This is the story of Gavicus XXIX, the leader of the Aurean Dominate at the beginning of my book series. The Aurean Dominate is a declining empire centered around the Planet Aurea and a few pieces of the surrounding worlds. Despite this, the Aurean Dominate still remains one of the four dominant powers in the South Nebula, competing with the Haxamanian Empire over its southern and eastern worlds. The north is dominated by the Ishga Empire and the west is controlled by the mysterious and brand-new Tatiians. Was Gavicus XXIX a good ruler in your opinion? Why or why not?
INFO ABOUT GAVICUS XXIX:
Gavicus XXIX was a Guant born somewhere in Occidens on Aurea 65 years before the end of Book 1. Not much is known about his early life, but it is known that Gavicus XXIX's birth name was Galerius Decimus Tranio and that he spent most of his young adulthood serving in the army during the war against Beyin Epivoulos and his criminal empire. He eventually became a Senator representing an area of rural Occidens, and after a few terms in the Aurean Senate, was chosen to become the Consigliere of Dominus Theodosius IV after the former Consigliere was ousted in the aftermath of the Great Nicopolitan Scandal. His tenure as Consigliere was short, however, as Theodosius IV died of the Blood Bleaching less than a year later. Galerius ascended the throne in Theodosius's place, and took the name Gavicus XXIX upon doing so. He was 47 years old at the time.
Gavicus inherited a bureaucracy that had just been stripped of the vast majority of its talent, as many of the best officials that had served under Theodosius had been implicated in the Great Nicopolitan Scandal and thus were barred from future office. Syagrios Komnenos, the Exarch of Tifinagh under Theodosius who had helped defeat Majorian IX when he tried to use Tifinagh as a base to usurp the throne, was replaced by Marcus Septimius Massgaba. Massgaba was an incompetent wealthy landowner who had bought his way into the Aurean Senate and would go on to spend his tenure as Exarch raising taxes like a maniac, triggering several small revolts, needlessly prolonging the war with the Haxamanians through his impatience and battlefield incompetence, and dying pathetically in the Battle of Tasfahn. Nassenia Montana, the highly capable Magistra Milita that had served under Theodosius IV was replaced by Gaius Caesonius Theodosius (no relation to Theodosius IV), a somewhat competent general who would go on to serve Gavicus well in the wars in Amorica but utterly fail him in the Battle of Tasfahn. For his Consigliere (2nd-in-command/heir in case of his resignation or death), Gavicus chose Tiverios Theodosiopoulos, the most capable of Theodosius IV's sons, who by this time was serving in the army and Senate as a Legate (Senator in command of a legion). As Gavicus was often away on campaign, Tiverios would go on to amass plenty of political clout and power for himself, as he is who Gavicus always left in charge of governance while out of the capital.
Almost immediately after ascending the throne, Gavicus was forced to deal with a crisis. In Lapum, a working-class satellite city of Aurea's largest city Nicopolis, an ethnic Tangolian civilian named Arslan Yi'it was murdered by Aurean legionaries stationed in the city, causing four days of ethnic violence and chaos known as the Lapum Riots. Large portions of the city were burned and looted. Gavicus personally led a legion into the city to quell the uprising, doing so with only 50 civilian deaths and a few hundred injuries, but this did little to quell the underlying ethnic tensions in the city and elsewhere in Aurea. Despite Gavicus's best attempts to invest in Lapum in the years following the violence, much of Lapum's terrified, ethnically Aurean and Centralian upper and middle class fled the city for Nicopolis and elsewhere, resulting in the beginnings of the urban decay the city is known for today.
Additionally and most importantly, Gavicus had inherited the war with the Haxamanian Empire that had cost the Aureans almost all of their territories on the Planet Awal. Only Tifinagh's islands and a small scrap of the mainland Theodosius IV reconquered just before his death remained under Aurean control. Immediately after dealing with the Lapum Riots, Gavicus traveled to Tifinagh, hoping to cement his legitimacy by reconquering the rest of Tifinagh. Due to the Haxamanians' attention largely being focused elsewhere, Gavicus and Massgaba managed to get significantly further than Theodosius IV did, marching east along mainland Tifinagh's northern coast to little resistance. A small Haxamanian force that tried to stop them outside the city of Dymox was easily defeated, and they took Chera, one of the largest cities on Tifinagh's mainland, with no resistance. However, the city had been emptied by the Haxamanians of its food, its civilians, its water, and its supplies. Immediately knowing this was a trap, Gavicus sent for reinforcements, naval resupply, and a fleet from Carthadasta, Tifinagh's capital. Too impatient to wait for supplies, Massgaba disobeyed Gavicus's orders to stay put and led small bands of cavalry to plunder what they could from the local countryside.
While on one of these raids, they clashed with a small band of Imazi cavalry, previously Aurean subjects who'd switched sides to the Haxamanians after the latter captured their land. The Aureans were victorious and managed to capture some, learning from them that the Haxamanians were amassing a massive army nearby, led personally by the Haxamanian Shahanshah (King of Kings) Bahram VII and his Spahbed (top general) Bacha Hilazai. Only a day later, a Haxamanian fleet appeared from the northwest and parked itself in Chera Bay, blocking reinforcements from reaching the city. However, just as according to Gavicus's plan, the Aurean fleet arrived soon after and defeated it, allowing the simultaneously arriving food and supplies to enter the city. Having lost their advantage in a siege, the Haxamanians instead opted to meet the Aureans in open battle, choosing a nearby site at the edge of the Imazi Desert. Gaius Caesonius Theodosius, who had arrived with the reinforcements, along with Gavicus and Massgaba, led the Aureans to a resounding victory, killing or capturing half the Haxamanian force and routing the rest. The victory at the Battle of the Imazi Desert allowed the Aureans to march much further into mainland Tifinagh, recapturing essentially the entire western half of the Exarchate. Meanwhile, Bahram and Bacha retreated to the fortified port of Vasanos to lick their wounds and await reinforcements. Hoping to return to governance, Gavicus left the situation on Awal to Gaius Caesonius Theodosius and Massgaba for the time being and returned to Aurea proper.
In his early reign, Gavicus focused primarily on strengthening trade relations with the Ishgas, but was soon forced to shift his attention elsewhere. 4 years into his reign, the galactic warlord Tate released a magical cataclysm known as the Iteru Genocide on Iteru, a moon of the Planet Awal with close relations to the Aurean Dominate, as it was a former Aurean possession. With Iteru's Pharaoh Nuterhek, a close personal friend of Gavicus, begging him for help, Gavicus provided what rice and wheat the Aurean Dominate could spare to help with the associated famine. While it wasn't enough to save Iteru, the food aid bought many of Iteru's people the time they needed to flee the doomed moon. Despite the Aurean Dominate's extremely isolationist policies for the past few centuries, Gavicus made an agreement with Nuterhek to resettle some Iteru refugees on Aurea, angering many hardliners in the Aurean Senate. The decision was only able to pass the Aurean Senate when Gavicus agreed to cap the total number of migrants at 60,000 and restrict Iteru settlement to the cities of Astras and Olinthaseia. Most consequential of these arrivals was Taftenkhamun, Nuterhek's 10-year-old son and heir to Iteru's throne, whom Gavicus agreed with Nuterhek to adopt as a son. Despite Gavicus's efforts, however, the Iteru Genocide killed or forced into exile all sentient life on Iteru, taking the life of his friend Nuterhek as well, who chose to die with his people rather than flee to Aurea. Gavicus would live with the guilt of not doing more to help Iteru for the rest of his life.
Gavicus would raise Taftenkhamun, much better known by his Aurean name of Taftus, as the son he never had. He allowed Taftus to live with him in the Palace of the Domini, continued his education, and did his best to balance spending time with him and showing him love and affection with the duties of being the Aurean Dominus. Despite Gavicus trying to push Taftus into going into politics like he did, Taftus was far more interested in the military, and enlisted in the Aurean legions at 17, as soon as he became of age.
After a year of scheming to turn the tide of the war, Bahram sent Bacha undercover to the rebellious Aurean Province of Tangolia, tasked with fomenting a rebellion so they could use the province as a springboard to attack Aurea proper. Many Tangolians, particularly the Otrar and Gazan Tangolians, both felt mistreatment under Aurean rule and had more in common culturally with the Haxamanians than the Aureans, and many flocked to join the revolt, which quickly took control of the north and center of the province. Qajeer, the Tangolian Khan loyal to the Aureans, fought off several attempts by the rebels to capture Tengribalik, the Tangolian Capital. However, once the Haxamanians arrived, led by Bacha Hilazai, their combined strength was too much for Qajeer to deal with and he was forced to abandon the city to the rebels and Haxamanians, fleeing to Tangolia's eastern seaboard, an area much more loyal to the Aureans. With Gaius Caesonius Theodosius tied down in Tifinagh and not trusting Massgaba to defend the Exarchate on his own, Gavicus was forced to rely on what was left of Qajeer's force, border guard units, and regional commanders to stop the ensuing Haxamanian-Tangolian invasion of Argentolia, the Aurean heartland. The border guard units proved to be little more than a speed bump for the combined Haxamanian-Tangolian force, which easily broke through the border wall and crossed the Hsia River, invading Argentolia. As most of eastern Argentolia's regional commanders with any actual talent had been implicated in the Great Nicopolitan Scandal under Gavicus's predecessor and thus were no longer in command, almost all of them were fairly new recruits with little experience leading troops, resulting in disaster after disaster. Daion was the first city to fall to the Haxamanian-Tangolian force, which then followed that up by defeating an Aurean field army near Cannoria. Within three months, both Cannoria and Ferum, the latter being one of the largest and most important cities in the Aurean Dominate, would be in enemy hands. Over the following six months, poorly led field army after poorly led field army would fall to the invaders, with the major cities of Eresus, Cercapese, Ager Capulum, and Sacrini all falling within the next year. For the first time since the Aurean Dominate's founding, the capital of Astras was within striking distance.
Under immense pressure from the Aurean Senate and general public, Gavicus finally recalled Gaius Caesonius Theodosius from Tifinagh after Sacrini fell, as the enemy was nearing Astras, thought for millennia to be untouchable. By the time Gaius Caesonius Theodosius had arrived, the Haxamanian-Tangolian force had seized Artegion, on the doorstep of Astras, and with it, a fleet. With the combined arms of their massive land force and this fleet, the Haxamanian-Tangolian force laid siege to Astras, with Gaius Caesonius Theodosius and Gavicus leading the defense of the city. The city's massive, three-layered walls, combined with its easily defensible location on the sea with only a few land entrances, allowed the Aureans to repel the invaders, marking a turning point in the war. While the Haxamanians under Bacha Hilazai simply sailed back to Awal, the Tangolians, with no such option and trapped thousands of miles deep in Aurean territory, would be dealt with piecemeal over the next three years. Around the same time, Qajeer had managed to reverse his fortunes in Tangolia and recapture Tengribalik and much of the province's center.
By year 6 of Gavicus's reign, the situation with the Tangolians was under enough control for Gavicus to return his military attention to Awal. While Gaius Caesonius Theodosius and Gavicus had been busy fighting off Bacha Hilazai and the Tangolians, Massgaba had lost some ground to Bahram VII in Tifinagh, having been pushed back to the city of Thubiscurum. Taking advantage of low Haxamanian morale after the failed Siege of Astras, the Aureans were able to push the Haxamanians out of Tifinagh entirely when Gavicus and Gaius Caesonius Theodosius returned, restoring the Aurean Exarchate of Tifinagh to full Aurean control for the first time in decades. Other lost Aurean Exarchates in the area - Kilikia, Meroe, Adua, and the Imazi Tribal Lands - were restored to Aurean hands over the next six years, putting the Haxamanians decisively on the back foot. During this time, Bacha Hilazai was killed at the Battle of Taoudenni, greatly weakening the Haxamanians and lowering their morale.
Relations with the Kingdom of Arturia were fraught, with conflict erupting 7 years into Gavicus's reign over the Aurean Exarchate of Amorica, an isolated Aurean territory on the Planet Arturia that the Kingdom of Arturia continued to claim. Paradoxically, these tensions began when Arturia's king, King Arturius, traveled to Aurea to meet with Gavicus to negotiate an end to their millennia-long conflict. While Gavicus was personally in favor of a deal, King Arturius refused to relinquish his claim on Amorica, leading to the Aurean Senate rejecting the deal and forcing Gavicus to continue the conflict. Additionally angering the Aurean Senate, Gavicus made the mistake of insisting that he meet with Arturius in Astras rather than on Arturia. Despite Gavicus's attempt to pitch it as a beginning of the end of Aurea's centuries of isolationism that even many Aureans were starting to regard as self destructive, this was seen as a bridge too far for most. During the failed negotiations, Gavicus briefly met Pompeia, a young disciple of King Arturius who would become of note much later. In order to make up his lost standing in the Aurean Senate, Gavicus was forced to escalate the situation in Arturia immediately after the negotiations broke down, distracting King Arturius with a vacation in Astras while he ordered a massive invasion force to land in Amorica and seize as much Arturian land as possible.
Exceeding even Gavicus's expectations, this force managed to break through the Arturian Alps and put Caerbannog, the Kingdom of Arturia's capital, under siege. Upon his return, however, Arturius managed to break the siege despite being taken completely by surprise, and defeated the Aureans in several battles, pushing them all the way back into Amorica. Eventually, Arturius, livid at Gavicus's betrayal, managed to invade into Amorica itself and fought the Aureans, led personally by Gavicus as he had traveled there by this point, to a stalemate at the Battle of Caerwent. While Gavicus still had enough resources to continue prosecuting the war, he felt that this particular episode proved there was no reason to continue the constant skirmishes with Arturia, and accepted an offer to negotiate peace terms with Arturius again, this time in Amorica.
The ensuing peace deal returned Aurea's and Arturia's borders to status quo antebellum, although Arturius was not happy about Aurea retaining Amorica. However, Aurea had to bite the bullet and recognize the Kingdom of Arturia's independence and normalize relations, as all of Aurea's previous Domini had refused to do this despite it having been fait accompli for millennia at this point. Aurea had previously seen the entire Kingdom of Arturia as little more than a rogue province that had somehow managed to slip from its control long ago. Aurea paid Arturia a hefty war indemnity, but this was paltry compared to the money that new trade relations between Arturia and Aurea brought in for both nations. Although recognizing Arturia's independence was not popular on Aurea at first, Gavicus was able to sell it based on the fact that he had retained Amorica, held the peace negotiations off-planet this time, and most importantly because of all the money that new trade relations with Arturia brought in, as Arturia sat along a key trade route linking Aurea more closely with the wealthy and technologically advanced Ishgas far beyond. This allowed Gavicus to hold lavish games, as well as expand Aurea's existing food dole for the poor to include protoceratops and psittacosaurus meat in addition to wheat, olive oil, rice, pork, and chicken. His popularity spiked, and in the tenth year of his reign, he would go on to sail to reelection against Qajeer Khan, winning 55% of the vote nationwide.
In the ninth year of Gavicus's reign, the last holdouts of the Tangolian revolt had been put down by Qajeer. Qajeer had his uncle Jamukha, who had led the revolt, strangled for doing so. However, Qajeer had his own reasons for helping crush the revolt instead of participating in it himself. While he secretly loathed the Aureans and the way they treated his people, Qajeer instead chose to bide his time, gaining the Aureans' trust and building a robust local power base while he waited for his own opening to revolt. For the entire rest of his life, Gavicus would be none the wiser. Qajeer would eventually revolt under Gavicus's successor, resulting in a multi-year civil war that would leave the already exhausted Aurean Dominate open to the machinations of Tate soon after.
Gavicus tried his best to manage the Blood Bleaching pandemic that circulated on Aurea during the first few years of his reign, but little could be done to spare Aurea from the destruction of that disease, and like most of the rest of the galaxy, Aurea lost a substantial chunk of its population. Thanks largely to Gavicus's enforcement of strict social distancing throughout its duration, however, the Blood Bleaching killed far less of the population on Aurea than it did on the hardest-hit worlds of Arturia and Iteru, each of which lost half or more of their pre-pandemic populations. In total, it is estimated around 10-15% of the Aurean Dominate's pre-pandemic population was killed by the Blood Bleaching, compared to around 50% on Arturia and a whopping 70% on Iteru. Even Aurea's relatively small loss was not without its consequences, however, as this caused a decline in tax revenue for years and a noticeable strain on the military's recruitment pool.
In the first four years after his reelection, Gaius Caesonius Theodosius managed to reconquer all of the lost Exarchates on Awal the Haxamanians had taken from the Aureans during Theodosius IV's reign. Nova Aurea, Caria, and finally Carmania were all finally returned to the Aurean Dominate after decades of Haxamanian occupation, and Gavicus's popularity soared as a result.
Despite having recognized Arturia's independence earlier, 14 years into Gavicus's reign, tensions flared up with Arturia again Amorica again. An Arturian garrison had left a border fort in the Arturian Alps briefly undefended, and a small Aurean force seized it without orders, prompting a small-scale war between Aurea and Arturia. This conflict was over in about two months, with the Kingdom of Arturia suing for peace after the Aureans seized a few more border forts and badly defeated an Arturian field army at the Battle of Allt-Gollau. At the negotiating table, Gavicus agreed to return the border between the Aurean Exarchate of Amorica and the Kingdom of Arturia to status quo antebellum in exchange for the freeing of 500 Aurean hostages Arturia took during the fighting and the Aureans who seized the initial border fort without orders were put on trial. Most notable about this conflict was the brilliance of an Aurean cavalry commander named Gorgo Gualtera at the Battle of Allt-Gollau, resulting in her catching Gavicus's eye. Gavicus promoted her to Exarch of Amorica, giving her full military and civilian control of the territory. Unbeknownst to Gavicus or anyone else, however, Gorgo was both the daughter of the dead Aurean crimelord Beyin Epivoulos (the crimelord whose forces Gavicus had fought in his youth), as well as a deep cover agent for Tate (the architect of the Iteru Genocide and many other atrocities across the galaxy).
The next year, the Haxamanian Empire was engulfed in a civil war, and Gavicus saw the perfect opportunity to strike at the Haxamanian Capital while the area was engulfed in turmoil, finally ending the decades-long war or maybe even conquering the Haxamanians completely in the process. However, things did not at all go according to plan, and all the armies he brought with him got destroyed by the forces of Rukhsana I Shahanzai, a disaffected member of the Haxamanian royal family who had escaped from prison, gotten an army together, annihilated the Aureans in the disastrous Battle of Tasfahn, and took the Haxamanian throne for herself. Several Aurean generals and other military leaders, including Massgaba, were killed, and Gavicus barely escaped the battle with his life. The Aureans had no forces left on Awal after this to protect their holdings there. On the other hand, Taftus, who was also present during the campaign, became a national hero when he used his tactical prowess to save the troops under his command from annihilation by a Haxamanian ambush deep in the mountains.
In the aftermath, Gavicus was forced to enter into peace negotiations. At first, Rukhsana demanded the Aureans cede all their lands on Awal to the Haxamanians, which Gavicus flatly refused (The Exarchate of Tifinagh on Awal was one of Aurea's most valuable regions and ceding it to the Haxamanians would have meant an end to the grain dole and mass starvation across Aurea). Eventually, a deal was reached in which the Aureans would cede all their lands on Awal except the Exarchate of Tifinagh to the Haxamanians, and the Aureans would have to pay a huge war indemnity to the Haxamanians as well. The Aurean Exarchates of Nova Aurea, Kilikia, Meroe, Adua, the Imazi Tribal Lands, Carmania, and Caria were all permanently handed over to the Haxamanians, essentially rendering all of Gavicus's reconquests except those in Tifinagh moot. This was formalized in the humiliating Treaty of Mingora, which Gavicus was forced to sign.
Gavicus's popularity took a nosedive in the aftermath of this event, and he dedicated the rest of his reign to domestic policy, commissioning public works projects, throwing lavish games, and beginning by far his most important legacy: he decided that to keep up with the rest of the galaxy, Aurea needed to end its isolationism and industrialize along the Ishga model. He decided that Aurea's largest city, Nicopolis, would be a good place to test industrialization, and he hired Ishga scientists, architects, engineers, and developers to transform Nicopolis into a modern city. While Gavicus's popularity would never recover to the heights it was at after his victory over the Arturians, this was enough to keep him from being assassinated (at least for a while).
For the rest of Gavicus's life, Taftus would alternate between his extremely promising military career and a middling-to-poor one as an elected politician, helping Gavicus with some of his later projects such as industrialization but turning out to be too scandal-ridden and debauched to be the protege Gavicus wanted. For all his military talent, Taftus had a reputation for extreme abrasiveness and anger issues, and it seemed every other week there was another rumor going around about Taftus having massive orgies involving female politicians and/or prostitutes. While Gavicus would never fully disown Taftus, he had largely abandoned him as a protege by the end of his reign, assigning him military command of the backwater province of Tiorangi where he didn't have to pay much attention to him. The year before Gavicus died, he made Gorgo Gualtera his Magister Equitum, supreme commander of all cavalry forces in the Aurean Dominate after the previous officeholder died suddenly of a stroke. While Gavicus had no way of knowing this at the time, this decision would eventually result in both his own death and Aurea being pulled into the galaxy's broader confrontation with Tate years later that would result in the bloodiest war in galactic history.
Towards the end of his life, Gavicus befriended Pompeia, a young woman of mixed Aurean and Tangolian heritage who had spent much of her life on the Planet Arturia before returning to Aurea by accident. She rose to superstardom as a gladiator, having trained in magic under King Arturius, utilizing magic in combat in ways that hadn't been seen in millennia. He was both shocked and intrigued by Pomepeia's friendship and past brief romantic involvement with Rukhsana I Shahanzai of the Haxamanian Empire. Gavicus saw great potential in Pompeia and reinstated her Aurean citizenship, even allowing her to serve as his Consigliere after Tiverios was indicted on corruption charges. However, there was some tension between the two, as Pompeia was from Lapum, had witnessed the Lapum Riots as a child, and was critical of Gavicus's failure to address the longstanding discrimination against Tangolians that led to them. Less than a year later, Gavicus was assassinated under mysterious circumstances (it would later be discovered that Gorgo Gualtera arranged his murder and covered it up so well that no one even suspected her until she would eventually reveal her true intentions years later), and Pompeia ascended the throne as the first female Dominus (Domina) in history. Gavicus's body was cremated after his death and his urn was placed in the Mausoleum of the Domini in Astras. Decades of constant conflict with the Haxamanians, both under Gavicus and his predecessor Theodosius IV, as well as civil conflict, multiple Tangolian revolts, the Hoc Nostrum conflict, and the Amorican Wars with Arturia would leave Pompeia with an exhausted Aurean Dominate, bereft of manpower, resources, money, and talent that would be completely unprepared to deal with Tate and his machinations only a few years after Gavicus's death.

I’m unsure if I can post here since I don’t identify with the label of anorexia but after having a brief conversation with someone from the binge eating sub they seem to be convinced that I have it and I suppose I might given my previously low bmi of 13.1 idk, I thought I might post here on the off chance that anyone else has gone through this and knows how to best deal with it - right now I feel entirely aimless . Anyway , I’ll try to keep this succinct, I’ve been binge eating massive amounts uncontrollably since Thursday, even reaching numbers as high as 6000kcal ,inevitably I’ve gained quite a few kilos from this taking me from a bmi of 13.1 to a bmi of 14.8 I routinely binge once a week but never to this degree and never for this duration , after having binged I heavily restrict / fast until I achieve a weekly calorie average I’m happy with but because I binged so massively on Thursday there was absolutely nothing I could possibly do to achieve my usual weekly calorie average ( I couldn’t even fast ) which caused a snowball effect of uncontrollable, wholly animalistic binging for what remained of the week during which i felt entirely detached ; not subjective binges either but rather ones at least 3000kcal +. To be entirely frank , I had every intention of committing suicide tonight because I just cannot stop and the rapid weight gain in tandem with the utterly uncontrollable manner in which I’m ’eating’ is terrifying me , I keep telling myself this will be the last day I fall victim to a binge but it never is and whatever I plan I seek to do invariably fails - I’m powerless to it. I contacted a suicide hotline but they just directed me to eating disorder support charity and swiftly ended the conversation. I feel completely repulsive and entirely helpless. I don’t know what to do anymore , my world is unraveling and imploding before my very eyes . It feels as though I’ve lost everything . I’m terrified to wake up . I apologise if this is the wrong place to post , I feel so foolish posting here about this .

23rd: Jane Bright (Nicaragua - 6th)

A deserving, incredible Survivor endgame level character standing next to Jane Bright.
u/SMC0629:
I don't have Jane in my personal endgame, but I'm not mad at all that she made it here. She's probably the most divisive character in Nicaragua, but I personally love her. She's got a spunky attitude, has a great rivalry with Marty, great relationship with Chase, and has one of my favorite eliminations ever. Her boot is so god damn memorable, that lasting moment of the alliance telling her it's gonna be her tonight, with Jane in complete shock and despair is just perfect. One of the best characters of Nicaragua for sure.
~
u/DryBonesKing:
Jane is on a very small list of players who I think has run the entire spectrum in terms of where they land in my rankings. Top ten, top hundred, middle of the pack, bottom hundred, bottom ten… I think I understand pretty much every Jane take known to humanity, cause I’ve had them. Nowadays, I tend to lean more positive on her, but I definitely still have too many issues I’m hyper aware of to let her rank too highly for me.
“What if we have Rupert’s hero edit to someone who was just really really mean, and did the bare minimum to hide it” is genuinely hilarious to me. Jane’s got good energy and her many, many, many feuds (the majority of which being with Marty) make her a great character to guide the narrative. There’s also just her boot episode, which is like… way too good of an episode for Nicaragua. I think I’m neutral-lean positive on Nicaragua, but it’s not a season that does a ton for me, but dear god, Jane’s boot and the scene of her dousing the camp fire is like so fucking metal.
She’s such a raw, powerful person. I think my biggest issue with her right now is just that, in a similar vein to Brandon Hantz, sometimes she feels a little too real at times. Like is she funny when she’s talking shit about Marty? Yes! Is the story great? Yes! But does some of what she says about Marty and his kids feel a bit too much? Yes, very much so. It’s not enough to detract from her character, but again… Brandon Hantz-tier of character. For me, that’s a pretty big compliment, but I also do not keep him in my Top 100. Same with Jane. But despite being one of the names that made Endgame that I disagree with the most, I am very curious and excited to see our resident “Least Sane Jane Bright Enjoyer” spin a tale or two about why she deserves to be up here!
Overall Rank – 138/821
~
u/Zanthosus:
While I disagree with her being endgame, I understand the reasoning and defense behind it. I respect the hustle that Tom did to get her here and I’m happy for him that Jane made her first endgame.
~
u/Regnisyak1:
I love that Jane is here, I am not even going to lie. Before my recent rewatch, I had Jane in the 200s, and after my rewatch, I was completely blown away at how complex her character is and the great relationships she had all season. To me, she felt real with her hatred, and the switch between the dry laugh we know her for, to the nasty person she became was endlessly incredible, she was such a great part of Nicaragua and one of the few praises I have for that season. Plus, when she finds out Chase, Holly, and Sash are voting for her, the music change and piano chord that happens there might be the piece media I have ever seen. Congrats Tom for getting her here!
Personal Rank: 73/821. 9/10.
~
u/ninjedi1:
Nicaragua is such a great season due to how emotionally charged it is, and Jane is a big part of that. Jane is the sweet southern lady until she feels crossed, then she has a whole vendetta against anyone who crosses her, so it's a lot of great fun. She is not in my personal endgame, but I can always appreciate a kooky character showing up in it.
~~~~~
u/Tommyroxs45:
Jane Bright:
This is undoubtedly my most anticipated write up of the rankdown, I have such a love for Jane and everything she does for Nicaragua. She has one of the best stories of all time, and just has so many moments that further it and make it cohesive. And that is what I will explain today. Jane is not just some badass southern old lady, ok well she is, but she’s also a very deep, broken old lady trying to put on a facade for herself. Her hatred towards everyone around her has its story and here it is…
The Mask
A lot like Rupert, Jane tries to paint a mask on herself as a hero and somebody who always follows her heart for the greater good. However, throughout the season we see cracks start to arise in this persona she puts on herself. She’s someone who needs a purpose and when somebody gets in the way of that, she gets insecure and bitter and that’s when we see the wrath of Jane break out.
The editors never try to pull the wool over your eyes by painting her as a hero, because they show petty rivalries with her and Marty and her boot episode meltdown. We get to see her from all angles, even if she only wants to present one. She’s insecure about herself, making her feel entitled to be treated as a queen and carried to the end due to her “heroic” manner. Once she realizes it doesn’t work like that and she actually has to play the game, all gloves come off and we get some of the most petty, uncalled for, or even bitchy moments that just have so much raw emotion.
She’s not painted as a hero while being an asshole (*cough* Ozzy *cough*) They show her as her flawed self, but they also let you make your own decision on what to feel without pushing a narrative onto you. Of course she wins Favorite Player at the reunion, so some people still thought she was a hero but you get to see this very broken and entitled person struggling. She really hates everyone but that’s not what she can show because that’s now who she wants to be and it’s such a complicated story arc throughout the season that we see the cracks grow and it’s told so subtlety but perfectly. And this is only the tip of the iceberg with how deep this old southern lady is.
Without this defining feature, she’d just be a badass southern lady but with it she becomes so much more just adding to this brilliant story building up all season until her boot episode. Her masking her real personality just makes her a much more complex character and when we see these glimpses of it, you start to realize, ohhh this is the person I’m supporting.
Even on top of the mask, there is so much more to Jane’s character…
Grief
When you watch Nicaragua for the first time, this part of her character is not inherently obvious. Grief?!? What are you talking about? She just seems like a badass until she’s a bitter old hag for being the target. While, yes that’s a very simplified version of this, there’s so much more to dissect there. The grieving of her husband, greatly plays a role in her story, and although it’s sometimes subtle you can see how it play into it so beautifully well.
In her very first confessional, what do we see Jane say?
“They think I'm some middle aged housewife that tootles around the house all day long, they’re in for a big surprise. Because that is definitely not me. I'm fifty-six years old and I'm the type person that stays busy all the time doing things. I just don't think there's anything I can't do. Winning the million dollars is real important to me ‘cause it’ll help me pay off my farm and the fact that I lost my husband, uh, in '09, it-it-it means I wouldn't have to work as hard as I do. But his spirit, I know is still with me and that's what keeps me going.”
Her husband obviously is impacting her mentally during this season, and we see this throughout the game. Every Time somebody makes a gesture that they want her out, her personal viper just breaks out. This is because she knows this is getting in the way of her dream, and the spirit of her husband that made her want to do this and she’s not letting anybody take that from her.
She’s still grieving and wants to win for her husband, and it is a very sweet story but sadly it takes a dark turn as she starts using this as entitlement for her to win. She believes she’s obligated to be brought to the end because of who she is and the loss of her husband and yeah, it’s dark but damn is it good when you think about it.
This is also why the family visit is SO important to her story in her boot episode. Right when her daughter, Ashley gets there, she starts talking about her husband and how Ashley is the one she is doing this for, to help her. This is WHO SHE IS FIGHTING FOR!
That is why it hits so hard when everyone flips on her! How dare they! She thinks. These people are voting me out right after I fought my hardest to give my daughter a better life?!? She’s one of the only I have left, this is disgusting. It’s so sad but at the same time it’s brilliantly shown not told. And what do you know, when Jane is talking about Sash’s mama raising him, she immediately brings up her daughter, just ugh how perfect does it round back to her family and her grief with loss.
Now obviously, does that make her outrage justified, I don’t know, maybe? Is she still kind of a bitch? probably! Is she a badass? Probably! That leads me to my next point.
Perspective
If you have read a lot of my other writeups on Nicaragua you would have noticed I love to talk about the perspective a lot of these characters receive on the season. Complimenting how diverse they can be seen depending on your morals or values. No character represents this better than Jane Bright.
How do I know this? Well let’s look at her placements in Rankdowns Past:
SRI - 485/501 - Seen as a bitchy, entitled, worse version of NaOnka, and someone who went way too personal in the game.
SRII - 455/537 - Seen as annoying and sour, forced fan favorite edit not giving her the trashing she deserved by the other tribemates.
SRIII - 549/575 - Seen as a narcissist and self-righteous, below the belt remarks and “a human embodiment of a rash” (that made me laugh a bit).
SRIV - 518/615 - Seen as an ultimately fascinating character, who got a dishonest edit that didn’t show her true side until the end. Ultimately ending up as an unlikable “venomous bitch” who somehow won fan favorite.
SRV - 108/653 - Seen as a great T.V personality whose kooky first half and vigorous 2nd half make for a good story and uplifts everyone around her while also being a great character.
SRVI - 127/731 (Had to be idoled to get here though smh) - Seen as a badass challenge competitor who is actually sour, who unfairly attacked Marty and is a bit too much when it comes to her toxic side to make her slightly less good.
SRVII - 185/767 - Seen as an extremely authentic personality and very entertaining to the chaos of Nicaragua, as well as having an iconic rivalry with Marty, being an iconic mother.
See the difference between one half and the other? Yeah, that shows just how well of a character she is edited as. She has so many times where she is shown to be a hero but juxtaposed with so many times she is shown as an asshole and it works off each scene perfectly. This is why we get such a difference of opinion and I think it’s told so well to where most people don’t even see it.
You have to weigh her good and bad and see based on your morals, if she’s a good person or not, and how acceptable or right was she for her constant hatred of others? I really love that as they aren’t trying to make you think a specific feeling about her. You need to come up with that conclusion yourself on how you think she is, that’s why she won the fan favorite vote in 2011 but today many call her an entitled bitch. (And yeah, she is but that’s a lot of what makes her so amazing).
Her kicking ass in challenges and being a lively spirit contrasted to her nasty demeanor to Jill and especially Marty personally attacking them and her boot episode meltdown, contribute to making one of the most wishy-washy characters when it comes to people’s opinions on her. I don’t what to be told how to feel, I want to come up with it on my own, and I feel like a lot of that has been lost in recent years of Survivor and seeing Jane and having all these different perspectives on her personality just adds so much life.
There is a reason why so many people despise her and so many people love her, she’s just edited that well to where people have had to come up with their own feelings about Jane. Not being coerced to feel a certain way, and I feel that is the best way to edit a character. What you see is what you see, not an objective stance the show is trying to put onto you, and I feel all of Nicaragua shows this but Jane is the prime example. Perspective means everything with her.
This makes her one of the most complex characters of all time, she’s either a broken woman seeking admiration, an entitled bitch, or a badass southern lady who is an inspiration. It’s all based on what you value and isn’t that what Survivor is all about, a social experiment where you weigh your values and personalities with each other to build a society.
Speaking of building a society, how is Jane’s relationships with the cast, well let’s see her main stars:
Sash: Jane and Sash’s dynamic isn’t really shown and I think that actually helps her and Sash’s story. Sash is sleazy and doesn’t really make any genuine connections and we see that in her breakdown scene. When you watch the moment she learns she’s going home and the confessional she gives, you see a direct tone shift from how she talks about Chase and how she talks about Sash. When she’s almost crying about Chase and his betrayal, she is outright vile and nasty when talking about Sash. Showing this major lack of connection between them, that she never saw him as a friend and will not hold back from releasing her rage on him.
Chase: Jane and Chase’s connection is one for the books. Both being from North Carolina and being southern types, they instantly bond and feel close to each other. Their relationship just feels more special than anyone else’s that season, that’s what makes the betrayal so much more entertaining. You literally see her about to cry over Chase, they really were close and got to know each other and just to have him stab her in the back, it’s so good. It just felt special but it wasn’t enough for him to not cut her…
Now how could you talk about relationships and not bring up Jane’s defining one…
Fartay:
Come on! This rivalry is one of if not the best rivalry in all of Survivor. They just despise each other and really are either of them in the right? Not at all, that’s what makes it so great. Marty’s a sleazeball, cocky, and a smart ass while Jane’s an entitled, bitter, old lady and they just work so well off each other. You just have personal jab after personal jab that is just so entertaining and perfectly helps tell Jane’s story.
There is really no reason why they should hate each other as much as they do but their walks of life and personalities just clash so hard that you still understand why they hate each other. Jane takes everything Marty does to heart without any grain of salt, and it makes her reactions so visceral and truly legendary. It’s what makes Jane the Jane we love to love or love to hate!
Now, I think it’s time to talk about the pinnacle of Jane. Her magnum opus if you will… her boot episode.
The Wrath of Jane Will Break Out Tonight
This is one of my favorite episodes of Reality TV. Everything about it is perfect and told in such a way to where it’s the perfect ending for such a broken character.
Building her up with her daughter coming during the family visit, talking about her and how much she wants to provide for her. Having a seed planted in Jane’s brain after she’s not taken to the reward thinking she was entitled to be brought.
Fabio winning immunity, throwing everything for a loop, just when Jane’s attitude has really started to shift and then we get to the scene. Which personally is my favorite scene in all of Survivor without a doubt. The scene where the alliance tells her it has changed and she’s going home is so brilliant. The raw awkwardness and silence next to Jane’s utter disbelief and anger. After she flips them off it is followed by again my favorite confessional of all time.
This is what she has been building up to, everything just falls about when she believed she deserved to win. Having such raw and unfiltered emotions where she’s about to break down and cry and then the turn to anger and fury bringing Sash’s mother into it, talking about how she raised a damn liar. (WITH THAT HEAD COCK THOUGH) All with very subtle sound effects or just no music at all until she gets up and makes one last hoorah by pouring water on the fire. “I started and I put it out” 🔥🔥🔥
Then we get to tribal, where Jane is just done with the bullshit and just calls everyone out for being liars and backstabbers. “The writings on the wall Fabio!” Like come on, that is TV gold, followed by the vote having Chase and Sash “cowardly” play their idols sticking it to Jane when she is already at her lowest by not even having her vote count. She leaves bitter and broken, not the happy ending she felt she deserved.
Mortgage Gate
I’m putting this here because that’s where it best fits, and this is brief because it doesn’t really affect my rankings on Jane because it’s not in the season.
I wish they did show this though, as having this added layer of controversy between Sash and Jane with real world implications would have been amazing, even if what Jane is saying isn’t true it still would’ve shown her as an ass, making up lies just to make someone look worse. I just think it’s such an interesting topic to discuss that I wanted to give it its own section. Sash is sleazy so I wouldn’t pass him to do that, however Jane is extremely bitter and entitled so I could also see her making that up, I guess we'll never really know will we… (I know Marty called the incident fake, but it’s Marty, of course he’s gonna dispute whatever Jane says, if she says the sky is blue, he’ll say it’s orange).
I'm Not Breaking My Tile!
This kind of relates to the mask section of this write up. However, I wanted to talk specifically about Jane’s challenge prowess and wins throughout the season and how much it adds to this arc. Building her up as this badass figure competing against big guys half her age and actually winning?!? It gives an excellent face to the real Jane, having this much courage to go against Chase and Fabio even after winning, not only being such a badass in that moment but showing how she’s trying to play up this persona of old challenge great.
Jane, The Tribe Has Spoken
So in conclusion, you can see that when you really glance over Nicaragua you don’t see Jane as some sort of deep character. However, when you really look into her and her actions and motives you see a broken old lady who is obviously grieving. She is such a deep and complex character that Nicaragua needed to really round out the story.
Jane isn’t supposed to be this likable hero, nor is she supposed to be a villain, she’s not edited as one archetype. However you value your morals, is how you will see Jane and even if you find her an ass, you have to admit they tell it very well. She’s also objectively entertaining, her rivalry with Marty, her being badass during challenges, cooking fish in the woods, her boot episode meltdown, and so much more are just so iconic to me and make this season what it is.
This write up obviously won’t sway everybody, but I hope that if you rewatch Nicaragua, take a closer look at Jane and her actions and see how it lines up with somebody like Rupert or Coach who are much more prevalent when it comes to these “entitled, broken, facade” archetypes. You will see a brilliant story of grief, hatred, entitlement, and a fake persona that the show knows she is trying to present.
Personally, Jane will always be one of my favorite characters of all time with amazing scenes and a story almost as complex as Ian’s. She didn’t win this rankdown, but she won my heart and has definitely earned herself a #1 spot on my rankings for this endgame.
SMC0629: 19
DryBonesKing: 21
Zanthosus: 24
Tommyroxs45: 1
Regnisyak1: 20
DavidW1208: 24
ninjedi1: 24
Average Placement: 19.000
Total Points: 133
Standard Deviation: 8.206 (2nd Highest)

i (20f) am on a trip with my father. in the past 4 days, i feel that he’s done irreparable damage to our relationship. i’m going to try to list off what behaviours and patterns ive noticed from him.

• he says “i don’t remember saying that” and “you’re making that up” when confronted calmly about something he said that was rude or hurtful. he also says, “i’m your father, i would never do that” for things that he did do
• he constantly puts down my mother and sister when they are not relevant to the conversation
• he puts in earbuds instead of talking to me, and then gets upset that we haven’t made conversation
• he accuses me of constantly disagreeing with him and has said verbatim that i should agree with everything he says
• when i cry, he calls me dramatic and walks away
• instead of asking if i’m okay, he demands that i tell him what to do or else he will make no effort to comfort me
• he sighs loudly and pretends he has a stomach ache and headache when he’s being criticized (i say pretend because it seems to only flare up when he’s being criticized)
• he gives me the silent treatment for hours and does not respond to me begging him to speak to me
• he called me spoiled and ungrateful and believes my sister and i have a vendetta against him that is caused by my mother trash talking him, when from my experience i find that my mother actually enables him
• he demands that i learn to ignore what he says instead of asking “why did you say that” to thinly veiled criticisms or things that i was genuinely confused about
• he gets upset when i ask him for directions because he thinks i’m challenging him
• he forces me to make decisions as a way to punish me (e.g. if i am trying to decide if we should have dinner now or later, i obviously ask him what he prefers. he says “up to you,” and then gets upset if i choose the option that he doesn’t want to do)
• he used to have extreme temper issues and he was abused as a child, but he seemed to calm down over the course of my childhood (he never hit us). but i’m now seeing the same behaviours i used to see.

i’m stuck on this trip for another 2 and a half weeks. i’m going to try to grey rock him for now, but im considering going low-contact with him (i don’t have the means to go no contact at the moment) as soon as we get home. any advice or insight on how to deal with him and enjoy this trip in spite of him would be greatly appreciated.

Previous Part
I grabbed the back pack Bianca had left in the kitchen and waited in the living room. I had no idea what she was packing for but after this morning I wasn’t going up there to check. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to ask Tuck yet. I wanted him to tell me he was a werewolf himself, that seemed like pretty important information just on the basis of trust. But I also wanted to know why he was really out by the mine yesterday. His story didn’t add up and there’s no way he knew we would be up there, I think that was just a coincidence. As I was trying to come up with exactly how I wanted to broach the question to Tuck, Frank put a hand on my shoulder. He was wearing his lab coat so I guessed he just came up from the basement. The hairnet he always seemed to wear when he was working was in its usual spot. I suppose he wore it to protect the memory of hair that was once on his head. He looked solemn and a little sick as he turned to me.
“Keep her out of trouble will you? I know we haven’t always been the best to her and I’m sure Stein and I don’t really give her the help she needs. But she’s like the daughter I never had time to have, I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her.”
“Frank, you probably do more than you know for her. Did she ever talk about her family with you?”
“Very briefly throughout the years, I don’t know if she’s told you much or anything for that matter. It… it certainly wasn’t easy for her growing up and it never got easier.”
“I’ll do my best to keep her out of trouble. If she does end up following me into… whatever this trial ends up being just promise me you’ll have a way to get her out. Some kind of contingency, I can fend for myself but I’ve seen her just shut down before. Like yesterday in the caves someone grabbed her and she lashed out and just… wasn’t herself. She just froze and I don’t want that to happen anywhere near Shaoni.”
“I’ll work on something but I can’t promise that. Like Stein said we’re scientists, we don’t really do field work like that. If I do come up with something you’ll be the first to know. I’m glad she ran into you when she did Keith, she could really use a friend.”
With that Frank walked away, back towards the kitchen and into the basement.
It wasn’t long after that when I heard Bianca coming down the stairs asking if anyone had seen her toothbrush. At which point Rocco appeared in front of me from god knows where holding a suspicious disassembled toothbrush.
“Not. A. Word. Kid.”
Rocco growled at me as he scampered out the door behind me.
“I have a couple that I packed for the trip here from Wisconsin I can just give you one of those.”
I called to Bianca. Partially because I wanted to get a move on and partially because I wanted no part in whatever Rocco was getting up to. If there was one supernatural thing about this town it was that raccoon’s knack for mischief. I get that’s what raccoons are known for but seriously, Rocco was on another level. Bianca reluctantly agreed to take one of the travel tooth brushes I had back at my house. I wasn’t even going to ask why she packed a duffle bag to go a few hundred feet into town and back again.
“Come on we’ll take the bikes again.”
Bianca said as she made her way behind the house.
“I’m telling you they’re going to give me tetanus one of these days but sure. Lets just stop at my place first, I want to drop off this backpack you took yesterday first.”
Bianca was still wearing the ratty jeans she’d taken from me yesterday and at this point I just figured she could have them. I really wasn’t about to get into an argument as to why she should take my pants off and… ugh even saying it is just… no. Those were hers now as far as I was concerned.
We rode over to my house through the crisp autumn afternoon. The trees along the street were finally being to change color, it looked like a scene from a postcard. One of those one’s of the idyllic towns that could’ve come straight out of a hallmark movie. I had to give it to Eagles Peak, it may by turning into a den of vipers for me minute by minute but it sure could be beautiful, in it’s own isolated kind of way.
“Wow its very… small.”
Bianca commented as she stepped into my house and looked around.
“Yeah not everyone has a blank check from two different governments like Stein.”
“I didn’t mean li…”
“It’s ok I know what you meant, its different.”
I said cutting her off before she had the chance to apologize. I dropped off the backpack in my room and rooted around in the one duffle bag I still hadn’t unpacked from my trip here. I found the toothbrush without to much trouble and walked into the living room to give it to Bianca only to find her unpacking on the couch.
“What’s going on here, are you moving in?”
I joked, not expecting the answer I was about to get.
“Yeah, kind of hard to keep an eye on you from my house. I suppose I could from the top floor but if we’re working against Shaoni that doesn’t seem like a great idea. She’s got that whole thing with lighting and I get the sense her being angry at you while your up in the air isn’t a great combination.”
Bianca said, unpacking a blanket like she wasn’t just inserting herself into my house.
“WHAT?”
I shouted, maybe a little too loud.
“Is there a problem?I thought you wanted me looking out for you, this is me, doing that.”
She said looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. You’ve got to understand, those eyes coming from someone like Bianca, glowing or otherwise, well you just can’t say no to that. When it’s Bianca you really can’t say no. She can just take that option away in an instant but again she didn’t for me, it was still my choice.
“I.. sure but you can have my bed. We’ll get everything set up once we get back from the Roost. You did tell Frank and Stein about this right?”
I gave in, deciding to let her stay.
“I’m a big girl, they doin’t need to know everything I do, and… thanks”
“It’s alright, just let me know next time you’re going to pull something like this ok?”
I added, equal parts excited to actually have someone to talk to besides myself in my own home, and worried what Frank and Stein might think was going on here. I put those thoughts out of my head for the moment as we got back on the bikes.
It was about 3 by the time we made it to Tuck’s bar after the delay Bianca had caused by moving herself out before we left. Just as I expected the sign said closed but the door was unlocked. The bar looked exactly the same as the last time I was there. Stone fireplace roaring and pristine wooden floor looking like it had been polished just this morning. Tuck was sitting behind the bar looking worse for wear. The look on his face said he knew we were coming and he wasn’t to thrilled about it.
“Does he know?”
Tuck asked pointedly, looking straight through me and speaking to Bianca.
“About me or you, because the answer is both of us.”
Tuck shook his head at this and a grim look came over him.
“Ya shouldn’t have pulled him into this.”
“Actually I pulled her into it if anything, going out there was my idea. I’ve got a mark like Robert’s, its actually what brought me to town in the first place.”
I said, hoping my honesty would get the same out of Tuck.
“So that bird called ya out here somehow?”
“More or less, but that’s not what I’m here about. I want to know why exactly you followed us out there yesterday.”
Tuck sighed and gestured to the seats at the bar, beckoning Bianca and I to take a seat.
“When Robert chased ya out the other night some of his friends came by. They all got that mark like him, they were sayin’ something about the thunderbird makin’ an appearance back at the old mine. I wanted to see for myself and make sure they were wrong. I found those bikes and ended up followin’ the trail. By the time I got there some guys were poking around that hole in the wall and a storm had kicked up. I saw them cut that rope and figured they weren’t doin’ no good. I… changed and dealt with them then forced my way into the old mine entrance, the rest ya already know cause I ran into ya not long after.”
This story made more sense to me, Tuck never came out there to find me, I just so happened to be out there. Those boulders I thought were moved had been, by Tuck which made me question just how strong he was. Each of those huge things had to weigh tons and there were three strewn about the entrance.
“Ok that makes more sense than what you told me, but what were you hoping to accomplish up there. If you ran into the thunderbird what would you have done?”
“I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t really up there again but the storm seemed to say otherwise. No storm like that just pops up and goes away, the bird had to be involved with that.”
“Actually she was there, just not as some huge bird. She was down in the caves with us but she looked human, native American to be more precise. That’s how I met her when I got marked and now she’s holding some kind of trial out in those mines.”
“You met the thunderbird, its a person? What does she want with this place now.”
Tuck said his demeanor changing into one full of concern. I didn’t know what else to say cause at the moment I didn’t actually know much more than that. It’s infuriating, this being in the dark thing. I just settled for dodging the question.
“Not to change the topic but are we to early to grab a bite to eat?”
I wish I had a camera handy because the face Tuck made at that whiplash change of topics was priceless. I can’t properly do it justice with words. Suffice it to say one of his eyebrows hit the ceiling while the other hit the floor and a violently confused expression plastered his face.
“Sure I guess, what do the two of ya want!”
Tuck exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and walking back behind the counter. I ended up ordering some fried chicken sandwich with bacon and pickles, and as I took the first bite my risk of heart attack increased ten fold. Bianca ordered the same thing and was pecking at it inquisitively when I asked,
“So what’s the story with Rocco?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean why, why did Frank and Stein make him in the first place?”
I asked through a mouthful of greasy goodness.
“Well I think it started out as a joke, then Stein actually wanted an assistant and that joke became Rocco. They worked on him for a while, pretty much they took a random raccoon off the street and played around in its head. I know there was some gene splicing involved but if you want to know how they did it ask them.”
“So he was supposed to be an assistant in the lab? I think I’ve seen him doing one thing to help them out this whole time and he was poking through a back alley for old batteries.”
“Yeah, he’s not a great assistant, must be good enough though cause they haven’t tossed him out.”
“Are you kidding me! If they tossed him out he be so much worse! Just think, Rocco left to his own devices without any supervision.”
Both of us shuddered at the thought, if he was bad now he’d be a menace to society without the little control we had over him.
Bianca and I ate and eventually Tuck came out and I told him my story about Imalone. He seemed really concerned at the fact that the thunderbird could be walking around town and he wouldn’t know about it. I assured him that Shaoni was really hard to miss if you just looked at the eyes. It wasn’t like she looked any different either, no matter what she was wearing those tattoos would be a dead giveaway. Tuck assured me he was going to keep an eye out and gave me his number to call if I saw her. I don’t want to talk down on Bianca, but something about having a werewolf looking out for me as well was reassuring. Tuck told us a bit about what he was doing with Frank and Stein too. Apparently he contracted his “disease” as he called it long before he came to work in Eagles Peak. He was originally from Louisiana and moved to New York for a change of scenery and ended up getting a job in the mines here around 1940. I should also mention Tuck ages very slowly due to his “disease” so he looks like he’s in his 50’s or so but he was born in 1900. To his credit you’d never know he was anything other than your friendly middle aged bartender.
Bianca and I were getting ready to leave as it came time to open the bar for real. When Tuck offered us a round of drinks on the house.
“No, no that’s alright Tuck, you’ve done enough for us we’ll see you later.”
Bianca politely declined, pulling me towards the door. After I said my goodbyes and we had gotten back to the bikes I asked Bianca,
“Do you not drink? I’m not judging just… when Tuck offered you seemed kind of jumpy.”
“I just never have, I was kind of bouncing around the country when I turned 21 so I just never started.”
“So your telling me you never had your first drink? Well, we have to fix that then.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, its like a right of passage where I’m from. We’ll pick up a six pack or something on the way back but we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”
I said, trying to convince her. I’m not a huge drinker but I am from Wisconsin, alcohol is a way of life out there and we’re know for our beer. In my family turning 21 and having your first drink is cause to bring the whole family together. I couldn’t do that for her but I could at least give her the experience, maybe give her just one more good thing to remember.
Bianca agreed and we pulled into the Save-A-Lot just outside town. The building was painted white bit it was slowly peeling away revealing a concrete grey underneath. The big glowing sign was missing a few letters now simply reading Sav- -Lo. Despite its decaying state it still had the classic beer cave inside. I took a second to look for something from Wisconsin, call me a snob but we do beer right. I settled on a 12 pack of Leinenkugel, that was close enough to home for me. Bianca trailed behind me in the store, a bit like a scared cat looking for a place to hide. Obviously she didn’t get out much and having people she didn’t really know much about was stressing her out somewhat. We got to the checkout and an older cashier eyed my suspiciously.
“Can I see an ID”
She croaked in a hoarse smokey voice. Now I don’t always look my age but I’m 28 there was no reason to try and ID me. That didn’t really bother me so much as the fact that my wallet was still at home. I’ve been spending the cash Bianca gave me back when I watched her house and I just keep that in my pocket. I also have a bad habit of only brining my wallet when I knew I would need it instead of carrying it on me. Regardless I started to sweat a little as I tried to explain the situation.
“You see I would but I left mine at home and I’m not sure if…”
I was cut off by Bianca reaching out and brushing the cashier’s hand Then looking her straight in the eye. I knew exactly what she was doing.
“Look we don’t have an ID for you right now can you just take it on faith?”
“I understand sweetie, here why don’t I cover it for you, my treat.”
The cashier said, turning a complete 180 on her previous question. I looked from Bianca to the old woman a few times before Bianca finally shrugged.
“What?”
I wondered if it was that easy for her to change my mind back when she manipulated me into watching the house.
“So she just payed for it?”
I asked Bianca as we walked back to the bikes.
“That was her, not that I couldn’t make her do that. As far as I can work out, if I suggest something people tend to do it. Over the years I learned how to control that to the point where I’m only able to do it when I want to. Frank said it has something to do with pheromones in my breath or something like that.”
Bianca explained, hoping onto her bike and keeping pace with me back towards my house. I didn’t ask for an explanation but she gave it. I’m not really sure pheromones were something that could have that profound of an effect on someone but I’d just add it to the list of questions I’d have to ask Frank or Stein at some point.
“Still it was a bit weird seeing it from the outside. Was I that easy to convince before?”
Bianca got a mischievous look in her eye.
“Oh, you were so much easier, I barley needed to try. Just flip my hair and flutter my eyes a few times and that was that.”
She said, smiling devilishly at me. I blushed a little bit, partly because that’s probably all it would’ve taken from someone who looked like her and partly because I was embarrassed that she might not just be poking fun at me.
“No you definitely did something to me, I lost like 6 hours in your kitchen! That was you right…right?!”
I asked a little nervous. Bianca just laughed and pedaled off ahead of me. She did not put my mind at ease with any sort of answer but she did beat me back to the house.
When I got in She was sitting on the couch sorting through a pile of movies she pulled out of her duffle bag. She really had just thrown the entire contents of her room into a bag and brought them over. Bianca seemed to settle on a movie before she realized I’d walked in.
“So you like horror?”
I said, gesturing to the same movies I’d seen lying out earlier when I watched her house.
“Yeah, I just like seeing how people think all these things act. Like Tuck, werewolves are always looked at as these big imposing things in movies but he’s a puppy in comparison.”
“The guy looks like he could tear me apart down the middle with his bare hands buuuut, I see your point.”
Thinking back to every interaction I’d had with the guy so far, he never really was as scary as he looked. I sat down on the couch, dropping the case of beer on the coffee table.
“So, have you picked out a movie yet?”
To which Bianca closed her eyes and poked at a random movie in the pile. “Dog Soldiers”, it was called, actually I think I’ve heard of that movie before. One of those its so bad its entertaining things. I popped the movie into my DVD player and sat back, handing Bianca a beer.
“ Is this how normal people feel?”
She asked as the movie started.
“Depends on what you mean by normal, even then I’m not sure that’s the question I’d be asking. Maybe you just finally have a chance to relax after years of never being able to.”
“Oh sure, I’ll just relax now that I know we have the actual thunderbird looking to force you into some kind of trial.”
Bianca joked sarcastically before suddenly softening and taking a sip of her beer.
“Uggg that’s bitter… but not bad. Maybe your onto something Kieth.”
I don’t remember much from the movie. One scene stuck with me, a guy trying to fist fight a werewolf. It was already campy but the effects on the werewolf were just dated enough to make it that much funnier. Bianca and I couldn’t help but to Imagine Tuck as the werewolf, bewildered as to why this scrawny thing thought it could fight him. At some point the beer ran out, Bianca and I making it through the whole case. I remember getting up to go to my own room and Bianca pulling me back. What I didn’t remember though was letting Shaoni into my house. I was woken up by a tap on my shoulder, coming face to face with her. Shaoni’s hand was on one shoulder and Bianca’s head was on the other. At some point we both feel asleep on the couch together, the TV was still on, illuminating the dark room.
“Well well, I wasn’t expecting you to have guests Keith.”
Shaoni mocked, clicking her tongue at me as she finished. She wore the same white night dress I’d seen her in before. Something in the house was open, a window, a door? I didn’t know but the smells of an autumn rainstorm blew into the house, a storm no doubt caused by Shaoni.
“I… its not what it looks like.”
I stammered out, embarrassed to be caught like this.
“I don’t care what you get up to in your free time Keith. I just came to tell you I’ll expect you at the mine tomorrow, The trials will be starting soon and I want everyone who will be participating to meet each other, you will be participating, won’t you Keith?”
She asked like it was a question but it really wasn’t, wether I liked it or not I was going to be there, I could come willingly or kicking and screaming. She was simply asking which I wanted it to be.
“When do you want me there?”
“Oh don’t worry about that, I’ll send someone to collect you around noon.”
With that she turned to walk away, but I wasn’t done with her yet.
“Wait! What exactly are these trials, what am I going to be doing out there?”
“That would spoil the surprise Keith, be patient, you’ll know in time. That pretty little thing there, her name wouldn’t happen to be Bianca, would it?”
Shaoni asked, pointing at Bianca who was still asleep on my shoulder.
“How did you know that?”
I shot back, immediately jumping to Bianca’s defense. I hadn’t known her all that long true, but I didn’t want her any closer to this than she had to be.
“Oh no reason.”
Shaoni said with a snicker that sounded more like a hiss. With that she disappeared, and I mean she was just gone. One minute she was there the next there was a gust of wind and a brief flash of light and she was gone. The disruption was enough to wake Bianca up finally.
“Ugh, head..still…spinning.”
“Heh, I think you overdid it a bit last night.”
“Ugh maybe.”
She said, holding her head that still rested on my shoulder.
“What’s going on anyway, why’d you wake me up.”
“It’s just… well things are moving a bit faster than I hoped.”
I said, trying to reassure her that it was nothing, most likely failing miserably but she didn’t seem to notice. There was a second there that I thought maybe things could just be normal. This whole thing would just blow over and Shaoni would never come back and get me for these “trials” but I always knew it was wishful thinking. Now Bianca was a part of it to somehow, that had made up my mind. She’d been through enough, now Shaoni seemed interested in her all of a sudden. If putting myself through these trials kept her away from Bianca that’s exactly what I’d do.

Previous part
I stood in my doorway, frozen to the spot as Shaoni walked past me, into my house.
“Weren’t you going to invite me in?”
Shaoni cooed at me, somehow making the arbitrary question sound like a threat.
“I uh… what can I get you.”
I stammered out, automatically reverting to subservient. I know it sounds bad but when you’ve seen what I’ve seen her do you listen first, ask questions later.
“Is water alright? It’s all I’ve got since I only just moved here because… well I guess you know why already.”
I said, wanting to keep the orange juice I was currently hiding behind me in the fridge for myself.
“The visions? Yes I do know about them. It’s what drew all of you here, just like I wanted. Though you weren’t supposed to see the stage yet, none of you were.”
She said, narrowing her eyes at me, presumably because of my earlier expedition into the mine.
“Why do you keep saying “you” like there’s more than one of me?”
I asked, finally working up the confidence to question her.
“Because there is, do you really think you’re the only one I marked? Keith your a special case yes, but not that special.”
“Special case? What do you..”
“If you let me finish I’m getting to that.”
Shaoni cracked back at me, I could feel the pressure in the room rise with her temper.
“Sorry ma’am… it just slipped out.”
She seemed to find my knee-jerk formal apology amusing and the pressure in the room returned to normal.
“I offered several people the same deal I offered you, most accepted. These are the others I refer to, all of which are here or on their way here now. That’s what the dreams, visions, whatever you’d like to call them, were for.”
“So you wanted us here, all together in this one specific town, why?”
“The trials of course, if you remember you agreed to take a burden from me. I guess I would describe it more accurately as a gift but it has become a burden for me.”
“What is it?”
“Now where’s the fun in telling you now? Besides your smart enough, I’m sure you’ll figure it out on your own.”
She answered, smiling devilishly at me and sending little pin pricks of ice down my spine. I let the conversation fall silent for a bit, watching Shaoni sip absentmindedly at the glass of water I’d given her before I asked another question.
“So what exactly are these trials for?”
“I want to use them as a selection process, it separates the wheat from the chaff as the saying goes. Only one of you will take on my burden and I want to make sure its the right one.”
“Ok, that makes sense but I’ve still got one more thing. Why did you say I was special before?”
I inquired, as Shaoni got up and started to leave.
“Well, because this is all new to you, you have no idea of the forces really at play in the world, the “supernatural” is what you’d call it. You’re at a particular disadvantage because you didn’t know what you were getting into so I figured I’d help out of the kindness of my heart. In addition to that, many of those I’ve chosen came from my own followers. You are one of the few I found on my travels that accepted my deal. I believe in keeping things fair, and so I came to warn you of what’s to come.”
Shaoni told me as she walked out the door without so much as a goodbye. The storm that had been brewing outside left with her, dropping bits of cracked branches and loose leaves to the ground as she got further and further away. I finally realized I was still standing at my front door, glued in place watching her. Once I closed and locked the door I heard a shrill screech pierce the night as Shaoni shed her human appearance and took to the skies as I saw a single shiny grey feather flutter to the ground.
I didn’t get much sleep that night, I didn’t even try. After something like Shaoni waltzing into my home like she owned the place and telling me I’m about to be part of some kind of “trials”, I just gave up on sleep that night. What I was worried about more than anything was the fact that I didn’t have a choice. Sure, she had never said that out right but if she showed up to tell me the trials were starting and I said no, that wouldn’t go well. I’d probably end up like those men in Imalone, just ashes on the wind. There was something she wasn’t saying as well. Shaoni wanted to flaunt that there was some sort of reward at the end of this, that the whole process would help her select a “worthy candidate”. But the reward was also the burden I had agreed to take. If whatever it was was something she wanted to get rid of why would anyone look at it as a reward? Something just wasn’t adding up in my head so I decided not to think about it for a bit. I instead I threw on some clothes as the sun finally rose and made my way over to Bianca’s house to pick up my backpack that she still had.
“Hey there Frank. Where’s Stein I wanted to ask how that research was coming, and has anyone seen Bianca?”
I said as soon as I’d walked in the front door. Rocco was eating something out of a bowl on the counter top and shot to attention as he saw me.
“What do you just live here now?”
He remarked, whirling around to face me. Frank looked up from the paper he’d been reading at the counter and gave me a half hearted wave.
“Stein’s in the basement testing a few samples of thunderbird feathers Tuck brought in.”
“You know Tuck? The mountain that just so happens to run a bar in town, that Tuck?”
“Yes of course, he’s helped us immensely with developing a suppressant for lycanthropy.”
“I… we’ll unpack that one later I guess but I’ve got too find Bianca first, she still has something of mine. Let Stein know I’m looking for him if he comes back up.”
I told Frank as he nodded in acknowledgment and I made my way over to the stairs leading up to the second floor.
“Oh god dammit, I just got that!”
I yelled to no-one in particular as I knocked on Bianca’s bedroom door. I heard a crash behind it as Bianca came flying towards me, throwing open the door and almost smacking me in the process.
“What the hell is going on why are you here! And what did you just get?!”
She belted out at me, apparently startled by my outburst. She had a long loose t-shirt on and maybe something on underneath that, I wasn’t going to check. I must’ve turned crab red as I saw her but it didn’t stop me from telling her what I just pieced together.
“Their names, Frank and Stein, Frankenstein. They did that on purpose didn’t they? I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on that sooner!”
“What are you… oooh, OOOH! I’ve been around them how many years and I’m just picking up on that too.”
She said, sounding a little disappointed and smacking herself in the head with the palm of her hand.
“So what’re you doing here anyways Keith?”
“You still have my backpack from yesterday and I could use that back.”
“Oh sure I forgot about that, come in.”
She said holding open the door for me and causing her shirt to hike up a bit, She did not in fact have anything other than what you’d expect on under it.
“Ummm… do you maybe want to get dressed first?”
Bianca turned redder than I’d ever seen anyone get in an instant. Her eyes Immediately started glowing and she slammed the door shut, apparently just realizing she had answered the door in nothing but a T-shirt and underwear. I heard of muffled groan of embarrassment from the other side of the door and decided to leave her to it.
When I came back downstairs into the living room Frank and Stein where waiting for me on the couch. It was a sight to see, two old scientists sitting in the middle of a lavish black leather couch that wrapped the outer edge of the room. The two looked out of place, like a time traveler trying desperately to look normal in a society they knew nothing about.
“Before you guys start I’ve got to know, did you do that intentionally?”
“Did we do what, what are you talking about?”
They both asked in unison.
“The names, Frank and Stein, did you do that on purpose?”
Frank smiled at this and looked toward Stein who seemed to be fuming.
“It’s been 60 years since I’ve heard that question and no, its purely coincidental. We just so happen to share similar names with this Frankenstein”
Stein replied, actually shaking with anger. Frank on the other hand, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. In light of this I decided to push my luck just a little further.
“Ok, but I’m still going to call Rocco Frankenstein’s monster from now on, I can’t just pass up that opportunity.”
Frank laughed at this and Stein shook his head in disappointment.
“Children, both you.”
“Oh come now Stein, even you have to admit its a little humorous.”
“I will not be compared to some fantasy doctor and their failed facsimile of life! Rocco is a proper experiment with guidelines and uses that monster from the story is just a harebrained pet project!”
Stein fumed, seemingly offended at the concept of being compared to doctor Frankenstein. After a short tirade, none of which I really want to repeat here, we got Stein calmed down. Then the two got me seated and asked a question I wasn’t expecting.
“Do you know why we decided to settle down in this town in the first place?”
The question took me by surprise, I had assumed they just ended up here for no particular reason. Like a tumble weed being blown across the desert. They were here now caught on a fence or something but I always got the sense the wind would blow them along to somewhere else eventually. I hadn’t given much thought as to why they would be here at all. My vacant stare must’ve clued them into the fact that I had no idea how to answer the question.
“Let me rephrase, do you have any idea why things like Bianca or Tuck or even us seem to be concentrated here?”
Stein asked again, a calm tone to his voice like he was explaining something to a child.
“Tuck? What does Tuck have to do with this? I get you two are supernatural researchers and Bianca is a succubus but Tuck is just a really, really string guy right?”
I shakily asked, slowly drawing a connection to what Frank said about Tuck and lycanthropy when I came in.
“Tuck is a werewolf, a repentant one but a werewolf nonetheless.”
“That… actually would check out, It would definitely explain why the guy is built like the Rock’s bigger cousin. But what exactly are you getting at?”
“This town Keith, There’s a reason it attracts people like us and the Thunderbird is a big part of that. It had been sleeping in the mines as far as Frank was able to tell, once it woke up it caused the collapse and it made a huge stir. Obviously reports came out about this massive thing coming out of the ground and talking flight but you’ll never find any of them. The government stepped in to help Eagles peak cover up its existence, if people knew about the Thunderbird there would be uproars and questions as to what else was out there, questions no-one really would’ve had answers too. Instead they buried it and tried to bury most records of this town, turning it into a haven for the supernatural, especially those who would rather be left alone.”
Stein’s lecture made sense, if the town was basically wiped off the map as far as recent information goes it would explain its small size. I really hadn’t seen anyone in town besides those people getting off the bus the day I met Tuck and a few employees at local stores I went to. But not all of them could’ve been supernatural beings right?
“So are you trying to say everyone in town is some kind of what… supernatural entity?”
“Nothing as grand as that but there’s certainly more supernatural beings than usual concentrated in this town. Even some of the normal people have ties to the supernatural here. It’s a place were people who know about these things can pass through without to much scrutiny. What’s more interesting though is the other Thunderbird sightings we were able to dig up. Almost all of them lead to a town like this, taken off the usual map with a barley visible digital presence. Tiny little nowhere places that aren’t known for much and never show up on the news. The Thunderbird seems to be making these sanctuary’s for the supernatural throughout the world. It doesn’t seem to monitor these places afterwards but they certainly never recover from the coverups after the Thunderbird makes an appearance.”
Stein continued to lecture, speaking just as much with his hands as he did with his words.
“Has she ever come back to any of these sanctuaries she’s created.”
“She!? You don’t mean the woman you saw in Imalone? I had chalked her up to a stress induced hallucination.”
I had to briefly explain to Stein that I had not in fact hallucinated the naked woman that ultimately turned out to be Shaoni, to his displeasure.
“So you saw this woman then?”
“Yeah, in the cave attached to what I’d have to guess were the mines. She even showed up at my house last night.”
“It… she, talked to you?”
“She said that there was going to be some sort of trials to see who takes on this burden of her’s. The whole thing was really unclear if I’m honest.”
“So she’s coming back then, not only that but she’s in the town or the forest right now. I don’t get to say this often but I really don’t know what’s going to happen with this Keith. Frank and I will keep an eye on what we can but we’re researchers, if she decides to pull you into these trials we won’t be much help.”
Stein said, growing concerning on his face. I don’t think seeing Stein in this state did anything to assure me. This is someone who worked on the wrong side of world war 2 and he seemed scared by the thought of what Shaoni might be up to. It was at least nice to know someone would be monitoring the situation when I got myself killed.
“I could go with him.”
An unexpected voice cut through the silence of the room, Bianca’s voice. She had wandered down from her room wearing a black leather jacket paired with a tight red shirt and ratty jeans, my ratty jeans I noticed. She had the backpack she owed me in one hand and her eyes locked on us.
“What?”
We all said, in shock of what Bianca had just offered.
“I could go, watch your back and see what’s going on with these trials. I’m familiar enough with the supernatural, not as much as Frank or Stein but I could help.”
She said with raw unfiltered confidence that was unusual for her.
“I couldn’t ask you to do that, I told you the story, you know what Shaoni is capable of.”
I bargained, hoping to keep her out of the line of fire for some reason. I knew it would probably be smarter to bring her with me if I did get forced into these trials but some protective instinct kicked in. I’d seen her barley able to keep herself together just talking about her past and shut down when someone grabbed her. I didn’t want to see her get hurt trying to look out for me. Her past obviously still effected her in a big way. Another part of me wanted to bring her with me just to see her fight against the power her past still held over her. When we were on the way to that mine yesterday she finally seemed alive. Bianca wasn’t just this this scared person living in a gilded cage with two people who took her in like a kicked puppy. Yesterday she was her own person again, if only for a little bit.
“Look I can’t stay here doing nothing forever, besides you helped me out watching the house way back when you first got into town. You didn’t hold the fact I manipulated you into it against me and you never really cared about what I was. I at least owe you this Keith, please.”
Bianca begged, I didn’t feel like she was trying to pul me one way or another this time, the choice was my own. I could also tell it was hard for her to give me a choice, her nature was to just use her power and make me agree with her. That single fact meant more to me than whatever fight was going on in my head, I nodded to tell her I agreed.
Frank and Stein weren’t particularly thrilled with the idea of Bianca watching out for me. They were worried it put her in too much danger. Despite the situation surrounding those three I could tell Frank and Stein really did care for her, or at the very least worried about her. She may not realize it but she was like a daughter to them, anyone could see that, anyone but her apparently. Or maybe she had closed herself off from the world so much to try and survive on her own that she just couldn’t bring herself to realize it anymore. I think that’s the more likely option but it begged the question. Why exactly does she keep going out of her way for me?
Bianca managed to convince them to let her keep an eye on me. Thanks in no small part to the fact that she claimed living anywhere near Rocco for prolonged periods of time was hazardous to her health. At which point almost as if on cue, Rocco shot out of a wall. Not off of it or out from around, no straight out of the wall sending plaster flying like shrapnel. Right after this we smelled the beginnings of an electrical fire. Rocco ran back into the room and jumped back through the hole in the wall with a fire extinguisher. Frank and Stein lost their minds at this point and went to find the proper equipment to deal with that. They agreed with Bianca on the spot after that one. Rocco claimed he was “trying to update the wiring in the house”, whatever that meant but you could never tell with him. Once everything had calmed down I headed over to the kitchen to make lunch for myself. I settled for a bologna and mustard sandwich and sat down to eat. As soon as I took a bite of the sandwich my phone rang with a number I didn’t expect a call from, Mom.
“Hi, what’s going on?”
“Are you ok, You never call, I just got your message.”
My mother Carla said, in that worried but angry tone only mothers can pull off.
“I’m fine mom I just wanted to let you know what was going on with me, I don’t think I ever told you I was moving and I didn’t want you to worry.”
Bianca walked into the kitchen at this point in the conversation and looked at me. I put my finger to my lips and shushed her. She just sat down across from me and took a bite out of MY sandwich.
“You didn’t, I know I don’t see you much and your fine on your own but I still worry. We were never the closest but that doesn’t mean I don’t wan to know If you’re moving halfway across the country on a whim.”
“I know mom, I know. A lot of things happened at once and it was such short notice I just… forgot.”
“I understand… just call me next time alright, and if you ever just want to talk I’m here. Just because we weren’t all that close doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear from you now and then. Anyways I have to get back to work.”
“Oh, ok Just… how’s dad doing?”
I sighed knowing the answer to my question already.
“He’s… he’s the same Keith, Love you.”
And with that Carla hung up.
Bianca eyed me with a mildly stunned look on her face. Like she just realized I was born not raised in a test tube somewhere.
“That was your mom?”
She asked, pointing at the phone in my hand and still eating the sandwich I had made for myself.
“Yes, Oh come on give me that!”
I yelled, reaching for the sandwich in her hand. She laughed and pulled it away, finishing it. She tried to speak with a mouthful of sandwich but I couldn’t make out a thing till she gave herself a minute to chew.
“I haven’t talked to my mom since the whole thing with Brooke. She never approved and that was that, I went my way and she went her’s.”
“What about your dad?”
I asked her, suddenly not as mad about her stealing my food.
“I never really knew him. Apparently he left when I was really young but that’s about all I know.”
“Is there a single question I can ask about you that won’t just leave me feeling sorry I had a moderately normal life before this? Really I just… that’s terrible.”
Bianca looked a little sullen as she thought about her family, her real family. I realized that as strange as this whole relationship with Frank and Stein was it was the closest thing she had to something stable. Hell, I might be the first real friend she’s had outside of the house in years.
“Tell you what, I’m suddenly hungry for some reason so why don’t we head down to the Eagle’s Roost and get something to eat?”
I glared at her just a little bit as I said that first part.
“It’s like 1o’clock now I don’t think Tuck opens up till 5 or so.”
“Well I’ve got a few questions for him now, besides last time I went down there early too and he was just hanging out behind the bar, didn’t seem to mind either. Wait, you know him? He didn’t really look at you when he saved us yesterday, come to think of it he barley mentioned you.”
“Yeah I’ve seen him coming in and out of the house when he helps Stein with his experiments, giving blood and tissue samples to him, that sort of thing. I don’t know why he didn’t say anything to me. Maybe cause he thought Frank and Stein didn’t know I was out there so he just didn’t want to stick his toe in that situation?”
She had to think for a second about that last part, furrowing her brow and shrugging when she couldn’t come up with anything better.
“Could be it, anyways its just one more thing I can ask him. So are you coming with me or what?”
“Yeah sure, just let me pack a few things.”
“Pack a few things? What do you mean it’s just…”
But Bianca was already running up the stairs back towards her room.

It is really difficult for me to write this, I’m truly heartbroken, I hope someone can bring some peace and help me
Some background story: I’ve been on a relationship for almost 5 years (we’re both 24 yo, I’m his first girlfriend, but he’s my third boyfriend) and due to my experience in previous relationships this has been MY DREAM come true. I ran away from my home on November 2022. My father Sxly abused me since I have memory, I decided to speak up about it but had my whole family turned against me. My boyfriend told me to come and live with him. He gave me everything I needed, he found for me a therapist to help me with my trauma and accompanied me through the process, he was/ is so supportive with my trauma and told me that he was never going to do something that could hurt me again, that he was never going to push me for sex because he really understands where I came from, and that actually helped to heal, because I felt like I had a man I could trust, a man that for the first time was going to respect me. I have low levels of libido, to be honest we only have sex 4-5 times during the month, usually when I’m ovulating, the rest of the month we don’t do anything. We used to be more active, like a regular couple, however since I’ve been on birth plan pills (almost 3 years ago) the sexual desire has been only decreasing. We’ve discussed this because it worries me a lot the fact that “I don’t satisfy him” that way, but he’s been so understanding, and patient, told me MULTIPLE times that I don’t have to satisfy him, that he is with me because he loves me and not because of the sex only, and that he understands that sometimes I may not be that willing to do it. He promised me loyalty, and also to respect me always, no matter what. We did an agreement that if he was feeling that he really needed sex he was going to tell me a and we would try it or find a solution. Long story short, I found him watching porn on reddit this past tuesday and that shattered my heart in milliom pieces because I told him some time ago that I do not accept prn, I consider it a betrayal, almost cheating and this is because I was exposed to prn at a very young age because of my father and it produces nothing but goosebumps on me.
He was very insistent on talking and resolving the issue and caused the heaviest panick attack I’ve ever had. He told me that that was the first time he was doing it. That it has never happened in the past, that is not my fault and that it doesn’t have to do with my physical appearance because I’m the women of his life and some other stuff you could imagine.
Now, if you ask me about my self-esteem, it is buried 6 feet underground. I was still working on it, but with this happening I just feel like I have lost all my progress. It has been really difficult for me to understand that I don’t look like when I was 19, and even if he swears now that I’m still pretty I just can’t believe it anymore 💔
He swore he won’t do it again, that he was very stressed and that needed some relaxation, and ok, I get it, we had some couple of days without sex and I was on my period but that same morning before he woke up I let him touch me where he wanted and HE decided to continue sleeping, is not that I refused or rejected him like many other times. That’s why I’m so heartbroken, I could have pleased him If he would have asked 💔 And this makes me think this was not his first time, he was using an “anonimous” mode here that I couldn’t find anywhere so I guess is not that easy to find.
He offered me couple therapy, or therapy just for him. I declined the couple therapy because I don’t feel comfortable telling somebody “Hey, we’re here because I found him watching porn and now I can’t stop crying when he leaves for work and being dissociated because it is too painful to have flashbacks”, I just can’t. That’s why we decided he will have his own therapy, but the thing is that it will hurt me seeing him go to therapy because of this, it feels like a reminder of what he did So I’m not sure if I should believe him, believe that this was the first and only time, and trust that he will never do it again
He acknowledges that it was wrong, he understands very well how much he has hurted me, and states that he is truly sorry, that he understands what he did is disgusting considering my background and how bad it is to consume p*rn
I don’t trust him anymore, I’ve tried to act normal, I’ve tried to forget this issue, but when I look into his eyes I feel like he is not the perfect boyfriend I knew 💔 we never have fights, he is very patient with me, he cooks for me, takes me on date and buys my favorite food or something I like whenever he can. He has respected my body, my decisions, he has shown me he is the love of my life, we have been talking about marriage lately and I love him, despite this issue, I can still say that I love him, but I don’t trust him Something inside myself tells me that I’m gonna repeat my mom’s story, and he swears I won’t, but as I told in the beggining, I kinda consider this cheating. But I want to fix this, I want to stop feeling sad.
Pd: we have a whole life together, we have a couple of loans together, credit cards, 2 dogs, a house. I don’t have family that supports me rn, is not that easy for me to walk away.
What would you do? Or what should I do? Should I believe that it was just one time and just let it pass? Please help (I’m sorry if my narrative is not the best, english is my second language)

We’ve been exclusive for four months now and it’s been close to six months since our first date. My gf hosted a breakfast for her friends when her sister was in town. Her sister had hinted me that my gf’s friends are a lot to handle. I didn’t really had the context so I didn’t give it much thought. At the breakfast there were 8-10 people and other than introducing each other anyone barely talked to me and tried to have a conversation. Out of these 10 people two were her best friends and all her friends have known each other for 10-12 years. I felt very insecure after and I did discuss this with my gf. She said it might be a one off situation but they’re not like this. Met them all again at a birthday dinner party and the birthday person didn’t even make an eye contact with me neither her husband who hosted the dinner. Other than exchanges of hi how are you nothing more. I’m very hurt by this and to top this my gf asked to go out for a pool day with the same group and I said I’m not going cause I feel unwelcomed which hurts my self respect. She was okay with it but she still ended up going. Idk for some reason this action by her is making me overthink she doesn’t validate my feelings. I’ve made her meet my friends and they’ve been nothing but sweet to her. Having genuine conversations and getting to know her so they can give their opinion on stuff I might not be noticing. I feel this is important for your friends to do at least subtly. Her friends doesn’t seem to be interested in her partner at all and me being asked to go to things with her where I know I’ll not be acknowledged seems very demanding. And when she still ends up going my ego is getting hurt.
What am I missing here? Or am I overthinking and making this too big of a deal? If someone disrespects my partner I’d seriously evaluate my friendship with them. If my friends don’t want the best for me why even go out with them.

Hope this doesn’t fall foul of the ‘don’t ask for lists’ rule - I have a potential list but would really welcome some feedback from those who actually know what they’re doing.
For a bit of context, 40k was a big childhood deal for me but I am depressingly old enough for that to have been back in the days of 2nd edition (yep, I know) when Thousand Sons was not even a distant dream and basically everyone played Ultramarines and a lot of a game involved breaking out cutouts for the range of weapons. Clearly, because that is how time works whether we want it to or not, a lot has happened since then both in terms of real life and in terms of the development of 40k but I am now at a point where for better or worse I am considering indulging in a bit of a nostalgia itch that’s been building for a while and getting back into it - at least in terms of buying and painting some models, as a bit of a treat to the childhood me who couldn’t really afford any decent models or paints back in the day.
The Thousand Sons have caught my eye, I can’t really say why although maybe it’s not unrelated to the fact that even younger me was also obsessed with ancient Egypt (I also obviously enjoy being the ‘bad guys’). As I say, I’m not necessarily looking to play too many games if any (no one wants a 40 year old turning up to such things, I would imagine, especially one who is indulging himself by buying whatever models he fancies within reason because he now can) and the chances are these models will just sit on display somewhere to make me smile (I may have to convince my wife on the display part, but I remain optimistic). But nonetheless I would like to imagine that it’s an army that could potentially make sense in a practical context.
What I have (very) roughly come up with so far is a list of:
Magnus Exalted sorcerer Tzangoor shaman Infernal master 20 rubric marines 5 occult terminators 20 tzangoors 20 cultists 6 tzangoor enlightened 2 chaos spawn 1 rhino 1 helbrute 1 vortex beast
My thinking is that the cultists, spawn, and tzangoors could be the ‘advance force’ at the front of the battle, causing a bit of damage hopefully but more than anything just keeping the opposition busy whilst the marines move up supported by the Helbrute and Vortex beast as essentially cover artillery. The terminators could jump in the rhino and basically problem solve where needed, e.g. dealing with any particularly stubborn enemies. Then Magnus and the others could cause psychic chaos whilst moving up the board behind the other lines (and being relatively protected).
Is this tactically sound? Would this even make sense or is it a completely random assortment (it almost certainly is, as it’s largely just a selection of models I liked the sound and look of and imagined the use of)? It does sound like A LOT of models for an army which from what I have read is often seen as being handicapped by the exact opposite, so am I missing something?
Since coming up with it I have thrown this list into New Recruit and seen that I have somehow actually underestimated the points cost so may have to trim a bit of if I am going to pretend it’s a hypothetical 2000 points army but it still feels like a decent starting point…to me at least. Anyone else got any thoughts? I’d love to find a few points to have some blue horrors in there too, but that’s for the next phase!

Now, you may think I’m thinking about you again because I have a difficult exam tomorrow which I don’t feel prepared for AT ALL… and maybe you are right.
I have to tell you something, Dad. I’ve told this to lots of people. Psychiatrists. Therapists. But I never ever get the reaction I want. I never see my own horror reflected in other people’s faces. Or if I do, it’s horror at me, not horror WITH me. I have to tell you. And I need you to tell me it wasn’t my fault. Don’t be scared of me because of the things I did! Be scared of the things I saw. But then we will step over the fear. I hope.
I had an eating disorder at that boarding school, Dad.
But that’s not what terrifies me. That’s not what haunts me. Nine years ago - still haunts me.
What haunts me to this day is the moment that I realised that the teachers and the staff weren’t concerned about me. The fragments of moments coming together. They weren’t concerned about me. They were concerned about their career prospects. And how my ‘behavior’ would make them look. And how a scandal caused by my… my illness! - would affect them.
That was it! That was their main argument! ‘You lost so much weight - and everyone saw it!’ Will my heart ever heal from this, Dad?
I’m angry that I never stood up for myself. I know I couldn’t have. I know it’s not my fault. But I really resent myself for it.
The scariest part of it was how they encouraged you to go and see the school counselor. It was so creepy. And that one time they made me go to a really creepy ‘Eating Disorder Specialist’ with this other teacher and they both tried to browbeat me into essentially saying things they wanted to hear. It was creepy. Not how therapy works at all. Other girls said the same thing. They just couldn’t trust this whole thing.
By the way, I have recently stopped my therapy sessions. I think digging all of this stuff up is preventing me from feeling better.
Anyway, it was really creepy. Imagine going to a doctor with a broken bone, and the doctor sits you down, and says, ‘when you come outta here, you really should NOT feel any pain in your bone. Your bone should NOT hurt. You should be up and running Friday latest.’ That would make no sense. That’s not how illnesses work. And yet they wanted to put ME on a timeline. Not to ‘get better’. Not to ‘stop thinking about food’. Not to ‘eat healthy’. But to ‘get back to sport’. To ‘get back at least to pre-Christmas levels’ (levels of WHAT??) To LOOK like I was fine. To look fine for the Open Day. For the parents. The prospective pupils. Not to actually BE fine.
It’s actually very scary to stand next to someone and realise that they see you as a threat to their career and their prospects. It’s like one second you’re alone and you’re thinking of yourself as if you’re a whole person… but then you see yourself through their eyes. You’re nothing. How could you ever have thought that you were something? You’re nothing. You’re an obstacle. That’s all you are. There’s nothing else. Nothing else about you matters. They aren’t listening to you. They’re waiting for you to finish talking. It is a profoundly dispiriting experience. It broke me. I feel a little broken still, but less so now.
Sometimes I’m dreaming, Dad, and they are behind me, right behind me, in some corner of my mind. But me? Look at me, Father. You know I never gave in to them, Father, you know me. You know I kept writing to you. You know I never gave up. They function by beating people into submission, making you too scared to question them. Making you passive. But I’m not like that. I never gave in to them. I never stopped thinking about my father. My father, surpassed by none. What is their wannabe-HR-style-dictatorship against things which are eternal, permanent, things that make us human?
So I start running, in the dream. And I’m running, running, but then I turn around, and they are still walking. And I need to run to get away from them, and I can, I can, I do, I do. But in my dreams… I’m still running, and, every time I turn around, they’re right behind me. I have to run. But they can just walk. Scary.
For whatever it’s worth, you are always… normal in my dreams. You’re not decaying, or falling apart. Sometimes I imagine coming up to you, and you just turn around and look at me and say, ‘DiligentCroissant, let me go.’
In my imagination, there’s a river behind you. Grass blowing in the wind. The sky like a lake.

I see the world and EVERY SINGLE human I know and meet through a different lens. I can tell when someone is lying, nervous, hiding something, not interested in convo, not interested romantically, if they’re pregnant, LITERALLY everything. The list is long and heavy.
I have to go on about my day as if I was clueless to these things because when I’ve brought it up or “called them out”… I’ve been told how they feel violated, how it’s not right and how the things I see are supposed to be private. Which I totally understand their reasoning. I’ve caused a lot of grief in my personal life, with family and friends, and the only real person I can tell these things to is my psychologist.
The biggest thing for me is the lying. It’s part of human nature, it’s needed even. On average we lie a few times a day. If you talk to someone for about 10 minutes, there’s a good chance they lied to you at least once. (The real statistic is even scarier) Imagine those who lie compulsively or just more than the average.
I’ve accomplished great things in my career, have caught some very bad people and even, rarely, prevented bad things from happening. There’s times I encounter someone through work who has been trained in being deceptive with their body language and exceptional at hiding their “give aways” (but even then it’s a rare occurrence). It’s usually someone we’re trying to catch. And it’s a nice challenge for me, fun even.
But I truly regret going down this path. I feel as if I’m never at peace, mainly in my personal life. And maybe that’s selfish when compared to the “good” I’ve done but I feel I’m going crazy, like the veil has been pulled from my eyes.
The world is more fake than ever. I absolutely love it when I encounter a genuine person, and that’s RARE. And I mean RARE. And when I mean genuine I mean… If you ask the average person to choose 5 “genuine” people in their life… if I were to analyze them, only 1 of them would truly be genuine. My eyes were opened to the people around me throughout my studies. There’s so much you guys don’t see. And even with what I’ve said, it’s really only 30% of the whole picture.
I’ve thought about writing a book, even my superiors are strongly against it. The people in my field, we call our new found perspective… “Living Above The Clouds”.

Salam Everyone.
I need some advice about a serious matter that's been on my mind. I've been in a relationship with a guy. known each other for about five years now, and we are considering marriage. We both want to have our nikkah ceremony soon, but we've hit a significant roadblock.
He is strongly against legalising our marriage according to UK law. He believes that the nikkah is sufficient and doesn't see the need for a legal marriage certificate. This has me worried for several reasons:

1. Legal Recognition. Without a UK marriage certificate, our marriage won't be recognised legally. We'll just be considered as living partners, not a married couple.
   
2. Future Children. I’m concerned about the status of our future children. Will they be considered legitimate under Islamic law but not under UK law? Could this cause problems down the line, especially with things like inheritance, legal rights, etc.?
   
3. Islamic Perspective. I worry that not having a legal marriage might be considered haram. Isn't it important to follow the laws of the country we live in as long as they don't conflict with our religious beliefs?
   
4. Personal Preferences. I would feel much more secure and respected if our marriage was legal in the eyes of the law. Ideally, I'd like to legalise our marriage on the same day as our nikkah, if possible.
   

Given these concerns, I'm feeling conflicted about how to proceed. Has anyone here faced a similar situation? How did you handle it? What would you advise me to do because I actually really like this guy?
Thanks in advance for your insights!

I see the world and EVERY SINGLE human I know and meet through a different lens. I can tell when someone is lying, nervous, hiding something, not interested in convo, not interested romantically, if they’re pregnant, LITERALLY everything. The list is long and heavy.
I have to go on about my day as if I was clueless to these things because when I’ve brought it up or “called them out”… I’ve been told how they feel violated, how it’s not right and how the things I see are supposed to be private. Which I totally understand their reasoning. I’ve caused a lot of grief in my personal life, with family and friends, and the only real person I can tell these things to is my psychologist.
The biggest thing for me is the lying. It’s part of human nature, it’s needed even. On average we lie a few times a day. If you talk to someone for about 10 minutes, there’s a good chance they lied to you at least once. (The real statistic is even scarier) Imagine those who lie compulsively or just more than the average.
I’ve accomplished great things in my career, have caught some very bad people and even, rarely, prevented bad things from happening. There’s times I encounter someone through work who has been trained in being deceptive with their body language and exceptional at hiding their “give aways” (but even then it’s a rare occurrence). It’s usually someone we’re trying to catch. And it’s a nice challenge for me, fun even.
But I truly regret going down this path. I feel as if I’m never at peace, mainly in my personal life. And maybe that’s selfish when compared to the “good” I’ve done but I feel I’m going crazy, like the veil has been pulled from my eyes.
The world is more fake than ever. I absolutely love it when I encounter a genuine person, and that’s RARE. And I mean RARE. And when I mean genuine I mean… If you ask the average person to choose 5 “genuine” people in their life… if I were to analyze them, only 1 of them would truly be genuine. My eyes were opened to the people around me throughout my studies. There’s so much you guys don’t see. And even with what I’ve said, it’s really only 30% of the whole picture.
I’ve thought about writing a book, even my superiors are strongly against it. The people in my field, we call our new found perspective… “Living Above The Clouds”.

3/6 Emotional Generator, (definition from my ESP: 30, 19-49 , 37-40 )
First off, they're not familiar human design so I couldn't help them understand things from that perspective.
Not to be confused with my emotional wave but being around them makes me feel very unsafe, I progressively feel distrusting and simply cannot even pretend anymore –I cannot open myself up in any way, not even through eye contact or change of posture towards them when speaking. It's been interesting in my time of experimenting, especially in the beginning, that whenever I had resistance to something i would feel clenching in my gut, it's hardly till now that I've had a such a visceral full body 'back off' towards someone consistently – well, it's been a while...
I've felt through my emotional wave about last 3months on how to react over what I feel, the place they should have in my life and how much to let them in. I've felt the underlying truth for some time but I just allowed myself to go through the motions & various, small situations would somewhat destabilise things too causing me to doubt myself or sometimes question myself in a healthy way.
As much as I still experience guilt over what I feel and my mind gets involved, its very clear to me according to following my emotional authority that all of me wants nothing to do with ALL of this individual, not even speaking briefly or simple eye contact, nothing. And it's challenging...
Primarily because I live with this person, I'm not able to physically be out of the situation right now, so me being this way has caused tension for weeks. The person is very fond of me but I really don't want a relationship with them. I wouldn't even feel safe to communicate how I feel but part of me thinks it would only be fair to say something, let them know cs it clearly has been hurting them that I'm not the same with them anymore and in no way do i feel like letting in them anymore not even in the smallest of ways.

I see the world and EVERY SINGLE human I know and meet through a different lens. I can tell when someone is lying, nervous, hiding something, not interested in convo, not interested romantically, if they’re pregnant, LITERALLY everything. The list is long and heavy.
I have to go on about my day as if I was clueless to these things because when I’ve brought it up or “called them out”… I’ve been told how they feel violated, how it’s not right and how the things I see are supposed to be private. Which I totally understand their reasoning. I’ve caused a lot of grief in my personal life, with family and friends, and the only real person I can tell these things to is my psychologist.
The biggest thing for me is the lying. It’s part of human nature, it’s needed even. On average we lie a few times a day. If you talk to someone for about 10 minutes, there’s a good chance they lied to you at least once. (The real statistic is even scarier) Imagine those who lie compulsively or just more than the average.
I’ve accomplished great things in my career, have caught some very bad people and even, rarely, prevented bad things from happening. There’s times I encounter someone through work who has been trained in being deceptive with their body language and exceptional at hiding their “give aways” (but even then it’s a rare occurrence). It’s usually someone we’re trying to catch. And it’s a nice challenge for me, fun even.
But I truly regret going down this path. I feel as if I’m never at peace, mainly in my personal life. And maybe that’s selfish when compared to the “good” I’ve done but I feel I’m going crazy, like the veil has been pulled from my eyes.
The world is more fake than ever. I absolutely love it when I encounter a genuine person, and that’s RARE. And I mean RARE. And when I mean genuine I mean… If you ask the average person to choose 5 “genuine” people in their life… if I were to analyze them, only 1 of them would truly be genuine. My eyes were opened to the people around me throughout my studies. There’s so much you guys don’t see. And even with what I’ve said, it’s really only 30% of the whole picture.
I’ve thought about writing a book, even my superiors are strongly against it. The people in my field, we call our new found perspective… “Living Above The Clouds”.

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait, between varying interests and having to make this entire act from scratch rather than just giving it an update, this portion of my DCU definitely did take longer to make than most! But I’m here, I’m ready, let’s get right into it!
As usual, here is the lineup for this concluding act to my first chapter of the DCU:

1. The Flashpoint Paradox (Film);
2. Hawk man and Hawkgirl (Film);
3. The Birds of Prey (Film);
4. Cyborg Season 2 (TV Show);
5. The Justice Society (Film);
6. Aquaman: The Last King (Film);
7. Superman: Warworld (Film);
8. Teen Titans: Judas (Film);
9. The Brave and the Bold 2 (Film);
10. The Supers (TV Show);
11. Wonder Woman: Odyssey (Film);
12. Batgirl Season 2 (TV Show);
13. Batman: The Red Hood (Film);
14. Justice League Apokalips Part 1: War (Film);
15. Suicide Squad: Operation Apokalips (Film);
16. The New Gods (Film);
17. Justice League Apokalips Part 2: Crisis (Film)

And without further ado, here we go:
-The Flashpoint Paradox (Film)
Protagonists: The Flash, Batman (Thomas Wayne) Antagonists: Reverse Flash, Flashpoint Aquaman, Flashpoint Wonder Woman Side Characters: Cyborg, Flashpoint Superman, Nora and Henry Allen, Lois Lane, Rebellion, Atlantians, Amazonians Cameo Characters: Superman, Batman, Jason Todd
Plot: Barry Allen had done the unthinkable. He ran fast enough to break through the time barrier and save his mother’s life. But would the butterfly effect be worth it? Nora Allen was alive, but the world Barry knew before was dead, replaced with one unfamiliar to him. Bruce Wayne is dead, Metropolis was almost completely destroyed, and on top of all of that, the friends he had once known were were fighting a war that could spell doom for the entire world. Can Barry keep this new universe together? Or will a haunting shadow remind him why you should never change the past?
Setting: Central City, Metropolis
Mid-Credits Scene: On a faraway planet, a stolen relic called the Regeneration Matrix is regenerating a figure back to full health from their coffin. When the process is complete, the figure awakens and sits up in his coffin. He looks around, revealed to be Superman back from the dead, asking where he is. A nearby medical robot gives him a simple answer, “Warworld.”
Post-Credits Scene: Focus is put onto the Wayne Family graveyard, panning over numerous graves. Eventually, the focus is directed to the grave of Jason Todd, though the grave is dug up and the coffin underneath is empty. Nearby, a figure is limping through the cemetery, revealed to be Jason Todd, who is leaving his grave and heading towards Gotham.
-Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Film)
Protagonists: Hawkman, Hawkgirl Antagonist: Hath-Set Side Characters: (Idk I’m not very up to date on their lore lol) Cameo Character: Doctor Fate
Plot: Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders are two ordinary individuals with no connection whatsoever. That is, until an enemy from the ancient past makes his return to remind them of how they are bound. The two hawk-people must now work together to break a dark cycle they are forever caught in, and along the way, remember who they were meant to be in lives past.
Settings: New York, briefly Egypt
Mid-Credits Scene: Having survived the cycle for the first time, Carter and Shiera enjoy their momentary peace at home. However, a man who calls himself Doctor Fate appears before them and requests their help. He tells them a threat of considerable proportions is on its way to Earth, and he needs their assistance to defeat it. They ask for time to think it over, to which Doctor Fate gives them, but warns them that time is running short.
-The Birds of Prey (Film)
Protagonists: Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Black Canary, Huntress, Katana Antagonists: Joker’s Daughter, Sons of Joker, the Joker Side Characters: Francine Charles, Commissioner Gordon, Renée Montoya, other characters’ respective side characters Cameo Characters: Oliver Queen, Batman, Jason Todd
Plot: Batgirl has spent months getting her team into line, but they are finally ready. Black Canary, Huntress, and a new girl calling herself Katana, under Barbara’s leadership become a new, fierce superhero team called the Birds of Prey. Their first mission? Bring down the Sons of Joker, and learn their connection to the Clown Prince of Crime himself. But will the new team be able to work together? Or will Barbara crumble, and bring her team with her?
Setting: Gotham City
Mid-Credits Scene: Within her hospital room following being shot and paralyzed by the Joker, Barbara is visited by a man while she sleeps. This man is revealed to be Jason Todd, who apologizes for Barbara’s fate, blaming Batman for another failure, though he guarantees this one will be his last.
-Cyborg Season 2 (TV Show)
Protagonist: Cyborg Antagonists: The Brain, Monsieur Mallah Side Characters: Silas Stone, Sarah Charles, Beast Boy Cameo Characters: T. O. Morrow, The Grid
Overall Plot: After much grief between his friends and coworkers Superman and Nightwing, Cyborg finds himself disconnected from his friends and begins taking justice across the world into his own hands. But when he faces a threat that he finds himself unable to defeat alone, he learns to open himself up to those around him, and share his pain so that others may help to fix it.
Episode One Plot: Cyborg seeks to solve the problems of people around him his own way, which leads him into the heart of a rogue H.I.V.E. operation calling themselves B.R.A.I.N.
Episode Two Plot: Cyborg launches his own investigation into BRAIN, but finds Beast Boy as an interference when he tries helping his friend out.
Episode Three Plot: Trapped on an unknown island, Cyborg must rely on the help from his friend Beast Boy when his systems shut down and they seek an escape.
Episode Four Plot: BRAIN reveals itself to be ruled by a robotic organism called the Brain, which reveals its plans for world domination to Cyborg.
Episode Five Plot: Attempting a search for the Brain’s supposed doomsday device, Cyborg uncovers a large conspiracy tying the Brain back to the invader Brainiac.
Episode Six Plot: In the season finale, Cyborg learns to let his friends in as he stops the Brain from continuing Brainiac’s work and controlling the world.
Setting: Central City, various other places
Mid-Credits Scene: After defeating the Brain, Cyborg leaves his computer running on an AI program he created called “The Grid.” When he leaves, a string of green code merges itself with the blue code running on the screen, turning a large portion of it green in the shape of a skull.
-The Justice Society (Film)
Protagonists: Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, the Flash (Jay Garrick), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Mister Terrific, Wildcat, Stargirl Antagonist: Despero Side Characters: Respective side characters (I’m lazy, sorry lol) Cameo Characters: Adam Strange, Vandal Savage
Plot: For the past few years, Doctor Fate has sensed a presence of tremendous power threatening to invade the earth, and now that presence has finally arrived. Despero, a conqueror from the stars with unlimited power, has arrived on earth, yet the Justice League is spread too thin and too far to help against the incoming threat. Fate realizes that he will have to assemble a new team to defeat Despero and stop his invasion, a team he has spent the better part of the past few months gathering.
Settings: Various cities
Mid-Credits Scene: Following their victory and return home, the Justice Society are confronted by a mysterious man called Adam Strange, who teleported himself to them to warn of a new incoming threat, and claiming that they have come for Carter and Shiera.
Post-Credits Scene: Far away, mysterious soldiers locate a tomb and open a single coffin resting inside. Out from the coffin springs a large man, who attacks the soldiers before asking what year it is, and who they are. They answer that it is the 21st century, and they are here to welcome “the Savage,” to the new age, to which the man laughs maniacally.
-Aquaman: The Last King (Film)
Protagonists: Aquaman, Aqualad (Jackson Hyde) Antagonists: Black Manta, Starro Side Characters: Mera, Orm, Garth, Arthur Jr., Atlanteans Cameo Characters: Jesse Hyde
Plot: At last, Black Manta’s final revenge has come. For years, he has been plotting, researching a way to exact his vengeance on Aquaman following so many failures. At last, he has found it, enlisting the help of an ancient beast from the stars named Starro to help him destroy Atlantis and claim the title of its dark king. But when both Aquaman and Manta find that the new conqueror seeks control and destruction of everything they know, new alliances must be forged to bring peace to Atlantis once and for all.
Setting: Atlantis
Mid-Credits Scene: Following his sacrifice to defeat Starro, David finds himself in an ocean-like afterlife, where he meets his father Jesse for the first time in years. David apologizes for his actions, and his grief, to which Jesse forgives him, and the two embrace once more.
-Superman: Warworld (Film)
Protagonist: Superman Antagonists: Mongul, Ultra Humanite, Mongul’s Champions (The Teacher, the Mother, the Orphan, the Darling, and the Unmade) Side Characters: Kryl-Ux, Otho-Ra, Osul-Ra, Thao-La Cameo Characters: The Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, Lois Lane
Plot: After being killed by Doomsday during the Brainiac Invasion, Superman has found himself brought back to life via a lost Kryptonian Regeneration Matrix located on the distant planet Warworld. Once he is awakened, Superman is quickly introduced to the harsh, gladiator-like lifestyle of the planet, run by its cruel ruler: Mongul. Superman must now put his strength and will to the test as he battles and chooses his way through a cosmic adventure like no other, all in an attempt to return home and rescue the people of the desolate planet.
Setting: Warworld
Mid-Credits Scene: On Earth, in the Fortress of Solitude, a similar Regeneration Matrix has finished the body that was meant to be Superman’s, but a new force has taken it over. The Eradicator declares himself Superman, and seeks to prove itself as the ultimate Man of Steel.
Post-Credits Scene: Lois Lane is walking out of a shop with a coffee in hand, when she notices a red and blue figure flying through the sky. Her, and many civilians, rush to the city square to see the returned Man of Steel, only for him to turn his face and reveal a half-robotic one underneath.
-Teen Titans: Judas (Film)
Protagonists: Red X, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Donna Troy Antagonists: H.I.V.E. (Namely Adeline Kane and Damien Darhk), Deathstroke, Terra Side Characters: None Cameo Characters: Blue Beetle, Aqualad, Bumblebee, Arsenal, Rose Wilson
Plot: Following the supposed death of Nightwing, the Titans have mostly disbanded to follow their own paths. But when the villainous mercenary Deathstroke returns to the scene to exact revenge for his son’s death, the young heroes must unify once again to put an end to H.I.V.E., before they are all killed. But with a traitor in their team, and a thief who feels all to similar to the team’s dearly departed leader, the Titans find themselves lost in a conspiracy that leaves them unsure of who to trust and who not to.
Setting: San Francisco
Mid-Credits Scene: With Grayson alive and returned to his rightful position as team leader, Starfire asks him if things will truly be back to normal. Nightwing tells her no, that the events of the last few days have opened his eyes to not only be more careful, but also to increase his efforts to better train the next generation of superheroes. He shows her the new rebuilt tower, labeled Titans Academy, with a good few new recruits already waiting outside.
Post-Credits Scene: After being sent to prison, Slade is confronted by his daughter Rose, who has come to visit him. She shames him for his act of violence against the children, claiming that he has brought dishonor to their family. He retorts, saying that he did it out of love and mourning for Grant, and that she should be ashamed for not doing anything. The two leave with a disagreement and hatred for one another, Rose pulling out a tracker to the Titans Academy, as well as a mask she intends to wear for the trip.
-The Brave and the Bold 2 (Film)
Protagonists: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Arsenal Antagonist: Cheshire Side Characters: Respective side characters (who I still don’t know cuz I don’t read their comics lol) Cameo Characters: Batman, Ra’s Al Ghul, Shado
Plot: Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance, now betrothed to one another, have their life set. Marriage, money, and the skills to defend themselves and their city against any who may dare seek to soil it. But as new faces good and bad come into play, the super power-couple must be more strategic with their approach to crime-fighting if they want to preserve the good of their city, before all hell can break loose.
Setting: Star City
Mid-Credits Scene: Following news coverage of Green Arrow and Black Canary’s heroics against Cheshire, a woman far across the world catches wind of the report and prepares her weapons. She gears up, leaving her hideout as Shado now makes her way to Star City.
Post-Credits Scene: Observing the chaos and failure of his wild-card protégé Cheshire, Ra’s Al Ghul has a confrontation with Batman, where the Caped Crusader warns Ra’s to put an end to is theatrics in Star City. Ra’s tells Batman he has no more interest in Star City, having failed twice, but he warns Batman to keep out of his affairs, or else Gotham may be the next place the League of Assassins visits.
-The Supers (TV Show)
Protagonists: Supergirl, Steel, Lois Lane, Superboy Antagonists: Cyborg Superman, the Eradicator, Livewire, Parasite, Intergang Side Characters: Jimmy Olsen, Martha Kent, Lex Luthor, Perry White, Kat Grant, Steve Lombard Cameo Characters: Superman, Hal Jordan
Overall Plot: Superman is dead, and Metropolis is in the hands of new saviors now. Since the Man of Steel was killed by Doomsday, there have been those like Steel and Superboy who have risen up to take up the mantle the Kryptonian left behind. But others, like the Eradicator and the new “Cyborg Superman,” have taken justice in a more violent direction. But is the Man of Steel really dead? And how do the new imposters tie into his return? As Lois and Supergirl team up with new heroes to investigate, they are led down a rabbit hole of resurrections and revenge, one that will leave them with dark answers they may not be ready for.
Episode One Plot: A funeral is held for Superman following his death, but in mourning, the Man of Steel seems to have returned, losing his cape and donning new Golden goggles.
Episode Two Plot: As Steel makes his presence known, he comes into conflict with the the new Superman when debating the fate of a villainess on the run. Meanwhile, Lois begins investigating the appearance of the new Superman, but her investigation is cut short by the appearance of a brand new Cyborg Superman, claiming to be the real hero returned.
Episode Three Plot: Superboy, a clone on the run, makes a name for himself in Metropolis as a younger, cockier hero missing the values of the original Superman. Meanwhile, Lois takes the time to talk with Supergirl, sharing with her the suspicions she has on the new Supermen.
Episode Four Plot: Lex Luthor has prepared a gala to announce his new plans for Super-Police to defend the city following Superman’s death. But when the new Supermen finally clash in a confrontation to debate letting Luthor live and killing him for his crimes, the public finally get a chance to decide who their saviors are.
Episode Five Plot: Declared the true savior of Metropolis, Cyborg Superman is put to the test when he faces a new threat: the Parasite. Meanwhile, Lois and Supergirl enlist the help of Steel to investigate the truth of the Cyborg Superman.
Episode Six Plot: In one last act to prove himself, the Eradicator attacks Cyborg Superman, dying in the battle. However, Cyborg Superman’s victory is short-lived, as Lois, Supergirl, and Steel out the truth behind him and the deceased scientist Hank Henshaw.
Episode Seven Plot: Furious with his reveal, Cyborg Superman goes ballistic, assaulting the military and claiming the means to destroy half of the country in a nuclear attack.
Episode Eight Plot: All bets are off in the season finale as Lois, Supergirl, Steel, and Superboy race to stop Cyborg Superman’s plot for nuclear destruction. A race that only becomes more definite as the real Man of Steel finally returns from the dead to save the world.
Settings: Metropolis, Smallville
Mid-Credits Scene: Following the mostly failed nuclear attack, Hal Jordan returns to Earth to find Coast City in ruin, the only city nuked in the attack. He grows angry and mournful, showing the first sign of losing himself to darkness.
-Wonder Woman: Odyssey (Film)
Protagonist: Wonder Woman Antagonists: Circe, Cheetah, Hades, various mythological monsters, Furies Side Characters: Hippolyta, Artemis Cameo Characters: Zeus, various other gods, Steve Trevor
Plot: After decades of living among man and acting as their hero, the consequences of Diana’s actions have finally caught up with her. The sorceress Circe has been freed, and has destroyed Diana’s home of Themyscira. She has now partnered with the Cheetah as her disciple, seeking to delve into the Underworld to free Hades from the deepest depths of Tartarus. Diana must now travel through the rings of Hell and battle through a gauntlet of beasts and enemies to stop their plot and prove herself worthy of being called Wonder Woman.
Settings: Themyscira, the Underworld
Mid-Credits Scene: Following the near-escape of Hades, with involvement from Cheetah, the Old Gods of Greece meet to determine how they handle this matter moving forward. Ultimately, Zeus decides that the mortals of man’s world have become too dangerous, and declares war on the mortal realm and those who may defend it.
Post-Credits Scene: Following her redemption in the Underworld, Cheetah returns to the old wrecked base she had been frozen inside of during World War II. She explores deep inside the frozen lair, eventually coming across a large chunk of ice that had gone undiscovered until now. And within lies Steve Trevor, perfectly preserved for over 80 years.
-Batgirl Season 2 (TV Show)
Protagonist: Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) Antagonists: David Cain, the League of Assassins Side Characters: Oracle (Barbara Gordon), Batman, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred, Robin Cameo Characters: Red Hood
Overall Plot: Barbara Gordon has been shot and paralyzed, leaving Gotham without a Batgirl... temporarily. When the League of Assassins makes good on their threat and comes to Gotham, a young assassin by the name of Cassandra Cain tries to prove herself as the greatest assassin the League has ever known. But when she fails and finds herself deserted by the League and her own father, Barbara sees a light in her and shows her she has the power to be a great hero instead.
Episode One Plot: The League of Assassins make their way into Gotham as a young Cassandra Cain tries but fails to break into Oracle’s clocktower.
Episode Two Plot: Feeling shame for her failure, Cassandra is lifted up by Barbara, who convinces her that she is capable of being a hero instead.
Episode Three Plot: Cassandra begins her first night of patrol in Gotham as the new Batgirl, but meets resistance when Batman denies the presence of a new Batgirl.
Episode Four Plot: Determined to prove herself, Cassandra follows Batman on a mission to stop a potential assassination, during which the two open up to one another.
Episode Five Plot: Cassandra gets her first taste of a sidekick team-up as she and Robin work together to prevent a terrorist attack from the League of Assassins.
Episode Six Plot: Stakes are high in the season finale, as Cassandra re-confronts her father and seeks to stop the League’s plans for destroying Gotham, by any means necessary.
Setting: Gotham City
Mid-Credits Scene: Feeling disdain for the destruction caused by the League of Assassins, Jason decides it is time to enact his plan and take Gotham for himself, no matter the costs.
-Batman: The Red Hood (Film)
Protagonists: Batman, Robin (Tim Drake), Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) Antagonists: Red Hood, Bane, Joker Side Characters: Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Oracle, Nightwing, Catwoman, Lucius Fox, Harvey Bullock, Renée Montoya, Mayor Krol Cameo Characters: Darkseid, Azrael
Plot: Bane has arrived, and with him comes the Caped Crusader’s darkest days. Bane has seized control of the city and vows to both break the Batman and ruin everything he holds dear. However, he finds rivalry in the criminal underworld, as a new figure called the Red Hood emerges to take Gotham back his way. Batman is now caught in the crosshairs of a dark beast of destruction and a vengeful ghost from the past battling for control of the city, and with the Dark Knight losing his grip more and more each day, people wonder if the city really needs vigilantes.
Setting: Gotham City
Mid-Credits Scene: Following his identity being revealed and being imprisoned, Bruce sits in his cell as the tv showcases news coverage of another alien invasion occurring in Metropolis. He stares with fear as he watches Parademons swarm the city, followed closely behind by Darkseid himself, finally come to Earth.
Post-Credits Scene: Following the supposed end of the Batman, a hooded figure on a rooftop swears an oath to a mysterious force. As he stands up, he unsheathes his sword and reveals himself as Azrael, prepared to carry on the Batman’s legacy at any cost.
-Justice League Apokalips Part 1: War (Film)
Protagonists: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lanterns (Hal Jordan and John Stewart), Cyborg, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Shazam, Steel, Superboy, Teen Titans, Justice Society, Lex Luthor Antagonists: Darkseid, Desaad, Kalibak, Granny Goodness, Grail, Apokalips Army Side Characters: Various (too many to list lol) Cameo Characters: Orion
Plot: The apocalypse has come. After years of planning and waiting, Darkseid has finally arrived on Earth, his invasion active and his plan clear: find the Mother Boxes and destroy all life in the universe, starting with Earth. The only obstacle standing between him and the Anti-Life Equation is the Justice League, who must unite one more time to defend Earth from the ultimate evil. But with a threat as powerful as Darkseid, do they have any hope of saving the world?
Settings: Metropolis, Apokalips, other cities
Mid-Credits Scene: Following his victory and upcoming conquering of the universe, starting with Earth, Darkseid’s actions are monitored by a man flying his way through space. He grows dreadful at the god’s actions, and activates an alert signaling the “New Gods” to unite.
-Suicide Squad: Operation Apokalips (Film)
Protagonists: Amanda Waller, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, King Shark, Killer Frost, Rick Flag, the Thinker, Parasite Antagonists: Granny Goodness, Female Furies, Grail Side Characters: Few to none Cameo Characters: Batman, Flash
Plot: Darkseid has won, and now the Earth is doomed to die to the forces of Apokalips. However, there is one person left on Earth with a plan to save it: Amanda Waller. Recruiting her team of convicts, she plans a mission to cripple Darkseid’s main military output and steal back an invention of great importance: the Cosmic Treadmill. It’s a Suicide mission like no other, and this time, nobody is certain to be making it out alive.
Settings: Metropolis, STAR Labs
Mid-Credits Scene: Following the shaky mission, Waller meets with Batman and the Flash, presenting the treadmill. Batman thanks her for her mission, saying he has a plan to bring the disappeared Justice League back and save the world.
-The New Gods (Film)
Protagonists: Orion, Big Barda, Mr. Miracle, Bekka, Lightray Antagonist: Steppenwolfe, Black Racer Side Characters: High Father, Drax Cameo Characters: Darkseid, Batman, Flash
Plot: Taking place centuries before the events of “Justice League: War”, the New Gods are a powerful race of galactic beings who rule the universe in place of the Old Gods of mythology. However, when a misguided tyrant god named Steppenwolfe goes on a mad quest for his dark master, the New Gods must search for the ancient Mother Boxes and retrieve them before the darkness can find them and kill the universe.
Settings: New Genesis, other planets
Mid-Credits Scene: In the present, the remains of the Justice League and Argus formulate a plan to take the world back from Apokalips. However, they are interrupted mid-plan, as the New Gods arrive, saying they wish to help... and kill Darkseid.
-Justice League Apokalips Part 2: Crisis (Film)
Protagonists: Protagonists: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lanterns (Hal Jordan and John Stewart), Cyborg, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Shazam, Steel, Superboy, Teen Titans, Justice Society, Lex Luthor, New Gods, Suicide Squad Antagonists: Darkseid, Desaad, Kalibak, Apokalips army, Black Racer Side Characters: Too many to count lol Cameo Characters: None
Plot: At last, the conclusion to the first chapter of the DCU has arrived. With the Earth in ruins and the core Justice League lost in time, all hope seems lost. That is, until Batman and the Flash come up with a plan to save the world. With the Cosmic Treadmill, they seek to travel throughout time to recover their teammates of the Justice League, and put a stop to Darkseid once and for all. Will they succeed, or will Apokalips rule the universe in the end?
Settings: Metropolis, various locations throughout time

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait, between varying interests and having to make this entire act from scratch rather than just giving it an update, this portion of my DCU definitely did take longer to make than most! But I’m here, I’m ready, let’s get right into it!
As usual, here is the lineup for this concluding act to my first chapter of the DCU:

1. The Flashpoint Paradox (Film);
2. Hawk man and Hawkgirl (Film);
3. The Birds of Prey (Film);
4. Cyborg Season 2 (TV Show);
5. The Justice Society (Film);
6. Aquaman: The Last King (Film);
7. Superman: Warworld (Film);
8. Teen Titans: Judas (Film);
9. The Brave and the Bold 2 (Film);
10. The Supers (TV Show);
11. Wonder Woman: Odyssey (Film);
12. Batgirl Season 2 (TV Show);
13. Batman: The Red Hood (Film);
14. Justice League Apokalips Part 1: War (Film);
15. Suicide Squad: Operation Apokalips (Film);
16. The New Gods (Film);
17. Justice League Apokalips Part 2: Crisis (Film)

And without further ado, here we go:
-The Flashpoint Paradox (Film)
Protagonists: The Flash, Batman (Thomas Wayne) Antagonists: Reverse Flash, Flashpoint Aquaman, Flashpoint Wonder Woman Side Characters: Cyborg, Flashpoint Superman, Nora and Henry Allen, Lois Lane, Rebellion, Atlantians, Amazonians Cameo Characters: Superman, Batman, Jason Todd
Plot: Barry Allen had done the unthinkable. He ran fast enough to break through the time barrier and save his mother’s life. But would the butterfly effect be worth it? Nora Allen was alive, but the world Barry knew before was dead, replaced with one unfamiliar to him. Bruce Wayne is dead, Metropolis was almost completely destroyed, and on top of all of that, the friends he had once known were were fighting a war that could spell doom for the entire world. Can Barry keep this new universe together? Or will a haunting shadow remind him why you should never change the past?
Setting: Central City, Metropolis
Mid-Credits Scene: On a faraway planet, a stolen relic called the Regeneration Matrix is regenerating a figure back to full health from their coffin. When the process is complete, the figure awakens and sits up in his coffin. He looks around, revealed to be Superman back from the dead, asking where he is. A nearby medical robot gives him a simple answer, “Warworld.”
Post-Credits Scene: Focus is put onto the Wayne Family graveyard, panning over numerous graves. Eventually, the focus is directed to the grave of Jason Todd, though the grave is dug up and the coffin underneath is empty. Nearby, a figure is limping through the cemetery, revealed to be Jason Todd, who is leaving his grave and heading towards Gotham.
-Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Film)
Protagonists: Hawkman, Hawkgirl Antagonist: Hath-Set Side Characters: (Idk I’m not very up to date on their lore lol) Cameo Character: Doctor Fate
Plot: Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders are two ordinary individuals with no connection whatsoever. That is, until an enemy from the ancient past makes his return to remind them of how they are bound. The two hawk-people must now work together to break a dark cycle they are forever caught in, and along the way, remember who they were meant to be in lives past.
Settings: New York, briefly Egypt
Mid-Credits Scene: Having survived the cycle for the first time, Carter and Shiera enjoy their momentary peace at home. However, a man who calls himself Doctor Fate appears before them and requests their help. He tells them a threat of considerable proportions is on its way to Earth, and he needs their assistance to defeat it. They ask for time to think it over, to which Doctor Fate gives them, but warns them that time is running short.
-The Birds of Prey (Film)
Protagonists: Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Black Canary, Huntress, Katana Antagonists: Joker’s Daughter, Sons of Joker, the Joker Side Characters: Francine Charles, Commissioner Gordon, Renée Montoya, other characters’ respective side characters Cameo Characters: Oliver Queen, Batman, Jason Todd
Plot: Batgirl has spent months getting her team into line, but they are finally ready. Black Canary, Huntress, and a new girl calling herself Katana, under Barbara’s leadership become a new, fierce superhero team called the Birds of Prey. Their first mission? Bring down the Sons of Joker, and learn their connection to the Clown Prince of Crime himself. But will the new team be able to work together? Or will Barbara crumble, and bring her team with her?
Setting: Gotham City
Mid-Credits Scene: Within her hospital room following being shot and paralyzed by the Joker, Barbara is visited by a man while she sleeps. This man is revealed to be Jason Todd, who apologizes for Barbara’s fate, blaming Batman for another failure, though he guarantees this one will be his last.
-Cyborg Season 2 (TV Show)
Protagonist: Cyborg Antagonists: The Brain, Monsieur Mallah Side Characters: Silas Stone, Sarah Charles, Beast Boy Cameo Characters: T. O. Morrow, The Grid
Overall Plot: After much grief between his friends and coworkers Superman and Nightwing, Cyborg finds himself disconnected from his friends and begins taking justice across the world into his own hands. But when he faces a threat that he finds himself unable to defeat alone, he learns to open himself up to those around him, and share his pain so that others may help to fix it.
Episode One Plot: Cyborg seeks to solve the problems of people around him his own way, which leads him into the heart of a rogue H.I.V.E. operation calling themselves B.R.A.I.N.
Episode Two Plot: Cyborg launches his own investigation into BRAIN, but finds Beast Boy as an interference when he tries helping his friend out.
Episode Three Plot: Trapped on an unknown island, Cyborg must rely on the help from his friend Beast Boy when his systems shut down and they seek an escape.
Episode Four Plot: BRAIN reveals itself to be ruled by a robotic organism called the Brain, which reveals its plans for world domination to Cyborg.
Episode Five Plot: Attempting a search for the Brain’s supposed doomsday device, Cyborg uncovers a large conspiracy tying the Brain back to the invader Brainiac.
Episode Six Plot: In the season finale, Cyborg learns to let his friends in as he stops the Brain from continuing Brainiac’s work and controlling the world.
Setting: Central City, various other places
Mid-Credits Scene: After defeating the Brain, Cyborg leaves his computer running on an AI program he created called “The Grid.” When he leaves, a string of green code merges itself with the blue code running on the screen, turning a large portion of it green in the shape of a skull.
-The Justice Society (Film)
Protagonists: Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, the Flash (Jay Garrick), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Mister Terrific, Wildcat, Stargirl Antagonist: Despero Side Characters: Respective side characters (I’m lazy, sorry lol) Cameo Characters: Adam Strange, Vandal Savage
Plot: For the past few years, Doctor Fate has sensed a presence of tremendous power threatening to invade the earth, and now that presence has finally arrived. Despero, a conqueror from the stars with unlimited power, has arrived on earth, yet the Justice League is spread too thin and too far to help against the incoming threat. Fate realizes that he will have to assemble a new team to defeat Despero and stop his invasion, a team he has spent the better part of the past few months gathering.
Settings: Various cities
Mid-Credits Scene: Following their victory and return home, the Justice Society are confronted by a mysterious man called Adam Strange, who teleported himself to them to warn of a new incoming threat, and claiming that they have come for Carter and Shiera.
Post-Credits Scene: Far away, mysterious soldiers locate a tomb and open a single coffin resting inside. Out from the coffin springs a large man, who attacks the soldiers before asking what year it is, and who they are. They answer that it is the 21st century, and they are here to welcome “the Savage,” to the new age, to which the man laughs maniacally.
-Aquaman: The Last King (Film)
Protagonists: Aquaman, Aqualad (Jackson Hyde) Antagonists: Black Manta, Starro Side Characters: Mera, Orm, Garth, Arthur Jr., Atlanteans Cameo Characters: Jesse Hyde
Plot: At last, Black Manta’s final revenge has come. For years, he has been plotting, researching a way to exact his vengeance on Aquaman following so many failures. At last, he has found it, enlisting the help of an ancient beast from the stars named Starro to help him destroy Atlantis and claim the title of its dark king. But when both Aquaman and Manta find that the new conqueror seeks control and destruction of everything they know, new alliances must be forged to bring peace to Atlantis once and for all.
Setting: Atlantis
Mid-Credits Scene: Following his sacrifice to defeat Starro, David finds himself in an ocean-like afterlife, where he meets his father Jesse for the first time in years. David apologizes for his actions, and his grief, to which Jesse forgives him, and the two embrace once more.
-Superman: Warworld (Film)
Protagonist: Superman Antagonists: Mongul, Ultra Humanite, Mongul’s Champions (The Teacher, the Mother, the Orphan, the Darling, and the Unmade) Side Characters: Kryl-Ux, Otho-Ra, Osul-Ra, Thao-La Cameo Characters: The Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, Lois Lane
Plot: After being killed by Doomsday during the Brainiac Invasion, Superman has found himself brought back to life via a lost Kryptonian Regeneration Matrix located on the distant planet Warworld. Once he is awakened, Superman is quickly introduced to the harsh, gladiator-like lifestyle of the planet, run by its cruel ruler: Mongul. Superman must now put his strength and will to the test as he battles and chooses his way through a cosmic adventure like no other, all in an attempt to return home and rescue the people of the desolate planet.
Setting: Warworld
Mid-Credits Scene: On Earth, in the Fortress of Solitude, a similar Regeneration Matrix has finished the body that was meant to be Superman’s, but a new force has taken it over. The Eradicator declares himself Superman, and seeks to prove itself as the ultimate Man of Steel.
Post-Credits Scene: Lois Lane is walking out of a shop with a coffee in hand, when she notices a red and blue figure flying through the sky. Her, and many civilians, rush to the city square to see the returned Man of Steel, only for him to turn his face and reveal a half-robotic one underneath.
-Teen Titans: Judas (Film)
Protagonists: Red X, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Donna Troy Antagonists: H.I.V.E. (Namely Adeline Kane and Damien Darhk), Deathstroke, Terra Side Characters: None Cameo Characters: Blue Beetle, Aqualad, Bumblebee, Arsenal, Rose Wilson
Plot: Following the supposed death of Nightwing, the Titans have mostly disbanded to follow their own paths. But when the villainous mercenary Deathstroke returns to the scene to exact revenge for his son’s death, the young heroes must unify once again to put an end to H.I.V.E., before they are all killed. But with a traitor in their team, and a thief who feels all to similar to the team’s dearly departed leader, the Titans find themselves lost in a conspiracy that leaves them unsure of who to trust and who not to.
Setting: San Francisco
Mid-Credits Scene: With Grayson alive and returned to his rightful position as team leader, Starfire asks him if things will truly be back to normal. Nightwing tells her no, that the events of the last few days have opened his eyes to not only be more careful, but also to increase his efforts to better train the next generation of superheroes. He shows her the new rebuilt tower, labeled Titans Academy, with a good few new recruits already waiting outside.
Post-Credits Scene: After being sent to prison, Slade is confronted by his daughter Rose, who has come to visit him. She shames him for his act of violence against the children, claiming that he has brought dishonor to their family. He retorts, saying that he did it out of love and mourning for Grant, and that she should be ashamed for not doing anything. The two leave with a disagreement and hatred for one another, Rose pulling out a tracker to the Titans Academy, as well as a mask she intends to wear for the trip.
-The Brave and the Bold 2 (Film)
Protagonists: Green Arrow, Black Canary, Arsenal Antagonist: Cheshire Side Characters: Respective side characters (who I still don’t know cuz I don’t read their comics lol) Cameo Characters: Batman, Ra’s Al Ghul, Shado
Plot: Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance, now betrothed to one another, have their life set. Marriage, money, and the skills to defend themselves and their city against any who may dare seek to soil it. But as new faces good and bad come into play, the super power-couple must be more strategic with their approach to crime-fighting if they want to preserve the good of their city, before all hell can break loose.
Setting: Star City
Mid-Credits Scene: Following news coverage of Green Arrow and Black Canary’s heroics against Cheshire, a woman far across the world catches wind of the report and prepares her weapons. She gears up, leaving her hideout as Shado now makes her way to Star City.
Post-Credits Scene: Observing the chaos and failure of his wild-card protégé Cheshire, Ra’s Al Ghul has a confrontation with Batman, where the Caped Crusader warns Ra’s to put an end to is theatrics in Star City. Ra’s tells Batman he has no more interest in Star City, having failed twice, but he warns Batman to keep out of his affairs, or else Gotham may be the next place the League of Assassins visits.
-The Supers (TV Show)
Protagonists: Supergirl, Steel, Lois Lane, Superboy Antagonists: Cyborg Superman, the Eradicator, Livewire, Parasite, Intergang Side Characters: Jimmy Olsen, Martha Kent, Lex Luthor, Perry White, Kat Grant, Steve Lombard Cameo Characters: Superman, Hal Jordan
Overall Plot: Superman is dead, and Metropolis is in the hands of new saviors now. Since the Man of Steel was killed by Doomsday, there have been those like Steel and Superboy who have risen up to take up the mantle the Kryptonian left behind. But others, like the Eradicator and the new “Cyborg Superman,” have taken justice in a more violent direction. But is the Man of Steel really dead? And how do the new imposters tie into his return? As Lois and Supergirl team up with new heroes to investigate, they are led down a rabbit hole of resurrections and revenge, one that will leave them with dark answers they may not be ready for.
Episode One Plot: A funeral is held for Superman following his death, but in mourning, the Man of Steel seems to have returned, losing his cape and donning new Golden goggles.
Episode Two Plot: As Steel makes his presence known, he comes into conflict with the the new Superman when debating the fate of a villainess on the run. Meanwhile, Lois begins investigating the appearance of the new Superman, but her investigation is cut short by the appearance of a brand new Cyborg Superman, claiming to be the real hero returned.
Episode Three Plot: Superboy, a clone on the run, makes a name for himself in Metropolis as a younger, cockier hero missing the values of the original Superman. Meanwhile, Lois takes the time to talk with Supergirl, sharing with her the suspicions she has on the new Supermen.
Episode Four Plot: Lex Luthor has prepared a gala to announce his new plans for Super-Police to defend the city following Superman’s death. But when the new Supermen finally clash in a confrontation to debate letting Luthor live and killing him for his crimes, the public finally get a chance to decide who their saviors are.
Episode Five Plot: Declared the true savior of Metropolis, Cyborg Superman is put to the test when he faces a new threat: the Parasite. Meanwhile, Lois and Supergirl enlist the help of Steel to investigate the truth of the Cyborg Superman.
Episode Six Plot: In one last act to prove himself, the Eradicator attacks Cyborg Superman, dying in the battle. However, Cyborg Superman’s victory is short-lived, as Lois, Supergirl, and Steel out the truth behind him and the deceased scientist Hank Henshaw.
Episode Seven Plot: Furious with his reveal, Cyborg Superman goes ballistic, assaulting the military and claiming the means to destroy half of the country in a nuclear attack.
Episode Eight Plot: All bets are off in the season finale as Lois, Supergirl, Steel, and Superboy race to stop Cyborg Superman’s plot for nuclear destruction. A race that only becomes more definite as the real Man of Steel finally returns from the dead to save the world.
Settings: Metropolis, Smallville
Mid-Credits Scene: Following the mostly failed nuclear attack, Hal Jordan returns to Earth to find Coast City in ruin, the only city nuked in the attack. He grows angry and mournful, showing the first sign of losing himself to darkness.
-Wonder Woman: Odyssey (Film)
Protagonist: Wonder Woman Antagonists: Circe, Cheetah, Hades, various mythological monsters, Furies Side Characters: Hippolyta, Artemis Cameo Characters: Zeus, various other gods, Steve Trevor
Plot: After decades of living among man and acting as their hero, the consequences of Diana’s actions have finally caught up with her. The sorceress Circe has been freed, and has destroyed Diana’s home of Themyscira. She has now partnered with the Cheetah as her disciple, seeking to delve into the Underworld to free Hades from the deepest depths of Tartarus. Diana must now travel through the rings of Hell and battle through a gauntlet of beasts and enemies to stop their plot and prove herself worthy of being called Wonder Woman.
Settings: Themyscira, the Underworld
Mid-Credits Scene: Following the near-escape of Hades, with involvement from Cheetah, the Old Gods of Greece meet to determine how they handle this matter moving forward. Ultimately, Zeus decides that the mortals of man’s world have become too dangerous, and declares war on the mortal realm and those who may defend it.
Post-Credits Scene: Following her redemption in the Underworld, Cheetah returns to the old wrecked base she had been frozen inside of during World War II. She explores deep inside the frozen lair, eventually coming across a large chunk of ice that had gone undiscovered until now. And within lies Steve Trevor, perfectly preserved for over 80 years.
-Batgirl Season 2 (TV Show)
Protagonist: Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) Antagonists: David Cain, the League of Assassins Side Characters: Oracle (Barbara Gordon), Batman, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred, Robin Cameo Characters: Red Hood
Overall Plot: Barbara Gordon has been shot and paralyzed, leaving Gotham without a Batgirl... temporarily. When the League of Assassins makes good on their threat and comes to Gotham, a young assassin by the name of Cassandra Cain tries to prove herself as the greatest assassin the League has ever known. But when she fails and finds herself deserted by the League and her own father, Barbara sees a light in her and shows her she has the power to be a great hero instead.
Episode One Plot: The League of Assassins make their way into Gotham as a young Cassandra Cain tries but fails to break into Oracle’s clocktower.
Episode Two Plot: Feeling shame for her failure, Cassandra is lifted up by Barbara, who convinces her that she is capable of being a hero instead.
Episode Three Plot: Cassandra begins her first night of patrol in Gotham as the new Batgirl, but meets resistance when Batman denies the presence of a new Batgirl.
Episode Four Plot: Determined to prove herself, Cassandra follows Batman on a mission to stop a potential assassination, during which the two open up to one another.
Episode Five Plot: Cassandra gets her first taste of a sidekick team-up as she and Robin work together to prevent a terrorist attack from the League of Assassins.
Episode Six Plot: Stakes are high in the season finale, as Cassandra re-confronts her father and seeks to stop the League’s plans for destroying Gotham, by any means necessary.
Setting: Gotham City
Mid-Credits Scene: Feeling disdain for the destruction caused by the League of Assassins, Jason decides it is time to enact his plan and take Gotham for himself, no matter the costs.
-Batman: The Red Hood (Film)
Protagonists: Batman, Robin (Tim Drake), Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) Antagonists: Red Hood, Bane, Joker Side Characters: Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Oracle, Nightwing, Catwoman, Lucius Fox, Harvey Bullock, Renée Montoya, Mayor Krol Cameo Characters: Darkseid, Azrael
Plot: Bane has arrived, and with him comes the Caped Crusader’s darkest days. Bane has seized control of the city and vows to both break the Batman and ruin everything he holds dear. However, he finds rivalry in the criminal underworld, as a new figure called the Red Hood emerges to take Gotham back his way. Batman is now caught in the crosshairs of a dark beast of destruction and a vengeful ghost from the past battling for control of the city, and with the Dark Knight losing his grip more and more each day, people wonder if the city really needs vigilantes.
Setting: Gotham City
Mid-Credits Scene: Following his identity being revealed and being imprisoned, Bruce sits in his cell as the tv showcases news coverage of another alien invasion occurring in Metropolis. He stares with fear as he watches Parademons swarm the city, followed closely behind by Darkseid himself, finally come to Earth.
Post-Credits Scene: Following the supposed end of the Batman, a hooded figure on a rooftop swears an oath to a mysterious force. As he stands up, he unsheathes his sword and reveals himself as Azrael, prepared to carry on the Batman’s legacy at any cost.
-Justice League Apokalips Part 1: War (Film)
Protagonists: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lanterns (Hal Jordan and John Stewart), Cyborg, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Shazam, Steel, Superboy, Teen Titans, Justice Society, Lex Luthor Antagonists: Darkseid, Desaad, Kalibak, Granny Goodness, Grail, Apokalips Army Side Characters: Various (too many to list lol) Cameo Characters: Orion
Plot: The apocalypse has come. After years of planning and waiting, Darkseid has finally arrived on Earth, his invasion active and his plan clear: find the Mother Boxes and destroy all life in the universe, starting with Earth. The only obstacle standing between him and the Anti-Life Equation is the Justice League, who must unite one more time to defend Earth from the ultimate evil. But with a threat as powerful as Darkseid, do they have any hope of saving the world?
Settings: Metropolis, Apokalips, other cities
Mid-Credits Scene: Following his victory and upcoming conquering of the universe, starting with Earth, Darkseid’s actions are monitored by a man flying his way through space. He grows dreadful at the god’s actions, and activates an alert signaling the “New Gods” to unite.
-Suicide Squad: Operation Apokalips (Film)
Protagonists: Amanda Waller, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, King Shark, Killer Frost, Rick Flag, the Thinker, Parasite Antagonists: Granny Goodness, Female Furies, Grail Side Characters: Few to none Cameo Characters: Batman, Flash
Plot: Darkseid has won, and now the Earth is doomed to die to the forces of Apokalips. However, there is one person left on Earth with a plan to save it: Amanda Waller. Recruiting her team of convicts, she plans a mission to cripple Darkseid’s main military output and steal back an invention of great importance: the Cosmic Treadmill. It’s a Suicide mission like no other, and this time, nobody is certain to be making it out alive.
Settings: Metropolis, STAR Labs
Mid-Credits Scene: Following the shaky mission, Waller meets with Batman and the Flash, presenting the treadmill. Batman thanks her for her mission, saying he has a plan to bring the disappeared Justice League back and save the world.
-The New Gods (Film)
Protagonists: Orion, Big Barda, Mr. Miracle, Bekka, Lightray Antagonist: Steppenwolfe, Black Racer Side Characters: High Father, Drax Cameo Characters: Darkseid, Batman, Flash
Plot: Taking place centuries before the events of “Justice League: War”, the New Gods are a powerful race of galactic beings who rule the universe in place of the Old Gods of mythology. However, when a misguided tyrant god named Steppenwolfe goes on a mad quest for his dark master, the New Gods must search for the ancient Mother Boxes and retrieve them before the darkness can find them and kill the universe.
Settings: New Genesis, other planets
Mid-Credits Scene: In the present, the remains of the Justice League and Argus formulate a plan to take the world back from Apokalips. However, they are interrupted mid-plan, as the New Gods arrive, saying they wish to help... and kill Darkseid.
-Justice League Apokalips Part 2: Crisis (Film)
Protagonists: Protagonists: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lanterns (Hal Jordan and John Stewart), Cyborg, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Shazam, Steel, Superboy, Teen Titans, Justice Society, Lex Luthor, New Gods, Suicide Squad Antagonists: Darkseid, Desaad, Kalibak, Apokalips army, Black Racer Side Characters: Too many to count lol Cameo Characters: None
Plot: At last, the conclusion to the first chapter of the DCU has arrived. With the Earth in ruins and the core Justice League lost in time, all hope seems lost. That is, until Batman and the Flash come up with a plan to save the world. With the Cosmic Treadmill, they seek to travel throughout time to recover their teammates of the Justice League, and put a stop to Darkseid once and for all. Will they succeed, or will Apokalips rule the universe in the end?
Settings: Metropolis, various locations throughout time

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command
Date: [REDACTED]
The force assembled at the outskirts of the Skaven home system was larger than any I had ever seen. It was a rainbow of ships, each decorated with different colors and symbols communicating their allegiances. I kept one eye on the Glorious display of interspecies cooperation as I looked to my first officer.
“Wow Recel.” I said with mirth. “Just… Wow! I know I asked you to bring reinforcements, but did you really have to drag along half the federation?”
Recel didn’t respond right away. He looked past me, out into the infinite void and scratched his head, seemingly deep in thought. But then, he snapped out of it and turned his gaze to me with a proud expression. “It just seemed like the right thing to do sir.”
I couldn’t help but agree. This battle would surely go down in history as one of the federation’s greatest victories, accomplished through the cooperation of the herd. “Indeed.” I simply replied before transmitting to the Fleet. “All hands, Full speed ahead!”
Thrusters lit up across the formation as we advanced, the Skaven homeworld coming into view. The bridge crew was tense, but I didn’t share their worry. As far as I was concerned the battle was already won, superweapon or otherwise.
A beep from the sensor station notified us that the Skaven ships had come within range of our scanners. As images of the predator vessels were distributed across the fleet, there was a collective sigh of relief. They were much fewer in number this time, only a handful of freighters and a few dozen fighters. The Flagship was at the head of the formation, but crucially, the bell on top was still broken. Clearly, Kalsim’s sacrifice had not been in vain.
With this new information in mind, I addressed the fleet once more. “Looks like this will be easier than we thought. Maintain dispersed formation, I don’t want any surprises.”
“Captain!” The crewmate Manning the sensor station spoke up. “We’ve got more detailed scans of the Predator fleet. The flagship… it’s absolutely packed with life-forms! Same goes for the freighters.”
An evacuation effort? Then why were they headed right for us? They couldn’t possibly get past this many guns. “Ready weapons, I want them shot down as soon as they’re in range. Don’t let them get away.”
However, just before we reached effective weapons range, an alarm rang out. Recel checked his pad and read out a report. “Predator sighting in the Engineering deck! We’re under attack!”
“What?!!” I exclaimed. The Fleet’s communication channels became flooded with chatter, similar reports coming in from across the formation. A hunch began forming in my mind. “Sensors! Give me an update on those lifesigns!”
The crewmate squinted at his screen. “They’re… gone! The ships are empty!”
“Teleportation.” I deduced. “So that’s their gambit.” I drew my pistol from its holster, prompting the rest of the bridge crew to do the same. “All hands! Prepare to repel boarders!”
Superior Skryre Thought-Memory transcription subject: Oivit, Gojid Exterminator
Time-Date: The Grand-Great Deception
My squad took cover at the edges of the hallway, and we raised our rifles and flamethrowers at the Bulkhead in front of us. The poor engineers on the other side had managed to seal them just before being overwhelmed by the predators, giving us time to set up a defense at the natural choke point. This in turn would allow the command crew to fortify the bridge even further, but I naturally hoped that we would be able to repel them here.
Not long after we had taken positions, a green jet of energy appeared in the bulkhead’s side, beginning to cut a rectangular opening through the thick metal. We aimed at the center of the nearly completed portal, but suddenly the cutting stopped just short of completion. What were they-
BWOOSH
A fiery explosion tore open the bulkhead, destroying the neatly carved lines and causing the edges of the barrier to bend out, like a metallic flower. Despite the protection our cover and fireproof suits afforded us, the explosion rattled us, and we simply cowered behind our defenses for several seconds.
I was the first to cautiously peek out at the smoking remains of the boundary. A predator in red armor staggered through the opening, seemingly as shell-shocked as we were. I remembered my training and brought my rifle to bear. With plenty of time to aim, I fired a burst of plasma through the damned thing’s head, killing it instantly.
This galvanized the other predators, and a barrage of thin streaks of lightning rushed out at us from beyond the Bulkhead. We returned fire, but with the dense smoke we couldn’t tell whether we were inflicting casualties. As the blind firefight continued with no casualties on our side, I thought we’d be capable of holding them here until reinforcements arrived. But it wasn’t long before something besides energy blasts began to rush through the opening.
A wave of gangly predators rushed through the breach. Their scurrying quadrupedal run kept them mostly below the continued fusillade, but some were inevitably scorched dead when the shot reached too low, or a predator head too high. Our flamethrowers were ready for them however, and quickly spat a torrent of fire in their path. The front rank of creatures tried to stop at the last second, but the momentum of those behind them was too great, and they were either trampled underfoot or pushed directly into the inferno.
The charge was fully incinerated, yet a few of the burning predators continued their charge by sheer momentum alone, crossing the short distance between themselves and the flamethrower team, and plowing into them in their frenzied death throes.
More elite predators moved up in the wake of the devastated assault, brutes in red armor firing their lightning guns at us. The firefight quickly grew much more intense, both exterminators and Skaven killing each other at a rapid pace.
A group of creatures in black rags rushed out from behind their armored fellows, tossing primitive throwing weapons at us as they went. One of them struck me in the arm, piercing through my suit and leaving a small cut. Unbothered by the glancing hit, I raised my rifle to return fire, but suddenly found that I couldn’t feel my limb, nor pull the trigger.
As the strange numbness spread, I lost my balance, falling to the floor in a limp heap. I watched helplessly as my comrades lost ground, and the rearmost part of our formation turned and ran. The savage beasts hollered with bloodlust, giving chase.
As they disappeared around a corner, a new group of predators emerged from the broken bulkhead. One of their ‘Grey Seers’, accompanied by a multitude of servants. They looked more like cargo wagons than living beings, each hunchbacked from the weight of the numerous packs and crates they carried.
Their leader looked around at the walls before pointing one out, and another predator carrying a multitude of tools went up to it and unscrewed one of the panels covering it. Discarding the panel, it pulled up a strange green drill, and began digging through the thick layers of armor, quickly carving out a cavity in the side of the hull.
As it climbed in and continued drilling, the other predators followed suit. To my horror, I and several of my dead squadmates were picked up and brought along, dragged into the newly created space. Still paralyzed, I could only despair as they picked up the metal panel, sealing the tunnel behind us.
( - - - - - - - - - - )
The Extermination fleet breathed a sigh of relief as their ships managed to repel their boarders one by one. With the assault repelled, they moved into orbit of their target and unleashed their countless weapons upon the planet, bringing the End Times to the Old World.
After the annihilation was confirmed, the vessels of the fleet separated, each charting a course back to their native systems. They returned as heroes, massive celebrations held on every planet in the federations to glorify the monumental victory. And while the people celebrated in the streets, the Shadow Caste began work on their latest propaganda campaign, intending to convince future generations that the ‘Skaven’ had never existed.
As the military vessels were abandoned by their reveling crews, hunchbacked shapes emerged not long thereafter. Creeping out of cargo bays and maintenance hatches, they would briefly sniff the air to ensure the coast was clear, before scurrying off into the wilderness. There they dug holes, at first only cautiously. But it wasn’t long before they began to expand, tunneling beneath the very cities they had avoided.
They did not stop there. Camouflaged rafts were constructed, populating the abandoned oceans with dozens of ramshackle, barely floating warrens. Some snuck aboard Arxur raiding vessels when they arrived, in order to settle the planets said vessels returned to. The particularly bold began to kidnap small numbers of surface dwellers, using them as slaves, food, or the test subjects for grotesque experiments.
When they finally amassed the resources, massive antennae were erected, laced with green crystal and hidden underground, powerful enough to penetrate the crust of their respective planets. With these, encoded signals could be sent between the infested planets. Some messages were declarations of cunning, might, or other forms of superiority. Some were threats, wishing death and destruction upon rivals several lightyears away. But most were devoted to coordinating various plots, with one plot in particular standing far above the rest.
The Galactic Vermintide, to gnaw at the entire galaxy until it belonged only to the Skaven.
First - Previous