Just wanted to ask on here incase someone as info that I missed. According to the official forum post from Plarium:

The Live Arena Crests you win can be spent in the Great Hall to unlock and upgrade various Area Bonuses. Like the old Affinity Bonuses (we changed the name to better reflect what those bonuses do), these will affect all the Champions on your roster, but where the former affected all Champions of a single Affinity, Area Bonuses - as the name suggests - will buff all your Champions in specific locations. These include the following:
Potion Keeps
Ice Golem's Peak
Fire Knight's Castle
Dragon's Lair
Spider's Den
Clan Boss Battles (Hydra & Demon Lord)

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When I commented on CC's video asking about Iron Twins, Sand Devil, and Doom Tower, the responses I got were that they are included in the "dungeons bonus". What dungeon bonus? I haven't seen any mention of this and it's not in the video. From what I see, they specifically called out each area that has a bonus available, and those 3 aren't included. Am I missing something?

When it moved from Elayne's chapters ( definitely the dullest and could have been easily reduced by half), it gained a bit more momentum with Perrin's chapters and later with Egweine's.
The book is obviously pretty much a setup for events in next one ( I'm about 5 or 6 chapters in and it's definitely moving faster).
One thing that I think is really undeveloped is the Black Tower. Logain seems to be gaining major role, I would've loved to see more of daily goings in that place, power struggle between him and Taim ( it was pretty obvious from the start what will become of this guy).
Also, what's completely baffling is: why is there almost no mentioning of cleansing of Saidin? This is the biggest event in the series so far, Rand undoing the disaster that shaped the course of the world for the last 3000 years and completely destroyed previous civilization. ( Aside from Last battle, no event compares to this)
I expected Aes Sedai ( that were with Rand) would be trying to get in contact with other sisters and rulers to determine what would become of this, reactions and discussions involving other Asha'man ...but the book completely ignores this and instead wastes chapters on trivial discussions and monologues.

Alright everyone! Our favorite weed-looking Snoop Dogg's favorite Pokemon (maybe) is coming to this description! HEYAH!
Up to Brock: Moveset...: Absorb I only needed the one attack when I started with Oddish. I did all right against the Charmander (finally changing it up, I was getting bored with all the Squirtles) and he used too many Growls to take me out, but I fail to see how I could have won without him being dumb. Absorb is resisted by Charmander. Oh, and get used to seeing it. It pops up a lot in the other slots. Oddish does not get another Grass move for quite a bit. And Viridian Forest, for the first time, becomes stupid dumb as a dungeon. I drained out my Absorbs on Kakunas and blackout grinded on a Bug Catcher nearby until I made it to the required one, and Struggled through his Weedle. Chose to ignore Gary 1A on purpose and went straight to Brock's gym. Both he and his subordinate Buzz Lightyear could do nothing against the fury of Absorb.
Up to Misty: Moveset: Absorb, Bide, Poisonpowder, Sleep Powder Now the difficulty returns. The first Youngster (the one who mentions shorts, who I personally agree with) was the hardest due to his Ekans. I had to level up enough to learn Stun Spore after some consistently unneeded resets against his ass. I made it through him and eventually... you may notice that I taught Oddish Bide. This was as an attempt to deal with Poison types and things that would resist the weak 30 power Grass move I had, and Poisonpowder was hopefully going to aid me against the Fire/Flying types I would deal with for a fair bit. I then caught a Pidgey. Once I beat him, I actually detoured to take on the Super Nerd on the first floor of Mt. Moon (should've fought the Clefairy trainer as well...), and caught a Paras. I thought the required Team Rocket trainer was going to give me shit. He did not! I picked up Sleep Powder right before the fossil guy, and then he messed with me a bit, but I defeated him and got the Helix Fossil. After healing, I went straight to Misty's gym, evolved into Gloom, and annihilated her ass, too.
Up to Surge: Moveset: Absorb, Bide, Acid, Sleep Powder Gary 2 wasn't... that bad actually. Sleep Powder really reduced the difficulty of the fight. Gloom's better stats were quite the upgrade! I had to heal once or twice on the way to Bill's house, but then... the last Lass before his house that stands next to an Ether... OH. MY. JESUS. H. FUCKING. CHRIST. TWO ODDISHES! The Pidgey was whatever. But when you can't poison them because of their dual-typing... AGH!! I tried to level up a bit to learn Acid, but couldn't get it then. What I sorted out was to use Sleep Powder, lower their health as much as you could with Absorb, and then use Bide to reflect the Absorb damage back at her. Her Pidgey was nothing, but I HAD to use Bide/Poisonpowder exclusively to damage it to ensure I had enough PP to beat her second Oddish. If I were doing it better, I would have leveled up on the wild Pokemon nearby to ensure that I had the EXP to get Acid, or maybe even held off on his evolution until Oddish learned it, then do it. I then got the ticket and Escape Roped back. Then I got Dig. I finally obtained Acid after the Dig guy. It got far better after that. I just kept Bide in case I didn't find anything else to fight Ghost types. Didn't have to do much against Gary 3, I spat Acid at his team, and both Kadabra and Charmeleon were not any problem at all! Got Cut for Paras, and I blasted Surge with Acid when I finally got to his gym.
Up to Erika: Moveset: Petal Dance, Double-Edge, Acid, Sleep Powder After Digging back to Cerulean and trekking through Rock Tunnel, I decided to take on Gary 4. Not used to seeing Gyarados this early yet, I'll say that. I just put it to sleep in case it would somehow be a problem. Same with Charmeleon, too, apparently. After I whipped him, I went to the Rocket Hideout and got the Silph Scope for after Erika. Even Giovanni himself was not hard to beat, even now. My moveset is finally getting to how I need it to be. Erika herself had gone down to Double-Edge, and of course, the Acid on Tangela just because it's one of the only two Grass types weak to Acid in this game, the other being the Exeggcute line, which I also took advantage of on Gary 4 as well. I got Petal Dance, aka Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, during this battle.
Up to Koga: Moveset: Petal Dance, Body Slam, Acid, Sleep Powder Thanks to the Leaf Stone I got during the Celadon Mart trip, I evolved into Vileplume here. I got Fly for Pidgey afterwards, and beat the Gastlys in Pokemon Tower with my new Senbonzakura technique. Each Gastly went out in one shot even though they resisted it. What are the damage calcs for that? If it helps, I used three Calciums beforehand. Ghost Marowak was trivial, and I got the Flute to awaken and beat Snorlax. And yes, I picked up Body Slam on the S.S. Anne to teach it after Gloom evolved. After the jaunt through Cycling Road, I went to Koga's gym and won here through both Sleep Powder and Body Slam combined.
Up to Sabrina: Moveset: Petal Dance, Body Slam, Swords Dance, Sleep Powder Very soon after I got to Saffron, I KNEW I had to get Swords Dance for the future. My Vileplume be dancing up a storm now! Had no issues here this time, unlike what happened with Golbat. This run is finally going well. Seemingly. After the guy guarding the Card Key, I picked up Swords Dance and made my way to Rival Fival/Gary 5. I won with Swords Dance boosts. Gyarados, Alakazam, and Charizard were wiped clean off the field with Body Slam. Giovanni 2 went out to Body Slams, then my Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. Sabrina was... easy. Swords Dance and Body Slam! I did take a Psychic from Kadabra before, but when she went for Psywave with Alakazam, I knew I had it after I lived.
Up to Blaine: Moveset: Same Cut through Pokemon Mansion, I won with Swords Dance and Body Slam. Did not have to deal with Fire Blast.
Up to Giovanni 3: Moveset: Still the same. I used Senbonzakura, then Body Slam, then Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.
Gary 6: Moveset: Mega Drain, Body Slam, Swords Dance, Sleep Powder Not sure I had to save these moves, but the confusion that Senbonzakura could cause would be a detriment during the League. Still set up Swords Dance on a sleeping Pidgeot, and slammed my way through things that were not weak to Mega Drain. I used my Rare Candies here.
Elite Four: I picked up the remaining 3 Candies I didn't get before, and then beat Zapdos and killed one Trainer on Victory Road to get to Level 63 to start.
Lorelei: Very irrelevant. Set up Swords Dance and Body Slam Dewgong, Mega Drained Cloyster and Slowbro, then slammed Jynx and Lapras.
Bruno: Set up Swords Dance on Onix, drain it, slam Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, then kill the second Onix, and slam Machamp.
Agatha: ... Okay. My initial plan was to put Gengar to sleep, Badge Boost my Special with Swords Dance, and drop a Dream Eater after teaching Vileplume Mimic. She switched her Golbat in, forcing me to learn Wing Attack instead. I still won, but it would have been more satisfying to eat her dreams. Fate had other plans.
Lance: Put Gyarados to sleep. Boost with Swords Dance. Mimic Hyper Beam. BLLLAAAAARRRGGGHH!! x5.
Champion Gary: I put his Pidgeot to sleep, then Swords Danced and copied Sky Attack. The plan was to Sleep PowdeSky Attack in a loop. It worked. And it felt OH SO SATISFYING TO DO THAT TO EXEGGUTOR!! FUCK YES!
Anyway... I won at Level 67 and my time was 5:04.
Rankings: 1. Blastoise: 63, 3:32, 8 resets. (Blizzard, Withdraw, Surf, Earthquake) 2. Nidoking: 67, 3:43, 8 resets. (Body Slam, Blizzard, Earthquake, Thunderbolt) 3. Venusaur: 62, 3:47, 7 resets. (Body Slam, Swords Dance, Sleep Powder, Razor Leaf) 4. Charizard: 66, 3:59, 10 resets. (Earthquake, Body Slam, Flamethrower, Swords Dance) 5. Raticate: 68, 4:17, 13 resets (Blizzard, Dig, Body Slam, Thunderbolt) 6. Ninetales: 67, 4:28, 11 resets (Flamethrower, Body Slam, Mimic, Dig) 7. Nidoqueen: 67, 4:29, 11 resets. (Earthquake, Blizzard, Body Slam, Thunderbolt) 8. Clefable, 67, 4:39, 4 resets. (Body Slam, Psychic/Blizzard, Minimize, Thunderbolt) 9. Wigglytuff, 66, 4:41, 6 resets. (Thunderbolt, Body Slam, Psychic/Blizzard, Defense Curl) 10. Butterfree: 66, 4:53, 28 resets. (Mimic, Sleep Powder, Psychic, Mega Drain) 11. Sandslash: 67, 5:00, 11 resets. (Body Slam, Rock Slide, Swords Dance, Earthquake) 12. Vileplume: 67, 5:04, 15 resets. (Mega Drain, Body Slam/Mimic, Swords Dance, Sleep Powder) 13. Arbok: 71, 5:28, 27 resets. (Mimic, Earthquake, Body Slam, Rock Slide) 14. Raichu: 63, 5:29, 5 resets. (Thunderbolt, Mimic, Agility, Seismic Toss) 15. Fearow: 73, 6:00, 30 resets. (Drill Peck, Mimic, Agility, Swift) 16. Golbat: 74, 6:26, 12 resets. (Double-Edge, Wing Attack, Mega Drain, Mimic) 17. Beedrill: 65, 6:55, 23 resets. (Swords Dance, Mega Drain, Double-Edge, Twineedle) 18. Pidgeot: 76, 7:16, 13 resets. (Mimic, Agility, Double-Edge, Fly)
Next will be Parasect. That could be awful.

After the war with Institute the First Fire Section of Concord is created.
-A month after the creation of the first fire section of Concord two new special units were made: The Castle Crushers and Bunker Builders. The Castle Crushers were a special unit that specialised in offensive operations in every type of terrain. They consisted of two power armour squads and one covert squad. Bunker Builders specialised in building of defensive constructions. They consisted of two engineering squads and one heavy machine guns squad.
-On the 2088 Island of Far Harbour. Fog condensers started to break down. As the fog closed in on the people of the island they emigrated to the commonwealth and settled on the Spectacle island. After few days they got approached by the minutemen with an offer of joining to the organisation. After series of discussions they agreed to join.
-On 27/03/88 The Concord Reorganised Territory was brought to life. The treaty established a Democratic country that consisted of: Sanctuary, Concord (as the capital), Abernathy Town, Drumlin Caravan Hub (from which supplies would be distributed) and the Military Base 111 (as the CRT's military base of operation). The whole thing was rigged by the minutemen high command to centralize the commonwealth one by one. In following months more areas would become part of the CRT.
-As the Minutemen started to become more organized the topic of a standard issue weapon was brought to light. The final decision was to keep the laser musket for now in the long stock long barrel configuration and as a secondary weapon the revolver in 38 configuration. But in following months the 10mm pistol replaced it as molds for 10mm pistol parts were found and put into use inside the Saugus Ironworks.
-On 05/04/88 a bunker containing over 200 Thompson submachine guns was found. It was split between CRT and the Minutemen and became the new standard issue weapon for both factions.

• The Saugus Ironworks were just a stronghold for the Minutemen. But after the First Conference of Fort Liberty (aka the Castle) it was decided to create a array of wind turbines that would once again activate the heart of the ironworks to start the production of equipment for the Minutemen. First was the 10mm pistol and then after creating molds for the Thompson it was too put into production.

-During the First Conference of Fort Liberty it was decided that civilians would not be allowed in to the Castle's perimeter. To accommodate all that lived inside the fortresses walls the body of water next to it was dryed out to build new homes. A wall was built around the site with guard towers to protect the more sensitive part of the building site.
-On 31/04/88 the Rat squad of the Castle Crushers had located a chinese submarine. It was decided to check what was inside of it. During the raid one chinese ghoul was captured and several feral ones were shot and killed. After checking it was found that the submarine was in a repairable state. With the help of institute scientists the boat was repaired and became the mobile headquarters of the Castle Crushers after being renamed to MNV "Catfish".
-On the 25/05/88 MNV "Catfish" has swam to the coast near Quincy and all of the Castle Crushers has exited the submarine to begin the operation. After 3 hours of fighting all of the Gunners of Quincy had either died or fled. Quincy would be once again established as a trading city where the first Quincy Fire Group would be established making the number of official Minutemen militia 45 soldiers.

• On 06/06/88 A four days long joint military operations were conducted by the Minutemen with the brotherhood of steel. First stage was familiarising with each others equipment. Second stage was a laser fight (using laser rifles weaken down just to lightly burn) conducted in Boston airport. The third stage was taking down the legendary behemoth named swan. All three stages were conducted successfully and helped in Minutemen-Brotherhood relations in the long run.

-After joint military exercises with the Brotherhood the Minutemen had purchased two vertibirds for stable food deliveries and valuable technology. Minutemen with the help of institute scientists had made their own version of the vertibird using ones that they purchased.
-A month since the immigration of Far Harbour residents New Far Harbour would be established. There with the help of Minutemen and the Brotherhood (after the joint military trainings) a democratic country would be established. As a part of the help for new formed SIR (Spectacle Island Republic) a training of a single Marine Corp would be conducted by Brotherhood and Minutemen instructors. The Corp would consist of 25 men in five soldiers squads. Those Marines would be equipped with special Marines Armours brought from the Far Harbour. Minutemen instructors would teach the recruits about the terrain of the commonwealth and guerrilla fighting styles whilst the Brotherhood instructors would teach about discipline and military doctrines.
-On the 27/06/88 in the capital of CRT a lot of business started to pop up like: Johnson's Typewriters Company, Toyland, The Big Stick Armoury and The Liberty Clinic. Also a school was opened with professors from the institute. A chapter of the church of all faiths was allowed to settle. All this was thanks to a series of laws passed by the High Council Of Concord.
-On the 01/07/88 a gathering of all the representatives of the commonwealth had begun. The representatives of: Minutemen, Brotherhood, Diamond City, Bunker Hill, CRT, Gunners, RSI, Good Neighbor and 6 other independent villages had gathered in the Parliament of CRT. There they have cleared up their relations to one another and decided to build a heavy cruiser that could enforce any further decisions and rules. The construction would start in the RSI. Every participant of the gathering would contribute to the construction in some way or another.
-On the 06/07/88 a conference was held to settle the borders of the Commonwealth. There an agent of the railroad showed up to make a secret amendment was made to isolate certain lands of wastes the plan was to grant them breathing space and keep the base a secret. During the conference the Brotherhood was granted the peninsula where the Boston airport is. CRT got a big chunk of the Commonwealth as they were powerful and were supported by the Minutemen. The Minutemen mostly retained their old territory's and a little bit of new land. The independent villages got around two kilometres in every side from their centre. Gunners were restricted to their old territory's without Quincy.
-After the Diamond City conference the CRT had seen the potential of other factions and decided to acquire some kind of leverage against other powers of the commonwealth. Firstly they recruited the scientists from the Concord university. Then they hauled three vertibirds that had crashed before the war after that they hauled three APC's that can be seen around military checkpoints. After two months all of them were in a working condition. With that two new branches of the CRT military were created: CAG (Concord Air Guard) and CAF (Concord Armoured Force). The CAG's base of operations was CAG Satellite Station Olivia and CAF's was Military Base 111.
-On the 21/07/88 CRT has established the Commonwealth Intelligence Bureau. It was an organisation made with the help of Minutemen and Concord University. With a standing force of 20 agents from all over commonwealth that worked in sectors in which they were born, it's task was to gather intel and test prototypes, every agent was equipped with the newest technology provided by Concord University.
-On 06/08/88 the minutemen had decided to expand its navy. A ship would be constructed armed with a 57mm double cannon in the front and a 20mm anti-aircraft cannon in the back. It would be constructed on a pre-war fishing boat hull also it would be equipped with a radio that had strong enough signal to connect to the satellite array in the minutemen control.
-On 21/10/88 the minutemen and CRT had unionized with leaders of minutemen having more power but adopting the CRT constitution. The new organisation would be called CMR (Commonwealth of Massachusetts Republic).
-After the Concord Union the SIR has looked to join as the food supplies weren't plentiful. Needing to buy food from Minutemen cities. The leaders of SIR wanted to retain their power but be able to count on stable food supplies that would be free. They got what they wanted.
-A second siege of Quincy had begun. The gunners equipped with better guns than ever before have attacked Quincy. But the supresive fire from newly built USS Commonwealth had helped win the battle. After repelling the invaders it was noticed that the advanced equipment they possessed came from the Brotherhood.
-On December 3, 2289, Capral Clallum of the CMR was giving a speech in Concord to alleviate fears of raider attention in the nearby areas.
In a nearby building, a former BoS Knight who had deserted his post named Brett Walker had a scoped bolt-action pipe rifle which he had brought up with him.
The speech had lots of security however it was somewhat difficult to pinpoint how Walker had bypassed them.
At roughly 8 minutes into the speech the gunman fired and hit Clallum first in the lower neck, and then a second later the head. Clallum was killed immediately by the second shot.
The gunman was apprehended 6 minutes later and did not resist arrest. He was imprisoned in a CMR facility with a life sentence.
The assassination eventually lead to the discovery of the Left Hand.
-Shortly after the assassination of Caprul Clallum of the CMR, the gunman Brett Walker was interrogated and revealed that he was an AWOL Brotherhood knight.
CMR’s CIB (Commonwealth intelligence bureau) told him that he would live if he told them his motive.
Walker explained that a secret organization within the brotherhood called the Left Hand who wanted to eliminate all other factions to make the Brotherhood the sole dominators on the East Coast (and possibly the continent) had employed him to kill the general.
He complied with them due to an unexplained hatred against the CMR and explained that Left Hand were growing and planning a coup d’état against the east coast brotherhoods current leadership. -The combined discovery of the Left Hand and the scandal at Quincy had made the CMR very suspicious of the BoS’s true motives.
On January 3rd, 2289, a new division of the CIB was formed called the ‘Peace Division’. This was not made known to general people or low ranked CMR members due to the nature of the division.
The Peace Division was made up of loyal but not well known and skilled soldiers, with a rigorous and extensive training to prepare for their roles.
Members of the division would join the BoS to spy and inform on both the BoS itself and the other threat of the Left Hand.
The CMR also decided to not inform the leadership of the BoS of the Left Hand yet.
Communications between both sides began to be less friendly as the Brotherhood became aware of the position of the CMR and their suspiciousness of the Brotherhood.
Although they didn’t know exactly why yet, the Brotherhood figured it was due to the liberation of Quincy and the guns they had sold to the gunners.
Although originally, the sell was not intended to hurt the CMR, the Brotherhood became aware of the dangerousness towards the CMR’s position and allowed the Gunners to proceed anyways.
-Seeing raider raids coming from the glowing see CMR with the cooperation of Atom cultists had created a special firing squad compressed of two infantry squads and one support squad. MDC would use chemical weapons and radiation weapons to their advantage against human enemies. Most of the manpower would come from the coast part of the atom cult and its existence would anger all of Far Harbour immigrants (Marines included). MDC would be free to celebrate their beliefs but wouldn't be allowed to convert civilians that weren't willing to do so. MDC members would wear khaki cloaks, gas masks, grey helmets and knee pads. The rest of the equipment would come from themselves. CMR would give them Thompsons and 10mm pistols but sometimes a Fat man would be given to one of the soldiers.
-In the glowing sea, a nuclear bomb that had not yet detonated had been resting since 2077. On February 5th 2289, for unknown reasons, the bomb finally detonated, further irradiating the area and causing even more destruction.
The full power of the full sized nuclear bomb was so large that it caused constant rad storms and lots more radiation blowing in the wind around the Commonwealth.
CMR radiation teams stationed near the glowing sea first detected increasing amounts of radiation on the 7th of February and contacted headquarters in Concord.
CMR stations received word from CMR Radio Tower AE-114 (near where the radiation teams first detected rads) on February 11th stated that they were all feeling sick and feeling symptoms of rad sickness.
They explained that they were almost out of Rad-Away and wanted to evacuate however they were being attacked for unknown reasons by Gunners and it was dangerous to leave the safety of the radio station.
3 days later the first expedition team arrived at the scene and it was discovered that the CMR stationed there had all turned into feral ghouls.
The Gunners fighting there were now trying to kill the ghouls and a few had been killed on both sides. The CMR troops arrived and engaged the Gunners.
After the battle which lasted an hour, the CMR team was victorious. On the Gunner Captain’s body, they found a message.
The message detailed that the team had been hired by the Brotherhood of Steel to take any classified information from the station at all costs and to kill anyone there.
-When the information about Brotherhood paying for attacks on CMR locations was brought to the army command a plan was quickly drawn. It would consist of stages and its purpose was to steal the Prydwen and demand the Brotherhood to leave the Commonwealth on foot. An ambiguous plan but a doable one. 1 stage: relay the plan to the peace division. 2 stage: hire the gunners to turn on their employers. 3 stage: make the atom cultists (not part of the MDC) and gunners storm the defences of the airport. 4 stage: land the vertibirds on Prydwen with Castle Crushers squads 1 and 2 onboard. 5 stage: take control of Prydwen and fly off to the Castle and anchor it. The whole of the plan was up for debate and would play out during an radstorm.
-A second plan for a attack on the Brotherhood was to perform an amphibious on the airport. But two types of vehicles were needed. An amphibian tank and a APC. In the base 111 a group of scientists worked on the project: Sullivan McGregor, Professor Li, Sophia Goodman and Abraham Goldstein. Two Fully working vehicles were created: MAAV1 (Massachusetts Army Amphibious Vehicle) and MAAT1 (Massachusetts Army Amphibious Tank). After testing both were accepted into service with an order for 2 each type.
-Not wanting to spell bloodshed immediately CMR had invited all organisations in the Commonwealth to Diamond City to demand eviction of the Brotherhood from the Commonwealth. On 23/02/89 the case was opened and ready to be dissected. In following weeks many attempts at sabotaging the case followed. From stealing evidence to assassination attempts. Many representatives switched sides every day but finally the Brotherhood was proven to be at fault and subsequently were punished by needing to take back their part of the crew from USS Commonwealth and required to give 50% of settlements under their control to the CMR and in need of food it was to be bought from CMR. It was hoped that Brotherhood's reliance on CMR food deliveries would mean peace, but that thinking might be brought into question in the future...
-Knowing that for sure the railroad had agents within CMR, the highest army command had met in a pre-war bunker that was previously flooded with water to make sure no bugs were planted within it. Only the command was there no bodyguards. Inside a plan was formed to get a CIB agent in the railroad. A new agent was recruited to make sure that the operation remained a secret. After days of gruelling tests the agent was ready. After two weeks of getting information on the railroad from the public, the second stage was set off. After another week the agent got in. Through learning the code from the scattered letters around Boston the agent opened the secret vault under the church. After railroad trials to make sure that he was to be trusted, the agent begun gathering intel.
-As the Brotherhood civil war was going on the CMR and the Brotherhood had worked on a weapon that could be more powerful than power armour. To start the legs were elongated to be 10 cm taller than a normal set. Inside of the free space inside the legs amortization was placed to help with very long falls, as normal power armour would survive a high fall but it's user had a chance of dieing. A third arm was placed on the back fitted with a heavy machine gun that followed where was the user looking. In the corner of the armour's HUD a little screen was placed that allowed the user to look behind him (on the back a camera was placed). Also a rangefinder and a internal long distance radio station were fitted to convey acccurate intel on large distances. At the cost of the thickness of the armour various systems were installed. Like: internal oxygen tank to ensure safety in high places, underwater or in case of an toxic gases; an steel cutter to rescue trapped teammates; stronger exoskeleton with higher power to be faster, stronger and to carry all the new heavy equipment. Only two were created with one send to the Brotherhood and the second was given to the Castle Crushers.
-With the main attention of the CMR at the Brotherhood civil war there was a need for a new Firing Group that could protect the frontier. Equipped with scouting and mountaineer equipment the 1st Pioneer Firing Group was made.
-After renovating the section of Boston railway mostly hand cracked vehicles were used for transport. On the 24/06/89 the "Concord Merchant was released onto the tracks of Boston making some caravans change their routes as supplies were already delivered there by rail.
-The Vault Bureau and the Union of Old America
On May 20th 2288, the Vice President of the CMR announced the creation of the Vault Bureau and the subsequent action of the Vault Integration Act.
This would permit all operational, stable vaults designated area close to CMR territory and all unworking and abandoned vaults also to be subject to CMR law and occupation.
The only exception was Vault 111 which would remain a grave due to the significance to the CMR general, Nate.
Some vaults upon learning of this agreed to join the CMR and were happy to join a new, stable and seemingly positive group, a great change from what they mostly expected from wastelanders.
However, most of the vaults did not want to join, and representatives from 10 different vaults in the area (note: I am adding some fictional vaults here, these go over the official number of vaults) met in Vault 130 to discuss unification.
This ended in agreement, and the new nation the Union of Old America was formed, consisting of 18 vaults (including 8 that joined days later and weren’t present at the first congress).
The UOA subjugated nearby small towns mostly peacefully, although gunfire was exchanged with 2 deaths on the UOA side in the small community of Morgan Ferry.
The UOA also declared in their second meeting of representatives to discuss new plans, deals and issues that the vaults which has joined the CMR were traitors to the old United States and should leave at once.
-Military reorganization
In the CMR, the military was made up of many poorly trained militia members and conscripts.
In June 2288, the general of the CMR Armed Forces decided to start a military reorganization.
Troops of the CMR got better training, weaponry, and technology at the cost of a short economic downturn.
A new type of infantry armor and a new type of power armor were both made, the power armor model being called the AMAX-89, being based off the ‘Black Devil’ model of the enclave, and the infantry armor being based off the designs of the NCR due them both having known reliability.
This act legitimized the CMR’s military and reduced the amount of untrained militia fighters on the battlefield.
-The USS Commonwealth disaster
On February 8th, 2289, the Commonwealth's largest and most advanced naval vessel, the USS Commonwealth, suffering from a disaster that almost led to a total sinking.
At roughly 8:00 AM, the Commonwealth was being transported to an alternate position for some minor repairs.
In a position that was supposed to be checked for hazard weeks earlier, multiple naval mines of unknown origin had been in the water.
At 8:21 AM, the Commonwealth hit one mine on her starboard (right) side, close to her bow (front). Seconds later, she hit another on her starboard side, this time closer to the stern (back).
The ship began to list (tilt) heavily, with almost a 25 degree list in just 5 minutes. The ship’s watertight bulkheads were dropped and halted the flooding of the water. Hand-cranked pumps were used to pump the majority of the water out.
In panic and not wanting to lose their new flagship so quick, the CMR called an emergency meeting in Lexington and assembled an elite crisis response team called the Commonwealth Advanced Crisis Unit.
The response unit repaired the ship over time, and by February 18th, the ship was as good as new.
31 died in the incident, 6 from the initial explosions and the other 25 from drowning.
The formation of the Advanced Crisis Unit was one of the first legitimate crisis response teams in all of the former US, and paved the way for the modern idea of organized emergency services in the Commonwealth.
-LAS-G7
Seeing that the Brotherhood's and CMR's armies had not a very easy time getting ammunition for waging war against the Left Hand, Concord University had begun working on a energy weapon that could be reloaded on front without getting new energy cells. The first batch of prototypes were very heavy and clunky like: LAS-G1;2;3;4 and 5 but LAS-G6 was pretty lightweight, slim, cheap, easy to use and wouldn't take a lot of time to charge BUT it wasn't very powerful and the internal battery meant that a Firing Group would need to retreat from battle after just an hour to recharge their LAS-G's (aka. Las Guns). The LAS-G7 combined the strengths of its predecessor having a good stopping power, short time of charging, not a very costly design and a light skeleton. Whilst having new features like a easy to take apart chassis and a battery that could be taken out of the gun and charged in the backpack of the soldier. To add to the firepower of a LAS squad the LAS-HMG was made being capable of penetrating heavy armour (in AP type), mow down infantry (in the full auto configuration), and blast ball of energy to an entrenched enemy (in Shock-Troop selection). It had its drawbacks like being very heavy, long reloading time and more.
-MNV "North Star"
The Brotherhood civil war was waged near the sea and the main base of the CAF was miles away from the front. In need of a mobile airbase the cargo ship near Quincy was cleared out sealed and tugged to the Spectacle Island dock yard. There the main deck was cleared and readied for vertibirds. After a month of repairs the carrier was set sail.
-Penal Legions
After the LAS-G rifles were made it became obvious that there wasn't enough manpower on the front. With that a series of anti-raider raids were made by the Massachusetts Death Corp in and around the frontier to capture and not kill bandits. After that the captured were given an offer: Join the war and get freedom or be executed in Concord square. Obviously most took up the offer and with that a 100 man Legion was made, it was equipped with LAS-G6 rifles as they were cheap and and couldn't get recharged if a Fire Section leader didn't do so himself, ensuring that the Legion wouldn't go rogue.
-Springfield expansion
Though the BCW (Brotherhood civil war) was going on, the expansion of CMR wasn't waiting. The next task was to expand to the area of Springfield and deeper into the west Massachusetts.
-Weird discovery
When entering ruins of Springfield two not seen before animals were discovered both named after being classified by ex institute biologist Dr. Richard Williams. A "horse" and a "chicken" both were great for farm livestock.
-UOA controversy
After entering Springfield and begin more expansion, the CMR decided it was time to act on the Union of Old America, who had been dismissing annexation attempts for months. The CMR held a meeting between multiple leading figures and decided a military confrontation was the best decision.
CMR and UOA forces met at Vault 129 in an armed standoff. The UOA militia was lacking in weaponry but largely outnumbered the CMR force. The CMR commander shouted through a megaphone a request to meet the leader of high executive in the Vault.
The UOA militia refused and tensions heightened. Both sides began to berate each other and both called each other dangerous and unnecessary. It is unknown who fired first, but a shot was fired and immediately a full battle began. Despite being better equipped, the CMR force was mostly captured with multiple wounded and 2 killed of a 19 man force.
This was later discovered to be caused by an unnoticed preparation by the UOA, who anticipated the CMR force and set up ambush positions.
-Operation "Radstorm"
Wanting to end the Brotherhood civil war, CMR had Gathered it's fleet at Spectacle Island to bombard the Boston airport and then send soldiers to deal with what remained. On 23/11/89 2:45 PM the bombardment commenced with all of 38 cannons (+ 5 artillery pieces that were in range) that were available the fortifications and headquarters of the Left Hand were turned into rubble. Then using vertibirds and MAAV1 and MAAT1 the Infantry deployed and fought for 5 hours until the last of defenders who didn't flee died. This would come to shape the tactics that the CMR would use in the future.
-M1SMG and the Springfield Steelworks
After entering Springfield a Museum was discovered containing many artifacts like schematics of weapons. In those a schematic was found which presented a submachine gun that used a minimal amount of resources and was so simple in production that local gunsmiths could make it in their workshops without issue. It was taken as a new primari weapon for low priority units. With that a steelworks was made in Springfield to mass produce the weapon with scrap metal and send it across the CMR so a big standing force would able to be made.
-Dissolving the Penal Legions
After the Brotherhood Civil War was finished, the CMR kept true to their promise but they gave a choice: you leave the Legion and get a home in Springfield and a job at the Ironworks or you stay and fight with better conditions than before and get paid for it. That said only 30 people accepted the offer to stay, those people became part of the new First Springfield Cavalry Firing Group and the First Springfield Armoured Cavalry Firing Group.
-Internal changes in the CMR
Due to territory expansion and the unreliable structure of the Concord council, a new system was placed in power. The CMR territory was divided into Commonwealths, and the power structure was rebuilt. The House of representatives would consist of 100 seats with each representative from top 100 settlements (population speaking). The Parliament would consist of 2 elected from the representatives (2 for every Commonwealth for example there are 3 Commonwealths so there are 6 members of the Parliament) at the moment there are 3 Commonwealths: Commonwealth of New Hampshire, Commonwealth of Springfield and the Boston Commonwealth. The House of Representatives will discuss reforms and vote which ones will go to the Parliament for further decisions. The Parliament will pass or veto reforms, in case of a veto the House of representatives will discuss the reform again and vote on it if 70 representatives will vote in its favour it goes to the Parliament again, then they will vote on it if they decide to veto again, they will need to describe the problem with the reform, in case of the representatives wanting to vote again the reform will be passed to the people for them to vote on it. The Parliament and the House of representatives vote on reforms in the Massachusetts State House. Due to the government changes the name of the CMR was changed to CMF (Commonwealth of Massachusetts Federation).
-Northern League-CMF Agreements
Contact and diplomatic relations were established between the CMF and Northern League in Mid-2290. The Northern League was a major force established in what used to be the Northern United States (in what also used to be Canada before it’s annexation. The country was a large union with a monopoly on trade in the area due to many resources, and newfound oil supplies. The League itself was a union between New Ottawa (formerly Ottawa), Sherbrooke, Marshall City (formerly Montreal) and Québec City as well as smaller towns and cities in between the larger ones, with the capital being Marshall City. It is also believed it’s government was initially formed by surviving groups of Canadians after the war who had been parts of guerrilla movements to get the US out of Canada.
The League’s strong military and conscription laws, taxation policies and overall stability gave it a similar status to that of the NCR, although smaller and confined to the East. As trade relations improved the CMF began to increase in its own strength even more as they now had more oil for vehicles, more materials for weapons and other equipment, and enough food being grown and produced that newly packaged food en masse, some of the first since the Great War, was slowly becoming available in society.
-War on Raiders
In November 2290, a group of raiders organized and attacked the small community of Horseshoe Circle in CMF territory, close to the coast. After the civilians fought back and contacted nearby CMF units, the Raiders fought harder and ended up defeating them. The raiders lined up any survivors against the local City Hall and executed them. Around 76 died in total in the incident.
Afterwards, the horrified and furious CMF Law Enforcement Committee organized a huge division called the ‘Anti-Barbarism Unit.’ This units primary goal would be to combat raiders, bandits, and assist those suffering from raider attacks. In the capital of the CMF, Concord, war was declared on all raiders and a statement was put out that any raiders who entered the CMF territories, attacked CMF citizens or otherwise endangered lives and caused chaos in the Commonwealth would be sentenced to death if caught.
The CMF began active operations to quell and destroy raider cells.
-Concord Autoworks
In collaboration with Springfield Ironworks, a new government-run company known as Concord Autoworks was formed in the CMF. This company would be focused purely on making working ground automobiles which was something excessively rare in the post-war world.
-Industrialization Act of 2291
On February 1st, 2291 the Industrialization Act was passed which would begin the construction of more factories for hopefully more jobs and more luxuries like cars, built-well houses, as well as helping contribute to a stable currency
-CA Infantry Carriage M1
Wanting to grant infantry protection and fast travel without very pricy refiting of pre-war APC's the Concord Autoworks had designed the CAIC M1. With good armour and a capacity of 6 soldiers (including the driver) it was mostly a platform to build on for example: adding a small caliber artillery cannon instead off infantry space, adding a roof and a turret to create a APC with good punching power or adding a mini crane and tool spaces to create a mobile engineering vehicle. The options are endless.
-Nakho Epidemic
In early 2292, a disheveled and dirty traveler arrived at the merchant circle in Bunker Hill (at this point under CMF control) and then collapsed. Examination quickly showed he was dead, and from the Northern League. A group of doctors went to inspect his body when they noticed strange sores and fluids coming from the man.
They took him in for further analysis, and a few days later, the doctors became terribly sick, but had unintentionally already spread it to many at Bunker Hill. The disease was the same given by the dead man, and with the status of Bunker Hill as an important trading and merchant area, many were infected and then spread it through caravans.
The disease was highly deadly and absolutely miserable for any infected, with a death rate of about 60% and very contagious. The CMF issued an official quarantine over the area which forced civilians to stay inside unless they they absolutely had to leave while the brightest medical minds of the CMF begin to try and find a cure.
The disease was named the Nakho Virus.
-Dreyfuss act.
Wanting to regulate the amount of men at arms the House of Representatives has passed an act to limit and set goals for the amount of menpower in the army. It was decided that:
-2500 infantry men would be deployed around the Commonwealths, 1250 of them mechanized and motorized with 625 mechanized in squads of 5, and the other 625 motorized in squads of 10 (5 men in each group dedicated to leadership). All of those split into 5 combat groups: Group North in charge of defending north wastes, Group Boston garrisoning Boston and surrounding areas, Group Rhodes deployed on the CMF-UOA border to attack and defend, Group Springfield defending the industrial sector and also the frontier, Group Central responding to reinforcements requests.
-60 vertibirds: 50 split between the Groups and 10 on the MNV North Star.
-unlimited amount of militiamen supplied with SMG M1 and basic military uniforms.
Further editions are to be passed as the need for more army men will grow.
-F-1; F-2 and F-3
Planning to wipe out the UOA once and for all the CMF army command commissioned an jet aircraft capable of delivering payload for long distance and scouting. The Concord University's brightest minds had worked tirelessly on a design and a prototype coming up with 3 different designs:
•F-1 a light craft with 4 .50 cal machine guns and a recon camera. Mostly made as a base for two next fighter-bombers;
•F-2, it's equipment consisted of two 20mm auto-cannons fed explosive ammunition, also with a recon camera. Made as a final product but was deemed not heavy enough;
•F-3, the final product equipped with a pair of 20mm auto-cannons and a single .50 cal machine gun, also with a recon camera but could be switched for a bombing camera after confirming the location of a target, it had two 50kg bombs and a single 100kg bomb. In front of the 100kg bomb was a 10, 10 cal long rocket launching pod. The jet had a effective combat range of 350 km. Unlike it's predecessors it had a crew of 2: one pilot and one bomb operator.
General characteristics
Crew: 1 (2 in case of the F-3)
Length: 37 ft 1 in (11.30 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 1 in (11.91 m)
Height: 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m).
Two F-3 were made, both being on the MNV North Star. With hull changes and adding a Air control tower to the ship.
-The Workers Party (WP)
Is as the name suggests a party for the betterment of working standards and other pro labour laws. It has an average amount of seats in the House of Representatives.
-Cleanse, Purge and Prosper (CPP) is a staunch anti-ghoul and anti-supermutant party which has been often accused of being a ploy of the Brotherhood of Steel. It only has one seat in the House of Representatives.
-MCW.Co
The Massachusetts Clean Water.Co, is a government company made to build public water purifiers around Massachusetts with the current goal is to build a basic sewage system in Boston, Quincy and Concord (Sanctuary included inside of the Concord system)
-Repairs of the 90th
A fast way to get from Boston to Springfield didn't exist until now. Only 3 lanes of the road were repaired with the rest planned for repairs 3 months after the first three. 2 lanes were for automobiles and the third for Caravans that couldn't afford cars.
-MEC (Massachusetts Electricity Company)
Problem with individual electricity grids for each settlement is that pollution affects crops and health of the people. So the MEC was formed to confiscate individual grids and combine them into a single grand power station, so far a GG (grand grid) was only made in Boston effectively allowing for resettlement of old skyscrapers and buildings with proper mostly unfaulty energy.
Quite a long read but a required one. Thanks to u/Eestirussia (now u/longmanhijacked2 ) for contributing with his amazing writing skills. Will pin the post for the future generations.

Orc -

• Apprentice: Get Berserk power for 100 mana
• Atronach: Gain Berserk when you fall below 25% health
• Lady: 15% chance to gain Berserk on kill
• Lord: Warstomp reduces armor by 500 points for 10 seconds
• Lover: Heal by 25% of overkill damage when you kill an enemy
• Mage: Warstomp reduces magic resist by 25% for 10 seconds
• Ritual: In combat, do 30% more damage and spell damage but start with 50% health missing
• Serpent: +20% attack damage to healthy targets
• Shadow: Move 15% faster in combat
• Steed: Warstomp also does 25% current health damage to targets
• Thief: Find treasures on targets you kill
• Tower: Warstomp also breaks nearby locks up to adept level
• Warrior: +20% power attack damage

Altmer -

• Apprentice: Inborn Magic buff duration +10 seconds
• Atronach: Faerielight also reduces MR by 25% for 10 seconds
• Lady: Faerielight makes the target follow you for 15 seconds
• Lord: Inborn Magic buff effect +50%
• Lover: Faerielight restores mana based on amount drained
• Mage: Inborn Magic also grants +50 magicka while a buff is active
• Ritual: Regenerate Magicka and Stamina 200% faster below 25%, but lose 200 armor and 50% MR while this is active
• Serpent: Faerielight blinds targets and forces them out of combat
• Shadow: Sneak 25% faster
• Steed: Regenerate Magicka and Stamina 50% faster while standing still
• Thief: Faerielight also steals the target's weapons
• Tower: Become invisible when Inborn Magic triggers
• Warrior: Faerielight also drains Stamina

Dunmer -

• Apprentice: Also gain Fireblood when you cast a fire spell, but damage is halved
• Atronach: Fireblood does 50% more damage if the target is alone
• Lady: Fireblood cooldown is up to 30 seconds but the buff is automatically regained after
• Lord: Take 20% less attack damage if the target is alone
• Lover: Ancestral Protector can cast on your Fireblood target
• Mage: Gain up to +30% spell effectiveness as health decreases
• Ritual: Ancestral Protector also triggers when entering combat regardless of cooldown
• Serpent: Ancestral Protector inflicts poison damage
• Shadow: Get Heart of Ash power for 25 mana (toggle, +30% all damage dealt and taken)
• Steed: Fireblood buff also grants 10% movement speed
• Thief: +20% attack damage if the target is alone
• Tower: Open any lock whose level <= your fire resist
• Warrior: Fireblood frenzies the target for 60 seconds

Nord -

• Apprentice: Shouts have 25% chance to cast twice
• Atronach: Roots passive improved by 50%
• Lady: Berserker Potion also restores 25% of each attribute
• Lord: Take 30% less attack damage from healthy targets
• Lover: 1/day cast a Berserker Potion effect when you fall below 25% health
• Mage: When Magicka falls below 50%, transfer Stamina to replenish it
• Ritual: Shouts have a 3 second cooldown during a Berserker Potion effect
• Serpent: All-Maker powers are refunded during a Berserker Potion effect
• Shadow: Sleeping grants a random All-Maker power
• Steed: If you have 250 magicka, All-Maker powers drain 250 magicka to refund themselves
• Thief: Healing potions are 25% more effective
• Tower: Can spend Stamina equal to 4 times lock level to open a lock instead
• Warrior: -25% power attack cost

Khajiit -

• Apprentice:
• Atronach: Damage/healing spells are 50% more powerful, but have a 25% chance to be inverted
• Lady: Once per battle, activate a target to trip it
• Lord: Once per battle, activate a target to drain stamina equal to 4 times level
• Lover: Sprint an extra 20% faster but spend 4 extra stamina per second while sprinting
• Mage:
• Ritual:
• Serpent: Attacks of opportunity do 50% more damage
• Shadow: Once per battle, activate a target to disarm it
• Steed: Sprinting in combat knocks down nearby enemies
• Thief: Get Night Eye.
• Tower:
• Warrior: Ignore attacks of opportunity while attacking

Hmm

"A wise man once said the true history of the world is the history of great conversations in elegant rooms."
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Daenerys is a tragic heroine
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According to Aristotle and all literature, poetry and theater. Daenerys is a noble, a goddess above mortals, with a destiny and a fatality. She is the tragic heroine, like Titus in Berenice by Racine, she must choose between love and power.
"I am not your little princess. I am Daenerys Stormborn of the blood of Old Valyria, and I will take what is mine. With fire and blood, I will take it."
​
Jon Snow is a superhero
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He is the modern hero, the virtuous chosen one, the saviour. He always makes the right choices, sacrifices himself for the general interest, he is Neo, Iron Man, Superman and even Batman. Because the tragic heroine falls from her pedestal, the superhero also falls before moral paradoxes. Jon Snow is Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight, he is the myth of the modern, fallible and contradictory hero.
“Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy and let the man be born.”
​
Tyrion is just a man
The true savior of the world is not the tragic heroine, it is not the superhero. Tyrion has qualities and flaws. He is not immoral, he is not virtuous. He's just a human.
The savior of the world is mortal, because only mortals can direct their destiny, false gods and false idols will not come as saviors. It is the compromise between passion and reason that triumphs. Between love and duty, between ice and fire.
"Did you bring any wine ?"
​
Sansa is just a woman
Tyrion is the little man who saves the world, Sansa is the young girl who saves the world. She is the one who wins the battle of the Bastards, she is the one who stands up to Daenerys, she is the reason for Jon Snow's final choice. Sansa is the young girl who makes Daenerys tremble.
Tragic heroes and superheroes do not save humanity. Only men and women have this power.
"What about the North ? It was taken from us, and we took it back. And we said we'd never bow to anyone else again. What about the North ?"
​
The Iron throne is the symbol of Absolute Power
A pile of cold, rusty, sharp swords. Many fight to sit on it, and gain absolute power over the seven kingdoms. It is not the throne that confers the legitimacy to reign. Legitimacy must already be acquired to sit on it. The throne is just a symbol.
"The Iron Throne. Perhaps you should try wanting something else."
​
​
Cersei and Jaime are Shakespearean characters
Daenerys is grey. Morally ambiguous. Cersei and Jaime have very clear reasons and objectives. Protect theirs, and destroy their enemies. They are white and black, good and bad.
They are tragic Shakespearian characters, just humans, not gods, not totally bad or totally good.
"- I want our baby to live. I want our baby to live. I want our baby to live. (Jeoffrey, Myrcella, Tommen) Don't let me die, Jaime. Please don't let me die.
- It's all right.
- Please don't let me die.
- It's all right.
- I don't want to die.
- Just look... Look at me. Look at me. (x3)
- Not like this. Not like this. Not like this. (Jeoffrey, Myrcella, Tommen)
- Look... Look...Look me in the eye. Don't look away. Don't look... Look at me ! Just look at me. (+2; Tyrion/Brienne)
Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Only us."
​
Sunset not romantic
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It's at the beginning of the series. It is the inversion of ideas and symbolism. A honeymoon, on a beach, at sunset, with the horses as witnesses. It's romantic put like that, but in GoT, the sunset represents the end of the day, the beginning of darkness, the dusk of Dany's innocence, and the beginning of trauma. This image has all the ambiguity and the double game of the story of Daenerys.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention."
​
The crowd is a character
The death of Ned Stark, the trial of Tyrion or the humiliation of Cersei. The crowd is a character who has a role, sometimes bad, sometimes neutral, sometimes endearing. The crowd is humanity, it is mortals, the tools and playthings of kings and gods. The crowd is the tool that legitimizes the reign of Aegon II in HotD, and does not legitimize the reign of Daenerys. The crowd is us.
"I know you don't care about your people. Why should you ? They hate you and you hate them.
But you're not a monster."
​
Bran and Arya are characters from the tale
Once upon a time, in a magical world, a brother and his sister embarked on a great quest... The elements of the tale can be found in the journey of our two little heroes, however it's not just that. Bran and Arya also have a mysterious Cinema aura with them. We also find the tale with Daenerys and Cersei, and the prophecies of the witches. Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood or Snow White, there are many references to the tale in GoT/HotD. Alicent is a lot of Cinderella for example.
"My favorites were the scary ones."
​
Daenerys, destiny and fatality
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She wins the throne, she fulfills her destiny. But the price to pay is heavy, it is fatality, the inexorable fall. She has the throne, and at the same time she imprisons herself in this ruined ark.
Isle of the Dead, Gate of the Underworld, Prison or even a Guillotine, this ark is sinister. It is death that is linked to success.
"- I'm not my father.
- No, Your Grace, thank the gods. But the Mad King gave his enemies the justice he thought they deserved. And each time, it made him feel powerful... and right... until the very end."
​
Winter is coming
but the wall has stood through it all, and every winter that ever came has ended. The archmaestre of the Citadel had not panicked. The great epic fight of good against evil in fantasy is banal, deja vu. This is not the major issue in the great story of ice and fire. It's just a disturbing element. One spectacular battle. A great victory for good, for the living, but a total defeat for Daenerys, the tragic heroine.
Who's raining ashes on King's Landing ? Winter is the metaphor for cataclysm, and the cataclysm is Daenerys, not the Long Night.
​
The Night King is Death
Characters in GoT/HotD are good or bad, or grey. The Night King is absolute evil. Silent, unstoppable death. He's not really a character, he's a concept, a real, uncompromising threat. The great villain of the great fight of good against evil. The metaphor of the existential crises of our world.
"What do we say to the god of death ?"
​
Nymeria is a direwolf
Gray Wind, Summer or Ghost, all stayed close to their "master." We're going to dive below the surface of the iceberg now, let's just remember that Nymeria's story was very...different.
"When the Long Night comes again, I need to be ready."
​
Daenerys kills the crowd, because of Jon Snow
"People work together when it suits them. They're loyal when it suits them. They love each other when it suits them. And they kill each other when it suits them."
Jon's legacy and his spreading secret is the red thread of season 8. It is Ned Stark's well-kept secret, the original mystery of this series. Daenerys is a chess player, she is several moves ahead of everyone, all the time. When the bells ring... she knows what she has to do to be able to rule without having a revolt. Kill Jon Snow, or kill the crowd.
She is a tragic heroine, these choices are inaccessible to the mortals that we are.
"There is no power but what the people allow you to take."
"I don't want to be his queen. I want to go home."
​
Love blinds Tyrion and Jon
They are in love with Daenerys, like everyone else. Only Sansa and Varys don't fall for her charms. So Tyrion loses control, makes bad decisions, and Jon only sees the good side of Daenerys, only the dream. Yara Greyjoy is also in love with Daenerys, she still defends her legend at the very end.
"We're all human. Oh, we all do our duty when there's no cost to it. Honor comes easy then. Yet sooner or later in every man's life there comes a day when it's not easy. A day when he must choose."
​
Drogon is the real absolute power
The throne is the symbol. Drogon is the tool that allows Daenerys to take the throne. Nothing is stronger than Drogon, he is a fighter plane capable of annihilating any army. Drogon is the physical materialization of absolute power. He destroys the throne, because the real symbol is him.
Everyone wanted to have the throne to have absolute power. Everyone except Daenerys, who already had absolute power.
​
Bran can change the past
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There's a scene where Bran calls his father, in the past, and Ned Stark turns around. The old Three Eyed Raven tells him it's the wind. Bran says no.
There are bushes, tree leaves and sand in this scene... and... there is no wind.
"Don't listen to it. Crows are all liars. I know a story about a crow."
​
Rhaegal's death si the death of Rhaegar Targaryen. The myth of Icarus.
Icarus enjoyed his aerial power and, taking more and more altitude, thought himself the equal of birds. But, unable to resist the intense heat of the star, the wax on its wings began to melt, and the young boy was thrown into the void before diving into the sea which today bears his name.
It is Daenerys' arrogance that is punished with the death of the dragon. A ridiculous ambush, easily avoidable and in a second, it is the death of hopes. Tyrion had told Daenerys that all it took was one arrow to make it all stop. Sansa had insisted that Daenerys rest in Winterfell. The arrogance of the tragic heroine, falling from the pedestal, at the height of her glory.
Just like Rhaegar who was supposed to heal the reign of Aerys II, who could overcome the rebellion, and who dies, foolishly, in a river, his ruby ​​armor scattering in the waters, as Rhaegal's blood splashes upon the waves. Shattered hopes.
"Do you know what kept me standing through all those years in exile ? Faith. Not in any gods, not in myths and legends, in myself. In Daenerys Targaryen."
​
The Night King is a metaphor
The idea of ​​uniting to face common threats. Jon Snow's great speech on unity, truth and duty. The Night King is the Covid, it's climate change, it's wars, it's asteroid falls.
In Westeros there are people who don't believe in White Walkers, and even when given proof of their existence, they act for their best interests above all else. Yes, it is very realistic.
The Long Night is a message of hope for humanity, it is the idea that by uniting we can overcome hardships. A kind and positive message from Fantasy, which seems flat next to the great philosophical and moral themes.
The Long Night is also a satire.
We are going to dive even further my dear reader, hang on.
​
Nymeria should have eaten Arya. Bran saved her.
Once upon a time, Little Red riding hood and the big bad wolf, in winter, in a forest, met again...
There is no magical bond between Arya and Nymeria in the series. The beginning of the scene is a real horror scene. The scene ends with a mystery. Impossible to solve before the mystery that followed.
"- I'm going now.
- Go where ?"
​
Melisandre sacrificed the Dothraki cavalry
The Dothraki are powerful in the open fields. The tension is high, the whole army of the good guys is waiting for the army of the dead. Melisandre arrives, ignites the swords, triggering the charge of the horde, galvanized. Davos' gaze is the only terrified one in this scene.
No one would have given the order, and the army of the dead would have crushed the motionless cavalry. Melisandre did what was necessary, sacrifice the Dothraki, to allow the final victory.
"- Valar morghulis.
- Valar dohaeris."
​
Willys couldn't hold the door
No one could. Hold the door by being eaten alive by frozen zombies. Everyone would have left the door. Bran's rescue must be through this door. What is old Three Eyed Raven doing with Bran in Winterfell ? The Night King is coming, there is no time to lose, Bran must be saved. Time may be just an illusion, there may be enough time in fact. It's the old man who makes Hodor.
The last act of the multiple life and multiple temporalities of the old Three eyed Raven is to save Bran, and he does it, by making a Hodor, able to hold the door.
"Listen to your friend, Brandon."
​
No elephants
We wanted to see the elephants. We wanted to see circus games, gladiators and lions. We wanted our big, glorious, epic battle.
The moral of the bells is that war is not a game, war is disgusting and out of control. End of recess.
"I wanted those elephants."
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Bran stopped Drogon from killing Jon
In HotD, Vhagar explained to us that a dragon could kill a Targaryen and take revenge easily. And Bran has a long reign allowing him to watch again, and again, and again, the death of Daenerys and the death of Jon Snow. Maybe with enough training and experience, he could act...
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"What kind of person climbs on fucking dragon ? A madman ? Or a King ?"
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Daenerys could have children
"- I can't have children.
- Who told you that ?
- The witch who murdered my husband.
- Has it occurred to you she might not have been a reliable source of information ?"
The witch tells Daenerys that she cannot have children, and so Daenerys believes her, and does not try to have children. The prophecy is true, only because Daenerys believes in it.
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Arya died during The bells
Everything collapses around her, it's the black screen. Arya is dead, and yet gets up, in the middle of the corpses. Nothing that could have saved her is visible.
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White tree and black tree
The staging of the mystery. These are clues. One side visible, one side hidden.
There are symbols and codes in this series. The branches, the stones, the shadow and the light, the candles, the columns, the prison, the Y, the X... and maybe others...
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Bran destroyed the symbol of absolute power, using the real absolute power
The throne is the symbol of absolute power, and Drogon is a dragon, absolute power physically. Drogon wanted to avenge his mother and kill Jon Snow. It is Bran who destroys the throne, not Drogon. Bran is the guardian of absolute power, he's the keeper of this story.
"The boy who fell from a high tower and lived… He's our memory. The keeper of all our stories."
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The death of Missendei
A lifelong slave, Missendei dies like Ned Stark, like a great lord of Westeros. She is a miniature metaphor of Daenerys, starting from nothing with nothing, she falls to the top. With a good heart, she gives up in the face of adversity and her last word will be "Dracarys", merciless revenge. She is the slave who brings down queens. And Gray Worm is the slave who brings down kings.
"The things we love, destroy us every time."
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Arya died in the forest
"You're not supposed to be here. No one is supposed to be here."
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Bran saved Arya in the forest... the second time. He says it: "I thought you might go to King's Landing." Arya reunites in Winterfell with a Bran who hasn't seen her cross paths with Nymeria. So it's not "this" Bran who saved her, but Bran from the Long Night. The reality that we discover is a second temporal reality, like the reality with Hodor. And so... Arya first died in the forest. The first version of Little Red Riding Hood has no hunter. Nobody was there the first time to stop the wolf.
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When Bran gives the dagger to Arya, it's the second try, the second and last chance.
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."
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Dany's suicide
At the start of the bells, there is a conversation between Tyrion and Daenerys. It's the mourning of Missendei and Rhaegal, and yet Daenerys doesn't talk about it. She is fixated on Jon Snow's secret, facing a Tyrion unable to understand the problem. It is the misunderstanding between the tragic archetype and the comic archetype. The symbolism in this scene is the suicide of Dany, the innocent young princess with a good heart, and only the legend will remain.
"- But it doesn’t matter now.
- No. It doesn’t matter now."
It's very hard to explain, I put you the link of the post where I analyze this scene: https://www.reddit.com/naath/comments/110zl7a/the_cave_of_madness/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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Arya & the Waif
"Haven't we been through this already ? That won't help you."
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Arya killed The Waif ? Are you sure ? Probably. Did The Waif kill and replace Arya ? Probably too...
The scene of their duel ends in mystery and tension, which will never be completed. At the end of GoT, Arya is still in an uncertain state, alive or dead, we cannot know. It is the same uncertainty as the death of Syrio Forel. It's a Schrodinger's cat. Arya is quantum physics, a free electron. 50% alive 50% dead. The symbol is visible in Arya's final shot, the tension is still there, the mystery too.
Arya's ending is the direct reference to Carpenter's The Thing ending, it's the mystery that's scary.
"- Well, what do we do ?
- Why don't we just... wait here for a little while... see what happens ?"
Here a post that explains the logic with more details: https://www.reddit.com/naath/comments/11ovi9f/arya_and_horror_cinema/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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Lies, Time and Cinema
How to film time and time travel, how to represent different realities, how to stage the invisible ?
“We're all astronauts, really, aren't we; interstellar astronauts, travelling so far into the blackness we can never return.”
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GoT shows the lies and hides the truth. "Today is not the day I die." "I am not here to be queen of the ashes." "The past is already written. The ink is dry." Beautiful punchlines, beautiful lies.
GoT's time travel is not the "What happened is always happened" like in Lost, 12 monkeys by Terry Gilliam, or the variant in Final Destination by James Wong. This is the theory of time from The Butterfly Effect, from the same film by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. Theory of time respected in Source Code by Duncan Jones and also in the Avengers Endgame by Disney. It's the same theory used in Back to the Future by Robert Zemeckis, without the paradoxes.
Infinite time loops are also possible with the butterfly effect theory, which is what happens to Ashton Kutcher's father in the movie. Bran isn't trapped in the loop, it's Hodor. If Bran breaks the loop, he dies, so he can't modify it. Hodor has always been Hodor to Bran and to the viewer. But not for the time traveler, not for the old liar.
Bran is the time traveler, he is the only one who has seen the previous realities. We, poor spectator not omniscient, we saw the last reality. Arya quietly traversing a forest filled with ferocious wolves, the all-too-easy victory of the Long Night, and Drogon burning an iron throne.
"- I'm going now.
- Go where ?"
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No more climbing Brandon. But Bran keeps climbing, and doesn't fall, unless someone pushes him. Don't try to alter the past, Brandon, you can't. But Bran keeps going...and doesn't fall...unless someone pushes him. Like Cathelyn Stark, the old Three eyed Raven wants to protect Bran, and the world. Because altering the past is a very dangerous game. But Bran does not fall.
"It means I can see everything. Everything that's ever happened to everyone.
Everything that's happening right now."
Bran learning to partly control a dragon. It must have been years of training and failed attempts. The little boy from the tale facing the dragon on the mountain of the gods. An endless fight.
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It's like in the manga All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, adapted as a movie with Edge of Tommorrow by Doug Liman. Except that here, in this story, it's Jon Snow who dies, again and again.
Jon Snow is like Prometheus, who gave fire to humanity, the savior, who is condemned by the gods to be devoured by the dragon every day, and who is reborn every day.
"I fought, I lost. Now I rest. But you, Lord Snow, you'll be fighting their battles forever."
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The White Horse
Arya died partly in a cave in Braavos, Arya died once by Nymeria in a timeline, Arya was protected by the God of Light, and Arya died during the bells. Poor Arya. And who saved Arya at King's Landing ?
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Those who have the power to make black screens ?
Divine light and camera flare. A small, subtle technical exit from the diegesis, the revelation of the world above. The White Horse gets killed at the start of the battle, and magically reappears at the end, like a too visible Deus Ex-Machina. Like the magician's white rabbit, which disappears and reappears at the end of the trick. This white horse is the materialization of the true gods of this universe: The creators of the series. Arya dies during the bells, black screen, and the creators perform yet another Arya rescue. The white horse is the god of illusion, revealed at the end. It is this same white horse that brings Tywin Lannister to Harrenhal one day earlier than expected, and saves Arya and Gendry. This same white horse that magically appears to allow Daenerys to make her speech of liberation from the unsullied. The white horse is magic in GoT, it is the tool for gods interventions.
"There's plenty of pious sons of bitches who think they know the word of god or gods. I don’t. I don’t even know their real names. Maybe it is the Seven. Or maybe it’s the old gods. Or maybe it’s the Lord of Light. Or maybe they’re all the same fucking thing. I don’t know.
What matters, I believe, is that there’s something greater than us."
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The Starbuck cup
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Do you really think this stuff was forgotten ? The gods make their cameo in the universe of GoT, come to party among mortals, like Zeus or Aphrodyte among the Greeks. They left an artifact of Olympus, of their true world, on the table.
And as Daenerys began to slide into madness, the people of the kingdom of the gods of GoT also began to slide into madness, furious at D&D for daring to disrupt Westeros' heroes party.
The white horse is a hole in the 4th wall. The Starbuck cup is the destruction of the wall.
It's the satire on the consumer society. Satire on the way we consume stories and mythologies. If we pay attention to moral lessons, or just to "cool" scenes.
"It's not even about the gods. It's about you."
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And so begins this story...
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