#this is all based on the teaser so things could change

[mollysunder]

Caitlyn's Objectives for Zaun are Vague and Terrible.

"Locate Jinx."

Plenty of people have already talked about this one, but there's a clear "and" missing to this statement. Caitlyn isn't going to just find Jinx say mission accomplished and go back to Piltover. She's left her intentions for Jinx ambiguous to her superiors (Ambessa) and subordinates alike, which leaves room for the situation to escalate.

"Dismantle shimmer."

I cannot overstate how bad of an idea it is. It seems simple in excution. Secure the refineries, detain Singed and other chemists that manufacture it, and destroy any existing supplies. But everything else that comes with it will turn the situation even worse.

I'm not even talking about the fact that Caitlyn is suggesting everyone in Zaun addicted to shimmer immediately go cold turkey without warning, preparation, or their consent. It's that fact that she's essentially destroying the only form of healthcare infrastructure that exists in Zaun.

For all the bad shimmer can do, it's still an effective medicine when used right. It's not a coincidence that once Silco took over and introduced shimmer there's suddenly people with visible disabilities and prosthetics on screen existing in Zaun. They exist because shimmer makes it possible. Even 5 out the 6 chembarons, the richest and most powerful people in Zaun, are disabled or use mobility aids. Chembarons like Smeech quite obviously use shimmer (his eyes are pink in every scene including his character sheet) to manage his prosthetics, he's had all four limbs replaced.

How many people live like Silco, with a chronic illness (probably a dangerous infection because Zaun is Piltover's human/industrial wastepit) that needs to be treated daily? How many people are practically dead and buried if the enforcers manage to destroy all remaining shimmer?

"Neutralize any agents still loyal to Silco."

What does that even mean? What does being loyal to Silco mean when he's dead? They're getting rid of all infrastructure related to shimmer production. The only thing that remains of Silco that anyone can be loyal to is the belief he left behind (and maybe Jinx but that's complicated).

Above all else (except Jinx), Silco wanted an independent Zaun. Will That's his whole thing, and shimmer was just the mechanism to make it happen. Will anyone who agrees that Zaun should be independent be considered a Silco loyalist? If so, then Caitlyn's mission isn't just about finding Jinx and getting shimmer off the streets, this is about crushing an independence movement AGAIN.

How will she characterize Silco's loyalists? Is she talking about chembarons that worked with Silco? Former members of his gang? People who worked in Silco's factories and liked the paycheck? Silco was the defacto leader of Zaun, most if not all figures in Zaun with influence were essentially complicit in his agenda.

Is there any real difference between anti-Piltovan sentiment and pro-Zaunite independence at this point?

[btsmosphere]

Supercharged | JJK - Masterlist

Now Completed!!

🗲summary:

It starts with a blow to the chest that changes your life. When your city’s most celebrated hero pays a visit, it turns out the noble Bolt has no trouble tossing lives aside. Lives that won't be missed. Lives like yours. Seven mysterious and powerful men give you another chance – one that starts to feel more like a curse the moment you meet golden boy Jungkook. The boy who wants you as far from his brothers as he can get you. Is it you he hates, or the blue lightning that now runs through your veins? And could it be his golden light that illuminates your heart when darkness threatens?

🗲pairing: jungkook x female reader 🗲overall word count: ~80k 🗲genre: angst, action, slow burn, enemies to lovers, superheroes/villains au, found family 🗲rating: pg15 🗲warnings: violence with superpowers, weapons, swearing, arguing, injury, past trauma, mentions of death (these are general warnings; chapter-specific warnings are listed per chapter)

Teaser

Character Moodboards/Bios: Jungkook | Yoongi | Hobi | V | Jimin | Jin | Namjoon | You

Supercharged Playlist

Chapter 1 - The Light Dies He’s the hero. Unfortunately for you, you’re not the villain.

Chapter 2 - Reign of Mercy There’s a whole world here, where your curse can start to bloom…

Chapter 3 - Figure it Out You become Jungkook’s problem.

Chapter 4 - We aren't Heroes, Honey A chaotic arrival turns everything on its head, and the boys are ready to let you in on their real game.

Chapter 5 - Scared of a Little Lightning With the threat of Bolt rising, so do tensions within the base.

Chapter 6 - Burn Out When things get ahead of you, your powers aren’t the only things to spill over; some truth is ready to breach the surface.

Chapter 7 - Spark to Life “We don’t have time to argue” “No, we don't”

Chapter 8 - On the Force Jungkook smiles at you for the first time (and the second).

Chapter 9 - Thank me Later Our villains get their moment in the sun (well, the fire…)

Chapter 10 - Is This Not Control? You’re forced to come to terms with the danger – and the beauty – in the way your powers burn.

Chapter 11 - Right Beside You Jungkook has you to thank, if only he knew how.

Chapter 12 - Into the Depths If you aren’t cut out to be with them, then you’ll just have to go it alone.

Chapter 13 - One of Us Jungkook doesn’t seem to be angry for the reasons you expected.

Chapter 14 - Cover Me An unprecedented strike at the heart of bangtan leaves you baring yours.

Chapter 15 - Powerless It’s time to make the fight on your terms.

Epilogue - Sweet Taste How it all boiled down.

Updates every Sunday! To be on the taglist, send me a message, ask or comment!💜(now closed as series is completed! but comments are always still welcome)

[intuitive-revelations]

Theory: Something serious is up with the TARDIS

I had been wondering about this all series, but after Rogue today, it's finally been confirmed that something's going on with the TARDIS (on top of all the other arc threads going on!).

The moment I picked it up was in The Devil's Chord, where the TARDIS makes a strange groan and creaks after landing back in 1963. Ruby thinks it's from Maestro, but the Doctor says it's "something else". As of today it's happened again, twice! Once in the episode itself, once in the next time trailer. The exact same sound effect!

Someone on reddit pointed out a few weeks ago that this sound appeared even earlier too, in Wild Blue Yonder (notably also when we first saw Susan Twist, had gravity changed to mavity, and welcomed the Pantheon into the universe). Each time, it's also had attention drawn to it. Here's a video of each scene, followed by a direct comparison of each sound:

(I did have a quick glance to see if it appeared elsewhere, maybe even during Flux. As far as I can tell however, Wild Blue Yonder seems to be the only non-S14 appearance.)

What's more, going back to that Reddit thread, someone pointed out what the Wild Blue Yonder script says about this moment:

And then the TARDIS seems to moan. The Doctor fascinated. DONNA: Is it working? THE DOCTOR: I think so. Strange. He reaches out, touches the TARDIS, wondering. And that 'strange' will come back to haunt him, one day. But now...

(Suddenly the TARDIS freaking out over Donna's spill might make a bit more sense...)

So what the hell's going on?

Well, between a trailer scene and some news that just came out a few hours ago as of writing this, I think I may have an idea. Given it's based on trailer footage uploaded and then removed from YouTube, I'll put it below beneath a read more:

In a removed Disney+ teaser trailer we get two frames of the Doctor screaming out into space (with Mel behind him). Except it's not from "his" TARDIS:

It's the f*cking memory TARDIS!

And here's the thing. Not only was this trailer scrubbed from the Disney+ and BBC channels, but in the other trailers, this clip is entirely different! Not only is Mel gone, but the TARDIS interior is now Fifteen's own, and the TARDIS is in a different, generic region of space.

Just before this, we also see a similar nebulous region of space matching the unmanipulated clip.

But why on Earth is this such a big deal, that the BBC/Disney would go full MCU and give us a deliberately altered clip? The only previous time I remember Doctor Who doing this was for Series 10, hiding the plot point of the Doctor's blindness. It's not because of Mel, who literally appears in the released trailer. It's also seemingly not because of the background, despite it also being altered (unless the two moons are a clue with the planet being Gallifrey or something - the thought had occurred to me - but that's such a tiny detail, and we also only see one sun). Instead, it must be the Memory TARDIS. But why?

In-universe, I have no idea. On one hand I'd be delighted to get some answers as to its nature. Assuming it's connected to the groans we've been hearing, then it could be the TARDIS undergoes some sort of metamorphosis into this state? But we've seen the TARDIS change all the time, whether for safety, to recover or whatever. I also can't imagine general audiences are falling over themselves to find out the in-universe explanation for a Classic Who re-release framing device. Not to mention, apparently the sound will go on to "haunt" the Doctor...

...maybe the TARDIS straight up is taken out of commission in some way? And the Memory TARDIS isn't the same ship, but the Doctor's way of saving the day without her? Maybe even remembered into existence Fitz/Amy style?

Out of universe however, it's just been announced yesterday that we're getting more Tales of the TARDIS.

And not just more omnibus stories with past characters returning for in-universe commentary... but with Fifteen and Ruby! What's more, it's apparently a one-off, right before the finale (but, note, after the first part next week).

Which means it's important. Possibly extremely so, given the edited trailer scene. It might even serve as an interquel, given Fifteen and Ruby are somehow in it.

I've seen two common theories. Either a) it will be Pyramids of Mars, and we're getting Sutekh in the finale (presumably with Fifteen and Ruby partially because of bringing back Elizabeth Sladen obviously not being an available option - and even if you thought up another character, eg. Luke, I doubt Tom would be interested, at that point anyway), or b) it will be something tying into Susan returning.

Honestly between the remaining trailer clips (eg. sandstorms and dusty planets), a tease RTD supposedly gave in DWM, and an old interview with him where he supposedly floated the idea of bringing back a Classic Who for a finale and airing the original serial on BBC3 beforehand, I'm kinda leaning towards the prior, even though it wasn't at all on my radar.

However, this still doesn't actually answer what's up with the TARDIS.

It could quite literally be anything. However, here's a few ideas, some reasonable some weird, that I have come up with:

Old age / stress. This is a weird one, but oddly enough something I had thought of once in the past, and I just saw someone else come to the same idea on Reddit. The idea is that while the Doctor has a new regeneration cycle and now a good few years, if not decades or more, of rest and recovery, the TARDIS may struggling in it's own right (especially if it is somehow old enough to have once been the Fugitive Doctor's). However, while this could be something interesting to explore, and I think isn't entirely mutually exclusive with other options, I can't imagine going anywhere near a storyline of the TARDIS itself 'wearing thin'. Besides, if we did, I like to imagine it would have been foreshadowed with size leakage, as per Name of the Doctor.

Relating to the above, could it be something linked to the TARDIS splitting in The Giggle? However, the sound starts before then (not that that means much to the TARDIS, but still).

Laws of rationality breaking down. This one makes the most sense in a lot of ways, between the expanded universe (particularly Christmas on a Rational Planet) and Flux, we've seen the TARDIS cannot survive in an irrational universe. While time has stabilised for now, we're still seeing magic and other Old Time forces encroaching in on the Web of Time. I'm a bit torn with this one however, as while it works from a lore and writing perspective, plus matches with this starting in Wild Blue Yonder (right after the Mavity incident... interestingly), it seems odd it's not more connected with what happened in Flux? Why are the sounds and effects on the TARDIS completely different?

Something to do with the Doctor's fobwatch. In Rogue, the Doctor blames the sound on indigestion. We know we're getting more Timeless Child related stuff - could this somehow be linked to Thirteen dropping the Division biodata module deep into the TARDIS? Would be a weird time to pick this up though, and I'm not sure exactly how that would have had such an effect.

The most actually likely, but least possible to theorise about: it's something time-wimey to do with Ruby, the villain(s) of the story, and/or Susan Twist, especially given this started after her first appearance.

Regardless, I'm just excited to see what's up with the Memory / "Remembered" TARDIS, because it's seems we're about to learn something...

[lowkeychenle]

masterlist + all about me (and nct dream)

hi everyone! name change/rebrand alert ;)

prev @/lowkeyjaemle, now @/lowkeychenle :D

i'm juls (as some of you already know) and my ult group is NCT Dream! i'm chenle biased (this will never change lol) and the majority of my blog is also chenle biased lol.

i do not have a bias wrecker. chenle is safe (although jisung is my #2, which just makes sense bc chenji is a package deal okay).

i'm 23 years old, and my pronouns are she/her. now that all this intro/boring stuff is out of the way, please keep reading for my updated masterlist ;)

p.s. if u are also a chenle stan, there are so many chenle fics here just for u

AY YO! MDNI >:(

text!au masterlist | smau masterlist

labyrinth (M) fic teaser

Chenle was more complex than you originally gave him credit for, and unfortunately for you, that would be your downfall. Lost in the labyrinth, you’ll always struggle to find your way out when the rose-colored glasses don’t let the light shine through.

the hardest part (M)

You, Chenle, and Jay have been best friends since before you could even remember. After moving away to pursue your dreams, you don't talk to them as often as you should. One day, you get a call notifying you of Jay's passing. When you go back to your hometown, you find everything is different except for one person--Chenle.

Some Things Can't Be Taught (M)

In which you are failing college physics, and your childhood best friend offers up one of his friends as your tutor—except, there’s a little something he wants to learn from you in exchange.

Guilty As Sin? (M)

Chenle is everything you want--everything you need. Somehow, the thought of him manages to pull you back in even after you were free. Messy kisses, late night trysts, and him tracing the word 'mine' on your thigh--barely anything, so how could you possibly be guilty as sin? (based on Guilty As Sin? by Taylor Swift)

And Then It Was (M)

After your marriage with Chenle was arranged by your parents for a company merger, things with him aren't quite like you expect. In your life full of obligations, he's determined to finally give you the ability to make your own choices. (smut/fluff/angst) *WC>10k

Cruel Summer (M)

He wants you. Everything to do with you--your heart, your body, all while keeping your friendship. What's a man to do during a 30-day hook up to get you to stay? (smut/fluff/angst) *WC>10k

See My Sea (M)

You never expected your lab partner to be the captain of the basketball team...or a decent human being, but you get proved wrong twice. Despite a rocky past of your own, you find yourself falling for him faster than you thought. Maybe, with his help, you can finally find your way home and see your sea. (smut/fluff/angst) *WC>10k

Like We Just Met (M)

Everything else about the day is completely normal when Chenle realizes he wants to marry you. It hits him like a tidal wave, and he's itching to tell you just how much he wants to love you forever. (smut/fluff) *WC>10k

SOS (M)

Road trips with Chenle are your favorite thing. Late at night, the two of you stop at a hotel, but it's not everything it seems to be. You barely have time to settle before you get a call to evacuate immediately. Beneath red neon flashing lights, you and Chenle have to try and escape the group of people hunting you down. (suspense/thriller/smut)

this is me trying (M)

Meeting Chenle was a fluke--a good one, at that, but you never expected things to escalate the way they did. But despite the whirlwind romance, you'd go back to December if you had the chance... (smut/fluff/angst) *WC>10k

Is It Over Now? (M) (Feat. Jisung)

Your relationship with Chenle is nothing but fight after fight. Amidst the toxicity, infidelity comes into play--except you're determined to one up him...but is it ever truly over? (angst/smut) *WC>10k

Within the Piano Keys (M)

For as long as you could remember, Chenle has been your neighbor and childhood best friend. That is, until one day he disappears without a word…or so you thought, since your mother hid all the letters he sent you. (smut/fluff/angst) *WC>10k

Paris (M)

Pure smut on a hotel room balcony in Paris! Woo. (smut)

Sunshine (M)

You're not usually able to wake up with Chenle due to his schedules, but on the days that you can, it's certainly worth it. (smut/fluff)

Quiet Down (M)

You and Chenle visit your parents, but he just can't help himself... (smut)

You're Not Sorry

You and Chenle broke up two weeks ago. The first time he calls you at 3am, you ignore it. Then he calls again. You answer, and you go to him knowing there's nothing he could do to fix what he's broken. (angst)

The Last Straw (M)

Chenle has been your best friend for as long as you can remember. Being in love with him isn't easy, until you find out he reciprocates those feelings (thanks to Cockblocker!Jaemin). (smut/fluff/angst)

Chilled Nights, Fogged Windows (M)

After being gone for weeks, the first thing Chenle wants to do is get ice cream with you. One thing leads to another, and suddenly, you're in the backseat (oooops). (smut)

In Your Dreams (M)

What started as innocent phone sex hotline stuff (if that can ever really be innocent?), you get an offer you just can't refuse...you just have to be a little sleep deprived ;) (Chenle as Freddy Kruger Halloween thing lol)

Irrevocably (M) Series Masterlist

You were friends with benefits with Chenle until he got a girlfriend...fast forward months later, and now they've broken up--leaving Chenle to come back to you, very much in need of a distraction. (angst/smut/fluff)

Opposites Attract [Poly!Jaemle AU] Series Masterlist

Your relationship with Jaemin started out simple--friends with benefits with zero complications...until there was one. That complication's name is Zhong Chenle, and after Jaemin agrees to expand your exclusivity deal to involve him, there's only one logical thing left to do... (smut)

모래성 (ONE) (TWO) (THREE)

You and Mark have had a friends with benefits relationship for almost a year now. He's in love with you, addicted to you, but you don't feel the same. You're his poison. (smut/angst)

Late Nights (M)

Mark's busy schedule only gives him time to come over late at night, but it's safe to say neither of you are complaining by the time you fall asleep. (fluff/smut)

Empire State of Mind (M) (Feat. Jisung)

Life with Jisung is almost perfect. He loves you, and you love him. But when you run into your ex, Mark Lee, you realize the one thing you've been missing all along is him. (smut/angst)

Lost & Wayward Mini-Masterlist

After the worst couple weeks of your life, you finally break down in the middle of an alleyway. Jaemin hears you and comes to comfort you, and little do you know, he's about to change your life--in more ways than one. (fluff/smut/angst)

[contraryclock]

stupid ass Don Quixote ramblings

hi this is my first tumblr post but i really wanted a good place to put this

spoilers for all of current limbus company, including Murder on the warp Express, the Don Quixote book (( kinda )), and a musical (( i'll get there ))

please humor this deranged rant about a character i havent read the source book of

so basically ive had a theory since Don was even teased that she's less so based on book Don Quixote and moreso based on the Man of La Mancha musical which is. an insane thing to suggest but hear me out here (( ive since changed how i word my stance to the much more mild "it will most likely delve into the themes of both works and reference both" because suggesting they would discount the book entirely is TRUE insanity ))

her quote (( from teaser tweets that i cannot find anymore? they seem like they were deleted which sucks )) was "To reach the unreachable star!" or something which is notably not a quote from the original book ((as far as im aware at least?)), and suggests. a lot i think!

One of the most notable differences between Man of La Mancha and the original Don Quixote is their tone and attitude towards Quixote. In the original text, he's shown to be a fool who is ignorant to the vastly more interesting world around him, and prefers to instead sink deeper into his delusions of reality equating to chivalric literature. This makes sense as Don Quixote was written as a parody and mockery of the genre

La Mancha is, notably, much more forgiving on Quixote's character, showing that while still a fool, and his insanity often detrimental to those around him, he is still a good person at heart and that he truly wishes to pursue this justice he posits

I usually say it as "Don Quixote is about how reality is beautiful, and La Mancha is about how sometimes one should strive to make reality a little more fantastical" although i dont know if that. is the most accurate comparison. both Don Quixote and La Mancha have a lot of themes and stuff going on

one of the things that made me scream was learning about "Miguel" being written on don's LCB combat spritesheet instead of her listed name

which if you've seen or read a summary of la mancha is a huge alarm bell

In La Mancha, the whole thing is shown as a Play within a Play

Miguel de Cerventes is sent to prison, awaiting trial by the inquisition, and is tasked with defending himself in a mock trial with the other prisoners so they dont take his belongings. His defense is Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha! With the prisoners acting out the various roles he assigns them, and him acting as the leading man, Don Quixote himself!

that was most of the things that made me think "Oh, maybe it'll be La Mancha!" and then this happened

and i sort of lost my god damned mind

because like what if this is miguel... what if shes simultaneously playing out her life as don quixote as a her delusion, and as her dream, but also as a statement...

idk but this isnt JUST about Man of La Mancha bc i think this has a few implications for how don's canto is going to go

In both don quixote and la mancha, they send someone to cure quixote of his delusions

The final thing they try is setting up an act where a "Knight of Mirrors" duels with Quixote, which ends up working.

The Knight forces Quixote to see how he is perceived by others, to see the truth that he is no knight.

ignoring the stuff with vampires and mirrors for a second, i feel like this could be more mirror world shenanigans, where either the knight IS a mirror world don quixote, or is someone who will show her mirror worlds. Whatever that will imply!!! i dont know its exciting!!!!!

Her being absurdly old and powerful, plus bloodfiends having a whole familial adjacent hierarchy makes me think theres a LOT of bloodfiends out there that would want her back

I dunno!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

im insane!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! i just wanted to get my thoughts out before her canto actually happened so i can say that i did indeed have an opinion on this

-limbus assets taken form Lunartique's asset google drive go look at it -text written by me and not proofread

ok thanks bye dont follow me byeee byeeeeee

[revacholianpizzaagenda]

Apocalyptic squirreling

We're not, like, impaling these quotes like the proverbial shrike or anything, just hoarding them away in a nice stash. A collection of Disco Elysium tidbits about the end of the world compiled by @yekokataa and I, feel free to add!

...starting with the game's earliest teaser trailer.

(28 rather than 27 could be its own odd math, there's some miscounting in the text now and then just like there's the occasional typo, or it could follow the fact that the year of canon events was changed at some point. for that matter, the infamous 22 years to the nuke should be 21, like it originally followed that same 28 and wasn't edited - consistently, the variable it flags is ice.andre_hyper_rc_succ_28)

(this is an example of odd math to me, for the record, as it's 365x27 to the day. It could be it's the EXACT count and also that Elysium doesn't have leap years, but I would've expected a less precise number, personally)

:)

Ours has actual six thousand years of history: it spans from its own version of the early Bronze Age (Perikarnassian period) to the early Middle Ages (Franconigerian period), to the Renaissance (Dolorian period), right up to a decade we call “The Seventies”. It’s a world like ours, one that has evolved culturally and technologically over widely varied periods of time. No Truce With the Furies takes place in the modernity of this world.

(source)

Q: How tight is the connection between the book and the game? Is it a Witcher-like situation? KURVITZ: Things in this world are connected to each other like things in our world are connected to each other – not like things are connected to each other in Star Wars. The book and the game share themes and historical developments. The book is set in the early seventies and the game is set in the early fifties. They are connected the way two stories set in our world would be. The fault-lines developing in the fifties are more apparent in the seventies. The situation has worsened, the political climate has shifted, but there is no Skywalker saga. The main story in Elysium is history.

(source)

yes yes we've all seen the nuke convo but let's put it here for completionism's sake

This connection - saying 22 instead of 27, or 28 as the variable reminds us - could seem strange based on game data alone, but it neatly follows the context of the book, which shows us that the bombing of Revachol is one and the same as the material beginning of the end of the world.

This one is also a fun book throwback, from apocalyptic Kurvitz self-insert to apocalyptic Kurvitz self-insert

(being appreciative of that kind of future just nets you a YEEEAGH)

more personally ominous than globally ominous but ominous nonetheless

("we become vapour" being, of course, the planned title of the eventual Elysium tabletop setting rulebook. sigh.)

This one's intriguing, isn't it? With an eye to Le Retour...

Her echoes of the other dialogue options are similarly ominous, for the record.

And we don't know if Nilsen had visions of his own (the man sounds well-acquainted with his Half Light, on behalf of the war crimes, so it's not... entirely out of the question) but we do know that his pocket calculator lap cat second-bestie very much did and could've been his source.

Also a strong book callback, among other things. Remember kids: object permanence!

Harry, all these quotes like this one sound like they would make sense for the actual guy who goes and blows it all up, not you personal-

...ah yes. Ambrosius looms... yeah buddy it sure is solemn AND historical, I'm afraid:

and of course, in closing:

🥲

...for the remaining 276 pages of Elysium tidbits about the end of the world, of course, over here.

[atiny-for-life]

Ateez's Full Storyline Explained - BONUS

Masterlist

WORK

Based on the GOLDEN HOUR Intro which was released prior to the first teasers and is all about Atiny and Ateez's journey thus far, plus the lack of storyline queues in the music video itself, I believe this is one of those instances where the MV simply falls outside the storyline, much like Turbulence and The Real

I believe this time, it's because they were invited to Coachella and simply didn't have as much time to prepare for the album and get access to the sets they'd need to tell the story visually the way they wanted to which is something I talked about more here

However, let's still dive in and dig up some easter eggs and other fun little moments strewn throughout the video so we can appreciate it better!

Kicking things off is "maknae on top" Jongho buried in the dirt, playing the flute (which sounds like a clarinet) while the others stand around him, four out of seven holding spades and shovels

And it's not just that they felt justified in burying him with extra holes for his hands so he could play the flute, they also felt the need to do it right outside a motel in the middle of the desert

Giving the meaning of this album, this starting from a dirt-hole in the dessert setting could be a reference to Pirate King and Treasure which were both shot in the dessert way back when

If that's the case, it'd also make the red car more meaningful since Yunho also had one during Wave

From here, we move on to a roadside diner/shack situation where our boys are working the counter, preparing counterfeit money burgers

Inside, we can see a bunch of Ateez's awards (bragging rights), including a MAMA award, the Billboard #1 plaque and more, with TYUdeongi and Mito (the two little plushs) front and center

Next up, we've got Seonghwa rolling into town on an ostrich, carrying the flags of some of the countries they visited during last year's world tour while Yunho, San, and Yeosang are counting their money and drinking around a table outside the motel

The next clips show us Yunho reading a burning newspaper with the headline proclaiming something along the lines of "Anonymous Philanthropists Change [...]", likely referencing all the money they've been handing out at their diner

The scene is accompanied by the lyrics "Breaking News popping up no matter where I go" which is very reminiscent of 'Matz'

Wooyoung's vibing outside with a Mariachi band and Flamenco dancers (don't ask me why... I guess they're having a Latin American phase right now - let's see if they end up fluent in Spanish or Portuguese some time soon)

Up in the mountains, we've got them mining for gold far away from any visible mining shafts, and singing about geese laying golden eggs in Spanish (giving Aesop's Fable), followed by a line about building towers 24/7 in Korean (giving Billionaires' Row in Manhattan) before San eats the gold nugget he'd been holding (the effects of eating gold are not well studied, please do not attempt at home)

Next, we've got Yeosang cutting out counterfeit money with a large pair of scissors (we're already struggling with inflation, put those scissors down) while singing about being an introvert

He's in the same office Yunho was in earlier when he was reading the burning newspaper (I'm glad the place didn't burn down)

Moving on, we've got Mingi in the parking lot dressed very Willy Wonka-esque (Gene Wilder version)

He's sporting two pins on his coat - one which looks like a painter's palette and the other looking like a cross, somewhat reminiscent of the Maltese Cross (shoutout to Malta, I feel like no one ever talks about you) or the Iron Cross (popular in early 20th century Prussia)

Everyone's partying, it's raining counterfeit money, we've got car hydraulics in the back (it's been 70 years, I didn't think these were still popular) and our Flamenco dancers are back before we cut to Jongho in his hole, and back to Seonghwa on his ostrich which is now joined by some very talented, head bobbing, CGI chickens

Moving on, we find Hongjoong dancing in another parking lot, surrounded by his members and some strangers on golden bikes, all wearing sunglasses

In the lyrics, he's referencing The Real which strongly matches the vibe they're going for in this sequence, both in terms of costumes and with the general setting

Within the same rap verse, we also see Hongjoong in first parking lot where Wonka-Mingi was kicking off the party earlier

Here, he's dancing with two kids in costume (a chicken and a wrestler), while looking super delighted, just all around happy to be here, much like the guy on the bike we can see in the back (it's very wholesome)

We briefly cut away to a shot of a lone massive golden egg stranded on a deserted hill surrounded by some dry shrubs. Keep it in mind. We'll come back to it later.

Back in the office, Yeosang's happy with his robot chicken (Brian) which seems to be capable of laying golden eggs, going by the tall stack of them presented on his desk

While Yeosang's hogging the office, Yunho's off in some basement, taking the term "money laundering" far too literally as he pulls a stack of bills from a washing machine

Seonghwa, once again on his ostrich, now enters a gas station where Wooyoung fills up the bird by inputting a fuel pump in its side. We can now definitively confirm that this alternate universe is weird as hell.

Moving on to a miniature city, we've got our two main rappers attacking a money-monster with some ray guns ( because, on this ship, we're anti-capitalism)

They're wearing fur coats to match the lyrics, which may also be a throwback to Say My Name

Returning to the diner, we've got Jongho building a money burger abomination with some added CDs because, clearly, that's his favorite breakfast

And over in the kitchen, we've got head chef Hongjoong cooking up some hellfire concoction which is literally on fire but he doesn't care - he's still just making a noot-noot face and giving us a straightforward reference to Bouncy by cutting in some more green chili peppers

Honorable mention to Mingi's GTA reference

From there, we get some shots of Ateez gathered around the camera (Don't Stop End Credits style), a short scene of Seonghwa in the hydraulic car, many people's favorite clip of half-topless San twisting a valve or something near some desert oil rigs, and more, before we finally move on to Jongho in front of a food truck

The truck seems to go hand-in-hand with Ateez's roadside dinner since it also offers their famed money burgers

Next, we've got Yunho and Yeosang carefully watching an extra large golden egg in their office

After a few more super quick scenes flash by, it begins to crack before we return to the lone massive golden egg in the desert we saw earlier which now busts open and out pops Seonghwa

There are some Korean folktales about men being born from eggs, all of them rulers which were used to keep the myth alive that kings were picked by a higher power, not born the conventional way - I assume that's what's being referenced here

[electronix-arts]

i have the urge to ramble so why not ramble about murder drones

i have many fears over episode 8, my biggest one being is that everyone is going to fucking die, and since im now considered the khan guy, why not talk about him (THIS IS SO LONG HOLY FUCKING SHIT)

ok so funnily enough, im prepared if he does drop dead in ep 8. people have teased me going “oh lol what if khan dies in ep 8” but little do you all know ive been prepared since ep 7 dropped, my wife has improved so much he’s bound to be sniped by liam. i’d be upset as hell and act like a wife who lost her husband at sea but i would not be too surprised if he is killed off

before it was confirmed ep 8 is the series finale, i was a s2 believer and i held onto hope that they wouldn’t kill khan because it’d make his character feel worthless. you see this man improve so much to be a better father to uzi and grow a pair to actually do something; to me, him dying would have made all of that useless, the hypothetical season 2 could have grown his character more if he lived, hell, maybe even show flashbacks of him during his ‘kill all humans’ phase. ep 7 shows khan has nowhere to go but up (or go insane, like the ep 8 teaser showed us)

but since season 2 is not real, i have to accept the fact that yeah, khan might die. so instead of being upset over that, why not speculate how he’ll fuckin die even though him being in the teaser looking batshit insane makes me think he’ll be a survivor. look at him. he will live off of pure adrenaline. anyways.

it’d 100% be a sacrifice, his apology for everything he’s done (which i fucking HATE i wanted him to grow more to become more redeemable to others not [death = hooray your sins are mostly forgiven] but i just gotta suck it up for now)

it’d definitely be for uzi or nori, make sense if he sacrificed himself for both of them [“Turns out, I’m not who either of you needed”] buuut i think it’d be more uzi focused. he was the one who raised her for the entirety of her life, actually tried to become better and changed his main focus to her and tried to help whenever he could after that, he would take a hypothetical bullet for her. it could even parallel to pilot when he left her for dead, now he’s the one dying and telling uzi to leave him so she can save herself and the others (it could even reference heartbeat where she thought he actually died, i don’t know how they’d do it, but yeah. i like that scene in heartbeat, i enjoy characters i love oh so much in severe pain.)

while i like this a lot, i would want khan to sacrifice himself for someone else more than his own wife and daughter. shocking, i know. i make my entire personality based off these idiots why wouldn’t i want a doorman family reuni-

n. if khan dies in ep 8, i want him to die sacrificing himself for n. i want n to be in horror at what has happened as khan is slowly dying in front of him, basically giving n his blessing to date uzi even though the entire planet is doomed.

it parallels nori’s disapproval of the relationship, shows that khan’s views on the dds (mainly n) have changed [killing machine -> bad influence on uzi -> someone who genuinely cares for her, someone who she needed] -and i guess nicely ties up the gift that is his redemption arc.

it makes sense for him to give said blessing, he’s seen how close uzi has gotten with n as well I’m pretty sure when he reunites with nori (plsplspls) after they calm down she’s definitely gonna be like “YOU LET OUR DAUGHTER “HANG OUT” WITH THE THINGS YOU SAW KILL ME” so that’d be fresh on his mind when he hypothetically drops dead.

also i’d feel like him sacrificing himself for uzi is like. too perfect or easily guessable, maybe they could hint “oh yeah khan’s def gonna die to save uzi & nori” when haha sike he’s dying to save the future son-in-law (if there is a future)

anyways that’s it. im bad at wrapping up things so here is what i call my conclusion. if you actually read this i love you so much you will be in my will

[felassan]

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

[post under cut due to length]

(ﾉ `･∀･)ﾉﾞ New stuff! Let's goo!

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

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

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

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

The new version reads:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The Dread Wolf readies to make his move."

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

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

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

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

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

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

-

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

-

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

-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back to Rivain.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The risen gods": risen, returned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and

(staff shape), as well as:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We stand on the precipice of change.

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

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

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

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

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

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

dragon age dragon age dragon age

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

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

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

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

anyways those are some thoughts for now. ^^

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

[forthechubbies]

Mommy Virgin ll // Alpha! Babydaddy! JJK x Pregnant! Chubby Reader

W! Strong Language¡!..Sexy buff men¡! Jk in uniform¡! Guess the guest star? Not a warning but 🤷🏽‍♀️

Pssst...if you're new, You might need this -> Mommy Virgin I

An eye-opening scenery opposite of once you closed them welcomed your weary eyes. The sun-kissed your chubby cheeks-Your..in a field...Again, your modesty was at stake this time around the bend.

The nightgown felt like a second layer of skin...clingy onto every curve on your body. You covered yourself from the chilling breeze.

Where's the solder? He didn't do this...Did he? But I would notice him carrying me.

Between the pervious nightmare and now, This place is heaven on earth-soft vibrate flowery fields was a sight for sore eyes. Yet, We all know since can change in a *Snap* especially in a dream.

"Are you alright?" This man was also dressed in military training attire. If his muscles and tattoos weren't intimidating enough then his piercings may do the trick...but he did had a charm to him. "Are you bleeding anywhere?" The soldier nonconsensually examined your bare legs something you didn't mind..honestly.

Only thing you could do was watch. You found yourself speechless over your new dreamland hunk much like Chu Buyeon. However Instead of long black hair, this guy's cut was short like the male leads in ceo themed K-dramas, his eyes were round and child-like, and his smile-

"Miss?" You appeared in a dazed state to the soldier. "Miss, I'm gonna take you with me for safety and medical treatment..."He attempted explained through your daydreaming.

As his large body crouch in closer, You sat still for the soldier as he carried you respectfully. He kept you close to his heart leaving you the perfect opportunity to read his name tag. Jeon.

About halfway through the journey you discovered a horrifying restriction in this dream, You weren't able to utter a word. You attempted to greet the soldier yet he didn't answer. He can't hear you.

"I'm sorry if I'm scaring you.." His voice was comforting. " I just wanted to get you into a safer place..not near the training grounds...it's not safe for citizens."

The soldier's handling of you resembles how a person treats glass.

Along the way, You can't help but notice his beautiful facial features. His brown eyes go deeper than you imagined, there's a cute mole under his bottom lip, a big cute nose, bunny teeth ♡ and chubby cheeks.

There's no way he's a soldier. You though throught the shock.

Before you could consent, you were in the arms of another man this soldier was bashful but crazy strong much like the bunny one. Woo read the patch on his chest. Woo's eyes widen at Jeon " Dude!" He was frantic. Women are strictly not allowed on base and for a good reason-the men. Woo restricted the entrances and blocked the windows. "What the hell?! Are you crazy or do you just have a death wise!?"

Woo kept his volume low ensuring he doesn't surprise you with his harsh tone to his comrade.

" I found her laying in the training fields. What else was I suppose to do, Do Hwan?.." Jeon took pride in lending you his aid regardless of the trouble that comes with you but it's not your fault in his eyes, you're a lost bunny (ironically). " If you were in my shoes you would have done the same thing." He stressed.

Woo could only sigh. "I'm sorry..I'm sorry.." He backed off - "It's just a really what the hell moment, right now."

" How do you think I feel? " Jeon added his horrifying experience. "I was scared shitless fucking running with her WITHOUT anyone seeing her." He reeks of fear.

Surprise! It's a Teaser! I'm sorry but it's more of a tester than Teaser. I'm getting writers block for this story but I love it so much. Please tell me if you like it.

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

More on Clover's personality/mbti

this one's shorter don't worry

So, I mentioned before how Clover's creative when it comes to a lot of stuff (more than they are grounded), but there's also the fact they can sing (that's how they spare Insomnitot), dance (not as much into it as Bailador, but they CAN dance), make puns (Gun-hat and how they wanted to make puns in the stable in Wild East; idk the exact line) are into drawing (in Axis' office, you'll get a text saying "You wish you could draw that well..."), video games (with Mew Mew) and they even know how to play the harmonica (from the teaser trailer), plus tend to zone out ↓

They constantly kept choosing kindness over what's right.

Those are PERSONAL values they have, that these monsters deserve forgiveness. I really think the inferior Te clashes with dominant Fi in their case. Clover wants to do what's objectively right and just, but at same time their heart is just too pure. They were able to empathise with everyone and get in everyone's shoes (also affectionate but that's a bonus) ↓

there's no change in their kindness from the beginning to end

Like if they were actually in court I don't think they'd act like a "typical" judge and deliver 100% fair consequences. No, that Fi kindness would ALWAYS win, like it did with Star and Ceroba.

Clover's Fi was always there, but differentiates depending on the route. In pacifist, they decided that everyone, in spite of what they objectively did wrong, should be forgiven and understood. In neutral, they decide whose actions were moral enough to get spared, and whose weren't. In geno, instead of killing five monsters, they wipe out anyone THEY think is in their way.

If they were Ti dominant they'd naturally be a lot more rigid and have/show a lot less empathy, imo. The Te inferior is present in geno bc they think they are dealing with the events in the outside world objectively, but the Fi is still there, that's why they don't stop killing: THEY are the one who thinks it should be this way. Clover wants to influence/control the outer world (Te; they don't spend a lot of time dwelling on their actions, unlike Ti users, Clover's a lot more forceful) based on how they subjectively think things should be (still that Fi except that it manifests differently than in pacifist). Clover as a thinker would naturally be more detached from emotions, but they're... they're not. Even in the beginning.

Inferior Te present their Fi opinions like they are objective Te facts - I found this line and it instantly reminded me of geno Clover. "Yeah, I'm right for killing everyone, even though I'm really not"

Clover becomes like a "manager of justice" when in their dark side. You step outta line, you're dead - that's kinda the "structure" I think we're talking about here. Still values over how logically to assess a situation, though. Ceroba calls them naive.

This means that Clover WANTS.... no, ALWAYS WANTED to approach the "missing children" situation like they're in control, but in reality, they were without a clear plan of what to do and how to do it. That's inferior Te.

On the contrary, in the vengance route, they step into their inferior function and take control... but at what cost.

As for their Si, we have the fact Clover remembers their past home life, remembers cramped living conditions, their responsibilities at home, the TV channel they "watched"...

All this stuff from the past contributed to them leaving for the Underground (aka affected their future). I really really don't think Clover has auxiliary Se. That would mean they're usually present-focused. But no, this kid's thought process feels more complex to me. As explained, Se mostly focuses on what's in front of them; Clover, while in the present, can think of the past (their home life), which then influences their future (jumping down Mt. Ebott). And when in the present, they can think of the far future (dying during their mission and therefore never coming back home or becoming an adult, and in the end the potential freedom of monsterkind) and recall the past vividly (all those things their friends told them throughout their journey)

They don't suspect Flowey's malicious, either. And even if some part of them didnt trust Ceroba, Clover never showed it or said anything out loud (not that i remember), and even if they did, they still chose to spare Axis since he is the only thing left of Chujin. That's naive, maybe. But Clover's REALLY REALLY REALLY sweet.

Speaking of Flowey... remember how he would often encourage Clover and tell them to have more confidence and that they "don't have to be scared" and "lean on him for emotional support" and that they should "have some faith in themselves too"? Yeah, that's the aspect of their personality that they had to work on; becoming the leader they were always meant to be.

Their arc feels like going from a scared kid to a great hero. Aka stepping into that inferior Te... the right way.

[lilunaire]

TEASER 11 - CH.11 TIL WE BURN OUR SKINS

Yeah I know, a teaser, not the actual chapter. But, it's better than nothing right ? So today, here's a big teaser to compensate for this huge wait, and if it takes me more than two weeks to be fully done with the chapter, i'll drop another one. But chapter 11 should be there this october guys, and it's currently 62 pages and 26k words (and going!).

Enjoy ♡

(teasers below the line)

----------

“I think this guy likes you.”

Em-Jay’s voice pulls her out of her thoughts as she turns her head toward a group of young men, one of whom she knows has been staring at her for several minutes. The reason she’s ignoring him?

Gwen hated the 'canon', and she had good reason. As such, she tried not to judge people based on who they were. But sometimes it’s hard to put aside all your preconceptions about the people around you.

Especially when that person’s name is Eddie Brock.

So she ignores the fact that this was at least the seventh time he’d come to one of their show, that he never took his eyes off her when she performed on stage, or when she sat at the bar with her friends.

“So?”

… (little skip)

“So you should go see him and ask for his number. — Not interested, I pass. — Come on! He's come to see us at least five times, and every time he's looking at you. Take your chance! — I don't want to date a stalker. — He's not a 'stalker'…”

She didn't want to date Eddie Brock, period. Okay, there were worse things in the world. But being in a relationship with the person who had the best chance of becoming a symbiote host if they ever showed up on her Earth was probably not the best idea she could have. ---------- Their little hangout goes on more quickly than she had anticipated, and soon most of the people had either gone home or are sprawled out somewhere on the floor of the apartment. She is sitting on the floor too, her back to the couch, Em-Jay’s head on her lap, whose hair she absently strokes to gently ease her into a peaceful sleep.

She feels someone sit down next to her, but she already knows who it is anyway.

“So, did you enjoy the tonight? — It was pretty nice.”

She doesn’t elaborate further. She doesn’t feel as uncomfortable as before around him. In fact, he didn’t really seem like a bad guy. Maybe there really were exceptions in the multiverse after all. He holds two large glasses of water in his hand and hands her one.

“Here, drink this. I don’t know if you’ve been drinking tonight, but it always feels good.”

… (little skip)

She doesn’t know what made her change her mind: was it that more vulnerable side he had put on? The pictures of his adorable dog he had shown her? Maybe just the fatigue of the week that had simply fried a few neurons.

She doesn’t know if seeing the notification on her phone would have made her give a different answer. A 'Good night', from the boy she loved the most in the world, sent right at the time she usually sent an 'I’m going to bed', accompanied by a penguin emoji.

What is certain is that you can’t change the past, and that night, she said yes. ---------- Margo was currently using Gwen's phone, scrolling through Vine, an app that had been gone for years on E-22191. She could be heard laughing at various videos, punctuating the conversation regularly.

Well, that was until she gasped loudly, drawing everyone's attention, before saying not so discreetly “You have a date with Eddie Brock?!”. A sudden sound of glass breaking.

Silence fell heavily as she realized what she had just said out loud, but their eyes almost immediately went to a still surprised Gwen.

Aware that the others were waiting for a response, she stood up and went to retrieve her phone. She read the message, and sure enough, Eddie asked her if she was still up for this Wednesday night.

She stammered for a moment before she could come up with a proper response.

“Um, yeah. But it’s just a little date, nothing crazy.”

No one answers for the next few seconds, but she knows exactly what they’re all thinking right now. ---------- “I have a boyfriend.”

She rips the bandage off in one go. Miles doesn’t react at first, as if he didn’t hear, just stares at his Spider-Man mask in his hand. But the way he freezes is proof that her words have reached his ears. He stops playing with the fabric of his spandex, she even has the impression that he stops breathing for a moment.

“Miles? — So… you and Eddie? — Yeah, it’s official.”

He looks away, eyeing the crowd, the New Yorkers getting out of work. Some seemed in a hurry, others took their time. Parents were buying ice cream for their kids, students were buying their dinner for tonight at street stalls, elderly couples were feeding the pigeons.

“Are you mad at me? she finally asks when he still doesn't answer. — Of course not. — That's the impression I get, anyway…” ---------- Betty grabs her backpack with a little difficulty to take her water bottle and take a few sips, before putting everything down. She signals Gwen to resume the swinging.

“We talked a bit about everything, about what had happened to us since he left school… He told me he did a lot of therapy, and that it opened his eyes to a lot of things.”

Gwen doesn't answer, too many thoughts switching in her brain, as she reviews all the things that had happened a few years ago.

“He didn't say it explicitly but…”

The drummer looks up.

“I think Peter's death was a shock to him. — I wish he had one before.”

Betty looks away.

“Yeah, me too…” ---------- But no, instead she ruins everything, over and over again. She has distanced herself from the others in order to focus on being Spider-Woman, but still hasn't managed to get her hands on the heart of the criminal network that takes up all her time.

The sign says a three-minute wait time.

So this was her destiny? To be as useless as Gwen Stacy as she is as Spider-Woman? A burden in any skin, with any face.

Em-Jay says the subway is coming.

A bad friend.

Glory says to back off, just to be safe.

A lousy girlfriend.

Betty takes her arm when she doesn't back off on her own.

The worst superhero New York could ever have known.

[chronicsyd]

Actually, I’ve got a few redactions + Add on's about the long ass post on the S2 trailer I made a couple weeks ago.

So while I still think Vi painted the gauntlets black to disguise herself, I’m thinking the fight with Warwick damages them again because when Vi’s with Ekko here, they are different than how they first appeared. So Ekko and Heimerdinger could repair them before fighting Ambessa, also it would partially explain why he's here fighting with her at all (so to the anon that asked, yes i do agree that Ekko/Heimerdinger probably fixed them)

I’ve been seeing posts about Jinx kinda sorta “adopting” a kid in the new season (you can kinda see them in that clip with Smeech attacking Sevika) and there’s the scene with Undercity people surrounding Jinx having blue hair so my thoughts are now leaning more towards that this is that child in question than something having to do with Jinx or Powder herself. it would also explain Sevika's new look and such.

I'm SUCH an idiot but the gem imbedded in Viktor's wrist is most likely for the arm they showed back in S1, much like how they showed the gauntlets that Vi would eventually be using. I just didn't give the arm a second thought until now despite knowing The Machine Herald already had the third arm (insert face palm here...)

Back to the lines from Vi and Caitlyn from the announcement teaser 3 years ago, it's clear that they're talking about the temple fight that happens later on. Caitlyn has to see this through but she doesn't want to do it alone because she knows that she or Jinx is going to end up dead as a result; but Vi feels she needs to fight Jinx herself because we're probably going to see a bunch of stuff happen before the fight (like the Kiramman tent fight for example) because Vi says "no one else needs to get hurt", but at first I just thought that Vi was talking about Jinx's attack on the Council.

I'm still unsure who's in the orange that Ambessa's talking to because no ones signature color in Arcane has been orange as far as i know (it's been mainly reds, blues, whites, and golds) so I'm thinking that it's a hospital outfit of some sort (I could be wrong, but that's where my thoughts are towards) and she's talking to someone in Piltover that Can implement Martial Law and there's really only 3 examples that could do that: Caitlyn, Jayce, or Mel (if Mel happens to be alive of course. and I'm pretty sure the other Councilor's are about as dead as dogshit, or should be because besides Cassandra did you Really give a fuck about the rest of them?).

someone else pointed this out and I for the Life of me can't find their account but the lines on the floor point to this being Stillwater Hold, so at some point that's where Jinx's base of operations is, or she's just breaking them out but at least in this scene i don't think so.

I'm changing my stance on this, this is happening right before Act 3 (or more specifically, before we see her in the Ambessa fight). mainly because while the lighting is damn near impossible to make out, i think her hair is cut in this scene, she's also missing the ropes on her top. Mainly because when we see her with the finger prosthetic she still has her braids and that's Definitely happening post Act 1. so she's crying about something different from Silco here and I'm having a dreading idea on what it is...

I don't think Vi is carrying Cait on her shoulders, mainly because with the lighting the vest looks brown but when we see Caitlyn her vest is very clearly black. So not exactly sure who it is, I'm kinda thinking it's the blue fish guy (is Arcane gonna give us the names of Caitlyn's comrades yet?!) and the explosion we see with him isn't the same one that knocked Vi down. but that's just hypothetical, the only thing I'm Sure about is that Vi isn't carrying Caitlyn at least.

I have NO idea Why and I have NO credible sources on this but for some reason my brain keeps telling Sevika's dying. No i don't know the how or the when but it'd just be another tally of grief for Jinx (because we're probably going to see them get close despite their animosity back in S1) (and let's be real anyone that takes on even a Slight "parenting" role to Vi or Jinx is getting the axe, i don't make the rules)

So far the only thing I'm having trouble placing is uhhh everyone that Isn't Vi, Jinx or Caitlyn. because they've been Massively marketing the three of them but when it comes to people like Viktor and Jayce not a fucking clue. We got that clip of Ekko and Heimerdinger sneaking into Piltover where they probably do some sorta hextech experimenting but that's really the limit of my knowledge. I know the people I was confused about have to do with Viktor and the Glorious Evolution thing but other than that, I've really only got solid thoughts on our three ladies for the season.

Also it seems like tomorrow they're probably going to be showing us what they showed at the Annecy festival for pit fighter Vi back in June so... can't wait for that!

and that's what i got for now...

[tavyliasin]

The Highs and Lows of Fandom Creation

Hello darlings~ It has been a little while and this one has been on my list to get to for a while, and with the Baldur's Date Valentine's Fanworks event soon to draw to a close it seems appropriate to start preparing ourselves for the cycle of what happens when we release our works into the wild. So without further ado, our latest essay~

The RollerCoaster of Emotion That Comes With Being A Creative In Fan Spaces (FanArt, FanFiction, Cosplay, Photography, Music, and So Much More) ((Another CallOut Essay Prepare To Be SEEN)) (((Also I Have Some Coping Techniques Here Too!)))

As usual with my essay pieces I will be making plenty of use of the headers to divide topics, and I fully welcome any thoughts and feelings in the comments. Whilst I am really only in the FanFic side, and a focus on Baldur's Gate 3, I do intend to make this essay inclusive of the trials and tribulations that we all tend to face in making and sharing fanworks of all kinds and through all fandoms. The more people I speak to, the more it seems to be a universal experience, so hold on to your hats it's a bumpy ride! The first part will talk about the Rollercoaster itself, the how and why behind it all, and the second will be around how to cope with it. For readers and appreciators of fan content, I urge you to have a little look too, and at the end I will add in some ways you can help support your favourites too~

Creatives Are Emotional Beings

Starting off with the obvious callout - most of us are. We feel things deeply, and that emotion can often be an incredible driving force behind our works. Whether we're creating around things we've experience, being inspired and influenced by our current emotions, or drawing on our well of imagination to work out what characters might feel (and often more importantly how/why they feel that way), emotion is a strong part of the process.

This can be an incredible strength! Tapping in to the deeper parts of ourselves, our experiences, and the emotions at our cores, can bring out the very best in our works across all creative formats. It also tends to help our audiences engage too, as they recognise their own emotions mirrored in the works.

The Downside to Strong Emotion - The Rollercoaster Effect

This chart was initially drawn up based on writing, but truly after speaking with a few beloved Discord friends it was quick to see that this easily applies to art as well, so I'm going to go over this slightly differently to the initial plan.

The Start Of Every Ride

We begin usually around a neutral baseline, or maybe a little below if we haven't created in a while, perhaps we might start higher than baseline with the rush of an exciting new idea. Either way, the first part of the project tends to go up in mood very quickly when we share those early unfinished parts.

For writers this might be a beta reader or sharing a sample of the work as they're still writing as a teaser, artists might see this as their initial sketch or linework stage if they're sharing progress and teasers too. Cosplayers could be the first part of a build, musicians sharing a few bars of the melody - whatever it is, that first little positive boost that says Keep Going is a powerful one.

But what happens next? Well, you still have more work to do! That initial boost and confidence can drop down to a slump, especially if it's taking longer to complete than you thought it would, and double that if something goes wrong that needs to be changed or fixed.

You may, hopefully, find it begins to rise as things start to come together again and that finish line in sight, but then...

I Finished Making The Thing, Now What?

Well, first you're going to feel that massive surge of satisfaction from completing the thing. Sometimes a dopamine rush in the brain, and all that excitement of "Finally I get to share the thing I worked so hard on! It's done!" So, off you go, you post it. You share the links, maybe drop them in some Discord servers, other social media...and then, often very quickly, it hits you.

Post Publishing Drop

Those of you in the convention and event scene might also know this feeling as "Con Drop", which can take a little longer to manifest. Post Publishing Drop hits quite quickly. Sometimes it might take a few hours, but other times it starts almost within minutes of posting as all that rush of energy finishing and publishing is just...gone.

If you're lucky, you might get some quick and early feedback, especially if you're a well known or popular creator, but I imagine even those of you who tend to get very high engagement can feel a lot of this too so I don't mean to exclude any of you in any way at all~ So what is it? What's happening? WHY?!

Well darlings all that adrenaline is wearing off and realistically you're not likely to get that creative feedback and validation instantly. So that wonderfully powerful emotional heart of yours is going to crack a little. It won't last, it won't stay this low, but good gods that lack of engagement and positive reinforcement can be devastating.

The first engagements you get - kudos, likes, reaction emotes on a Discord post - they may be enough to boost you right back up to your baseline or even a little above, until the worry creeps back in again. And I know that it does, clawing and slithering in the back of your beautifully creative mind whispering those horrible lies:

Why isn't this getting the reaction I hoped for yet? Is this work not as good as before? Have people stopped liking me? Is the website/platform hiding my work? Have I upset people somehow in ways I can't even see?

Then Back Up We Go, And What Goes Up...

Hopefully those voices don't get a chance to be too loud for too long before you see more of that engagement. Maybe it's a heartfelt comment from someone, or a share from someone you respect, or just a little surge of interaction in general. You're back on top, darling, your creative heart is soaring, finally your work is being seen in a way that reminds you why you put in all that time in the first place!

And each time, the high wears off again, with a drop, though the extremities of each is likely less and less as time goes on. Unless, of course, we make one little mistake and the gradual confidence build comes crashing back down...

The Perils Of Comparing

Sometimes this might be looking at someone else's work, seeing a similar style or similar topic get far more engagement than your own. It can be really hard not to feel discouraged by this, and falling into that trap of questioning where you're "going wrong" can lead to absolute agony - I urge you to do your best to move away from this as soon as you notice the feeling. I'll cover some proper techniques later though, I promise!

The other trap with comparison can be looking at your own past works, and over-analysing why some pieces never got the same love and appreciation as others. Picking it apart to find what you can do better is not as wise a plan as it seems for one simple reason:

Over half of this is down to pure chance!

It might be the time of day it was posted, or just one or two people seeing it and deciding to share it on that gives a work a massive boost to interaction and engagement. Maybe a work was lucky enough to get shared in a prominent community by one of the members, or even had someone with a huge following give it a boost.

At the end of the day, there seem to be very few ways to predict this. Of course there are some characters, topics, art styles, writing tropes, etc that will have a tendency to get more love from their respective fanbases - that's how popularity works - but there is no guarantee that, for example, two portraits of the same character in similar styles by different artists will have the same levels of engagement and "success". The main person you should be aiming to please with your own work is yourself~ After all, when working on it you will be the one going over it again and again, knowing every detail in and out, if you don't love the subject of those details your less likely to even reach that finish line~

And It All Begins Again

At the end of the cycle there's often one last spike up. Maybe it's a comment or interaction from someone who truly felt the depth of meaning in your work as you hoped it would, or you realise that it has done better overall in the numbers, or most often you get that creative surge of a shiny new idea that calls to you with that familiar siren song, promising the high of satisfaction and sweeping the memory of that Post Publishing Drop under the rug all over again so you won't see it coming when you trip on it.

How Do We Get Off This Ride? Where's The Safety Bar?

Darlings, be honest, you didn't want to stop. You still don't. That's why you're still right here, reading this with me. Your cycle might take a day, a week, a month, or you may go through the whole thing in a matter of hours.

Riding The Waves

The first way to begin coping is to prepare. Know yourself and how you're likely to feel, and plan ahead for it. If you know the drop is coming, you can try to avoid it, or deploy distress tolerance when it feels too much.

On a very simple level, this can be reminding yourself that the lows do not last, and those highs will still be there. You might even be tempted to try to regulate the highs as much as the lows, to bring everything a little closer in to the baseline throughout the cycle.

Distress Tolerance techniques can be important to practice when you're feeling close to your baseline and calm so that they're easier to turn to when you're feeling that low hit. There are lots of things that work for different people, so it might be trial and error - largely you're looking at relaxation techniques, distraction from the source of the distress, and/or community support.

You Can Rely On The Community!

It is ok to ask for help! You can ask people for reassurance, directly ask for feedback, or even just talk over how you feel with other creators and find out how they're handling things. Sometimes just knowing you're not alone and that your feelings are real, valid, and matter can be a real boon - that's why I'm here, spending a couple of hours putting all of this into words as best as I can for you all. I've felt this cycle too many times, but the more I talk about it with other fic writers the more I feel we are connected and that I'm not just losing my marbles over nothing~

We are human, we have emotions - strong ones, remember? - and there's nothing wrong with that at all!

There is nothing wrong with having emotions and experiencing them!

Knowing When To Step Away

If you know you're more likely to have a swift drop from lack of quick feedback, it's a great idea to plan to step away from socials as soon as you're done. Have an activity planned, or do it all write before bed so you can switch off and go to sleep. Turn off those notifications so you aren't fussing over each one of them as they come in and don't go back for a while.

Allow a realistic amount of time to pass for people to see and engage with your work before you worry it is invisible!

The Next Shiny Idea

Conversely, if you're feeling too much of a creative itch, then as soon as you're done sharing move right on to starting the next project. Let the initial surge of energy from completing and sharing something be the driving force to kickstart the next great adventure! That way you're thinking more about the new work, the sparkling allure of a fresh idea, rather than fixating on the success of the last.

Cashing in on that adrenaline rush to make a good head-start can boost you right to that early feedback stage too, then if you're really lucky when you hit the first drop-off you'll have the positive engagement from the last work to boost you back up, so in some ways you're overlaying your graphs to balance them out with each other.

Naturally this only works if you have the time and energy to do so. It's also important to know when to take breaks to avoid burning out.

General Mood Boosting Ideas

These might not work for everyone, but here are some things to try when you're in one of those lows. A lot of this may be trial and error and knowing yourself best, so treat this as a few things that may or may not be effective rather than Lia's Super Snake Oil Cure For Everything (you have to buy that from me separately, it's super expensive but it is delightfully cherry and cinnamon flavoured~)

Check in on your basic needs. Drink, food, meds (if applicable), sleep/nap, caffeine (if you usually have it), shower/bath/hygiene needs (even if just a quick freshen up it's better than nothing), fresh air/outside time (if possible), exercise/physical movement (if you're able to), social needs (can be in person or online, any social interaction/support)

Music can be a powerful mood tool. Sometimes it's cathartic to listen to music that matches your current mood, but other times it is better to listen to music with the mood you want to feel.

Media from the fandom, like the book/film/game/etc that you're making fanworks for - return to the thing that inspired you to create and remember all the things that you loved about it in the first place.

Look at other fanworks but be very cautious! Do this for inspiration, to look at things you do and don't like in other pieces, but do not do this if it will be likely to cause a mood drop for you.

Do something different and change up your routine. Something entirely new or something you haven't done for a while.

Try something small, not connected to a large piece. A few sketches, doodles, make a meme, write a few short lines of dialogue or a brief scene. Share something with far lower stakes for a little boost.

Talk to others in the creative community and have a bit of fun, maybe try some games together, whatever you like!

I'm Not A Creative, How Can I Help?

This also counts for creatives who want to support each other, too! Of course I will put the caveat that I do understand that not everyone is comfortable visibly interacting with spice and that's fine~

Drop a like or kudos if you enjoyed the piece, it takes a second and means the world~

Leaving a comment, even a couple of silly words of "I loved it" is great!

Leaving a longer comment, picking out your favourite parts? That is the kind of boost that lasts weeks darlings it really does.

Sharing the work is also a big boost, whether publicly or privately to friend/fan groups, but especially when sharing art/images please share the link with it not just the image or a screenshot~ let people find and appreciate the artist.

Follow or Subscribe or Turn on notifications if you really want to see more of their work, then you can interact sooner and give that much needed boost~

Try to be patient, especially with longer or higher effort works. Expressing excitement is a boost, but just be careful you're not putting too much pressure on the creator. We do have things going on behind the screen that can delay our plans at times.

Consider dropping an interaction on something else, or check in on how they're doing in general - a little kindness outside of just the works being produced can be a boost too!

The Grand Finale of the Rollercoaster

Thank you for staying with me to the end darlings, I know this was likely a bit of an emotional ride, but please do drop in some comments or reblogs with the other things you experience and how you handle the emotional whirlwind of being a fan creator. Always remember, you are valued for more than just what you can produce, your works are adored but the person behind them is worth so much more and always will be. Look after yourselves, I love you dearly~

[lowkeychenle]

Guilty As Sin? [ZCL] (M) Fic Teaser

Description: Chenle is everything you want--everything you need. Somehow, the thought of him manages to pull you back in even after you were free. Messy kisses, late night trysts, and him tracing the word 'mine' on your thigh--barely anything, so how could you possibly be guilty as sin? (based on Guilty As Sin? by Taylor Swift)

Genre: Smut/Fluff/Angst

Content Warnings: Smutty smutness, use of the word 'slut' in a couple different instances, uhhh self...help lol, explicit, rough, unprotected sex, and I think that's it for now *MDNI*

Expected Word Count: 5-8k (this is so subject to change lol)

Release Date: 8pm EST 2024.5.10

Taglist: Open!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged when this comes out <3

Pairing: Zhong Chenle x fem!Reader (features roommate!Renjun, Mark, Jaemin, aespa Karina!)

Juliet's Masterlist | Tell me what you think? :)

Lips brush against your neck and trail up to your ear, and you feel his smile before you hear his chuckle. His hand grips your thigh, but as he pulls back, his eyes travel along your face. His irises have gone dark, and he gulps. The room is far hotter than it should be, and as you sit next to Chenle on your couch, his fingertip traces a single word on your skin, over and over again.

MINE

MINE

MINE

MINE

“(Y/N), are you listening?” Chenle’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts, and hopefully nobody notices how your stare was stuck on the way he taps his fingers on his jeans. Your face heats up, but you try your best to hide it.

“What? Sorry, tired today.” You sit back in your chair, glancing around the room to see your roommate, Renjun, and several of your other friends sitting on the various seats around your living area.

“You don’t look tired.” Karina raises her eyebrow at you.

You glare back at her. “How do you want me to fix that?”

“Chenle was asking us if we wanted to go to a party next week,” Jisung adds. “A friend of his we don’t know is turning twenty-three.”

“Uh, sure. I’ll be right back.” You launch up, heading for the kitchen. Before you turn fully, you make eye contact with Chenle. He leans back on the couch cushion, legs crossed, and head tilted. He’s dressed so simply, sweatpants and a dark, loose-fit T-shirt, but you could ignore those things for your own sanity.

What you can’t ignore?

The quirk of his eyebrow. Did you just imagine the way he looked you up and down? Every inch of your skin feels hot, and you think of those fucking fingers on your thigh all over again.

Before you embarrass yourself any further, you quickly move towards the kitchen, throwing the door of the refrigerator open to grab a water bottle. You set it on the counter after inhaling half of it, and then brace your palms on the edge, too. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath. You’re not sure why you can’t stop fucking thinking about it.

His hips slam into yours while his hand covers your mouth to keep you quiet. Your eyes roll back in pleasure. No matter what, you’re lost in the feeling of him inside you, the sweet stretch and how his jaw is clenched hard to keep his own noises at bay. You want to feel him everywhere, to truly lose yourself in the moment.

You wrap your legs around his waist to get him closer, and he curses a little louder than he should—

[yukidragon]

Sunny Day Jack - Infection AU Headcanons

Hey, have you seen the resurgence of the MLP creepypastas with infection AUs on twitter? I stumbled across this trend, and it gave me an itch to create an apocalyptic AU, but with characters who are already intended for an adult audience.

Yes, it’s another Something’s Wrong with Sunny Day Jack AU, and a very horror-themed one to boot. Yes, I also know that it’s pretty funny that this comes right after this super sugary sweet short story about Jack pleading for more cuddle time with his sunshine, doesn’t it?

What can I say? Sometimes I like to explore the horror side along with the romantic side of Sunny Day Jack.

Content Warnings: This post is going to get pretty graphic at times due to its central focus on body horror and biological infections. There will also be elements of psychological horror, violence, murder, yandere obsession, occult practices, acts of terrorism, and all the other warnings that apply to the main game. Also, one or more of our favorite characters might meet with an unfortunate fate. I’ll see if I can offset all the horror somewhat with some sweet and spicy stuff as well, since we all know Jack isn’t going to let a little lot of blood stop him from filling his sunshine with lots and lots of love.

Minors DNI!

It took me a while to consider how I wanted to go about the infection itself. Sure, I could stick with the tried and true zombie formula, but there’s way too many games that just tack on zombies as DLC without adding anything unique that ties to the original setting. It gets kind of repetitive after a while. I wanted something a little more interesting, perhaps a little more supernatural.

Then I remembered that there are times when Jack starts looking suspiciously like a zombie himself, especially when his bony finger is exposed. However, nowhere is his undead putrefaction clearer, than this heartbreaking picture posted on the SnaccPop Patreon. Even just the publicly posted teaser picture from twitter shows us that his body is rotting like a corpse.

Credit to Sauce for their gorgeous art. Remember, don’t share anything that’s posted privately for members only on the patreon. If you want to see the full picture in all its glorious heartache for yourself, why not consider joining to check it out? You’ll not only get access to exclusive art, but also audio dramas and many other delightful things. You’ll also be supporting the team and helping them to continue working on the games and other projects that give us so many fun stories to explore and enjoy.

The Diseased Lamb

The apocalypse I’ve crafted for this AU is more heavily based on the Sunshine in Hell continuity than the game itself, and it references a number of my previous headcanons. As such, I’ll be sticking with my version of the MC, Alice, for this AU, but I hope my ramble can inspire you with ideas for how to run your own MC through an apocalyptic scenario with the SDJ characters.

The horror of this AU, as it does with the game, all starts with the tape, or rather the incident that it recorded back in 1984, changing both it and the man who was murdered on that day into something no longer human.

LambsWork Productions is such a suspicious company, particularly with that name that feels like it’s implying that it’s creating sacrifices. It wasn’t just meant in a figurative sense, as the entertainment industry is full of cults. A homeless drifter picked up off the street would make for a perfect sacrifice for some profane ritual. No one would come looking for him, and those who knew him when he died could be silenced with an NDA… if they didn’t die as well, of course.

Joseph Cullman, who used the name of James Haberdae when taking the role of Sunny Day Jack, was just one of these poor souls that Lambswork sacrificed. He and so many others were to give, and give, and give so much of themselves, far more than they ever imagined that they would. They were drawn in deeper, convinced to participate in things that they didn’t quite understand, that felt not quite right, but… they could lose it all. They’ve already come so far, done so much. It’s a sunk-cost fallacy.

LambsWork Productions was a company up to some shady business, with connections to other not quite so savory business partners. They slipped subtle propaganda into their various shows aimed at so many different audiences. The 80’s was an era rife for turning kids shows into a 30 minute long television commercial at its most blatant. Much like how the Flintstones pushed cigarettes on kids in our world, and got their own line of multivitamins, even wholesome mascots could be used to push agendas, even unwittingly. (There’s a good Film Theory that talks about propaganda in the media if you’re interested in more about this topic.) The SunnyTime Crew weren’t just selling branded merch like cream pies, dolls, and lunchboxes, they were endorsing other unrelated products such as pharmaceuticals.

The incident of 1984 brought it all to an abrupt end. Maybe in the game’s universe it was an intentional thing, a sacrifice to accomplish something supernatural. Maybe it wasn’t part of a massive conspiracy, just a sudden murder that interrupted plans already in place that had unexpected consequences. Maybe the company was just shitty and had nothing to do with Jack being trapped in the tape for 40 years.

In this universe, it wasn’t an intentional machanation of LambsWork Productions, but the unforeseen results of so many it played a part in.

While I suspect Jack died of gunshot wounds in the game, as I mentioned in previous theories here and here, in this universe, it was the result of a terrorist attack. The SunnyTime Crew were mascots used to push a product that had… unfortunate results. People got sick, suffered horrible side-effects, even died. There were even rumors that a sickness was manufactured in a lab just so that particular product could be sold to cure it. Naturally, the actions of companies associated with LambsWork wasn’t the fault of the actors, but the SunnyTime Crew had inadvertently become the face of the brand. In the eyes of people resentful of a soulless company that victimized them, anyone who worked with them was seen as guilty.

For actors at LambsWork Productions, their days were long and started early. Often, they had to rely on the coffee, donuts, and other snacks in the breakroom instead of a proper meal.

No one realized the food and water had been spiked. Everyone was already pushing themselves hard, often forced to do their job and put on a bright smile for the public even when they were exhausted or sick. If they felt the urge to sneeze or cough, they had better hold it in until the cameras weren’t rolling.

Unfortunately, tried as he might, Jack couldn’t stop himself from coughing up blood in the middle of filming.

Although tempting, this isn’t the start of a zombie outbreak. It’s a deadly illness to be sure, but not one the terrorists intended to infect the children. This was to send a message to the company as well as serve as revenge to see these shiny “innocent” stars bleed and suffer like others had because of corporate greed.

Though it would be horrifying and tragic if this was a zombie outbreak and the SunnyTime Crew were the patient zeros. Mary would rush from the audience to her starlight’s side, holding onto him tight while yelling at someone to call an ambulance… Joseph moans out one final “Sunshine…” before an unnatural hunger overtakes him, and he tears out her throat with his teeth.

A temptingly dark image, but maybe we can save a zombie specific AU for another time. For this infection AU, things are a little bit more complicated than that, and a bit more sad. Joseph didn’t know what was happening to him, just that he was in pain. He had a terrible chill that burned his insides, his eyes growing watery with a red tint, and he couldn’t stop coughing. He didn’t even notice the blood at first leaking from his mouth and eyes until he heard the screams of the audience.

Mary ran to Joseph’s side as he collapsed to the floor. He tried to turn away from the audience to spare the children the sight, but wound up vomiting up blood all over the colorful studio set.

He wasn’t the only one, unfortunately. The rest of the SunnyTime Crew, even guest stars and members of the stagehands were unwell, but not nearly as bad as Joseph. As the star of the show, the terrorists wanted to make a statement with the gruesome death of Sunny Day Jack. They didn’t want someone as strong and healthy looking as him to survive, so he was especially targeted by tainted food and drink. Even his medication, makeup, and cigarettes were tampered with.

Mary tried her best to help Joseph. She was used to being sick. She helped make sure he wouldn’t choke on his own blood and did what she could to keep him breathing until the ambulance came, but his death came swift and gruesome. He died in her arms while she was still performing CPR on him, bathed in his blood and her tears, as the cameras continued to record their last “kiss.”

Mary died later in the hospital, just like in the regular universe, but much sooner, as she became infected as well. Although the illness wasn’t airborne, it could be transferred by bodily fluids. Though the terrorists only meant to target certain people for one specific incident, microorganisms can’t be simply shut off once they’re set loose.

The terrorists had wanted to make a statement using the very illness that they claimed was manufactured by isolating an especially dangerous strain in a lab and unleashing it publicly. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect they were going for. The exact events of that day were covered up, including the message that they were trying to send.  Instead, the negative side-effects that the original product resulted in were blamed on this new more deadly strain of the infection, and the pharmaceutical company eventually came up with a cure for that too… but not without more casualties.

Many of the terrorists did get arrested and quietly charged with domestic terrorism. In the end, the company they went to such extremes to expose for their crimes became the hero, and all they accomplished was giving them a villain to escape their own misdeeds.

Quietly, LambsWork Productions buried the SunnyTime Crew show and all traces of its memory to escape any bad press. It moved on to new shows, and new partnerships with the pharmaceutical company in the future, though the higher ups never used any of their characters to overtly endorse any unrelated brands again.

In the modern day, the illness that may have been created in a lab, but was made so much more deadly by terrorism is mostly a non-issue with the standard vaccines people get as they grow up. Few people think about it at all. The outbreak incident was a blip in history, with the show never being mentioned at all in association with it.

40 Years Later

The timeline of events plays out mostly the same from here, though perhaps with a few less survivors from the incident of 1984 in the modern day. Though it might not matter when the second incident unfolds.

In many supernatural stories where someone is unjustly murdered, the way they died plays a part in how their revival affects the world… or in this case infects.

The apocalypse started when a VHS tape was played, and Alice became patient zero.

Jack didn’t mean for it to happen. He only wanted to help his sunshine. She was already sick when he appeared. Not only was she suffering from chronic illness like in the regular universe, but she had caught the modern day version of the very infection that had killed both of them in the past. It was treatable in the present, and she was vaccinated, so she was just isolated at home with nothing to do but heal and distract herself from feeling so miserable and alone.

In this case, the curious and compelling VHS tape Alice bought from the thrift store became far more of a distraction than she could have ever imagined.

Jack appeared when Alice was at her most vulnerable and took care of her. The longer they spent together, the better she felt. Her symptoms faded, and his company was surprisingly comfortable, familiar. It was almost nostalgic, like someone had taken care of her like he did long ago…

Alice wasn’t cured, she was asymptomatic. The infection had been altered supernaturally to make her better, but it became something else, something beyond the capabilities of modern medicine. Its change was influenced by Jack’s fears - his fear of the cold, sleepless hell he had been damned to, the fear of the decades loneliness and the endless cycle of pain, and most of all the fear of losing his sunshine.

Understandably, a patient zero is the last person you want working in the food service industry. Worse, a heatwave had struck Texas, sending a lot of customers to Yogurtopia for a cold and tasty treat. Having to deal with so many people distracted Alice from Jack and left him feeling a little lonely… and increasingly afraid that all of these people might make her forget him.

Symptoms

Unlike the infection 40+ years prior, this supernatural affliction spread slowly, the vector not from body fluids but being in the infected’s presence, seeing and hearing them in close proximity. Touching them directly spread it so much faster. In the initial stages it led to nightmares, an increasing sense of paranoia, and a cold prickling pain not unlike the staticy feeling one got after a part of their body fell to sleep, especially focused on the face and hands. This feeling would steadily spread to other parts of the body as the infection got worse.

The progression led to hallucinations, voices that whispered one’s own deepest fears, which led to an increase in depression. The infected grew to have difficulty sleeping, but when they did they only experienced nightmares. The only thing that alleviated symptoms was physical touch with another person that they felt affection/desire towards, but this in turn would spread the infection.

The psychological effects worsened as symptoms progressed, creating an increased sense of paranoia that they were being haunted, but also that this entity was erasing their existence from everyone who knew them, which led to fears about being alone and forgotten. In a sense, the virus was turning people into yanderes, desperate for human connection.

There were visual hallucinations as well, which started as shadows and colors at the corners of their eyes, an entity constantly stalking them. As the infection progressed the hallucinations became more vivid, turning into distorted inhuman figures with protruding bones coming from rotting strips of skin, and other such horrific images.

The infected changed physically too. Their blood took on a strange blue tinge to it and a hint of green. The colors became more prominently distinct and clearly unnatural in later stages of infection, creating an RGB effect as it leaked from the wounds, eyes, and mouth. Between the discomfort underneath the skin and psychological paranoia, patients usually scratched themselves until they bled, especially around the face and hands. Some even clawed their own eyes out to escape the horrific hallucinations.

The infection didn’t affect everyone the same. For some the symptoms progressed faster, and for some they had fewer symptoms. There were even some that claimed that they recovered from the infection.

There was some truth to the rumors. Being infected by close proximity sight/sound of the infected had a cumulative effect on symptoms, but it faded when not in their presence. Unfortunately, physical contact makes the infection spread far worse than sight or sound. It’s thought that maybe if they’re kept in isolation away from other infected they might recover, but this makes their symptoms of paranoia and desperation for human contact worse, leading to them harming themselves or others in their need to alleviate the symptoms.

The problem was that the infection couldn’t be detected until the blood’s color started to change, well after a person would be a danger to themselves and others. Despite lockdowns and stay at home orders, it spread beyond the city, beyond Texas, and even went international. People infected couldn’t handle being isolated alone as the infection progressed. Forcing them only made it worse.

Violence broke out, from infected people driven mad by paranoia and those desperately trying to escape being infected. The more an infected person was wounded, the more of that unnatural blood spilled in the later stages, the more they changed into something that became no longer human.

Some of the infected had their bodies warped, their proportions stretching and contorting until they were almost cartoonish, elongated, torn, and bloody. They were so desperate for company, and many infected clung to one another, flesh merging together until no one could tell where one person ended and the other began. These amalgamations were dangerous and violent, paranoid of being pried apart and some parts wanting to bring others important to them into the amalgam.

While there was hope of recovery for those infected in earlier stages, once they were warped to such a degree, there was no saving them.

Patient “Zero”

The first public case of this infection reaching its unnatural stages that gave it the nickname of the Color Plague was the incident with one Nick Herraras. The name of the infection might change later if I come up with a better term for it, but we’ll go with Color Plague for now.

Poor Nick was found on the streets, covered with what initially was mistaken for paint, only to be later identified as tainted blood. Some thought he was patient zero, driven to a crazed and desperate state as he wandered the streets, babbling incoherently about “sunshine” and “him.”

On the same night there had been a call to the police that reported a break-in at an apartment building where a woman lived alone. When colorful blood was found at the scene of the break-in, it was quickly deduced that Nick had been the culprit behind it. Alice King, the victim, reported that she had been asleep at the time, but she managed to scare the intruder off with her gun, which led to him being found wandering the streets.

The truth was… a bit different than Alice told the police.

The day had been a stressful one. Aside from the long shift, a regular customer at her job had been acting… strange lately. Nick had come to see Alice with increasing frequency, even lingering until closing hours.

It all started off innocently enough for Nick, just a harmless crush that turned into a serious case of lovesickness. Alice had been such a sweet breath of fresh air from his stressful life as an online celebrity, and despite the paranoia and hallucinations that affected him, he fixated on her. It got worse after his hands touched hers when taking his order from her. Her warm touch alleviated his slowly worsening symptoms like nothing else could. He became obsessed with her even as the hallucinations terrorized him to stay away.

Nick needed her.

Alice picked up on the way Nick kept staring at her even when she was taking care of other customers. It made her grow increasingly nervous, especially when Jack voiced his concerns about both Nick and the dangers of other people in general. Many of the regulars were starting to act strange and shifty as well.

Despite the voices warning Nick away, he approached Alice. He got in too close and rambled a bit about how he noticed that she didn’t ever go home with anyone. Did she have a boyfriend? He was exhausted and disheveled at the time, his wild eyes occasionally darting away to chase shadows before fixing back on Alice. He didn’t even give her a chance to answer, rambling on about how he had been watching her for weeks now, and he had seen her posts online. He saw her give that kid who spilled his yogurt a free replacement last week, and she helped an elderly man find his misplaced car keys. That was so kind of her. Her art was so pretty and her online profile said she was single, so she was, wasn’t she?

The cold got worse and Nick had to touch her, he needed it. Alice tried pulling away politely, but his increasingly desperate grabs for her caused her to panic. In a desperate bid to keep a hold on her, he dug his fingers into her wrists, hard, until a large gloved hand that seemed to appear out of nowhere wrenched his away.

It was the first time Jack had touched anyone besides his sunshine, and it was so cold. It sent Nick into fits, clawing at his hands where Jack had touched him, the hallucinations getting worse. The sight terrifying Alice.

Nick hadn’t been alone during that incident. James Harrison had been worried about his friend’s increasingly strange behavior. He tried to talk sense into Nick when he started acting increasingly erratic. When Nick grabbed onto Alice, James helped pry Nick off her, but he felt a terrible cold that made his hands itch when he succeeded.

James managed to calm Nick out of his fit, after a little while. He apologized to Alice for the scene, trying to smooth things over so that she wouldn’t call the cops. In the arms of his friend, Nick managed to start calming down and start coming back to himself. He was comforted by the warmth of someone he cared for and who cared about him. With everyone shaken, James escorted Nick home.

When in the company of his friend, feeling that warmth of connection, Nick was okay. But that night when he was home alone after he had reassured James over and over that he was just tired, he needed sleep, and that he would see a doctor tomorrow… his mind went back to Alice.

The hallucinations were so much worse, eating away at Nick. Only Alice could make them go away for good, he was sure of it. He even knew where she lived. He also knew how to pick locks, how to be quiet. If he just saw her alone without anyone around, he could make her see just how much he needed her, how much he wanted to get to know her, love her. His thoughts about her had deteriorated from an innocent crush into a sick obsession that he believed must be true love.

The plan did work, to a point. Nick managed to break in without alerting others in the apartment complex or waking Alice up. He just never expected that she wouldn’t be alone in her apartment.

In a sense, what happened to Nick ties into my past theory that he (and the other love interests) were all yanderes. It might have been debunked, but it can be something fun to play with in a universe where there’s an infection that turns people into monstrous yanderes.

After the incident with Nick at Yogurtopia, Alice was pretty shaken up. She felt paranoid going home that night. Fortunately she had Jack to watch out for her. It was only because of his reassurance and comfort that she was able to get any sleep that night.

Jack was also the only reason why Nick didn’t get his hands on Alice again that night.

Sunny Day Jack isn’t a violent person, or at least he has convinced himself that he isn’t, but he isn’t going to let anyone hurt or take away his sunshine. No matter what it takes.

Alice woke up to Nick’s hysterical screaming. She burst out of bed in time to see him fleeing from the apartment. She also saw Jack looming in the dark like a terrifying sentinel, something otherworldly and dangerous. The moment Jack sensed her fear though, he was back to normal, soft and reassuring. He told her someone broke into the apartment, but he managed to scare them off… somehow. When Alice asked about the blood, Jack told her (truthfully) that Nick was already bleeding when he snuck in. In fact, he started hurting himself before he ran away. She wondered if Jack lied to not scare her with the fact that he was capable of violence despite his kid-friendly persona, but later the next day she heard from the police that the wounds were in fact self-inflicted.

After all, Jack doesn’t need to get his own hands dirty when he can have Nick take care of it for him.

Word of the infection spreads, along with the infection itself. Alice refused to allow her family to come visit her after she told them about the break-in, when she feared that she might be infected as well due to her close proximity to Nick and him bleeding all over her home. She was examined by doctors, but when they didn’t find anything, she was sent home with instructions to self-isolate and monitor herself for any potential symptoms that might appear.

Once more, Alice was isolated in her home with only Jack for company. He cleaned up the mess for her so she wouldn’t have to look at the blood, and helped reinforce her door so that no one could break in as easily again… but the news made it clear that the world was becoming an even more dangerous place.

A Lonely Apocalypse

As one might expect, an infection that spreads by sight and sound spreads quickly, especially when it makes people desperate to reach out and touch others, spreading it even faster. Quarantine zones were broken easily, and chaos descended across the entire world. Infrastructures fell apart in the chaos, such as electricity, internet, and plumbing. Infected people broke into homes to find others to join them. Civilization collapsed.

Alice lost contact with her family when the internet and phone lines went down. Last she heard was that they were in isolation and they were all fine. Mercifully, no one was showing symptoms. Barbie had left her apartment and returned to their family home before travel became dangerous. The King family could watch out for one another, but Alice worried about them and her friends dearly.

Shaun, being more trope savvy about zombie apocalypses did decently well for himself despite the circumstances. He managed to escape being infected and has been able to isolate with Olivia and a few other survivors. Animals, mercifully, seem to be immune to the infection, so MoonPie is safe in his care as well. He’s slowly breaking down the “rules” of the infection in order to understand it and why some people are affected more strongly than others. He, like so many others, wants to figure out where it comes from and if it can be stopped. He is also pretty damn sure that this infection is something supernatural, so science alone can’t explain it, let alone put a stop to it.

Shaun and Alice communicated via internet and phone before both went down, so they knew that the other was safe until that point. Because Alice was suspected of being infected, she couldn’t join him and the other survivors. By this point she had a strong suspicion that she was an asymptomatic carrier of the infection.

But it was fine. Alice didn’t need to join up with survivors anyway. She had Jack to protect her. Shaun didn’t know who this Jack was, never having seen him in person. It stung to know that he was Alice’s new boyfriend, but he managed to joke that he was looking forward to meeting Jack “when all this craziness is over.”

The joke came out even more strained due to very real fears that might never happen.

When Ian first heard about the infection back in Texas, he wanted to take a flight back immediately and check up on Alice. However, by that time the city had been put under lockdown. Without any word about Alice, he grew increasingly worried about her, since she was already dealing with a chronic illness. When he heard through a mutual acquaintance that she might be infected, he was racked with guilt for leaving her, blaming himself. This wouldn’t have happened if he never left for college.

A lot of things never would have happened if he hadn’t left.

Alice picked up the phone for Ian once. Though it was hard on her, she was relieved that he was safe. When he wanted to see her, she told him under no uncertain terms not to. It was only when she outright told him that she was infected that he stopped begging her to change her mind.

The news shocked Ian, horrified him. He broke down, babbling apologies, and Alice told him it was fine. She forgave him for cheating and told him to not feel guilty about that anymore. He should focus on staying safe and not worry about her anymore. He needed to focus on taking care of himself now.

This was a final message from Alice to find closure with Ian and sincerely wish him happiness in spite of everything. What happened between them still hurt her, but in the wake of an apocalypse it was a more distant pain, smaller in the face of far more immediate threats. She also had Jack to support and comfort her. She had his love to heal her wounded heart and keep her safe. She felt stronger thanks to Jack in spite of everything.

Despite Alice’s attempts to alleviate Ian of guilt, his guilt only grew worse. He felt like he had to do something. Alice ended the call after telling him definitively to forget about her and not call her again, but how could he after everything they’ve been through? After how badly he failed her? He tried calling her back, but she finally blocked his number.

The guilt and his feelings for Alice ate Ian alive. It made him determined to get back to her and make things right, quarantine or no quarantine.

Even if that meant he got infected too. At least then they would always be together… like they should have been all along.

So Ian is trying to find Alice while avoiding the infected. It’s almost certain that he’ll fail the latter, but perhaps not the former… though what state he’d be in when he finally finds Alice might be something far more horrific than the boy she used to know and love.

Building a Life Together While the World Falls Apart

Although the world is crumbling down around them, Jack is getting stronger. He’s become more solid, stronger, and others can see him now. He can defend his sunshine from the infected, and he’s actually very good at it. Somehow he always manages to find a way to chase them off.

While for the most part Jack comes away unscathed from such encounters, sometimes he gets a little scratched up, which results in Alice fussing over him. He’ll never admit it, but he gets a little careless sometimes just to be spoiled by his sunshine. He knows it’s naughty of him, and he really doesn’t want to worry her, but it feels so good to be cared for so sweetly. He always asks her to kiss his boo-boos better, which leads to kissing other places as well.

Alice knows perfectly well that the aching Jack feels in his cock isn’t from any injury he took, but she’ll still kiss it until he feels allll better anyway~ He makes sure to make her feel very good as well in return.

Given how stressful things are and how isolated survivors have become, sex is a pretty obvious way to pass the time. Jack takes every excuse he can to seduce Alice, as long as the place they’re staying in is secured. He’s not going to be reckless with her safety. The infection might not affect her, but the infected are another story. He doesn’t care if anyone sees them (and really he’d enjoy showing off how much his sunshine loves him), but an infected isn’t simply going to sit back and appreciate the show.

Whenever Jack catches Alice worrying about her friends and family, he makes sure to redirect her focus on him as much as possible. He’s very good at distracting her with his love, placing kisses all over her body between sweet words of comfort and praise. She’s doing so well handling everything. She’s so strong, so kind, and so beautiful. She doesn’t have to handle it alone. He’s right here for her. He’ll always be with her, forever, and he loves her so, so much, more than anyone in the world.

It’s for the best that it’s just the two of them now. Even if Alice is infected, Jack is either immune or asymptomatic too, so it’s perfectly safe with just the two of them. He doesn’t have to worry about losing her to the infection, and she doesn’t have to worry about accidentally infecting him like she would her friends or family. They’ll be safe as long as they stay away and stay together, just like they’re doing now. Jack promises to make sure that neither of them will ever have to feel lonely ever again.

At present, the pair managed to secure an abandoned house. Well, mansion. Only the best for his sunshine, Jack said. Sure it took a lot of work fixing it up and cleaning up the messes, but as long as they’re together, they can handle anything life throws at them. They can face the world together, just the two of them.

After securing the place against invasions from infected or survivors taking advantage of the chaos, they managed to fix the place up to be rather cozy. They’ve secured a fair amount of supplies, and even started growing food both on the grounds and in a greenhouse. Alice knew a lot of tricks for how to grow plants effectively thanks to her mother’s expertise in the subject, and Jack handled much of the grunt work thanks to his strength.

It was kind of nice at times, like they were in their own little world. They could almost forget the outside world… if not for the occasional screams and wailing in the distance.

Despite the circumstances, and the occasional conflict, life in the mansion was actually pretty good for Jack and Alice. With animals being immune, they even got some pets in the form of dogs, cats, chickens, and even a couple rabbits. The animals also weren’t a threat to steal away his sunshine, so Jack was able to open his heart to them and love them as well, which helped to balance him emotionally a little.

That isn’t to say that it’s not hard on the two of them psychologically. Alice had to shoot people, infected and not, in order to survive. Jack wanted to handle all threats that came their way, but the infected had numbers on their side. Even supernatural powers have their limits, and this virus that he unknowingly started has gone far, far out of his control. He couldn’t stop it even if he tried.

That isn’t to say that Jack wouldn’t be the key to stopping it somehow. Someone just needs to put the pieces together and figure out the cause of the infection, then maybe they can figure out a way to stop it once and for all.

I think I’ll wrap things up on that note. I hope you enjoyed this ramble of supernatural biological horror. Let me know if you want to hear more about this or any other AU or story I’ve made. Thanks for reading!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps