if Solas were walking on a sphere of fire. It may be related to the red lyrium idol too. Here, we keep linking this idea of a “sphere of fire” as a potential Sun.

In the murals of “The actions of the Inquisitor” [4], we see several times that the red sphere associated with the big evil isolated behind the thick, impenetrable barrier of the Black City seems to be positioned in places that may allow a soft interpretation as a “sun”in the sky.

These symbols seem to gather more importance as we analysed the Vinyl Art, where we find the concept of the Eclipse [as an ominous symbol of Fen’Harel that covers and hides the Sun] and a lot of iconography of stars, which can be interpreted as “suns”.

[Weak] Tevinter Culture: Green Star

Pre-Blight Tevinter art has a “star” symbol that may be interpreted as a sun, specially if we consider that the inside of this green star displays the symbol of the elvhenan Golden Ring in red colour. However, it seems more likely to be a symbol representing the power that one can extract from the Breaches. The green colour helps in this interpretation and puts it a bit farther away from a sun interpretation than other symbols. However, it keeps linking the Golden Ring with the power of creating a Breach.

[Confusing] Tevinter Culture: different decorative elements

The rest of the symbols in Tevinter objects may have some relationship with the Sun. For example, we find doors, boxes, and columns decorated with an 8-pointed star [1] but we also find another one with 6 points in something that looks like a box [2]. The shape of an “hexagonal” sun of 8-pointy rays can be found as well in objects like the “scrying orb” [4].

Among the outfits, we find a 3-ray comb used by Tevinter women [3], which may be related to the sun-based symbol of an Old God [and potentially related to the corresponding Evanuris associated with it]. This symbol is a lot closer to the "Sun-head creature" we found among Elvhenan objects.

As a curious one, I will always point out the strange, hidden Sun figure that belongs to the Free Marches decoration that can be found at the entrance of the Inner Sanctum in Western Approach: The Still Ruins, Viridis Walk and Inner Sanctum.

I think it’s clear and safe to say that most of the sun-based symbols present in Tevinter culture [and previous to their conversion to Andrastian religion] may have been originated from the contact with the Elvhenan [during the Dreamer time where we can see less repulsion to Elvhen according the Tevinter Mosaics] or [most likely] with the dragons that may have been related to the Elvhenan, as I made the connection in the comic post The Missing.

[Weak] Dwarven Culture: Fairel and Dwarven art

The Dwarves, at least the ones in the Fairel’s ruins, may have some link with the Sun as well. In these ruins we find the same exact stone tablet we find in the Ancient Elvhenan tombs [1], which displays the “crappy sun” I commented above. Once again, it could be a sun but also a breach, so there is no much sense to keep focusing on it.

Another symbol to relate the Sun to the Dwarves may or may not be an old “Dwarven stone-paintings” we saw since DAO, which basically shows a dwarf working the stone [3]. Based on symmetry, we could assume that the triangles on the background are stalagmites, but if we stretch-out this interpretation, they could even be seen as a sun with its rays. It’s very unlikely, since it seems to be more a design resource to highlight the scene of the stone-painting, but for completion’s sake I think it’s worthy to keep it commented here.

However, this simple design allows us to interpret it in different ways: the spikes we see can be pieces of rock protruding from the ground and the Dwarf in it is mining them [as its original codex in DAO seems to imply], but also it could be understood as a quarter of a Sun peeking through the corner of the image as a Dwarf works tirelessly.

Later in DAI we are introduced to another piece of art of similar characteristics [2]. The building was never possible to be identified unequivocally, and in posts like “Architecture of Kirkwall : Gallows and Lowtown/Darktown” I related it to representations of Kirkwall or cities that may be similar to Kirkwall where the runecraft mastery of dwarves was used [and probably, it was a source of pride for these clans, who may have kept the achievement immortalised in a piece of art reproduced among the noble dwarven families]. This piece also shows a background very similar to the one in [3] that may be a representation of stalagmites or a sun, if it’s stretched-out enough.

Another strange symbol in the dwarven furniture is the one presented in some stone-seats: an elaborated metal image that shows thorny vines on or over a sun [4]. This symbol appears in many other parts of the game where there are dwarven rooms, but also in Arbor Wilds :Cradle of Sulevin where we can read the Vir Tanadhal, However, in this case, the symbol is not completely the same one than in the Hissing Wastes: Fairel tomb.

It’s hard to suspect if this is a mere reuse of assets, it has a lore-related meaning, or it’s just a reflection that the Dwarves and the Ancient Elvhen had a relationship quite ancient [as it shows the Elvhen tree and its dwarven, more geometrical style, that I’ve been pointing out since DAO in Orzammar]. We have to remember that the Ancient Elvhenan saw the dwarves as soulless creatures, workers of the “pillars of Earth” and worthless. However, I always claimed it was never clear if this was a reference to ancient Dwarves that were linked to the Titan deeply to the point that they became Sha-Brytol after the break of the link, or were related to more independent dwarves as the ones we see now, who have a sense of Stone, but can’t understand the Titan with the exception of some gifted ones [such as Valta].

Finally, the dwarves have an additional aspect related to the Sun in the very unreliable codex called Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 2. I wrote about this codex in a more integral way in Deep Roads [DLC Trespasser]: Lower Walkways. But basically an ex-Dalish elf [now a Qun converted] relates Elgar’nan��s fire [which another unreliable Dalish legend, Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance, claims he shoved the Sun into the Earth] to the fear to the Sun that Dwarves experience [Read the section Elgar’nan and Sylaise above]. This may have been a Dev’s choice to makes us aware that there exists a relationship between the Sun and the dwarves, even though there is no lore material that can make it clear enough.

[Strong] Ferelden Culture: The Sun Face and the geometrical Sun

In the Tryptich presented in Andrastian Design: Tapestry and Tryptich, we find three symbols on top of each part of the scene: the six-snakes that represent Tevinter, the golden city above all the image representing the Maker or the Chantry Religion, and over the section of Ferelden/Orlais chantry, a 8-pointed sun which rays look like triangles. Once again, the resemblance of this symbol with the elvhenan sun in the mural “Temple of Mythal” is remarkable [check the Temple of Mythal in “The actions of the Inquisitor”] or the sun shape in the elvhenan yellow mosaic or in the background of Solas in the Trailer of DA:D. This could come from different roots:

1- An Orlesian root, considering how much of the elvhenan influence it had during the time of the Halamshiral and the coexistence of humans and elves in the Dales for some years [to the point where inter-racial families were made, as it was hinted all over the Exalted Plains]. I spoeculated how the idea of the Maker may have been developed during this time in the post The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light

2- Another potential root is related to the Alamarri root, and therefore, linked to the Avvar: this sun may be a representation of the Lady of the Sky for the same reasons I will explain below in the Section Avvars and the Sun.

We can find similar icon in the book World of Thedas, where they show a unique Ferelden Tryptich [3], which top displays this symbol with a sun that even may have a shape of a Golden Ring within it. In either case, we know that this symbol later was part of the Ferelden Chantry, which sun is very pointy, as DAO showed it [see the first section in this post: Chantry Sunburst].

In DAI, we find in some small towns of Ferelden, a unique strange Sun with a crying face [1]. On it we see a bird and a squirrel. It’s hard to know exactly what this is, [check the post Nation Art: Ferelden], but maybe it can be understood as a representation of Andraste made by Ferelden culture mixed with some local animals and fables created as a mixture of cultures, similar to the tale that related Wyverns to Andraste [check the wyvern section in Dragon Age Iconic Patterns: The single spike].

There is also a fish drawn in the DLC of Hakkon on a fisherman shack [2], which displays a pattern that can be related to the “crappy sun” designs on its skin. Not sure what to make about it. The closest is that the Avvar represented this symbol as a way to reflect what they may have seen in the Isle of the Lady, where a big ancient breach have been there, open, since the time of Telana [read about this in “The Veil and the preservation of the Waking World” from the post Frostback Basin [DLC]: Miscellaneous ].

[Strong] Grey Wardens and the Sun

The typical symbol of the Grey Wardens involves a chalice that represents the Joining ritual. It always displays a Sun, and not any sun: it’s one with a strong resemblance to the Sunburst of the Chantry. Let’s remember that the Grey Wardens was and is an independent Order that doesn’t respond to the Chantry, and even more so: it was created before the existence of the Chantry, and before Andraste was born. So any quick explanation that this sun is present in this object due to some potential influence from the Chantry seem unlikely.

However, as I showed in Western Approach: The Still Ruins, Main Chamber and Hall of Silence, there are griffons with this same chalice that belonged to pre-Blight Tevinter, maybe remotely associated with Dumat in some ways [since they appear in a hall called “Hall of Silence”, and Dumat=Silence]. We know that the Joining, as a ritual of blood magic, came from the knowledge of Arlathan elves and Tevinter Mages during the desperate times of the First Blight when nothing seemed to stop the darkspawn and even slaying Dumat did not work the first time. Therefore, this Sun may have some relationship with the elvhenan, the Old Gods, or just the blood magic that allowed the creation of the Joining.

[Curious] Avvar and the Sun

The Avvar have a symbol that I always found very Sun-like due to its design and cultural concept: The Lady of the Sky. It’s not only the concept; the lady of the sky can be any important object in the sky; moons or suns. Since Thedas has two moons, it seems more plausible to think of her as unique as the Sun itself.

In the painting that represents her (found on a wall in the Frostback Mountains) we see a design of an owl which shape looks like a Sun. Even her sculpture in Skyhold displays small spikes around her neck which give her a low-key “sun-like” design, specially if we relate this shape with the “sun” shape we saw in the Ancient Elvhenan Yellow Mosaic or with the star we saw in the “Temple of Mythal” mural [in “The actions of the Inquisitor”] or with the Sun that appears behind Solas in the trailer.

Curiously, her banner displays her eyes in a shape that looks similar to the Golden Ring shape, but in black colour. That the Avvar have an art that may have resemblance with Elvhenan's is not strange for me if we remember that  Tyrdda Bright-Axe Path’s story narrates that her lover was an elf that, as it is hinted, may have been the Lady of the Sky herself. This means that the Avvar always were a culture under the influence of the Elvhenan and the Dwarves [due to the marriages they arranged with the children of the Stone].

[Weak] Flemeth

Flemeth also had a unique concept art that shows all of her nature in one drawing: her dragon shape, Mythal, as the central part of it over a human figure that may be a petitioner; a bit aside and as if she were in a inner ring of a brown sphere, The Witch of the Wild: Flemeth, with a very particular staff inside a yellow circle that may be interpreted as a Sun. And very hidden in the corner, in the core of this sphere, now black, we see her as an "old, old woman" with a big eye drawn on her apron, at the edge of a cliff [potentially representing the fragment of Mythal that lives inside her]. This kind of eye is very similar to the ones that we see in the concept art armours of Mythal’s temple guardians. I assume it has to do with her omnipresence due to the manipulation of dreams [we know that she presented herself in dreams to an elf and marked him with the Vallaslin of Mythal after awakening, check the video]

Mythal also has bland hints related to Elgar’nan symbology, which is related to the sun, fire, and balls of fire with anger [check all this in the posts Speculations about the Vinyl Art and “The Death of a Titan”]. Flemeth ends up being related to all this since she carries a fragment of Mythal in her.

[Strong] Qunari, Par Vollen, and the Solium Constellation

The Qunari have little link with the Sun, but not the land they conquered. In the book World of Thedas we are informed about the existence of the Fex, a race we never saw nor had much information beyond the fact that they exist. May they be related to the Sun or a Sun-base proto religion? We don't know.

In the Codex Constellation: Solium, we learn that this constellation [which looks like a Sun/Star, image above, pretty similar to the Chantry Sunburst I may add] may have been a representation of the Sun or the Moon [or both] for the Neomerian [Ancient Tevinters], however, it could also represent Elgar’nan, since unreliable Dalish legends claim him to be the “eldest of the Sun”.

Another Codex, called  The Pyramids of Par Vollen, tells us that the Jungles of this continent have ancient ruins that doesn’t seem to be tombs but places of scientific purposes. The shape of these ruins fits perfectly with the constellation of Solium, making them, in some way or another, related to the Sun. These pyramids are a great mystery in the DA lore, especially for their total lack of information beyond this codex. We know their walls show images of “intricate sea creatures, shipwrights, musicians, archers, and kings. Odd figures are depicted, tall, horned, always in a position of authority and respect.” It seems that there was no resistance when the Qunari came to conquer this place, so we can suspect that this previous civilization embraced the Qun without much resistance, in part, because the Qunari have horns, and that caused respect and authority. Or the civilisation had been gone long ago when they came. Or it was a civilisation that was developed by or under the authority of the Kossith, the ancient Qunari who had no Qun.

The brief description of these ruins also makes me link it, potentially, with the underground ruins we find in  The Horror of Hormak .

[Confusing] DAO design

This section tries to relate the Sun shape with designs that may make the connection a bit stretched or not truly reasonable, therefore, DAO leads this part, lol.

We find that many places along the game, specially the ones related to puzzles [Honnleath and Enchanter Wilhelm’s basement] or to Tevinter experiments [Ruins of Brecilian Forest] display a platform on the ground with a symbol similar to the Sunburst of the Chantry. I’m not sure why they are there, specially in the Brecilian Forest, since we know this was a fortress probably developed by Tevinter [ which potentially may have co-opted, as usual, an ancient Elvhenan building and claimed it as its own] just to be taken by Dalish and humans later. This Fortress is a mess in terms of design and statues that it displays, so it’s hard, if not impossible, to truly take it seriously. To me it all feels more like a reuse of graphical resources, but just for the sake of completion, I add the present section.

More of these sun-like platforms can be found in the Tower of the Circle of Magi [which could potentially make sense since the tower was made by Avvar and Dwarves, and it may be a representation of the Lady of the Sky, as we saw in the Avvar section of this post] but also in the Temple of Andraste or in Denerim at the Fort Drakon which makes less sense [unless it is taken as a symbol from the Chantry itself]. Again, these inconsistencies make me suspect the reuse of assets in a game that could not afford to have 5 different platforms designs.

[Confusing] Free Marches Rural Areas

Another place where I found a sun-like symbol was in a very disturbing image of the book World of Thedas associated with a cautionary tale told to Free Marches kids. In it, we see that people/children are punished if they go outside a bubble of darkness with small “sun-like” symbols floating around. Each of these kids have a symbol on their belly or head. Curiously, one of these symbols is a small spiral that I’ve brought the attention upon long ago in the post Hinterlands: Statues, paintings, and structures found in the open where we found the alamarri statue I called Eroded dragon skull which has a “G symbol” on its back, which, at the same time, seems similar to the one present in a reiterative way all over the elvhen artefacts and in some dwarven rug designs.

I don't know how to interpret this image, mostly like the big black bubble that contains these klids seems to protect or shield them from the dangers outside. The kids that "behave badly" are dropped outside of it and are consumed by the dragon fire/jaws of the dangers outside. So in a very stretched way, we can interpret this image that the bubble filled with Suns protects people, or at least, it's the right path to follow not to be eaten by those monsters outside.

Conclusions

To put an end to this post, I would like to bring a short conclusion that we may have reached together along it. The Sun in Thedas is an ancient symbol that mostly every culture took to exploit and use in their own representation of gods/power.

This fact alone is not strange, since in anthropology we can see that severals cultures on Earth have developed religious rites or created Gods out of the Sun itself. The Sun is a symbol related to warmth, light, food, life, and security, so it seems reasonable for DA Lore to take it as the main symbol of Thedas civilisations.

The Sun in current Thedas is immediately associated with the Chantry and Andraste: it is a symbol of hope, of dawn, that provide the idea of new beginnings; it’s also the idea of the Maker itself and the Faith people have in him. It's also the fire that purifies in order to grant ascension [Andraste's case].

When it comes to Elvhenan, the Sun is immediately related to Elgar’nan, who was considered, according to the underaliable Dalish legends, the son of the Sun itself, who in order to save the Land shoved the sun into the ground, potentially causing a great damage to Dwarves and Titans.

There is also a symbol of a half-sun in an Eluvian, a statue, and in a hat worn by an elf, that may suggest that an original god, represented by the sun [potentially an ancient Dragon] was worshipped by the Evanuris. Lately, that symbol may have been co-opted by one of the Evanuris when they took divinity and the identity of the ancient gods they worshiped.

Elvhenan also seem to take the symbol of the asterisk as an oversimplification of the Sun, which across the murals, is also related to the heart of Titans, to power, and to the Golden Ring, which is also associated with control. So, for Elvhenan, we may suggest that the Sun represents immense power, if not, Divinity itself, that may end up being related to the core of Titans. The asterisk is also associated to the orb, a big power object.

Since Elvhenan were the first civilisation we know that started in Thedas [besides the Titans and their children], their symbols of power [asterisk, orb, golden ring] may have evolved along time to reach human groups which developed, later, all the sun symbols that ended up in the Chantry’s.

Thanks to Tevinter, we also can suspect that the Sun may have been a representation of an Old God, since they have a lot of sun-related images in their decoration and objects that belong to ancient times in which they were not Andrastian yet [in fact, so ancient times that Andraste herself was not born yet]. This may mean that the Sun symbol cloud have been taken from the Elvhenan or from the Ancient Dragons. Through Tevinter style, we also realise that the Elvhenan Golden Ring may have been used to create Breaches, which again shows and seems consistent with the idea of relating it to power and control. The symbol of Sun in Tevinter culture may be related originally with Elvhenan or with Ancient Dragons that Tevinter used to worship.

Dwarves have little representation of the sun for obvious reasons, but due to the unreliable legend of Elgar’nan and the war with the Titans, we may establish a relationship in which the dwarves endured the Sun [or the Elvhenan power] at some point in their story.

Thanks to the Grey Warden we can relate a sun with the idea of ancient Blood magic or ancient Dragon blood knowledge, since the Joining is represented by a chalice with a Sun on it.

The Avvar also have a low-key representation of the Sun in their Lady of the Sky, which may be just consequence of their deep relationship with the Elvhenan culture.

Par Vollen may have more answers about the Sun and ancient times, but the lore of DA world is very scarce on this region of the map of Thedas, so we can only speculate.

[ckret2]

Maybe the real rodorah shipper was Xochitl all along

56-B is rooting for their two resident titans to hook up the way wrestling fans may be expected to cheer for elbow drops: with screams, high fives, and spilled snacks. They're all shipping it, but 30% like they're watching a soap opera, 30% like they're watching a violent sport, and 40% like they've got money riding on the outcome. (They do.)

But seriously—Xochitl's got big beef with the fact that a dude who quit Monarch like five years ago just waltzed back in, announced that a dozen and a half different species all conform to an inter-species alpha hierarchy based on a theory of animal behavior that's been debunked, and since then Monarch's been touting that theory in its official tweets, articles, and interviews like it's a proven fact instead of a hypothesis that was proposed three hours after all the titans woke up. Even though more and more evidence is coming out that contradicts the hypothesis. The evidence against the hypothesis is either all but willingly misinterpreted to fit into alpha dog theory, or else ignored. The blatant confirmation bias is driving her mad.

If Rodan & Ghidorah hook up, then she can come back at "based on the titans' alpha-based hierarchy it's clear that Ghidorah and Rodan have formed a small 'pack' separate from the global pack, probably due to being cast out for defying the alpha Godzilla, and are now engaged in an ongoing series of dominance displays to determine which one of them will be the new pack's alpha—" with the retort "I've got incontrovertible evidence that what you thought were dominance displays were actually mating displays. My proof is that they're mating. I've included footage. I blurred out the faces." Plus 200,000 twitter followers who will take in this evidence and thereafter go razz Monarch HQ every time they try to use the word "alpha" anywhere in conjunction with either titan.

So yeah, she ships Rodorah, but she doesn't ship it like a shipper. She ships it like a frustrated academic with a bone to pick.

[crownedslytherinjay]

Thoughts about the MCU movie the Eternals

Hi everyone! I'm Lya and I am a huge Marvel fan. I've read a lot of comics and watched every single movie from Marvel, in and outside the MCU. Since it was clear that the Infinity stones will not only appear but have a very important role for the MCU, I wanted to see the Eternals on screen. Why you may be asking? For plenty of reasons that I will develop here. So, while we all wait for Captain Marvel and Avengers Endgame, let's share our thoughts and theories :)

N.B : English is not my native language so I apologize for every mistake. Also, I have not read all the Marvel comics books so it is very possible that I messed up things. If you are a diehard fan of Marvel, or if you have read the comics related to the Eternals, you will already know what I will say in here but you can still read to imagine how things can be added in the MCU :)

First of all, who are the Eternals?

The Eternals are the results of a scientific research. An alien species called the Celestials went on Earth and created the Eternals. Celestials are very ancient and are the most powerful race in the whole Marvel Comics Universe.  

So, the Eternals are laboratory's rats. They are powerful, like, they are almost too powerful. They possess cosmic energy and a lot of abilites : they can use cosmic energy to fire things up with their hands or their eyes, they can fly and teleport while carrying people, they are strong, fast and immune to all possible disease. The only way of dying for them is to lose to much of their molecules (but they later gain a machine which reborn them) or to lose the ability to control their molecules. So, basically, they are Eternals.

Now, if Marvel does make a movie about them, how can their origin be told?

Simple. Celestials, a.k.a the aliens who created the Eternals, have already appeared in the MCU. First of all, in Guardians of the Galaxy vol.1, the planet Knowhere is said to be built on the head of a Celestial. Then, in Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2, Peter Quill's father is a Celestial. But, there is a tiny bit of a problem here. Ego says that he is the only one of his kind. But, in Guardians 1, there is a Celestial's corpse : Knowhere. So, here are the two possibilities that I decided to keep.

1 : Celestials are actually very rare and there is only one of them every X years. Why not but this is not very satisfaying.

2 : Celestials banned Ego and made him forget about them. Why would Celestials do such a kind of thing. Well, they know they are the most powerful beings in the universe. And they study others. Ego wanted to conquer the universe but Celestials' motives are not that dramatic. Cince they wanted to study more other races, and especially the Eternals, they casted away Ego. This hypothesis makes it possible to stick to the comics as for the origin of the Eternals.

The Eternals' origin can be explained and integrate the MCU. Let's look at their story.

Eternals lived on Earth. Eternals already had a longer, a very much longer life span than humans. And they already had powers, but not all of the ones I said previously. They had only one birth every 1000 years. They soon divided into two factions. Uranos wanted to conquer others, especially humans since they were living on Earth while Kronos did not wish to meddle with others. There was a civil war and Kronos and his faction won. Uranos and his partners went to space and they lived on Uranus. They got attacked by the Kree who kidnapped one of them, Arlok. The remaining Eternals flee to Titan, one of Saturn's moon.

The faction who stayed on Earth (Kronos' faction) lived in their city called Titanos. Kronos made a lot experiences about cosmic energy which led to two things. One : pretty cool, actually, since Eternals gained all their wonderful powers. But, two : the cosmic energy created an explosion destroying Titanos and killing Kronos. Eternals were powerful but lost their ruler. In order to chose their new leader, Zuras and Mentor, Kronos' sons, created the Uni-Mind, a collective mind for the Eternals. It was decided that Zuras would be the new leader. To avoid another civil war, Mentor chose to join the Eternals who were living in space (a.k.a not on Earth). When he arrived on Titan, he realised everyone was dead. But there was one survivor, Sui-san and they fell in love. They soon populated Titan again, creating the Titans.

Zuras was the new leader or the Eternals (at least those who live on Earth). They created three new cities : Olympia, near the Greek's mythology gods city, Polaria and Oceana.

What can be used in their story?

Pretty much everything, actually. Uranos' faction, the ones who lived in Saturn, got attacked by the Krees and Arlok got kidnapped. By using Arlok as a laboratory rat, the Krees were able to create an enhanced race too : the Inhumans. In the TV series Agents of Shield, Inhumans already made their apparition and the Krees are their creators. Adding the Eternals' story would not be contradicting with that.

So, after the attack, they ran away to Titan, one of Saturn's moons. Mentor came and with Sui-san, repopulated Titan. In the MCU, Titan is Thanos' birth planet. But there is one difficulty : knowing how powerful his distant relatives are, Thanos would have done something to destroy them. Here again, two possibilities.

1 : in the comics, Thanos is directly Mentor's and Sui-san's son. But you can adapt the story so Mentor and Sui-san are actually dead (or no more on Titan) so Thanos is a descendant. In this hypothesis, Titans are not aware of their origins because it was hidden or the heritage was just lost. Considering that Titans are weaker than Eternals, it would be logical to say they have a shorter lifespan and, by with time, the Eternals blood heritage would be lost, which explains why Titan ended because of overpopulation (like Thanos says in Avengers Infinity War).

2 : in the comics, some Eternals join the fight against Thanos. But, in the comics, pretty much a lot of heroes join the fight. So, for the Eternals. In this hypothesis, the Eternals' blood heritage did get lost a lot because a lot of time passed. Titans are not as strong as Eternals but they are aware of their existence. Eternals do not want to meddle with others (because they are very afraid of the Celestials) so when there is a war, even if it is a universe-wide war, they would not intervene thinking "mh, that's nothing compared to the Celestials". But Eternals are not dumb, so they felt that Thanos was too much of a di... Hum, of a bad guy. As a result, they decided to erase their existence from Titans' mind, including Thanos then.

The Uni-Mind can be useful later, when I will explain why a certain Eternal should be the main character. As for Polaria and Oceana, they can be mentionned but in a 2 hours long movie introducing whole new characters, that would be too much informations and the public can be bored.

Which Eternals can be used ?

Well, since we decided to keep their story, Uranos, Kronos, Mentor and Zuras should appear on screen. As for the others, there are not a lot of Eternals to start with, but for me (and as Marvel revealed), Sersi will be the main character (alongside with Ikaris but I prefer to focus on Sersi). Sprite, Makkari and Thena seem useful to create a story around Eternals. But honestly, as I already said, there are not many of them so they can all appear.

Why Sersi?

Because she is badass. No, okay, I will developp.

I am very happy by Marvel's choice for Sersi. Here is her story.

Unlike her people, Sersi wanted to live among humans since her childhood. She developped her transmutation powers. She encoutered Homere who wrote a story about her, Merlin, who she helped build his Kingdom, Captain America during a time travel and Thor.

After a war and a judgement, Zuras died and his daughter, Thena, is the new leader. Most Celestials went to space and Sersi chose to stay.

How can se be integrated in the MCU?

Well, I think in her childhooh, she would use transmutation to go to the human world without her people noticing. Eventually, she would ask to leave Olympia and she would travel. She would chose an island to live in where she offers a home to those in need. It is there that she will meet Homere and they will be good friends.

In here, I think transforming a bit of the Eternals story (mostly their war with Celestials and Deviants) can be nice ; there is a war and Zuras asks her to come back to fight. She declines and in order to force her, he will destroy the island she was living in, killing the humans who were there. Angry against Zuras, and Eternals in general, it will lead her to completely cut herself from her people.

She meets Captain America : if it is added in the movie, as an Easter would be nice. We still don't know the outcome of Avengers Endgame so yeah, an easter egg. She would be walking in the desert where something falls from the sky. That something is a man and the camera will only show the star Steve has on his chest. The camera effect would implies that the man opened his eyes and he sees Sersi. With a smile, she says "you are in the wrong time... and in the wrong universe" (so basically, she met the Captain America from a parallel universe).

Then, she will meet Thor and they would be good friends (well, normally, in the comics, Eternals erased their existence from Thor's memories because they did not want him to get involved with the Celestials). But I prefer to imagine a nice friendship between them and they would do dumb fights like "who killed the most ennemies" and "who can drink the most beer". In the comics, Odin attacks the Eternals so maybe it can be used and Sersi will erase Thor's memories because she doesn't want him to fight him.

After some time, Celestials would come and Zuras will ask his people to fight. He will die and Sersi asks Celestials to spare her people in exchange of her life, in plus of the life of their ruler who just died. Celestials will listen to her and give her a "special treasure" because she picked their interest.

In the modern area, she is living in the US. She helped Nick Fury with some SHIELD business but was never mentioned in any record. Considering her amazing powers, she knows what is going on elsewhere : she knows Thanos is coming. She contacts Thena and asks her to do something ; Sersi thinks that, as distant relatives, Eternals should act and stop Thanos. But Thena refuses and erases Sersi's existence from every non Eternal mind. Since then, Sersi is searched by the Eternals who stayed on Earth. She hides and tries to find ways to block Thanos without getting caught.

Here, it is possible to say that maybe she saved Quicksilver. Pietro died in Avengers Age of Ultron and we can add that she saved him because she thought he would be useful in the fight against Thanos. In the comics, she briefly has a story with him during her time with the Avengers. If it is not to long, it can be added (and mostly if at that time, the X-men rights held by the Fox would fall).

So here, Sersi decides to use the "precious treasure" given by the Celestials. That treasure is actually the seventh Infinity Stone. In the comics, it is said that there was a 7th Infinity Stone but that it was lost. Its power is to be immune to the powers of the other Infinity Stones. And, yes, in the comics, Sersi has it. So, here : Sersi knows what the precious treasure is and wants to use it. Unfortunately, she gets caught by her fellow Eternals. They steal the stone and use it as a barrier to protect themselves. Sersi is imprisoned or her memories are erased ans she is left on Earth.

At this point, or she disappears with the snapp or she survives it (since she is still Eternal and so very very powerful...). But it will be the events in Avengers Endgame so it is difficult to elaborate a theory (since it can be invalidated by the movie). But, I have some ideas for the after Avengers 4.

In the comics, Sprite uses his strong illusions powers to erase Eternals memories. They are not aware of what they are and they just live as simple humans. Sersi works as a party organizer. After Avengers Endgame, Sersi's memories are still gone ; you think it is because of the Eternals. But there, you realize they gave her memories back but they are not. Sprite used his powers to transform all Eternals memories. And here, using Ikaris is great because he is the first one (and I think even the only one) to remember everything and going to research his fellow Eternals and make them remember. Considering that his psychic powers are not very much developped and that the other Eternals cannot use their powers, his quest can be done in another movie.

I think I've said pretty much everything I wanted. Sorry for the long post ><

Ah, in the comics, Sersi has a relationship with Makkari, a fellow Eternal. It can be added too but their love story won't be in the center of the movie x)

It is very messy and, as I said in the description (and in the beginning of this), English is not my mother language. My native language is French :) Let’s share our ideas! 

[scifigeneration]

Saturn's moon Titan sports Earth-like features

Using the now-complete Cassini data set, Cornell astronomers have created a new global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan that has opened new windows into understanding its liquid flows and terrain. Two new papers, published Dec. 2 in Geophysical Review Letters, describe the map and discoveries arising from it.

Creating the map took about a year, according to doctoral student Paul Corlies, first author on "Titan's Topography and Shape at the End of the Cassini Mission." The map combines all of the Titan topography data from multiple sources. Since only about 9 percent of Titan has been observed in relatively high-resolution topography, with 25-30 percent of the topography imaged in lower resolution, the remainder of the moon was mapped using an interpolation algorithm and a global minimization process, which reduced errors such as those arising from spacecraft location.

The map revealed several new features on Titan, including new mountains, none higher than 700 meters. The map also provides a global view of the highs and lows of Titan's topography, which enabled the scientists to confirm that two locations in the equatorial region of Titan are in fact depressions that could be either ancient, dried seas or cryovolcanic flows.

The map also revealed that Titan is a little bit flatter -- more oblate -- than was previously known, which suggests there is more variability in the thickness of Titan's crust than previously thought.

"The main point of the work was to create a map for use by the scientific community," said Corlies; within 30 minutes of the data set being available online, he began to receive inquiries on how to use it. The data set is downloadable in the form of the data that was observed, as well as that data plus interpolated data that was not observed. The map will be important for those modeling Titan's climate, studying Titan's shape and gravity, and testing interior models, as well as for those seeking to understand morphologic land forms on Titan.

Other Cornell authors on the paper are senior author Alex Hayes, assistant professor of astronomy, doctoral candidate Samuel Birch and research associate Valerio Poggiali.

The second paper, "Topographic Constraints on the Evolution and Connectivity of Titan's Lacustrine Basins," finds three important results using the new map's topographical data. The team included Hayes, Corlies, Birch, Poggiali, research associate Marco Mastrogiuseppe and Roger Michaelides '15.

The first result is that Titan's three seas share a common equipotential surface, meaning they form a sea level, just as Earth's oceans do. Either because there's flow through the subsurface between the seas or because the channels between them allow enough liquid to pass through, the oceans on Titan are all at the same elevation.

"We're measuring the elevation of a liquid surface on another body 10 astronomical units away from the sun to an accuracy of roughly 40 centimeters. Because we have such amazing accuracy we were able to see that between these two seas the elevation varied smoothly about 11 meters, relative to the center of mass of Titan, consistent with the expected change in the gravitational potential. We are measuring Titan's geoid. This is the shape that the surface would take under the influence of gravity and rotation alone, which is the same shape that dominates Earth's oceans," said Hayes.

The paper's second result proves a hypothesis that Hayes advanced in his first paper, in graduate school: that Titan's lakes communicate with each other through the subsurface. Hayes and his team measured the elevation of lakes filled with liquid as well as those that are now dry, and found that lakes exist hundreds of meters above sea level, and that within a watershed, the floors of the empty lakes are all at higher elevations than the filled lakes in their vicinity.

"We don't see any empty lakes that are below the local filled lakes because, if they did go below that level, they would be filled themselves. This suggests that there's flow in the subsurface and that they are communicating with each other," said Hayes. "It's also telling us that there is liquid hydrocarbon stored on the subsurface of Titan."

The paper's final result raises a new mystery for Titan. Researchers found that the vast majority of Titan's lakes sit in sharp-edged depressions that "literally look like you took a cookie cutter and cut out holes in Titan's surface," Hayes said. The lakes are surrounded by high ridges, hundreds of meters high in some places.

The lakes seem to be formed the way karst is on Earth, in places like the Florida Everglades, where underlying material dissolves and the surface collapses, forming holes in the ground. The lakes on Titan, like Earth's karst, are topographically closed, with no inflow or outflow channels. But Earth karst does not have sharp, raised rims.

The shape of the lakes indicates a process called uniform scarp retreat, where the borders of the lakes are expanding by a constant amount each time. The largest lake in the south, for example, looks like a series of smaller empty lakes that have coalesced or conglomerated into one big feature.

"But if these things do grow outward, does that mean you're destroying and recreating the rims all the time and that the rims are moving outward with it? Understanding these things is in my opinion the lynchpin to understanding the evolution of the polar basins on Titan," said Hayes.

The research was supported by grants from NASA and the Italian Space Agency.

[yusenki]

AU Smartpass My First Time Around: Nile Dok

[translation: @yusenki | editing: twitter@braunsofsteel ]

Disclaimer: Please do not re-post the translation elsewhere without permission.

Note: This story was published on March 23, 2017 (x).

Most of the cadets at that time were lively and innocent.

It was many years before the Colossal Titan smashed the wall at Shigansina district. The society within the wall still had their own jobs, despite being somewhat oppressed. Among them, the people who aimed to become soldiers and undergo the hardship of soldier’s training had their own personal dream.

There were those who wanted to secure their status within the wall, those who wanted to live a stable life, and those who had thoughts of an unseen world outside the wall.

“Look… there is an inconsistency in the records. That’s why for sure, I think there are some people who lived outside the wall…”

“The usual delusions again?”

Nile laughed while listening to his fellow cadet, Erwin, who talked about his dream whenever he had the chance.

Erwin always talked about the outside wall and the truth of the world.

“Theoretically speaking, it is odd that nothing about outside the walls is left in the records. Traces should have remained somewhere and even if the records are lost, word of mouth should have still remained…”

It sounded absurd, but there was a point there. Even since then, Erwin might have been blessed with the talent of speech to attract people.

“That’s why Erwin wants to join the Survey Corps.”

“Even though he is brilliant, he is weird. Isn’t he?”

“But, if such an excellent guy like Erwin joins the Survey Corps, he might make a breakthrough discovery.”

Those cadets who didn’t know the horror of the titans, were attracted by Erwin’s words, and some his fellow cadets, who aspire to join the Survey Corps just like him, started to appear.

“You never get bored of talking about your delusions, do you?”

“Nile, one day I will show you that my hypothesis is true!”

“Don’t die before that…”

“If Nile and Erwin are joining the Survey Corps, I will also...”

And then, Nile was also drawn to that dream. At one point in time, he had the aspiration to join the Survey Corps.

Time flew.

When Nile grew a bit older, he became close with a woman, who was around same age as him and worked at a tavern. Erwin and other fellow cadets knew about the woman, and it became a rumor everywhere.

“I heard things are going well...with Marie. I heard from the regulars at the tavern the other day.”

“Yeah, sort of… what a gossip-loving bunch...”

It was during one evening during night-watch training that he was coincidentally alone with Erwin. Nile guessed that Erwin had special feelings toward his sweetheart, but since man-of-action Erwin made no move toward her, he felt that there was nothing to discuss at that time.

“Guys, I heard that Nile wants to join the Military Police. The reason is because he won’t be able to guarantee his own life if he joins the Survey Corps. Plus... we can tell just from watching his training, he puts extra effort in it.”

The night sky and the torch flames were reflected in Erwin’s blue eyes. Black and red, the colors flickered. His face was shadowed and his expression couldn’t be read easily.

“Erwin...I will say it to you first....”

The young Nile, who already decided in his heart and wanted to convey it at that moment no matter what, opened his mouth slowly.

“I want… to have a family.”

Erwin looked like he was going to laugh at that moment.

Before long, when they were asked to choose their military department, Nile joined the Military Police just like what he had decided. Erwin and other fellow cadets who were attracted to his dream joined the Survey Corps. They had complicated toward him, but they gave their blessings.

---

“Do you despise me for being a traitor?”

One day, he bumped into Erwin after the salutation was over. He took the initiative and raised his hand toward the Survey Corps soldier.

“Everyone sincerely respects you, you know. Because from that moment on, you worked hard and obtained the right to join the Military Police.”

“I didn’t work hard for humanity. I work hard for one woman only. It was an unthinkable move for a soldier who publicly announced that he offers up his heart.”

Erwin shook his head while looking away with a self-deprecating look in his eye.

“In that case...I am the same as you”

“What did you say?”

Erwin’s dream was originally for his own personal interest, but it was surprising for that dream to be interpreted as for the sake of humanity by others .

It was like he was shocked by his own words. He shook his head and turned his back.

“Please forget it...”

Nile who turned his back from the dreams of young soldiers and chose to have a family as an adult.

The reason he started to say that was so he could still answer to his fellow cadets, those who had been continuously chasing their dream since younger days.

[broc-e-coli]

like, i've been quiet for months, but i was rewatching the final season and i can't.

it would've been nice if isayama had commited to eren being the villain, it's fine! really. i was okay with the fact that he killed his own mother, but when armin asked him why eren says "i don't know" ... like ... wtf is that supposed to mean????????

dina (in her titan form) went to look out for grisha, and ended up finding carla instead so dina ate her was ironic, even funny to some, but it turned out it was eren's own doing????? like his entire motivation for killing the titan was that dina ate her mother, why???? and we don't even get a reason for that, he says "i don't know"

i won't even get into mikasa, huge disservice to a badass girl/woman. i wanted her to kill eren so bad, and i got that but in the worst way posssible, like why? plus how did she got his fucking head to paradis????? and like her love for ereh is more obsession than anything, and eremika shippers are toxic and hate mikasa, you can't change my mind about that

what was the point of hange dying????? like if hange had waited five more minutes they could've been saved by falco, who mastered his titan in 30 seconds, unlike everyone else, but okay

levi finally killing zeke was so fucking disappointing and underwhelming, i expected a huge duel between those two, like in the return to shiganshina arc or in the forest when levi has to kill all his people; instead we got zeke weaking from his nap realizing life is worth living and then levi chops chops his head... i was waiting for that moment so much, levi who has these incredible [gay] panels about his promise to erwin, only for all to be levi's most basic and boring kill in the entire series

isayama should've taken notes on how "cycles of hatred" and people "breaking" them have happened irl, i know he can do it because he is a smart cookie and took a lot of historical processes, how they worked, and used them in his story. it would've been nice if he actually took examples on nazis and jews in europe and america (the continent) having to get along after wwii, or rwanda and how tutsi and hutu people dealt with the aftermath of such genocide, damn all the books written on colonization; instead we got the rumbling and armin being thankful, mmmwhy?

the disrespect on reiner in that last scenes when he smells historia's letter, it wasn't funny

i refuse to think jean ended up with mikasa, he deserved better and mikasa isn't a great person, it's true and is okay, she really doesn't have to be, just like armin and eren

levi's ending is lowkey cute but makes no sense, why would he get all 'found family' with gabi and falco, since when they have such relationship?????

isayama isn't the only one to blame, all of the people who had a say on this and approved it are just as guilty, mainly de editor

i think isayama did this on purpose, i support the hypothesis that someone made him change his original ending, the man should've stood his ground

snk was ruined by those hardcore shippers, like it's okay to think there's something deeper going on between two or more characters, but some of you are just toxic. you can like a ship, but if you're not gonna admit is highkey toxic keep it quiet

in the end is just another story made by a man who don't see women as people

nobody is gonna fight me here for this, so: the attack on titan ending sucks

[tools2019marketing]

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