#seeker of thrones spoilers

[glitterfop]

Image description below the cut

Image 1: Kill Six Billion Demons: Seeker of Thrones page 7-75, showing Lucky Felicia, a woman of color wearing an eyepatch and a hood that has cat ears and whiskers sewn on it; Cio, a short blue devil with horns and long black hair; Allison, a white woman with brown hair in a bob and a white gem in her forehead; and Oscar, a tall red devil with horns and a very long nose. They are standing in front of a door decorated with a huge hypperrealistic red face contorted into an expression of agony.

The face on the door opens its mouth, showing very large teeth dripping saliva, and begins to scream. Lucky Felicia covers her ears and cowers away from the noise.

The next panel zooms out, showing 7 figures in front of the door. Lucky Felicia says, "Cio?! Someone has got to hear that!" Cio responds, "The priests are already coming. It activated as soon as we entered this hall. There's no other way through. But..."

The next panel shows Cio looking over her shoulder, eyes narrowed. She says, "There's another way to open the door."

Allison, sweating and looking horrified, says, "Oh. Fuck. No. Fuck no." Felicia, still covering her ears, has a speech bubble with just two question marks in it.

Cio, looking down, says, "It's so obvious, so ingenious. Arguing it about it only loses you time. And even if you do open the door. It poisons your group. Sows mistrust and fear. It's the perfect defense."

Cio turns fully to the group, eyes narrowed. The open mouth is fully visible behind her. She says, "I thought of this door often. Only someone like Yabalchoath could open it. Somebody with no friends in the world. Because there's only one way to beat it."

The final panel shows Oscar dragging Lucky Felicia backwards; Felicia is crying and sweating. Oscar says, "Yeah! Decide who to feed to the door before you even start! Keh heh heh!"

Image 2: Boromir "one does not simply" meme edited to say "One does not simply unlock the vore door."

/End image description

[dexjarxenoengage]

Royal Archetype Symbolism:

This will be major spoilers for the endgame of Metaphor Refantazio from 9/24 onwards. Do not read this if you don’t want spoilers from here on or the entire game for that matter.

The Royal Archetypes are the final Archetypes to be unlocked in the game. They are some of the strongest Archetypes in the game and are exclusive to the respective party members. I.e., Royal Warrior for Strohl, Royal Knight for Hulkenburg, etc.

With the exception of The Prince (which is unlocked automatically and is their own Archetype separate from the Seeker), the Royal Archetypes are essentially Prime Personas. To give an example, Orpheus Telos from Persona 3 FES onwards is a reference to Prime Personas in Persona 2, which serve as mid tier evolutions for the Personas. Royal Warrior, among others, are the “Prime Persona” counterparts to their initial forms.

Furthermore, the Royal Archetypes requires the Max Rank 8 in the bonds of your allies.

I mainly want to talk about the requirements for each Royal Archetypes and how they take after to the Followers of the respective Followers that embodies said Archetypes:

This includes the following:

• Samurai + Warlord = Royal Warrior

• Paladin + Dark Knight + Elemental Master = Royal Knight

• Ninja + Dragoon + Tycoon = Royal Thief

• Persona Master + Trickster = Royal Masked Dancer

• Devil Summoner + Soul Hacker = Royal Summoner

• Destroyer + Martial Artist = Royal Berserker

So based on these requirements needed to unlock the Royal Archetypes not named Prince, you notice how each of the Archetypes are the final forms that are linked to many followers of the game. Warlord is Bardon, Elemental Master is Gallica, Dragoon and Tycoon are Neuras and Brigitta respectively, Trickster is Alonzo, and Martial Artist is Catherina.

Soul Hacker is an interesting case; while the Seeker Archetype is embodied by More, Will (the Protagonist) is the one who awoken to the Archetype. And even then, it makes sense once you realize that More is the deceased King Hythlodaeus V who is the father of the Prince Will. Ergo, Will inherited the Seeker Archetype from his father.

This post’s main purpose is to show how each character foils to the Followers who have the Archetypes that ties to the requirements for the Royal Archetypes. Be it their tribes, personalities, role in their stories and roles in Will’s ascension to the throne, etc.

⁃ Strohl and Bardon; the way of the Royal Warrior’s sword:

◦ Bardon’s Archetype embodiment is the Commander linage (where Warlord stems from), which focuses on strategy by hitting elemental weaknesses and bypassing resistance via Almighty attack, buffing party members and attacking advantage of the front and back rows. This fits perfectly with Strohl being the main strategist of the party. Starting with the Heismay Arc until halfway through the Altabury Arc, Strohl has been shown being the one to plan out each strategy Will and Co. have for the Tournament for the Throne.

◦ Both Strohl and Bardon deal with the burden of their respective countrymen in their own ways. Strohl’s story resolves around wishing to avenge the death of his parents and the victims of Halia (a village that was destroyed by a Human attack). Bardon is a Guardsman for the village of Martira and becomes their leader after the events of exposing the true culprit behind the kidnappings (Joanna, not Heismay).

◦ Strohl’s follower story focuses on his efforts to help the survivors of the village, an owe to his creed as a noble to help people in need. While Bardon must face his own struggles in helping the people of Martira. Later in Bardon’s Bond, we are tasked with fighting the same Human that we had to escape from the butt before Martira shares the same fate as Halia.

◦ Both Strohl and Bardon are good people, but quick to anger. When all is said and done, they bare a great burden to the people that they feel they failed to protect. Be it the victims of Halia or the people in Martira who suffered from the kidnappings Joanna caused. And by the end, they learn not to shoulder their burdens alone as they both make their deceased predecessors’ proud.

⁃ Hulkenburg and Gallica; wisdom of the Royal Knight’s shield:

◦ Hulkenburg is of the Knight Archetype, while Gallica (while she can’t fight, is still considered to be a party member) is of the Mage Archetype. Hulkenburg’s introduction in the party is when Synthesis Skills (where Archetypes grant power to another Archetype for a team attack) is unlocked. Later stages of the Mage Archetype have skills that better the usages of Synthesis Skills (Wizard’s Arcane Unity and Elemental Master’s Magic Link). Synthesis Skills are about teamwork and the bonds of friendship, as well as strategies in the Archetypes you use.

◦ Both Hulkenburg and Gallica are devoted in their mission to save the prince, and they are both unwavering in their loyalties to those they devoted their power and trust to. However, the truth behind the prince’s identity and the true culprit behind the curse alludes them. The Prince was Will all along and was cursed by Rella, not Louis. And also, both of them knew Grius/Alces longer than anyone else and are heavily impacted by his death and the fight against his undead self.

◦ Even after learning the truth among other truths, their devotion to the true prince (Will) only became stronger than it ever was before. Hulkenburg is delighted to know that Will was the Prince the whole time and that everything she did wasn’t in vain. And Gallica learns that the memory of her and Will being long time friends was just a fabrication. This doesn’t stop Gallica from being Will’s friend and would continue to devote herself to him of her own volition.

◦ Beyond that, they both have self deprecation issues as far as their roles are concerned. Gallica has been shown very early into the game that she wishes to help Will as much as possible and feels regret when he’s in danger. And Hulkenburg doubts her role as a knight for not being able to save the prince. Will seems to be an emotional button for them as well. Hulkenburg turns into a grieving mess when the original prince is found dead during the events of 9/24. And when Will dies by crushing his vessel to prevent his second Human transformation at Louis’s hand, poor Gallica is left crying over his fresh corpse.

◦ Overall, in their own ways, both Gallica and Hulkenburg have Will as their emotional guide because the two of them are devoted to him in their own ways.

⁃ Heismay, Neuras and Brigitta; the Royal Thief’s walk of atonement:

◦ Heismay, Neuras and Brigitta are interesting combination of characters to talk about considering that all of their Archetypes play wildly different roles. A Thief, a Gunner and a Merchant. How exactly do all of these Archetypes work to fit with the requirements for the Royal Thief archetype?

◦ It’s not necessarily the gameplay that tied them together. It’s their respective roles in who they are as people. What do I mean by this? It’s simple, Heismay, Neuras and Brigitta are all adult followers. And as adults, they have their own personal burdens that ends with them resolving to ensure that the younger generation doesn’t pay the price for the old ones’ mistakes.

◦ Both Heismay and Brigitta are both cynical about the world around them as a result of their backstories: Heismay lost his child to a Paripus riot, while Brigitta was a street urchin who became cynical of the ways of the world. It’s thanks to Will’s actions that both of them begin to find hope and walk out of their respective dark paths.

◦ Heismay and Neuras are both the only known characters in the team that actually drink. Neuras has been drunk a few times, while Heismay is very careful with how much alcohol he consumes. He only became drunk when he ate the Dragon’s Tear (not that he could have known its properties until was too late).

◦ On a more serious note, while both of their sidequests and stories resolve around certain items (Heismay’s son’s remains and the Relics), both of their Bond stories end with a resolution regarding them. Heismay decides to turn his son’s urn into a necklace with Eupha’s help, while Neuras destroys the relics after realizing their world destroying properties. So in a way, both Heismay and Neuras learn from the past so that the future won’t be affected by it later on.

◦ To me, Heismay serves as the adult figure of the group that Grius initially served. Some may say that Grius’s death unintentionally undermines that message of equality between the races as the team loses their only Rhoag representative. While I can understand the sentiment, Grius’s spirit remains with the cast through other characters like Maria. Heismay and Neuras serves as the adult figures for the team twice over, and Brigitta, while not a party member, is a fellow Rhoag that knew Grius.

◦ Heismay finds similar themes with Neuras and Brigitta through the fact that they are the adult figures that fills the void Grius left behind. His spirit is with us through various ways, and it shows here.

⁃ Junah and Alonzo: the Royal Masked Dancer’s hidden depths:

◦ Junah and Alonzo both are of the Nidia tribe, often deem by other tribes as deceiving, lying scum. And it’s not hard to see why they get the reputation. Both Junah and Alonzo both use deception in their own way, but they both do it for greater good.

◦ Junah is acting as an undercover agent on Louis’ side, working to find a way to break the prince’s curse. While Alonzo uses his deception to help Will, acting as the future King’s intelligence advisor. Both also have adoptive family members of different races that ultimately die in their stories (For Junah, Rella who is an Ishika, and Alonzo’s mother who was a Paripus). And Junah and Alonzo’s actions going forward are in their memories.

◦ Their respective Archetypes in Masked Dancer and Faker both have final forms that serve as a reference to the Persona games: Persona Master takes after mainly Persona 3 and 4, while Trickster mainly takes after 5. Persona Master’s main Synthesis Skill is shown to be reference to both 3 and 4 via the Tarot Cards, the Invokers that SEES uses (which are guns) and cut ins. While Trickster is based on what P5’s Joker is often called in the story: “A Trickster.”

◦ Junah and Alonzo both aspire to be beacons of hope to those around them in their own ways and are good people at the end of the day. Junah’s singing is what gives her hope, and she wishes to spread that hope to others. While Alonzo uses his lies to help the people around him, even if they deem him a “parasite.”

⁃ Eupha and Will (son of More): the Royal Summoner’s journey through life:

◦ I have already made a post on how the Seeker linage being the prerequisite to evolve the Summoner Archetype is fitting with Eupha’s growing love for Will throughout their bond: https://www.tumblr.com/jaredxenoengage/765352399442526208/i-love-that-euphas-archetype-summoner-requires but let’s see if there is more to it than that.

◦ The Seeker Archetype, as we know, is the Archetype that is cultivated by More/King Hythlodaeus V, who is Will’s father. Will awakens to the Seeker Archetype linage first, and not the Prince. So while More isn’t a party member, Will is. So technically speaking, out of all of the Royal Archetype requirements, this makes Eupha the only one that needs a linage that was awaken by a fellow Party Member.

◦ Will (knowing that he is the Prince) and Eupha had both lost their parents, obviously. And both of them have ties with the greater lore of the entire game as a whole, which depicts stories of the old world that was once humankind (which is what Eldas are). Eupha has a sworn duty to fight alongside the Dragon God: Eht, Dragons are made of pure Magla. With the revelation that Will is the Archetype of the Prince given a human form, he too is a being a pure Magla. Which is why Eupha was able to speak through his mind during her introduction. Just as Eupha is meant to fight alongside the beloved god, Eupha also finds herself fighting alongside another being made of Magla. This plot point compliments itself further with the Dragon Trial’s (which were made for the protagonist) in mind.

◦ As for More, it’s the same thing as Will, he is the Archetype form of King Hythlodaeus V who was killed by Louis at the start of the story. How do Eupha and More foil each other? The main difference between them is that Hythlodaeus lost hope because of the death of his wife and the lost of his son. He sought his own death and used the Royal Magic in hopes that he could make someone into a better king than he was. While Eupha was convinced her whole life that her life was meant to be sacrificed for the sake of her village. Eupha eventually breaks free from this mindset and awakens to her Archetype. Eupha did what More could not in her lifetime, find hope and a reason to live.

◦ The Elite forms of the Summoner and Seeker Archetypes are both named after the Atlus related games: Devil Summoner and Soul Hacker respectively.

◦ And it’s just Eupha herself says in game, she, like Will has the power to journey into the unknown world. An unknown future. Will had the power to awaken this resolve in her, and with it, blossom potential love between the two.

⁃ Basilio and Catherina; the Paripus’ Royal Berserker soul:

◦ Basilio and Catherina are both Paripus with rough dispositions on the surface, but both prove to be earnest people. They both initially had reasons to oppose the protagonist at first; Basilio was working with Louis, the one who killed the king. While Catherina, who is a fellow candidate. has no hard feelings towards Will, but she wants to become Queen to help the future of the Paripus. Both eventually see the folly of what they were doing and eventually turn coat (Basilio joins the team after his brother’s death, while Catherina drops out of the race because her folks were crossing a line she wouldn’t have).

◦ The Berserker and Brawler Archetypes both revolve around physical strike attacks and dishing out as much damage as possible. Notice how Berserker doesn’t use HP like Brawler does. Basilio may be of the Berserker Archetype, but when he is calm, Basilio is a lot more insight than it would seem. As he is the first person to truly question if what Louis is doing is truly right for him and his brother, and the future of those that can’t fend for themselves. Catherina is much more reckless in comparison. And it takes seeing how her race to become Queen becomes a risk for Paripus to go the extreme to get ahead to see that what she is doing might bring more harm than good.

◦ Even their Follower Stories are mainly different with some similarities being that it’s about Basilio and Catherina stopping their fellow tribesmen from crossing further lines. At least Catherina was able to convince followers to walk down a better path eventually, but Basilio isn’t as fortunate. As he was forced to put Vinca down.

⁃ Will; the prince’s path to be king:

◦ 9/24 reveals that Will is a living breathing Archetype created from the Prince’s wish to travel the world and lead the kingdom to peace. The Seeker Archetype was the first Archetype to awaken in Will. It embodies the very essence of this game’s themes to explore the unknown without fear.

◦ As Will journey continues, and he eventually learns who he really is, the Prince Archetype embodies the Ruler Archetype from Carl Jung’s 12 Archetypes (which is what the aforementioned powers are based on). And based on Carl Jung’s take on the Ruler Archetype, it also falls in line with the themes of what makes a good king.

◦ In contrast to his father; as the previous king, gave up on his hope that he had for the Kingdom. As such, by leaving most of the circumstances in Forden’s hands, Louis lost all faith in him and decides to kill him. Will becomes king and defeats Louis by staying true to his ideals.

◦ Although the Prince Archetype is its own Archetype, it takes after the Seeker Archetype in many ways. It has the same One Handed Sword usage, the same Hero Passive in Cooperative Chase, and has the most Synthesis access in the game. However, Seeker doesn’t have Synthesis Synergy with the Summoner Archetype (ironic given that Will and Eupha are the most romantic coded relationship in the game). Eupha’s Arc contains the most truth about the old world in all of Euchronia. We get the full truth about the old world after Will awakens to his true Archetype, which can perform Synthesis Skills and grant them between all Archetypes. This is when Will and Eupha’s bond is at its strongest.

The fact that so much intention to detail that comes with the Archetypes and the Followers is the type of writing talent that I have come to expect from Atlus.

[au-you-mean-ow-right]

Warning! There's gonna be Metaphor Spoilers for all the way to the endgame in this one!

You know, I think Louis could have turned out a lot different if he had just been childhood friends with the Prince.

Like, hear me out, it certainly wouldn't have erased any of the trauma he suffered, that certainly wasn't ever going to happen. But having at least one thing in his life that the flames didn't take away from him probably would have done a lot for the man.

I can see this going two ways:

Louis gets taken in by the palace when More comes to retrieve Will. That would probably change the trajectory of the whole story pretty majorly. I could see Louis either still going down the path of rising through the ranks in the army, or possibly becoming a knight so he can stick closer to Will's side. Again, the Prince is the one thing the flames didn't take from him, and by whatever god is out there, he's not going to let anything else do it now. That would probably result in him possibly still being a target that Forden very much wants out of the way along with the Prince, especially since in this situation Louis would have no reason to masquerade as a clemar. He's out there as the lone eldan knight in the entire force, or quickly rising to the rank of officer in the army despite everyone trying to put entire boulders in his way because of his tribe. Or, alternatively, he pursues a more magic-based career. Possibly either aiming to become a mage at the Royal Palace. Or he follows in his parents footsteps and continues his studies to become a doctor, which still involves studying all types of magic so he knows best how to treat anything that comes his way. Regardless, his ultimate goal is to remain close to Will. Which he probably does to a point where it's entirely possible that he manages to foil the assassination, or gets cursed instead of/alongside Will. Or he does fail, which later results in the runner group having an additional party member with Louis possibly taking over the Mage lineage from Gallica or bringing in his very own lineage (maybe some sort of parallel to his boss fight? Either Archmage or straight up Archangel or something of the sort? Regardless his lineage would 100% be magic based. Possibly like Seeker with a mix of both healing and offensive magic) Would make for a funny situation since he either immediately clocks Magla Will for the actual Prince but is utterly confused about it since he knows his best friend is either dead or near-death (Entirely possible he wasn't allowed to join the group that cares for the curse-stricken Prince, but Louis is terrifyingly smart so he probably figured out a lot of things on his own). Whoever this is, they shouldn't be Will. And yet. Just another mystery to unravel during this entire journey. At the very least whoever this is does seem very adamant about wanting to help the Prince, rather than replace him.

Louis is left in the sanctum, but at least knows that Will is out there and cared for. Still would leave plenty room to build up the funny insanity he sinks into during the game, something that still paints him as the villain for a lot of it. The moment the news of the Prince's passing reaches his ears, he essentially breaks. He was working his way up through the army in hopes of one day seeing the Prince again, but now even that has been taken from him, has it? Likely what causes his utter descend into insanity. Its what prompts him to kill the King, (after all, this old fool couldn't even keep his own son safe, what use does he still have to the kingdom?) crash the funeral and announce his plans to take the throne for himself. He remembers the days spent reading that novel with Will at his side, and if this world is intent on taking and taking and taking from him? Then he will raze it and build the utopia both he and the Prince have dreamed of upon it's ashes. Honestly? In this case there's a good chance by the time anyone can convince him the Prince is alive, he's possibly far too gone already. Doesn't believe any of that drivel. The Prince is dead. The flames had long come to swallow him up after having forgotten one last thing they could have ripped from his arms. The Elda candidate that snuck upon his runner must've been a little rat, an imposter using his face to try and gain fame and fortune. He should have eradicated him when he had the chance, but each time looking upon him made him falter because he couldn't see anyone but his friend. It's another tragedy, because by the time Louis might recognize Will for who he is, it's too late. The Royal Scepter is already in his hands, the magla is rapidly gathering, the future he has worked for is about to come to pass. Even the one person that had kept him grounded for so long can no longer stop him. And now it's up to Will to stop Louis. To put his friend out of his misery that this entire tragedy has driven him into.

[thedarkermelody]

includes transformers one spoilers under this i have thoughts that need an outlet after seeing the movie [after writing: this is basically a fanfic idea at this point. whoops]

the birth of megatron was so fucking hard hitting, the utter disgust megatron associates with primes thanks to sentinel that his exe friend now reps? ow anyways just, scenario idea where in sometime with the civil war between autobot and decepticons has been on for awhile you got megatron waking one day to himself as the supreme decepticon emperor of cybertron. the idea he was just fighting to take cybertron is almost distance in this strange scenario, just out of reach as he basks in his empire. before he thinks of Optimus. and of course he does, though he would love nothing more to crush and finally destroy the system of primes, all their lies and threat to his power forever, the problem with that lies in one thing. the matrix. sentinel pried it from zeta only for it to flee. megatron is better then sentinel that monster he is superior and right but the whims of a god just whisking away their source of energy is one he knows he cannot overcome for now until they learn to trap the matrix for good without a prime needed. but of course his call for prime has a reminder they smelted sentinel and buried him deep in the earth to rot for his crimes after his execution as justice to the miners who died. what? he wants to know where optimus prime is! which sparks confusion. A. New Prime? no one questions their lord to his face other then starscream asking if he's having hallucinations about a new prime since he didn't get to savor ending the traitor. of course megatron wouldn't like that kind of quip or snipe remark starscream might say, and choke out the seeker as his thoughts clash Optimus who? the thought is so wild so rage inducing cause OPTIMUS! OPTIMUS PRIME! HIS VILE ENEMY. The- -the traitor he dropped to his death? megatron throws starscream and orders everyone out, who run from their unpredictable leader as he sits on his throne clutching his helm. prime. PRIME DAMMIT. there isn't a prime, he killed the last one and ended their lies, WHERE IS OPTIMUS-! his thoughts fight against each other as conflicting memories clash against another mech's who finds it hard to even think of prime and his rise. which is insane- the traitor died for daring to defend sentinel- OPTIMUS ROSE with his DEATH- he killed elita and b and took the helm of cybertron- No, Prime came and fought him and banished him like the coward he is- never was willing to finish the job which is why he died- the clarity of just what the other voice in his head saying hits as hard as the day he learned his life was a lie. He killed Orion Pax and no one rose in his place. The Primes are dead in this world. and doesn't that hurt, the owner of this body starts to rips through the memory files that has be inserted in his helm for the one of a new enemy rising, sees video of him with the matrix and thinks 'why.' megatron fights back against, seeing a world never had energy flow again, everyone who dared voice against him and rein having tcogs ripped out for the victims of the system to reclaim something ravenous claws at the memories of megatron, of life flowing on their world again, of orion pax optimus prime and what they had stolen, taken, refused to them, their world dying without the matrix, struggling to fight the quintessons and steal back what was taken from him in the first place. but this brief event that caused this eventually boots megatron back to his own world, leaving behind a mech who cackles with a fevor that belies the insanity in them. the one on the throne rises his helm and swears it. He will have what that world has. -ending notes! i briefly considered having this other world's leader now be a galvatron, didn't follow through on the idea but you can consider it him if you want. -i imagine a world where op never rose is a very hard one for the transformers to just survive much less thrive, seeing a world where your friend didn't stay dead from what you did with natural energy resources again? would be the kind of thing any leader would crave for themselves in this situation.

-if this other worlder would try and find a way to get to that world or try and force find a prime to have that for themselves is your call.

in the case of a galvatron on the throne world, can have a hot rod in a scenario of trying to find a prime to bring underheel to win their war and restore their planet makes sense, though if galvatron exists in this one cause of a deal for power from unicorn then that would be awkward...

though a far more hardened megatron kidnapping op whose in the middle of two front war is also a very hilarious vision cause you know that guy would inspite of the kidnapping want to help this other version of his home, though he'd REALLY like to go home

[andrastie]

So I'm about halfway (maybe a bit less) through Veilguard and am loving the game!

My biggest issue, however, is the lack of choices that carried through from Inquisition and the previous two game. I feel like Dragon Age Keep made the games more personalized based on the choices you made in the previous games.

For example, I was screaming when we got the little cameo of King Alistair in Inquisiton and the mention of my Coulsand Warden as the Queen of Fereldan.

Here are some things I wish had been included in the new game based on decisions made in my canon Inquisiton run (very very mild spoilers):

Divine Victoria mention - based on who we supported to be the new Divine in Inquisiton. I supported Leliana. When Harding is talking about the Inquisiton advisors and Leliana comes up, I would have loved a line about how she's settled in to her new position as Divine Victoria.

Codex entry about the Orlesian civil war - I read a codex entry in Veilguard about Empress Celene and I'm pretty sure one of the companions mentions her (I can't think of who). I chose to sacrifice Celene and put Gaspard on the throne with Briala pulling his strings. Maybe the codex could mention her assassination or another could talk about whether or not Briala still holds the power behind the Orlaisian throne.

Stroud - where the fuck is Stroud?? I sacrificed Hawke so that the Grey Wardens had a senior Warden with a brain that could step up and lead them. Yet their new Warden Commander still has no brain. Where is Stroud???

Hawke mention - an acknowledgement of whether or not we left Hawke in the Fade (I did). Maybe a comment or codex entry from Varric wondering if Hawke is still somewhere in the Fade, like he is now. We don't have to see Hawke, just a comment or codex would do.

Inquisiton companion updates from Harding - kind of like how in Inquisiton you could ask Varric or Hawke about the DA2 companions and they'd give you little updates. For example, "Cassandra rebuilt the Seekers," or "The Iron Bull and his chargers still take jobs across Thedas, more recently against the Antaam. That's gotta be awkward," or things like that, referencing what trajectory we set the companions on (Cassandra pro seeker-rebuild or Iron Bull Tal-Vashoth).

Grey Warden decision fall out - one of the big choices in Dragon Age: Inquisiton was choosing to banish the Grey Wardens or absorb them into the Inquisiton. I chose the later, knowing we'd probably need them in the new game. Maybe a comment from Davrin about how when he first joined the Wardens, he briefly served the Inquisiton, or one from Dorian when he confronts the Warden Commander, saying something like "My friend's mercy is the only reason you still stand to fight the blight".

Idk, I'd love to see people's own ideas and headcanons regarding their past choices so please let me know what you think they should have added based on previous game decisions!

I understand them wanting this to feel like a new game, not bogged down by the last games, but the suggestions I made were mostly one-off comments or codex entries that don't require voice recordings. Having three codex entries for the three Divine candidates and then just rotating them depending on the player choice wouldn't have been that hard... I don't think?

[vhaos-chaotic-writing]

"Love, sins & roses" (TFP Megastar)

WARNINGS: Toxic relationships, emotional, psychological and physical abuse (mentioned), obsessive and possessive behaviour, the sound used is from Rule of Rose - "Love suicide", therefore there are going to be mentions (both from the lyrics and story in general) about suicide and SH and other related not-healthy topics. Canon and headcanons elements at play. NGL I really romantized their toxic relationship, which is bad. Long ass post. SPOILERS of the Prime cartoon.

Say where is my shame - When I call your name?

From the very beginning of... well, everything - things were not quite good. Or maybe, at first, everything was actually good, but by the selfish decisions done by many that were on the power, things started to go downhill painfully slow, like a snowball that grew and grew, about to destroy everything on its path and produce destruction.

Megatron wished to make a change in the already corrupted system its people and whole Cybertrone was suffering, only to be pushed aside and to watch how Orion, the mech he trusted and worked alongside with the same goal, be favoured and given the title of Prime.

As if he wasn't already pushed aside because of his rank as a merely gladiator - that hatred for the higher up ones grew up with that jealousy he felt after watching his supposed friend take what Megatron has been working so hard to get and become. And amidst the destructive rising and move of masses to follow his command, shared ideals and vision - a seeker followed him.

So please don't set me free. I'm as heavy as can be.

The war changes everything - it changed Megatron, and thus, Starscream. The seeker was well aware at how his leader was slowly overtaken by madness and a lust for power and killing. The leader saw his second in command slowly spiral a sea of hysteria, paranoia and to embrace the 'kill to survive' tactic. It became more evident at the dead of Starscream's trinemates.

Oh, Megatron would be lying if he said he doesn't hold that memory so closely to his spark - the other two seekers were killed on a mission against the autobots, one where Starscream was not tasked to go. And that day he lived to his name; wails of agony, despair and hysteria as he tried to claw anybot's optics out and his own, too. Thankfully, or not, that day the seeker didn't follow his fallen trinemates to the Well of the All Sparks thanks to having Megatron hug him close to the point of not allowing him to move, letting him cry and wail, scream and agonize until it fell in stasis.

That day, Megatron knew he wanted to keep Starscream chained to him. And it seemed like the seeker had the same idea - to be chained to his lord and not fly away.

I will do you harm, I will break my arm

Things got worse - Starscream's hysteric aftermath started to make him have those idiotic ideas that he should be the leader of the Decepticons and try to kill Megatron whenever he could. And Megatron was that close to offline him a couple of times to try and tame the seeker into submission, to understand who was in charge.

And even when both mechs would end up with wounds, injuries and energon leaking from their cuts and scratches... I'm a victim of your charms.

Megatron is damn as sure that he should get rid of Starscream - because if he wasn't working on being the 2nd in command and actually helping the cause, he was this close to stab his throat with those sharp digits of his... but why to do that when it feels so good to have the seeker hugging his arm, or sitting on his lap when he is on the throne? Or when he gets to see how beautifuly deadly Starscream was when he was fighting and the thrill of maybe next time actually get offlined by the seeker's claws? His angel of death...

I want to be dead - When I'm in bed.

Thinks the seeker as he is being held by the Warlord just so closely to his chestplate. Starscream can feel Megatron's spark beat and pulsate under all of that scarred metal of his. And it makes him close his optics and wish for the end.

His end. Megatron's end. End. End. End.

And he could end it right there and then... but doesn't bring himself to do.

I can be so mean. You can beat me.

And Starscream wants to cut any type of bond he has with the crazed leader - but at the end of the night, when he is deep in recharging mode, his spark wonders: Why bring justice to our name, by screaming like a wounded animal and the egocentric being we are... because we want to prove something? Or to have his optics on us?

I would like to shame you. I would like to blame you.

"I hate you so much, Starscream." - "Please, I hate you even more, my lord."

Just because of my love to you...

When they are not themselves, but like new found lovers that haven't seen a single glimpse of the war - share kisses, hold each other and let their sparks know each other in such a gentle dance.

And, love itself is just as innocent as roses in May. I know nothing can drive it away.

Starscream started to fear he was in love with the Warlord, long before the start of the war, long before his trinemates met their demise. The seeker would die before ever confessing it loudly. That his spark yearned for Megatron's love and devotion, to become his Conjux endura and to swear his love would live in this life and the next one.

And Megatron was in the same situation - please, to love the same mech that has been trying constantly to overthrone you, take your place, that gets those paranoiac and hysteria episodes and that is a total egocentric diva? A pain in the aft. But his spark wouldn't change it for anything in the whole universe.

Though, love itself is just as brief as a candle in the wind. But it's greedy just like sin.

Megatron has done a few... things to ensure his beloved Starscream remains by his side. Taking aside the beatings and psychological abuse he has done on the 2nd in command to keep him on a leash until he decided to snap another bite at his servo - he knew Starscream was a precious gem to admire, and that many bots ever wished to be the one to own said gem.

He has crushed a few helms, and sent others to a sure demise, as he kept the seeker on his lap, marking him to brand the seeker as his, and only his. Wanting to consume him completely.

Alone but sane - I am a love suicide.

"Become my conjux endura." He ordered.

"You are going to kill me sooner than later." He accused calmly.

"As if you wouldn't do the same the night after we bond our sparks." He pointed out.

"... Touché." He chuckled.

'Cause, love itself is just as brief as a candle in the wind - It is pure white just like sin.

How pathetic, he would say if he got to see his own death at the hands of that yellow autobot he got to break his voice box a long time ago. The almighty Lord Megatron, ended there. Alas, what else could he say or do when he was falling into the planet he hated the most to end in its ocean?

Oh, but even when he was dying - his spark was agonizing because he could feel Starscream's spark agonize. Just like the day the seeker lost his beloved trinemates. And while the now offlined Warlord fell, the stars cried and wailed as he was taken away for the sake of running away and living another day before the Autobots got them.

Alone but sane - I am a love suicide.

He is counting the kliks until he gets to aim at their throats and serve their helms. Or, get shot in the spark and finally get to meet his lover in the Well of the All Sparks. Wouldn't be so poetic to also have his cold frame thrown into the sea of Earth so his body could find again his lover's? And for their sparks meet and become one, so in the next life, they were just a single being.

'Cause, love itself is just as innocent as roses in May. It is pure white...

"Once we win the war - I want a throne, too - and a crown. Aaand-"

"For Primus' sake - when will you ever shut up? Or do I have to force you to?" He interrupted, growling.

"Hmph! Should have thought that before making me your conjux, my lord." He said, seeming offended.

But Megatron keeps a possessive servo on Starscream's hips, securely in the Warlord's hold.

Just like sin.

Vhaos out!

[brightest-stars-if]

@bacchanal-if has included me in this game!

make a poll of your favourite female characters and see which your followers like the most.

I'm tagging @vanhelsing-if, @ang3lwithapen, @thrill-seeker-vn and @childrenofcain-if to keep the game going. Obviously y'all don't have to -- no pressure! I just figured it might be fun.

So for my list, I'll explain why I chose them. I'll try to avoid spoilers.

Fang Runin (The Poppy War)

Ah Rin, my beloved self-destructive, rage-filled war criminal. There are very few instances where I read a book and the main character is my favorite. But Rin? She took that seat easily. She's such a well-written character. Deeply flawed, but also deeply compelling. You want to slap her but you also want to hug her. Reading her internal narrative was both extremely disturbing and also fascinating.

Lady Eboshi (Princess Mononoke)

Lady Eboshi has to be, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest animated villains of all time. Does she commit heinous acts in the movie? Yes. But at the same time, we see her uplifting people. She saves women from exploitative contracts in brothels, takes in lepers when society rejects them, and creates a chance to make an honest living for thousands of people in the form of Iron Town. The dichotomy of Lady Eboshi, the way she's representative of some of the brightest and darkest parts of humanity, gives her a special place in my heart.

Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Ah, Cersei. Where do I even start with her? Cersei is a character with very few, if any redeeming qualities. She's murdered children, placed her bastards with her own twin on the throne and caused the suffering of hundreds at least. More fascinating than her actions, I find her internal dialogue to be a real treat to read. Seeing her thought process in A Feast for Crows really threw me for a loop. She lives in so much delusion that her complete lack of self-awareness hurts my head. That, coupled by her deep resentment of her own femininity and what it means to be a woman in Westerosi society, easily makes her one of my favorite characters in the entire series. She's pitiful and vile and wretched and tragic, and I love her for it.

Eadaz uq-Nāra (The Priory of the Orange Tree)

Ead is 100% the best person on this list and it's not even close. It might seem like I have a bias toward morally gray/black characters and to that I say, you're usually right. But Ead is proof that if a character is written to be a good person, and written well, I'll adore them regardless. Ead's morality is such a core part of her character. Even in a land of people who would deem her a heretic, she helps them (though she'll roll her eyes doing it). Her longing for home, for the arms of the priory and her fellow sisters-in-arms, is one of her defining characteristics and so touching to read about. Plus, she's half of one of my favorite slow burns ever, so she has that working in her favor too XD

Anyway, I've been rambling for too long so let me just put up the poll:

[weirdoinred]

I was really drowsy earlier and i thunk up some lore for my dynastyAU about soundwaves backstory. Buckle up yall this is a long one

Vos is a very large region of cybertron that was split up into four parts in order to make ruling easier. Vos is also one of the last two regions on cybertron that uses a monarchy. It was split up into northern, eastern, southern, and western kingdoms, each with its own ruling family. Eastern Vos is actually the biggest kingdom, both in size, population, and military, as its main focus is security and weapons development. Starscream, his trine, and most of the other seekers originate from eastern Vos, with Starscream being the last ruler before his whole power hungry usurping of the rest of Vos and the start of the great war.

Eastern, western, and northern Vos are completely cut off from the rest of cybertron and do not allow outsiders into their territory. They only allow trade and communication between the other parts of Vos and with other Vosians. Northern Vos is a lot more lenient with this policy as apposed to western and eastern Vos as both kingdoms see cross communication as treason and the punishment for being caught is severe. Southern Vos is vastly different and the rulers actually encourage interactions with other cybertronians.

Southern Vos was ruled by Empress Skyline. Long story short, she fell in love with a grounder before she was crowned Empress and after she ran away and had their first sparkling together she was found and brought back home. The grounder, a mech named Chambertune, snuck i to Vos to rescue here and was also caught, no surprise there, and was about to be executed when Skyline came running in and put herself between the excecutioner and her conjunx. She argues with her parents, theres an emotional moment, Chambertune is released, and for her bravery and idk true spark or something, shes crowned Empress as her parents retire from ruling and make Chambertune the royal ambassador and he deals with customs or something. Basically they put him in charge of opening the borders and integrating their society. Fun times yay.

So they had their first child, her name is Hurricane (theres a reason why please just trust me), while Skyline was in her running away era, and after she ascended to the throne, her and Chambertune proceeded to have six more sparklings over the course of several million years. Soundwave was the very last sparkling they had together. In this AU he also ends up working for Senator Ratbat but there is a lot that happens before that.

What i meant when i said Starscreams power hungry usurping of the rest of Vos, is that this dude went absolutely apeshit. The second he was crowned Winglord, all he wanted was more power. I wanna be clear that he is not a bad guy. Hes just incredibly spoiled and his entire childhood was his parents constantly feeding his ego about when he would finally be the ruler of eastern vos. Hes like 19-20 when hes put in charge. But once he got the throne it was horrifyingly anticlimactic. He expected to feel a lot more than he actually did and it was upsetting. He spent years yearning for this power and then once he got it, it wasnt enough. So the gears in his dumb little brain began to turn and he schemed an honestly terrible idea but bc he was Winglord, no one was brave enough to tell him other wise, not even his own brothers.

His plan was to take over the other nations of Vos. Spoiler alert, he did it. Vos was unified into one again. The ruling familys were taken captive and if they didnt bow to him, they were removed from the equation. His biggest problem was Southern Vos. Because of how they had been integrating their society for millennium before he was even created, half of the population was comprised of grounders. This didnt bode well with his ideal kingdom of Vos so he set his military wild. What they did to Southern Vos was genocide. They took the fliers and killed the grounders. The hybrids and halfbreeds were kept alive in hopes of breeding out the grounder genes.

Empress Skyline, Chambertune, and their three eldest children fought Starscreams military off the best they could while the younger four children fled the kingdom. They were unfortunately, spotted by a lost soldier, who reported to a general about the four escapees. That same lost soldier fire two rockets at them, intending to block their path but hit too close to them and knocked two of the kids out. The oldest of the four, who was not knocked unconscious, stopped to check on the younger two while Soundwave, a bit disoriented and dizzy, ran in a random direction. His brother saw him run but he was too far away to hear his call. As he reached the border, a stray rocket him close to him and the shockwave knocked him across. The blast also hit his left side and messed up a lot of wires and connectors in his processors, knocking him out and giving him amnesia and reducing his processing ability, leaving him mostly mute.

then it pretty much follows the idw backstory with him being found and taken in by ravage, buzzsaw, and laserbeak. I havent thunken how to weave in his telepathy but i have somewhat of an idea. In this au, outlier abilities are a mutation. that mutation gene, in rare cases, can be passed down genetically to offspring. Its more likely for a sparkling to have an outlier ability if both parents have the mutation gene. In this case, Chambertune has that mutation gene but Skyline does not. Out of their 7 offspring, only 3 of them, have the gene. Is a lot more than usual but thats only bc an ancestor of Skyline had a very weak outlier ability that was only usable when he was in danger. Hurricane is one of them (her original name was changed once her outlier ability developed), Soundwave of course is another, and i havent decided on a name for the last outlier child but his power is one of my favorites.

yeah yeah so hes found by those three, he spends a little while with them, then in a little stealing from the rich stunt, he gets caught by senator ratbat cuz it was his place they were stealing from. Ravage, bs, and lb are able to get away bur soundwave isnt so lucky. Ratbat finds out about his telepathy (hes got like three different powers but those dont show up until later) and decides “hey ur useful! Mine now” and adopts him. Hes a terrible person and an even worse dad but we’re not getting into that right now.

but yeah thats like the gist of the lore. Some of it is still in development so im open to suggestions for a few things, one of which is names for soundwaves 5 other siblings (two femmes, three mechs), and also maybe a better resolution for Skyline reconnecting with her parents and becoming Empress bc i have not thought that era through

[mtreebeardileswrites]

DA Timeline

Dates and important events, largely gleaned from wikis and in-game codexes and estimations

DATV spoilers towards the end

@theoriginalladya wanted to have a general timeline somewhere we could all see it haha, figured I could edit/update it as I go

Timeline:

6:30 Steel

Par Vollen conquered by Qunari

6:32

Qunari invade Seheron and Rivain

6:42

Most of Imperium conquered by Qunari

Includes Ventus

7:25 - 7:84 Storm

Tevinter allies with Orlesian Chantry to partake in New Exalted March in an effort to retake lost territory

Three Exalted Marches against the Qunari

7:34 Archon Nomaran

Elected directly from the Circle of Magi, Nomaran abolished laws forbidding mages from holding political office, allowing Magisters to retake their positions in Tevinter government as its rulers

7:84 Llomeryyn Accords

Armistice that stopped the war with the Qunari, signed by all human nations save Tevinter; Tevinter still at war with Qunari to present day

9:10 - Dragon

 Alistair Theirin born

9:11

Dorian Pavus born

9:12

 Kal-sharok rediscovered

Antaam (under Qun) offensive against Tevinter, pushed back to Seheron 

9:16

Cassandra Pentaghast joins Seekers after death of brother

9:20

Empress Celene ascends Orlesian throne

Malcolm Hawke and family settle in Lothering

Eamon sends Alistair to monastery at Isolde’s request

9:21

Meredith Stannard named Knight-Commander of Kirkwall

9:22

Cassandra Pentaghast thwarts assassination attempt on Divine Beatrix, “Day of Black Skies”/ “Day of Dragons”

Cassandra named Right Hand of the Divine

9:25

King Maric thought lost at sea; imprisoned by Antivan Crows

Cailan ascends Fereldan throne; marries Anora

New Arishok named after previous one dies in Seheron

Grey Wardens begin to sense incoming Blight

9:27

Malcolm Hawke dies in Lothering

Magister Nihalias overthrows Imperial Divine, taking mantle for himself

9:28

Branka takes her entire house sans Oghren into Deep Roads in search of Anvil of the Void

 Fenris escapes slavery

Leiliana takes refuge in Lothering

9:29

Duncan recruits Alistair into Wardens

9:30

Fifth Blight; events of DAO; some events of DA2

9:31

Urthemiel slain, ending Fifth Blight

Kieran conceived, taking soul of old god (June)

Events of Awakening (Justice, Amaranthine, Mother, The Architect)

9:32

Events of Witch Hunt (tracking down Morrigan)

9:34

Arishok attempts to overthrow Kirkwall; qunari expelled from city by Hawke. Hawke named Champion of Kirkwall by Meredith

Dorothea becomes Divine Justinia V

9:37

Corypheus awakens; events of Legacy; put down by Hawke

Anders destroys Chantry, setting off Kirkwall rebellion, eventually Mage Rebellion

Orsino and Meredith killed by Hawke

9:38

Fiona elected Grand Enchanter

College of Enchanters rejects proposal to dissolve Circles; College is then dissolved by Chantry

Morrigan resurfaces as Arcane Advisor to Celene in Orlais (Kieran is 7)

9:40

War of Lions in Orlais (civil war referenced in DAI?)

Briala reactivates Eluvian Network

Felessan killed by Solas? Masked Empire events?

Uprising at White Spire Circle, leads to Seeker Lambert to cancel Nevarran Accords, thus splitting Seekers from the Chantry

Circle of Dairsmuid in Rivain annulled

College of Enchanters (?) vote to split from the Chantry; Lambert declares Circles dissolved, then disappears

Discovered secret of Tranquility, and how it can be undone?

Lucius Corin takes over as Lord Seeker

Cassandra and Leiliana set out to reform the Inquisition

Solas awakens

Strikes deal with Corypheus, giving him the orb that leads to the Breach

9:41

Circle of Hossberg mages, along with Wardens, find remnants of the Fourth Blight

Isseya’s diary

Events of DAI

9:42

Inquisitor tracks Corypheus down to the Arbor Wilds

Morrigan takes the power of the Well of Sorrows

Events of Jaws of Hakkon

Inquisitor Ameridan

Events of The Descent

First learning of the Titans

Shaper Valta

Corypheus defeated

 Divine Victoria

Wardens discover clutch of 13 griffon eggs

Flemeth/Mythal killed by Solas, who absorbs her power

Before this, Flemeth/Mythal imparts Mythal’s memories to Morrigan

Unclear if Flemeth/Mythal removed June's spirit from Kieran prior

9:44

Magister Halward Pavus murdered

Trespasser

Solas revealed as Dread Wolf/Fen’harel

Dragon’s Breath/Qunari attempt to stop Solas

Later condemned by Qunari leadership in Par Vollen as unsanctioned

Kieran is 13

9:44-45

Rasaan takes control of the Antaam, launching unsanctioned invasion into Tevinter

Ventus

Carastes

Neromenian

Vyrantium

9:52

Events of DATV

Varric and Harding tasked with finding Solas in the North

Recruit Rook

Varric dies

[oswednesday]

moderate spoilers where i ask for help finding a hyperlink

^-does anyone know what the hyperlink went to? i tried the wayback machine but it doesnt always give accurate readouts for youtube videos for whatever reason so i want to double check and things that seem to catalog these things just have the link and not what it was gfdgfhfhfhfgdhhfg

[polyhexian]

Tf one spoiler time lol

Score 10/10. While I can make a few comments and critiques, I don't even want to because it overall was just so GOOD. The animation was vibrant and fluid and so full of life! The character designs have consistency between them but ALSO are distinct enough I was pointing and calling out names the entire time! They pulled SO many lore elements together to create clear worldbuilding and a story that keeps so much of the established lore while also feeling fresh and not played out. I respect the fact they kept their names Orion and D16 through the entire thing so much. I was SO excited to see that prime was the bad influence in their relationship lol. Optimus was like. Oh my god. Giving Optimus prime a personality??? That's crazy! They always forget to do that!

They really took a ton of lore elements and stacked them carefully together to pick and choose the world this story is set in specifically. I am so happy to see the Primus myth be that he turned into the planet cybertron. Chefs kiss. Perfect. love that one. I'm surprised they ran with the thirteen primes mythos and didn't have megatronus as the traitor! Good. I think it's a good thing that he wasn't Evil. Also, I generally say that once it's happened in three different continuities it's a character trait so I'm glad we can all just agree now that sentinel prime is the prime is a dirty rotten traitor. Also it's cool that he's blue. In my head he's always been blue tbh. He has blue vibes.

I'm glad elita made it into the main cast over Arcee and it's wild but great that arachnid got to be here??? And I think I even saw greenlight? But I'm surprised they didn't take the opportunity to put more female bots in the background. They didn't have to talk or even be specific characters. But also maybe there were but they just didn't have "feminine" shapes so I didn't notice. I was constantly looking at background characters but I was also trying not to lol. Focus on the story Nate!!! You can look at background characters later! But it was awesome to see slipstream with the seekers. And I think they worked in how starscream could be like in charge of his own guys from prewar but also under Megatron and also kind of like. Can't really kill him or you will lose all his followers. Good position to put him in. He also got to sit on a throne and that's great.

Oh. My. God. The climaxxxx! With Megatron ripping sentinel in half while Optimus falls into the core of Cybertron. Ahhhh it was SO well packed and well choreographed. They did amazing with the entire sequence. Also I LOVE how restrained they were with violence until that point. I hadn't even realized it until then but we hadnt seen any real serious injuries or deaths or proper robogore like up close and personal and fresh until he tears sentinel in half or he shoots Optimus and he loses a whole arm and half his chest. Like. I genuinely had a moment of "oh my god, can they show that with the rating?" Like I forgot that of course they can, he's a robot, but it just amped up the brutality SO hard and SO fast that it was like whiplash. Awesome.

That "I want to KILL him!" From D16 was sooo good it was like there it is boyyysssss. Oh my goooddd and then when he shot op and he's hanging over the edge and he has the moment where he comes back to himself realizing what he has done and how he has changed. And he has a moment to decide who he wants to be, of his own volition, consciously, and he chooses to be Megatron. I'm done saving you!!! Ah!!!!

Screaming into the aether: I LOVE DIVORCE! I LOVE DIVORCE! I LOVE DIVORCE!

[westeroswisdom]

Some people are still upset with D&D for killing off certain characters in Game of Thrones. In a new Netflix series, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss plan to dramatize the killing off of America's 20th president, James A. Garfield, who was famously "shot by a disappointed office seeker".

Netflix announced today that the next big project from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will be titled Death by Lightning and about the assassination of President James Garfield. Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen both star, with Shannon as Garfield and Macfadyen portraying his assassin, Charles Guiteau. Which, we gotta say, is the reverse of who we thought would be playing whom—but we’re into it. Netflix describes Death by Lightning as “a drama series that brings to life the epic and stranger-than-fiction true story of James Garfield, reluctant 20th president of the United States, and his greatest admirer Charles Guiteau—the man who would come to kill him.” It’s based on the book Destiny Of The Republic by Candice Millard. Benioff and Weiss also have the weighty sci-fi series 3 Body Problem coming soon with Netflix, but they’re not writing or directing this new one. Mike Makowsky (Bad Education) will do the former and Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic) will be behind the camera. James Garfield’s presidential term started in March 1881. Guiteau shot him in June, and he succumbed to his injuries an agonizing few months later, in September of that year. Guiteau pled temporary insanity, but was sentenced to death and executed the following year. The full story is complicated, involving spurned political dreams, medical malpractice, and maybe even a touch of neurosyphilis.

An error in the quoted article: Garfield was shot on July 2nd – not in June. He died on September 19th. Without mentioning spoilers, his death was rather excruciating.

[kudosmyhero]

Transformers: Monstrosity #3: Faces of Darkness

Read Date: May 07, 2023 Cover Date: March 2013 ● Story: Chris Metzen ◦ Flint Dille ● Art: Livio Ramondelli ● Letterer: Tom B. Long ● Editor: John Barber ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● (cover) I feel like I just walked into the wrong bar ● Slag reminds me a bit of Bumblebee ● Pentius is…. scary ● …at least until Megatron starts walking it around on a leash

● the Seekers always make a great entrance ● 👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: The Dynobots systematically pipe the Toraxxis mega-refinery's energon into tankers while Swoop continues to stress the fact that they need to get off Cybertron before they snap and start causing major damage. When Grimlock tells them to shut up and get back to work, Slag gets ticked off and accuses him of getting them into this mess to begin with, then strikes off on his own.

On Junkion, Megatron is caught in an ionized acid rain storm and takes cover in the wreckage of a nearby starship where he finds another occupant trapped under some debris. The alien introduces himself as Pentius, a Quintesson who has been stuck in that very spot for centuries, spending his time using his ship's computers to map and memorize the surface of Junkion. Claiming to have expected Megatron, his fellow "king without a throne", he ominously warns the Decepticon that on this monstrous planet power is everything, and the only way to survive is to become a monster yourself. After Pentius tells him that there may be a way off the planet at the Pillar of Rust within the eye of the ion storm, Megatron frees him from the debris to serve as his guide… and slave.

Meanwhile, at Kolkular, Starscream approaches Scorponok and suggests that it's time to take action and prove to the other Decepticons that there's more to his leadership than just grandiose speeches. Scorponok agrees, revealing his plan to conquer the Toraxxis mega-refinery and drain it of fuel, furthering the global energon crisis and causing Optimus Prime's Grand Convocation to collapse as the members fight amongst themselves over what energon is left.

Optimus Prime himself is busy organizing a meeting with Dai Atlas at Metroplex's sparring arena, asking him if his Circle of Light could help recruit strong soldiers for the new Autobot army. When Atlas refuses to send his followers to die in Prime's war, Prime warns him that pacifism won't get him anywhere with the Decepticons, causing Atlas to grow angry and show off exactly how "pacifistic" he is by easily slicing a group of auto-combatants into pieces. He explains that he's a patriot, not a pacifist, but he's witnessed the cost of unrestrained hatred before and knows all too well that resorting to violence will only lead to more violence.

As dawn rises on Toraxxis, the Dynobots prepare to head out with their ill-gotten gains only to come under attack from Scorponok's Decepticons, who have arrived to steal the refinery's fuel only find it's already being stolen. Thankfully Slag returns to his mates just in time to take out some of the 'cons, shrugging off the save by claiming he "got bored" alone, but his help doesn't even the odds and Grimlock is soon standing face to face with Scorponok. The Dynobot leader doesn't feel threatened though, since he's already triggered the refinery's alarm, summoning Autobot reinforcements in the form of Sky Lynx!

(https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Faces_of_Darkness)

Fan Art: Scorponok by Legend-of-Blackout

Accompanying Podcast: ● Swerve's Bar Podcast - episode 03

[ziracona]

Jesus Christ Cassandra. Fucking Seekers, fucking Chantry. Fucking fuck all of it.

[endlessly-ranting-antheia]

Gendrya from game of thrones and Kahlan and Richard from legend of the seeker have the same badass warrior couple soulmate energy

[kat-rose-griffith]

Arya and Gendry (Game of Thrones) and Cara and Leo (Legend of the Seeker)

Two soulmate ships that are made of a badass assassin and a sexy blacksmith. He makes her laugh and cracks through her hard exterior that was made by a life of trauma. She turns him on with her badass fighting skills that usually scare most people. They are both tough but soft for each other and no matter what reality they end up in they always find each other

Fun fact (spoiler) about these ships: they both deserved better, deserved more screen time, and continue to make me sad to this day but I still watch their story because I love them so much and they got their happy endings together in my mind