#playing DA like an archaeologist

[lairofdragonagelore]

Brecilian Ruins - DAO

[Remade post, originally from here] 

I don't know what to make of Brecilian Ruins. Can we truly trust DAO design with its statues? Spoiler answer: no.

[This is part of the series “Playing DA like an archaeologist”]

The following post contains

Tevinter architecture filled with Elven traps

Iconography

The Well of Sorrows: DAO version

The Tevinter Artefacts

Extra minor details

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore]

Tevinter architecture filled with Elven traps

The first thing we have when entering these Ruins is Morrigan telling us that, despite seeing the whole place with the same architecture we saw in the Ruins of Dalish origin, this is Tevinter. Sure, we can assume that the Dalish hunters know nothing of Elvhenan Architecture or Tevinter Architecture, so their opinion about those ruins being elven could be wrong from the first moment. They are, after all, extremely unreliable beholders of the reality. 

Anyways, let's assume Morrigan is right and we see Tevinter arquitecture with Elven traps. This is quite different of what we usually find in Thedas: which is elven structures appropriated by Tevinter humans. This makes sense when you think that the elves were the first creatures in this world, and humans came later, in addition to Tevinter always co-opting any knowledge or techniques from the Elvhenan. 

However in Brecilian forest the order of the events seems to be on the other way around. Historically speaking, it can be explained in the following way:  we know that Tevinter invaded Ferelden and built many structures with defensive purposes, like Ostagar [which was built to contain the “danger” of the Chasind in the far South]. 

We also know in the DLC: Witch Hunt, that slaved elves ran away from the North to the South years later after the fall of Arlathan. We know they hid for a while in a Thaig, but maybe some could have reached these forest and inhabit the ancient human structures, protecting themselves with elven traps to keep Tevinter slavers away from them.

Another possibility is that Tevinter simply co-opted the Elven traps and used them in their own buildings. It would not be the first time doing this.

Iconography

The Ruin corridors and chambers are filled with statues. They are the same statues we saw in Zathrian's camp: Sylaise (woman with a vessel), Andruil (woman with a sword. Why? Should not be a bow?), and Ghilan'nain (woman without head and hands). 

These are the same exact statues we find in any Chantry, Circle of Magi, or human town, so this is exactly why I never trusted DAO design in general. I don't know if the engine and its lack of resources made them reuse a lot of background details, or there is a real intention in them [I incline to the former]. Considering that DAO had almost 10 years of development, I want to believe that this is not by chance... but maybe the limitations of the engine forced them to remove most of the potential that environmental telling has to offer... I don't know.

In any case, inside the Brecilian Ruins we see a symbol or figure we also saw in the Dalish origin: a kind of dragon-head like figure, accompanied many times by one of those figures that we believe, it represents Andruil (the goddess of Hunt). This could also represent Andraste [who always has a sword or a shield in her representations] beside two figures that look like dragon heads. This would link Andraste with Dragons too, which has been a repeated association that we are not stranger to. 

In DAO we see that the dalish are deeply related to Dragons too if we pay attention to the enviromental details that are not repeated anytwhere else:  in Zathrian's clan we see many aravels with masks that are dragon-like skulls, and when you click on them, you find out it's a representation of one of their elven pantheon. 

We see the concept art of these in the credits of the game.

By now it's quite difficult to say if this is an obvious link of the Elven Pantheon with dragons or maybe Old Gods, or it's just a vestige of former slave elves whose masters may have forced them to worship the Old Gods. It is not strange that a slaved group takes the religious symbols of their slavers and worship them in the name of their own (forbidden) gods. We know that we can't trust in Dalish tales as reliable sources of History, because it's extremely fragmented and lost (thanks to DAI we are truly aware of how false they are containing barely a pinch of truth in them, twisted and romanticed).

On the other hand, I am inclined to think that this is just a representation of how the Elvhenan had, originally, a religion based on Dragons. We know that they venerated a “divine” shape that was meant for their gods and their chosen ones that implied Wings, and due to Mythal’s shape, we associate this Divine Shape with the form of a Dragon. Additional material that can support this speculation can be found in the first three comics of DA comics [The Silent Grove , Those Who Speak, Until We Sleep] where we are informed that the Dragons were the ones who controlled the skies originally, possibly had a broad power over the Fade [Dreamer-like, so from the Fade they could alter reality], and they may have been related to an original non-fragmented “song” that everythign and everyone in the world sang.  Also, Dragon Blood is “the blood of the World”, placing the Titans in a confusing position within the lore.

In these Ruins we find a codex of Falon'Din. Which is the same god that Talem told us about when we asked him if he could identify that strange winged statue. So... the confusions gets worse here: it's a Tevinter Ruin, with elven traps, and Elven God statues. 

It’s impossible to overlook the fact that this statue of Falon’Din has strong resemblance to the Old God statue of Urthemiel. As if Falon’Din wanted to have the shape of Urthemiel.

The chamber with the fire traps displays “Sylaise” and “Andruil” statues. Which in terms of Dalish Elven lore makes little sense. Andruil? Sure, she is the hunter goddess, though in these statues she is not in a aggressive stance. So is she chasing after you?. And what about Sylaise? The goddess of the domestic arts? Trying to kill you? Protecting the home of the elves? In a Tevinter structure? This makes a bit of more sense if we keep in mind what we know about Andruil from DAI and the little bit of Sylaise [read their sections in Evanuris]; Sylaise is a very agressive, envious goddes of Fire, who is described top have fire breath [like a dragon?], as powerful as Andruil’s spear [a very dangerous and brutal weapon so far we know]. Andruil is presented to us in DAI as the goddess of Sacrifice, brutal and merciless so far we can gather from the codices. So both goddesses seem to fit a bit better in a deadly trap room if we keep in mind the interpretation we had from DAI.

The Well of Sorrows: DAO version

Then we reach to our first "Well of Sorrows". Or more like "Puddle of Sorrows", lol. Once again, we find a wall covered with that Dragon-like skull statues of “Andruil” and “Sylaise” [I keep the quotation mark because we know we can’t trust little these representations]. We also find the codex of an ancient elven tablet explaining the ritual which, after DAI, makes more sense. You drink from the water of the pool, taking the knowledge left by other elves, and then you put the rest of the water in it, leaving your knowledge there [it works similar to what Abelas explained about the Well of Sorrows]. It seems to be corrupted or empty since you don’t have any whispers or sudden knowledge inside your head, and many Shades are summoned if you fail in the procedure. This chamber unlocks the following one where we find the Uthenera chamber.

Since the only Elven god codex we found in these ruins is Falon'Din’s, it could be fair to believe that this may be interpreted like a "Well of Falon'din" which gathers all the knowledge of those elves that want to stop living and go to Uthenera. 

This is consistent with the info provided in The Masked Empire, when Felassan explains that powerful mages went into Uthenera in underground tombs beneath Orlais and their servants had to take care of their bodies until they rebelled to them and slit their throats. This part of the Ruins are deep down underground. It is also reasonable in its location: Mythal’s Temple is located in the Arbor Wilds, South of Orlais, while this potential ruin in the depth of the Brecilian Forest. What’s a bit inconsistent is that some chars [Morrigan] said that this place was a Tevinter building [not an elvhenan one], but we can’t take Morrigan’s words as reliable either. She has been wrong many times along the series. 

The one thing that deeply disturbed me was that there were two spirits, a little boy and a woman, clearly humans, talking in elven. We could assume they were elf-blooded, but there is no assurance in this. I want to believe this is not a mistake, there is purpose in them being humans since this game has elven models. There is no “engine” limitations there. Now, about the meaning of it, it’s another thing entirely.

The ghost human woman is beside the altar where you find the codex of Uthenera, some elven remains, and a piece of the Juggernaut (a lot of these Ruins History can be scratched via the rare items you find, so sometimes finding a particular item in a particular place is not minor).

Another detail that annoyed me is that the platform where the elven burial lays is surrounded by Alamarri/Tevinter statues. It’s not clear the story of this building: was it originally elvhen? retaken by Tevinter and later taken by elves again? Or this was an Elvhenan ruin, taken by the Avvar or Alamarri of any tribe, and then taken by Tevinter when they invaded the South? It’s not clear neither the original construction of this building nor the succesive invations and appropiations of it, 

So the elven chamber dedicated to Uthenera is surrounded by dragon skull-like figures, there are Sylaise and Andruil statues on the outside ring and Alamarri/Tevinter statues with spears in the inner ring. Clearly this shows that we can’t truly trust much the enviromental telling of DAO due to the restriction of resources. 

The Tevinter Artefacts

Finally, when you head to the deepest bottom of the ruins, you find a big statue I can't establish to what culture belongs yet; I speculate it's Tevinter due to the places where I found it most of the time. It has a similar flavor to the ones found in Kirkwall. 

Behind it, an instrument with two tables filled with research stuff. The instrument is something that I can't decide if it is the same artefact we use in DAI to strengthen the Veil, those elven artefacts, or it's a prototype version of the Tevinter artefact to see the stars: the astrarium [which would make NO sense in the deep bottom of the Ruins, lol. What stars are you looking at?]. 

In any case, after this part you find a big chamber with a quincunx. Probably the first time we see this organisation. Which makes us remember Solas Tarot Card: the thing we find in a quincunx’s centre tends to be of great importance.

So, this disposition makes a quincunx inside another one, since each of them is also a  quincunx, but its centre must be.... a person? a sacrifice? 

 And if this symbol were not crazy enough already, the squares have a Chantry symbol in each corner. Not the Imperial Chantry (which won’t be a big fuss) but the Standard Chantry! I can’t believe this is a lack of resources... the sunburst symbol is extremelly important in DA series.

In the centre of this big chamber, once again, we found another artefact that may be an Astrarium or an Elven Artefact. We are sure it's Tevinter, since the same object can be found in the basement of the Circle of Magi. We have no idea what it does, or if it's related to any other artefact we found in DAI. (But it’s related to the one found close to the tables full of research stuff. They look the same, one only has a spherical glass around it while the other is more like the skeleton of the first one, with some missing part)

Anyway, returning to the quincunx Chamber: Here we fight an Arcane Horror. I always found these creatures with a design preeeetty close to the Sidereal Magisters. I don’t know if this means something, but in this context, it hints that a Tevinter experiment went wrong in this chamber and corrupted the mage performing it. It’s not by chance that Arcane Horrors are a product of a Pride demon taking control of a mage corpse. It has a big symbolism.

So, we can speculate that some Tevinter experiment happened here, there is no doubt. Not by chance Zathrian and the Oak tree tell us that the Brecilian Forest has a particular thin Veil, and rage demons possess the trees around. We also find a lot of revenants here (pride or desire demons bound by blood magic, explained in the codex The Black Vials). In short,  Brecilian forest has similar symptoms to Kirkwall. Tevinter made experiments here, but it’s not sure if they were performed before or after the slave elves lived here.

Extra minor details

In these ruins is where we found a soul trapped (or bound?) to a gem that will teach us the ancient arts of the Arcane Warrior. It says that it is the last of their kind, implying that if you don’t acquire this knowledge, it will be lost forever and would make no sense for Viviene to have this knowledge in DAI. 

All over the Ruins there are some rugs with a symbol that can be interpreted as an oversimplification of the Tevinter Imperium heraldry.

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore ]

#Playing DA like an archaeologist #quincunx #tevinter #dragon #andruil #sylaise #tevinter artefacts #uthenera #brecilian ruins #elven pantheon

[imminentinertia]

Get To Know Me Tag Game

@telomeke tagged me, and I enjoyed your post <3

do you make your bed?

In the morning, I fluff my pillow and turn down the duvet to air the mattress. Fitted sheet doesn't move much around.

what's your favourite number?

21 (if you know, you know)

what is your job?

I'm a [redacted] at [redacted], mostly working with [redacted] and [redacted], and my going to Vienna a lot has nothing to do with Vienna up until recent years being the spy capital of the world.

if you could go back to school, would you?

Depends. I will maim anyone trying to send me back to primary or lower secondary, but if I could bring all I know now, I'd be back in upper secondary before you could say "the dawn of the slut era". I had a lot of fun those years, and I loved so many of my teachers and subjects.

can you parallel park?

I don't have a driver's licence, and parallel parking isn't part of my limited knowledge of driving a car.

a job you had that would surprise people?

I'm pretty certain people who know me and know how much I hate talking to random strangers think being a salesperson is wildly out of character for me, but I was honestly good at it. It helped a lot that I was selling something people need (insurance).

do you think aliens are real?

I find it difficult to believe that we *gesticulates wildly* are the only sentient beings in the universe. Come the fuck on.

can you drive a manual car?

No. Not a non-manual car either.

what's your guilty pleasure?

It's taken me years to get there, but I no longer feel guilty about anything I enjoy. I regret it when I scarf down an entire bag of Olw Cheez Ballz, but that has mostly to do with being uncomfortably full.

tattoos?

I don't have any, I've been dithering about that my entire adult life, but I'm interested in the cultural history and expression of tattoos and I love rather a lot of tattoo styles.

favorite color?

Dark teals, silver, light sage green tones.

favorite type of music?

Ahaha. Well. Anything that makes my brain buzz? What I've come to realise is that I need something from music that resists me a bit, something jagged, sinister, haunting or filthy. Something that's not a dime a dozen. Something a bit spiky. Like this new song from Beth Gibbons.

do you like puzzles?

YES I DO INDEED. Any sort. This is where almost all of my possibilities for addiction live.

any phobias?

All out phobias, I don't really know. I have phobic reactions to some insects and body fluids and any sort of injury to eyes and nails (ridiculously specific, this).

favorite childhood sport?

Ew no. Ballet kid in rabid handball/football territory, I developed allergies to sports in general. Okay, I played and enjoyed badminton, to be fair.

do you talk to yourself?

Oh yes. Sometimes out loud. In several languages.

what movies do you adore?

Can I do a separate post on this? To name a few: The Fall, Gosford Park, The Handmaiden, Some Like It Hot, Thelma, Immortel, Pojkarna, Das Leben der Anderen

coffee or tea?

Ooooh depends. I love so many hot and iced coffee drinks, and iced matcha with oat milk, and black strong tea, and tisanes omg, and and and I think I need another lungo with a splash of milk. Coffee maybe wins?

first thing you wanted to be growing up?

An archaeologist. I blame reading several books by Thor Heyerdahl as a child.

As usual, if you've read this far I pronounce you tagged (please tag me if you do the post, I'm curious).

#tag game #i note from others' posts that 'school' apparently means higher education too but then the question would have to be would i go back to uni #school is where kids and teens go #anyway. back to uni? yes and no because i'm very fond of getting a salary but i love learning more than most things

[drelldreams]

More Vivien Shepard headcanons:

• Vivien loves classical music; even plays some violin, but she‘s pretty much tune deaf and she‘s just mediocre despite lots of efforts spend on practice.

• Her younger brother Fabien wants to become an archaeologist and Liara always reminded her of him.

• Her other brother, Leon (Fabien‘s twin) wants to get into geography.

• She‘s super fashionable, and actually buys fashion magazines.

• While she sucks at freestyle dancing, she‘s, much to everyone‘s surprise when they learn this, quite the good ballerina. She danced in her youth.

• She‘s a fan of Greek mythology, just like her das who used to read her the Odyssey as a kid.

• Vivien owns a lot of perfumes. And she’s a wine enthusiast. Luckily, as a Spectre she has enough credits to indulge in those luxuries.

• She’s demisexual. She does get crushes pretty quickly, but they tend to fizzle fast. Only those who really, really understand her on a deeper level she develops long lasting, deep feelings for.

• Vivien had a crush at Miranda at some point but it fizzled quickly.

• She’s just as good of a sniper as Garrus is, but she lets him win during the shooting contest anyway because she doesn’t like to see a friend losing and she has a feeling Garrus is a sore loser.

#oc: vivien shepard #vivien shepard #my headcanons #my oc’s #my muses

[geralt-of-vengerberg]

And here we go.

📱 💕🕹 🌡 🏢 📷 📅 🎂 📏 🔑 📖 📝 🌐 💻 📔 ☠ 🐷 🌼 📺🎥 📻 🎙🎁 👾 👻📸

Yep that's almost all of them minus the school stuff and the where do you live stuff. Can't wait to see what you do.

Let’s go

📱

💕 that’s like asking people with far too many children who their favourite kids are… I’ll just give you my two go-to characters that make me feel happy or laugh every time I think about them: Kelly Kapoor from the Office and Hagrid from Harry Potter.

🕹 the sims 4, you know this already 😂

🌡 autumn

🏢 I work at a local library, I once thought I wanted to be an archaeologist though. That didn’t work out well.

📷

🗓 23 July

🎂 26

📏 155 cm

🔑 food, good food

📖 I don’t really have a favourite one, but The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy is one I can enjoy over and over and I discover new nuances every time I go back.

📝 “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.” - Albus Dumbledore

🌐 Dutch, English, French (only speaking, don’t speak it back to me because my brain will just short circuit), German (a little bit), Limburgs (yes this is a language, not just a dialect) and I guess I can read Latin

💻 laptop and iPhone

📔 no

☠️ I don’t get angry easily

🐷 Pizza from Da Franco and only from Da Franco. I am very specific about my pizza.

🌻 sunflowers

📺 Does Legend of Korra count as anime?

🎥 Inside out, the way I cry because of Bing Bong every time is unreal

📻 it’s close between Bruxelles je t’aime by Angèle and Somewhere along the way by Portland

🎙 I can sing some songs accordingly while playing on my uke

🎁 I can’t remember receiving a gift that stands out atm, I prefer buying what I want for myself. You can always make me happy with Happy Socks though. Or a good book.

👾 do I believe in an unknown species trying to invade our planet? No. Do I believe there is another planet where life exists similar to ours? Yes, it would only be logical to believe there is. Every star you see at night is another sun.

👻 Not really, or at least not in the haunted houses kind of way.

📸 not sure if I’m keeping this up for long. Selfie tip: take your picture with the light of your fridge, that’s what I did here.

[lairofsentinel]

The Fade - DAO

Polished version of this post in  The Fade - DAO

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore ]

#I'm playing DA like an archaeologist #da lore #da architecture #dragon age lore #Playing DA like an archaeologist

[pettymaryshelley]

DA reasons to improve your life:

1. Getting rid of many forms of social media will make you inconceivably mysterious. Are you an immortal that only texts and writes letters? Are you too busy devising a scheme or researching a lost civilization? Perhaps then you will exist more as an idea than a product of consumerism. Art was never meant to wear a price tag anyway.

2. Exercise to prepare for the day you have to leap onto that moving train to catch the figure who stole your carefully-curated research. Walk through cemeteries, the woods, museums—anywhere that allows you to appreciate the aching, fleeting beauty of the earth. Get your heart racing to remind yourself that you are, against all odds, alive.

3. Dressing with confidence will have you walking with purpose and others guessing what your purpose is. Why do you always look so put-together? Where did you get that haunting ring? Who’s chest wore that cardigan before you did? Where are you going with such enviable pride? They do not have to know that you wear a Philly’s baseball hoodie to study late into the night.

4. Journaling madly and keeping lists of everything can nearly guarantee that your teeming brain will live on, immortalized, for an archaeologist one thousand years down the line to unearth a detailed account of a most interesting ancient life.

5. If you learn small psychological, herbal, and folk tricks to cure headaches, sooth stomachs, and ease minds, and perform them with utmost flare, many will believe you to be magical in nature. You do not deny it.

6. Tea is a wonderful method of hydration. Tears are a wonderful method of dehydration. Balance, my darlings.

7. Stare at yourself in the mirror. Stare for hours—or maybe it will be only seconds. Stare, face lit by candlelight and stars, until your reflection whispers declarations of love to you instead of declarations of war.

8. Reading increases neuroplasticity. It also increases an optional knowledge of dead languages, forensic science, the blue-ringed octopus, Harry Potter’s favorite dessert, and why Orion Lake was not made for a deadly boarding school. Read late into the night; that isn’t particularly healthy, but, like I said, balance.

9. Lay in the sun for ten minutes each day. You are now a cat; watch the birds with lethal curiosity; stretch with all the laziness in the world. Vitamin D is good for you, and so is contemplating the simple needs of all living creatures.

10. Eat fruits and cheeses; bread and honey. You are a Greek muse. You dine in the halls of Olympus. Somewhere in the distance, Apollo plays his lyre. You want to sit here, in this stunning palace in the great wide sky, forever. You also want your daily intake of vitamins and minerals.

Stay healthy, stay curious, and stay painfully aware of the aesthetic manipulation of self.

#dark academia #dark acadamia aesthetic #dark academic aesthetic #academia #chaotic academia #classic academia #aesthetic #english literature #history #cottagecore #bookblr #books & libraries #booklr #romantic academia #romanticism

[pochiperpe90]

Trust your instinct. Interview with Luca Marinelli

“Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes” wrote Brecht. Let alone superheroes. The vices and problems of the characters, however, are extraordinarily human.

There are people enthusiastic about the film and others who have seen it and have told me: "You know, it's not my genre, actually I wouldn't have gone to see it, but I would have been wrong because it's special, it thrilled me". Because it's about something real. There is the suburban boy who lives for his own sake, who only thinks about how to turn the day, then the superpowers arrive and he wonders what to do, and it’s like if the question was addressed to the public. After will comes the love, that will change him, will makes him go further. Love is the greatest superpower. I don't know, maybe I’m too romantic but the superpower of love is a very strong one, that we all own and that changes the movie as well.

Is Lo Zingaro one of the many young people "sick" of social networks?

He uses the modern roads to arrive at what for him can be the success, to be seen by anyone, so he uses the channels of social networks. As a kid he had tried to become someone and they closed the door in his face, so now that the world is moving in this direction he wants respect, he wants his greatness recognized. In my opinion he has never really been seen, maybe this is the problem.

Is this why he loves to perform?

The character has always been like that and that's the thing that drove me crazy: his histrionic side. It was also for this reason that when I went to the auditions I greatly exalted this theatrical part of lo Zingaro, but Gabriele planted my feet on the ground saying to always remember his paranoia, his strong pain, his great and real need. Then we gradually looked for these things, to enhance his desire to be recognized by everyone on the street.

Cesare from Don’t Be Bad and Lo Zingaro: two outcasts, two fragile characters who harbor anger.

I loved them both but I find it hard to put them side by side, but the fact that there is this suburbs background is certainly the common starting point of the two. And I like how Gabriele wanted to respect this place and its inhabitants, without ever labeling, without representing Tor Bella Monaca as the den of pirates, the place of bad guys.

Ostia for Cesare represented a prison from which to escape, does Lo Zingaro want to escape from Tor Bella Monaca as well?

There is this desire to go out, it’s true, to succeed in something, to escape, to at least try to escape. The watershed of the suburbs is different, if one never grow up there, they will never understand it. It’s a question of sensitivity. Cesare chooses one thing or the other, he sees his friend taking a path but doesn’t believe it completely, perhaps because he finds the other much more concrete. There is a basic desperation there, there is the world that crumbles under his feet little by little, here instead there is something different: it’s the nature of lo Zingaro, the nature of wanting to be, he is there. It must be. Lo Zingaro wants to escape from there, but even if he had been born in the Parioli it would have been the same.

For his androgynous look, Lo Zingaro resemble David Bowie. When building a character, do you start from an external characterization?

As for me, when I approach the character I try to mimesis with the text, with the director's ideas, with my visions. This changes everything, from the physical to the attitude. The character becomes a robe. When you put on the character's clothes, you are him, then you take them off and really slowly you separate yourself from him, then he comes back the next day when you get dressed, and maybe you just keep him as a memory in your head in the evening, at home, when you want to do something with it.

How important is instinct instead?

Fundamental. Many times things have happened, that I don't know how to explain. You have to trust your instincts, always. It’s a bit of a form of self-respect. Many times when preparing a character you don't have to think about it too much. You need to think about it first, then you have to make a blank page, because what you need is permeated inside.

“Una parola detta piano basta già ed io non vedo più la realtà” (A word said slowly is already enough and I no longer see reality), reads the lyrics of “Un’emozione da poco”, the song you sing in the movie.

We were looking for a song that could catch the eye of lo Zingaro during his adolescence. And if you go to re-watch Anna Oxa's performance at Sanremo, her first festival at the age of sixteen, here, putting myself in the role of the character, but also in mine, I thought: "Wow! Look at that woman. Look at that force." From this comes the fact that this is his song, which it’s also his cell phone’s ringtone. What I also like is that all his explosive strength comes from our wonderful singers of those years: Loredana Bertè, Nada, Gianna Nannini and Anna Oxa. And it's nice that it comes from there: it‘s the strength of women.

I remember your featuring in a song by the hip-hop’s crew “Jagermasterz”. Do you also have a passion for music?

A friend, Dj Demis, asked me about it many years ago, and I enjoyed it a lot. I've always had a passion for rock music, when we were kids we had a band, we played funky: we covered Red Hot Chili Peppers, but mostly our songs, good times.

Did you imitate Anthony Kiedis?

I was a little more in tune (laughs). No, I actually played the guitar. I was the second guitar of the group. I still keep playing for me, though. Every now and then I tell some friends to get together and make a small group, but it's just moments where we get together and play some covers. An artist with a folk guitar is something that drives me crazy, I really like everything acoustic.

I know you used to watch a lot of movies with your grandmother as a kid.

With my grandmother I saw all the great classics of our past, but as a kid one of the first films I saw alone was “The Silence of the Lambs”: I found this videotape and I watched it, my parents thought I was playing and instead … But I wasn't scared, I saw the fun of those people and I liked that. That's what I find in my work right now. I feel like I could make a movie for a year, because waking up in the morning and knowing I can go to the set is a great luck, it’s never a burden to me.

Now that the journey of Don’t be Bad is over, how do you remember the journey with the Caligari’s band?

For me it's not finished, tomorrow I will have to meet some guys in Rebibbia because there will be a screening of the film. I still feel it intensely. We are still a strong group, I still like what Don't be Bad means. The Caligari’s band is always there, it's in the heart.

Don't you have the impression that with his death, Caligari was "canonized"?

It’s sad. A person who was only allowed to make three films and now people cry it a miracle, when he could have made many more. This is the greatest sin. But I say “always and in any case, cheers to Claudio!”. I have never lived an experience like this: a person who is dying and wants to give something to others. Seeing a person who isn’t afraid in this way, who wants to give but without knowing what he will receive back. Indeed, knowing how many doors in the face he had received. A crazy life lesson. In the end, it’s an attitude that does not surprise me, it gives me a little stomach ache but that's okay. The film remains, this is the important thing, what a whole crew carries in their hearts remains, Claudio and the Caligari’s band remain.

For sentimental reasons you have lived in Berlin for years. How is our cinema perceived from abroad?

We are always a great cinema. All our movies that were in Cannes last year are now in theaters in Germany, in short, we are there, we are always there. I am really convinced that last year some great Italian films were released, not many, not distributed at their best, but all films that make me proud. The thing I like least about our cinema is the lack of courage of the producers, if I think that Don’t be Bad risked not being realized, I get goosebumps: a film that took us to Los Angeles risked not being made. And the same story goes for They Call Me Jeeg. The truth is that only comfortable things are done.

Money, glory, passion, desire to recover from shyness: Luca Marinelli for what reason is acting?

It seems a simple question, but it’s not. Passion in the end means nothing. I would tell you out of necessity, but maybe that doesn't mean anything either. So I'd tell you why I like it so much. Just like the Roman say: me piace (I like it). I think I'm lucky to have chosen what I love to do in life, and to be able to do it. Because I can't imagine being able to do anything else. Of course, if in five years I can't do it anymore, I will have to invent something.

What?

I don’t know. Before this I thought I was an archaeologist, unfortunately with little success. I was making a mess, I even got the lesson times wrong.

minima&moralia

Just wanted to translate this old interview for the non-italian’s fans ^^ (sorry for my English)

#Luca Marinelli #interview #Don't be bad #they call me jeeg #english #english translation

[clambuoyance]

Alright i get that ☺️🌸 would you tell us about the hobbies of all your oc’s from this comic?

I just did a QnA on insta and yes im using the same doodle.

Here’s some more about this though :

Mira- Sewing and clothing is da family business and unlike her older sister, she actually enjoys doing it and thinks she’s quite good. But like her sister, she also likes to indulge in crime and mystery novels and dreams of being in one, disregarding the danger that comes with it.

Val- Her family business is building and fixing things like clocks, locks, chests, telescopes, compasses, typewriters and a bunch of random stuff. Val likes to make things that seem to have no use, however, at least her dad cant find a use in them and therefore no use in selling em lol. She also likes to stargaze and make useless theories.

Artie- He has a lot of responsibilities, but likes to play baseball(pseudo-baseball?) and doodle to get those off his mind. He really shouldn’t be playing so much and roughing up his face like that, though. His parents don’t like that. He also enjoys cooking and dancing :) He likes to get up and move and not be in the house.

Rolin- He’s constantly moving from hobby to hobby. When he was young it was astronauts, then an archaeologist, then a rockstar, then, for some strange reason, a doctor. But he’s always liked playing the guitar, even though he’s not all too great at it. he enjoys taking in nature, and might even have a secret green thumb 👀, but he still hates bugs.

Keiko- She likes exploring new places and meeting new people and trying new things! There is no one hobby she has, she wants to experience everything all the time. She shares a lil amout of love for the same things everyone else loves too. She sees them be like “This is a thing i like” and within .5 seconds goes “wow i like this too”

#clam draws #clam ocs #clams ocs #clam answers #onria #those rolin ideas have been floating around in my head for a while but im just now solidifying them

[rapid-oxidization]

Was tagged by @chaotic-archaeologist in a 2020 Reading Challenge aaages ago whoops.

Rules: List either 20 books you want to read in 2020 or 20 goals, or some mix of both, up to you! Then tag some friends to play along :) 

Goal 1: finish (or at least make a dent in) the books on my bookshelf because I have hardly read any of them. 

Goal 2: Reread the entire Harry Potter series, because I was a wee child when I first read them and will probably get something different out of them now.

Goal 3: Reread The Hunger Games trilogy for the same reason.

Goal 4: Watch some of the movie adaptations after I read the book? I always tell myself I will do this and then I don’t. 

Which means 16 books, pulled randomly from my shelf:

1. The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer)

2. War and Peace (Tolstoy)

3. Utopia (More)

4. Candide, or Optimism (Voltaire)

5. LOTR. The entire series. (Tolkein)

6. Pride and Prejudice (Austen)

7. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Hugo)

8. The Iliad (Homer)

9. The Social Contract (Rousseau)

10. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)

11. Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky)

12. Frankenstein (Shelley)

13. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Verne)

14. Coriolanus (Shakespeare)

15. The God of Small Things (Roy)

16. The Da Vinci Code (Brown)

Tagging: @courferre-stan @wild-oats-and-cornflowers & anyone else who would like to fill this out!

#tag meme #lmao i'm bored can you tell

[noire-pandora]

I got tagged by @dimobserver, thanks for the tag!!

rules: answer 21 questions + tag 21 people

name:  Cătălina

nickname: None (it seems i need a nickname, how lame)

gender: Feminine

⭐ sign: Leo

current time: 9:30 AM

favorite artists: Right now, Nipuni. The Solas drawings she makes are pure genius. I love her art so much, i squeak every time i see her on my dash.

song stuck in my head: star sky by two steps from hell (it works so good for solavellan i can stop listening to it and make myself suffer)

last movie i saw: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (not as bad as everybody was yelling tho. Still a mess but not that bad)

last thing i googled: some Romanian news site

other blogs: Ya, i have a fantasy art blog bc i like looking at fantasy things and i don’t want to spam others (that’s why i didn’t made a separate DA tumblr. I can’t handle 3.)  https://fantasyandarts.tumblr.com

do i get asks: Yes, from time to time. Not as many as I’ll like but i’m a no one here so yeah. (I used to get so many when i was in the Hetalia fandom. The thirst was real i guess)

reason for your url: Noire means black and it’s from an anime character i used to adore as a kid  (Gauche Suede/Noir) but I made it Noire bc i am a woman and Pandora bc my tumblr has so much weird shit is like a Pandora box. So, my pandora. Kinda lame, i know

following: I follow almost 1000 blogs ( 3,108 following me, if that’s what you mean, i don’t get this question bc i am confused)

average 💤: I used to sleep almost 8 hours a day....until I got an invitation to join a wonderful discord. Now, i sleep 7-6 hours. Everyday I am so tired I feel like crying but it’s worth it! xD

lucky number: 5, i guess?12 too bc it’s the day of my birth???

currently wearing: a red and black shirt and jeans.

dream job: archaeologist (bc getting dirty while uncovering the mysteries of the world sounds like fun!!)

dream trip: Japan

favorite food: any type of sweet food. Give me sweets! I’ll thrive only on that!

instruments: Never got to play one

favorite song: Dragon Age 2 Soundtrack - Mage Pride bc fuck yeah mage pride and mysterious sounding music. Ma jam.

Now, for the tags. Again, no need to do it, if don’t wanna. @sweetsabran @brightoncemore @synthzander @waterwhisp-rivergoblin @lyriumrain @inquisitor-julia @kita-lavellan @inquisitor-veowyn @shepavellann @rambling-rogue @animusrisunovatur

Have a great day everyone!!

#i got tagged

[lairofdragonagelore]

The Crossroads [DLC Trespasser]: Unknown Ruin

This particular section of the Deep Roads seems to have been abandoned. It connects to a former lyrium mining site of unknown origin, which contains statues of Mythal, Fen'Harel, and of an unknown creature. Unlike dwarven constructions, this location lacks the usual lightning and heating produced by moulting rock, turning it unusually dark. There is no trace of darkspawn activity either.

This place is divided into

Overlook

Excavated Caves

Lower Walkways

Unknown Ruin

[This is part of the series “Playing DA like an archaeologist”]

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore]

Once we visit the Lower Archives and the Scholar’s Retreat, we have access to a discharge power that blows rubble away and it can be used in the Deep Roads section against a rubble-blocked door. Free, we can see an eluvian inside a small room.

When we step into the eluvian, we are transported to an Unknown Ruin of dwarven architecture with Elvhen decorations: four golden Howling Fen'Harel statues and an Elven Owl statue welcome us. The Fen'Harel statue may represent protection of this place, while the owl, a "secret to keep".  These concepts seem to coincide with what the Dev’s note says for this room: a place where Solas reached to the conclusion that the Evanuris needed to be stopped, but their actions had to be kept in secret in order to avoid anyone else to be tempted of repeating their actions [More details in Murals in DAI].

If we see the details of the corridors, they are a rich combination of dwarven and elvhen styles: elvhen statues on dwarven-made bases. The walls are dwarven and show dwarven patterns, sometimes decorated with the golden lines or golden helicoids proper of elvhen design. 

The Elven Owl statue has Veilfire at its talons which is expected. If this statue is related to Dirthamen and secrets, it seems reasonable to see it as a source of Veilfire, with which the secrets are revealed. Fen’Harel howling wolves sit at its sides, again, almost as if he were guarding this entrance. We have seen this configuration with Mythal before: the central statue is in a position that means “being honoured”, while the wolves around it represent “protecting it”.

The small corridor we follow has typical decorated elvhen mosaics on the ground [which contains the asterisk symbol], as the walls are made of dwarven style, and decorated in golden with elvhen patterns. The ceiling is a combination of elvhen and dwarven styles. I don't know where in Thedas this place is located, since we came here through an eluvian in the Deep Roads, but what we can know for sure is that this dwarven-elvhen ruin is on the surface: we can see the Sun entering the room through the hole in the ceiling.

The corridors lead to a small room with a big mural.

Like in all the places where we find a Sitting Fen'Harel statue with an elven box in its paws, we know that a puzzle must be solved. As usual, there is a Stone in Razikale-Ceremony-style which gives instructions about it.

At a corner of the room, we find two Howling Fen'Harel statues, one fallen, the other broken, and a golden Elven Owl statue. It looks like there was a secondary altar here, with the golden figure in the middle of the two Fen’Harel statues. Here, the symbols again seem to relate in some way to Dirthamen with Solas. The pattern that Dirthamen is always around Fen'Harel's business is something that is repeated quite frequently, especially in Trespasser, but the exact relationship to understand it is never given. 

------------- A brief comment apart ------------------

Note: Even though one would think that the Owl statue is an undeniable symbol of Falon’Din, along all the posts we were visiting so far we have noticed an overlapping of “associations” for this animal: 

The owl is related to secrets and Dirthamen [The Lost Temple of Dirthamen shows a link between this statue and “a Path of secrets”, plus the whole Temple seem to imply knowing secret, horrifying spirit-bind processes that may or may not include Falon’Din].  

Tevinter art has an Arcane Flag where it’s obvious that represents an elvhen owl statue. This gives us an idea that magical knowledge is related to this symbol simply because Tevinter co-opted it from the Elvhen.

The relationship of the Owl with Falon’Din only belongs to the unreliable Dalish tales, as well as Dirthamen’s two ravens. This may represent that Dirthamen’s symbol was attributed to Falon’Din by accident given the strange symbiotic and inseparable relationship that Dirthamen and Falon’Din have. 

And in a less popular way, the owl has also been attributed as the messenger of Andruil [ Andruil's Messenger]. This knowledge is also based on the unreliable Dalish Tales. 

In conclusion, the owl is not exactly an animal we can link to any of the three Evanuris [Dirthamen, Falon’Din and Andruil] with a strong degree of certainty. However, to me, the strongest proof is the Tevinter Flag. The owl is related to arcane knowledge, and The Lost Temple of Dirthamen has shown us that Dirthamen has knowledge of bounding processes, strange manipulations made by Ghilan’nain [Her red mosaic and potential connections to The Horror of Hormak], and maybe including the scaled ones [given the paintings in his Temple]. It is also true that all of this may end up applying to Falon’Din due to the curious lack of any representation of Dirthamen in his own Temple and a lot of iconography of Falon’Din, but that may be attributed to their “twin” nature, that must mean a lot more than the Dalish Tales grasp.

Still, for simplicity’s sake, I will keep saying for this particular post that the owl represents Dirthamen but keep in mind the fragile pieces of information we have about this symbol.

For more details about the relationship between Falon’Din and Dirthamen, check Humanoid Dirthamen, the two parts of The Lost Temple of Dirthamen, and Ancient Elven codices; The Lost Temple of Dirthamen.

------------------------------------------------------

Once we solve the puzzle with the very creepy Sitting Fen'Harel statue, we can read one of the most important codices in Trespasser: Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads.

The inquisitor gives us a bit more of context: the Evanuris fought the Titans, mined their bodies for lyrium [which is a reinforcer of reality and shape that they may have used to develop a slavery system based on Vallaslins], and “something else”. This “something else” may represent some forbidden or ugly magical procedure [hence the presence of the owl statue as a symbol of secret but also arcane knowledge] .

With Cole's cryptic messages at the Winter Palace, we can suspect that the Evanuris began to create bodies from the earth, and used the Vallaslin based on lyrium as a way to "reinforce" shape onto their own kind, maybe bounding the elves into these bodies. Metaphorically, it is a similar process to the creation of Golems that has been explained to us in DAO, with Caridin's Journal. Both final creatures are slaves.

According to Cole’s cryptic line, we can infer that this may have the cause for the Titans to feel the need to fight the elvhenan back: the titans saw in the ability to create bodies of the elvhenan a danger or an abuse, while the Elvhenan felt threatened by the Titans due to the shakes their creation process caused in the elvhenan cities.

The veilfire brazier is located on the heart of the Titan, drawing all our attention to it. It has the same symbol that the orb held by the elvhen at the right. This asterisk symbol has appeared in other murals as well and I think it’s safe to associate it with the heart of a Titan thanks to this mural. It’s also where you put Veilfire. More details about this mural in Murals in DAI.

When we solve the puzzle, we obtain the Heart of Pride, a staff that, in my opinion, is not the one we see in most of Solas’ murals. The model for the Heart of Pride is a twisted branch with two dogs tied to it. Looks more Alamarri than elvhen in design.

The staff we see that Solas has [1, 3, 4] is more similar to a head of a Halla with strange, messy horns. The option [2] may not even represent Solas, as we discussed in Forgotten Sanctuary. 

The description of Heart of Pride doesn’t add anything extra. It’s in any case creepy: laughter of pride while Fade energy clings to the staff, as if an echo of creatures of pride, diluted in this Fade energy, were desperately trying to reach to this feeling that this staff gives to its user. We don’t even know if it’s elvhen-made.

#deep roads #dai trespasser #dlc #Playing DA like an archaeologist #solas #titan #Sitting Fen'Harel statue #Howling Fen'Harel statue #Elven Owl statue #Stone in Razikale-Ceremony-style #asterisk symbol #dwarven design #elvhen design

[kda-chat]

3am Story Prompts

It's like three am (as stated, hahaha) and here are some ideas that are stuck in my head. Please enjoy my ideas (4) that I thought up:

•Kai'sa is an archaeologist, researching and studying the ancient ruins of the Shurima empire. When she translated a scroll that (she unknowingly knew) contained a spell, she accidentally sends herself back in time, a time where the Shurima thrived and meets Sivir, the princess. Turns out that she plays a bigger role in the Shurima empire and their legacy. (Kai'sa/Sivir)

• Evelynn is a streetcar racer and has a powerful reputation for her winning streaks. She basically owns the system and always slips away from the police. When Akali, a young fresh out of the academy rookie cop, has to go undercover to break a drug ring within the black market that is using (in a bad way) Evelynn's reputation to hide and blame her, they team up to take it down. (Akali/Evelynn)

•Ahri is considered the most feared and most powerful Nine-tailed fox and many creatures dare not challenge her. That is...until Evelynn decides to challenge her but in her own teasing way, creating an unlikely friendship and bond (which is turned to romance) to grow between these two women. (Ahri/Evelynn)

•Kai'sa was just a regular school girl when she finds a box of three items in front of her door. A box that contained a necklace, a scroll, and a mask. She decides to accept them but leaves them off to the side and sleep for the night. When she wakes up, she is surrounded by three women. Evelynn, a succubus, Ahri, a Nine-tailed fox, and Akali, a ninja that is also part oni. This follows a hilarious journey of living with three women that take a liking to Kai'sa. (K/DA Poly with Kai'sa in the center because I'm biased for Kai'sa)

I honestly really just needed to get these ideas out of my head so I can sleep. Hope you enjoyed!

#sleeeeeep i am ready #kda #k/da #story ideas #save for later #maybe? #kda evelynn #kda akali #kda kai'sa #kda ahri

[isitgintimeyet]

The Ties That Bind

AO3

Previous

Time for another chapter.  Thanks for your continued support of this story. Hope you enjoy.

As ever, Thanks to @mo-nighean-rouge for the beta and support.

Chapter 25: A Tense Miscommunication

Any woman who is sure of her own wits, is a match, at any time, for a man who is not sure of his own temper. - Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White

For Claire, Christmas had never been a time for family or traditions. She always supposed that before her parents’ deaths, they had celebrated together. Indeed she did have hazy recollections of being taken to meet Santa Claus, of the mince pie, sherry and carrot being left out on Christmas Eve, of the presents under the tree on Christmas morning. So hazy were these memories that she was never sure whether they were really hers, or if she had borrowed them from some Christmas film or television advert.

Once she went to live with Lamb, Christmas became something very different. The holidays were usually spent in some far-off location following the footsteps of the Crusaders. Gifts were exchanged, but usually before or after their travels and there were some years that the archaeologist and his niece lost track of dates, only realising days later that Christmas Day had been and gone and that Christmas dinner had consisted of nothing more fancy than bread, and cold meat and cheeses.

Even when Claire was with Frank, Christmas was never celebrated in a traditional way but usually involved a formal dinner in a smart hotel with Frank keenly observing Claire’s food and alcohol consumption (Christmas pudding and a mince pie, Claire? Is that really necessary? Another glass of wine?). Consequently, she frequently offered to cover some of the more unpopular shifts at the hospital over the festive period.

This year, she felt, was payback time. As early as possible she requested the full Christmas and New Year period off, knowing no one would refuse that based on her willingness to work over previous years.

And so, when Jamie asked in early November whether she was working over Christmas and New Year, she confidently told him that she wasn’t. That was the end of the conversation.

By the end of November, the conversation had still not resumed. Claire was getting decidedly nervous about the holiday plans and sought reassurance from Geillis as they had their regular get-together at their favourite Italian restaurant.

“So, why do you think he hasn’t mentioned Christmas plans yet? Am I not invited? Is it like the Royal family, you know, where you have to be married to one of them before you’re invited to spend Christmas with them at Sandringham?”

“Claire, have another glass of wine and dinna fash. There isna any doubt in ma mind that ye will be snuggled up wi’ yer man fer the holidays in the Highlands. I reckon he thinks it’s a done deal that ye’ll be spending Christmas together, or that he’s already spoken tae ye about it. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? Ye come along and spend it wi’ me and ma family. Ye’d be verra welcome, ye ken. And the family Christmas dinner will be grand, as long as we keep Granny away from the rum.”

Claire did as she was told and poured herself another glass of wine. “Okay, but if he hasn’t said anything by the first week in December, I’m going to tackle him about it. I know he’s got a lot on his mind with… Geneva… but…”

Geillis poured the remains of the bottle of wine into her glass, motioning to the waiter for another bottle as she placed the empty one upended in the ice bucket. “How is the stuck-up bitch doin’?”

“She’s actually doing ok, I believe from what Jamie tells me. But she’s taken to texting or ringing him with every little twinge or ache. Last week she rang to say that her fingers had swelled and she needed help with preparing dinner.”

Geillis, mid sip of her wine, snorted with laughter. Dabbing the spilt wine up with her napkin, she finally caught her breath, coughed and carried on talking.

“Oh, fer fuck’s sake, it went right up ma nose.” She blew her nose on the napkin. “He didna go round did he? He’s no’ feelin’ that guilty that he has tae jump every time she clicks her fingers?”

“No, thankfully, he has a new tactic. Any twinge, pain or swelling he now tells her that I will go and see her, since I’m a doctor. She really doesn’t want anything to do with me, so the ailment suddenly vanishes… Are you sure I don’t need to worry about Christmas, G?”

********

Jamie finished his phone call to his father and walked into the kitchen where Claire was loading the dishwasher.  He stood for a minute admiring how her arse wiggled slightly from side to side as she positioned the crockery and saucepans to her satisfaction before closing the door. He was frequently tempted to deliberately load it in a haphazard way, just so she would have to spend longer over that activity. Her old, comfortable yoga pants were very worn, the fabric stretched so thin that Jamie could clearly see the lines of her panties. He adjusted himself discreetly as Claire stood up, then trapped her between his arms, each hand resting on the countertop behind her. She lifted her face up for a kiss and Jamie dutifully obliged.

“That was Da. He said tae remind ye about the tacky Christmas jumper competition.”

The look of incomprehension on Claire’s face made Jamie pause for a moment. “Fer Christmas, I told ye about our tradition every Christmas Day. Worst jumper wins the prize. I reckon we should drive up to Lallybroch Christmas Eve morning if that’s ok wi’ ye.”

“Well, yes, you told me about the tradition but you never asked me to come to Lallybroch with you for Christmas.” Claire freed herself from Jamie’s embrace and stood, hands on hips, lips pressed together.

“Aye, I did. I said a few weeks back, I remember askin’ ye if ye were off work fer the holidays and ye said ye were.” Jamie retaliated.

“Which does not equate to asking me to Lallybroch for Christmas.” Claire was now in no mood for backing down. “How am I expected to know if you don’t ask me? I might have made other plans.”

“Weel, have ye?”

“No,” Claire admitted. “but that’s not the point. You can’t make decisions without asking me. I’ve been in a relationship like that with Frank and…”

Jamie inhaled sharply at the mention of that name. “I did ask ye. Ye knew what I meant and ye said yes.”

“Do not suppose to tell me what I know or don’t. You cannot do that. Frank was always trying to…” Claire’s voice was icy calm.

“Frank!” Jamie exclaimed loudly, banging his fist on the countertop. “I dinna want tae hear that name. I am no’ like Frank!”

Claire stepped closer to Jamie, her face now flushed with frustration, her finger jabbing against the solid muscle of his chest. She desperately wanted to slap his face, inflict some pain but held herself in check. “You don’t like it when I mention Frank, my ex boyfriend. You’ve never met him, he has no place in our lives, contact with him is zero but you don’t like it.”

The jabs with her finger continued. Jamie winced, not from any pain but he knew what was coming.

“But I have to have your fucking ex rammed down my throat. Her and her attempts to play happy families with you. And I take it with no complaint. But please excuse me if I mention a man’s name once in a while. I don’t mean to upset your delicate constitution.” Claire’s voice now dripped with sarcasm.

She moved away from Jamie. “I don’t want to talk to you right now, don’t even want to look at you. I’d storm out but this is my fucking flat, so just leave me alone.”

She rushed out of the kitchen and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

******

Jamie sat down, wondering what to do now. He had no intention of actually leaving the flat, but realised that he needed to give Claire some time alone before he began to try to make amends. He knew he would have to do some serious apologising. The fault lay with him not communicating with Claire properly about Christmas; assuming she would go along with his decisions and then going mad when the comparisons with Frank were made. He never wanted to make Claire feel like Frank had made her feel, and yet he’d done just that. And she was right, she had to put up with his ex being a very real part of their lives whereas Frank was just a name.

Jamie decided to give Claire some more time and then try to apologise.

******

Claire had donned her onesie as some form of comforter and was curled up on her bed. She knew the argument wasn’t about Christmas really. Jamie had to learn that she wouldn’t put up with behaviour like Frank’s. Plus the whole Geneva situation niggled away at her. Most of the time she could handle that, but every so often it just bubbled over and needed a release valve. The valve tonight had been Jamie’s performance as jealous boyfriend and first class dickhead.

Months ago, when she and Geillis first discussed having a fling, one of the criteria was no complications. Well, Claire smiled ruefully, that had well and truly been blown out of the water.

There was a tentative knock at the door. Claire said nothing. The door opened slightly and a hand appeared waving a white teatowel. The hand took Claire’s silence as permission to enter, and pushed the door open wide.

Jamie dropped the towel and came over to the bed. Claire shimmied over to make room for him to sit next to her. She said nothing, waiting for him to make the first move. He settled himself on the bed, shuffling his bottom up the mattress and leaned back against the headboard. His hand reached across the pillow and stroked Claire’s hair, tucking that insistent rogue curl behind her ear.

“Claire, I’m that sorry. That was all ma fault back there. I kent you’d want tae spend Christmas up at Lallybroch but I shouldna have planned it wi’out askin’ ye. I shoulda spoken tae ye about it. I dinna want tae be like Frank.”

Claire pulled Jamie’s arm, forcing him to lie down next to her, face to face, so close they could each feel the other’s breath against their mouths. It was now her turn to run her fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp with her nails. He groaned slightly in pleasure at the sensation.

“And ye’re right, I am… was… am a jealous prick. I ken Frank means nothin’ tae ye and the only time ye mention him tae me is tae speak badly of him. I have nae right to shout at ye and ye have every right tae shout at me. I dinna have tae live wi’ Frank in our lives save as an unpleasant memory, but ye have tae put up wi’ Geneva in our lives all the time and know that it isna goin’ tae go away.”

Jamie kissed her lightly on the lips, gratified that he could feel her respond to him, pulling him closer.

“Jamie, nobody said relationships were easy, especially with all the baggage we seem to have accumulated, but we need to work at it together and make decisions together. We are a team, remember.”

“So, will ye come tae Lallybroch wi’ me fer the holidays?”

“I would love to.”

He pulled apart from her, bringing his hand to her chest, struggling to find the zip on her onesie. He paused, momentarily, from his search.

“Wait, did ye just call Geneva an old bag?”

“I was actually talking about emotional baggage, but hey, why not?” Claire laughed.

“Fair point. Now, as a team, can we work at getting naked together? Starting with this blasted onesie.”

#outlander fan fiction #outlander fanfic #the ties that bind #Jamie Fraser #claire beauchamp #chapter 25

[bollywoodirect]

Remembering Leela Naidu on her 10th death anniversary. Leela Naid (1940 – 28 July 2009) was an actress who starred in a small number of Hindi and English films, including Yeh Raste Hain Pyar Ke (1963), based on the real-life Nanavati case, and The Householder, Merchant Ivory Productions' first film. She was Femina Miss India in 1954, and was featured in the Vogue along with Maharani Gayatri Devi in the list of 'World's Ten Most Beautiful Women', a list she was continuously listed from the 1950s to the 1960s in prominent fashion magazines worldwide. She is remembered for her stunning classical beauty and subtle acting style. Naidu made her film debut alongside Balraj Sahni in Anuradha (1960), directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Mukherjee cast Naidu in the role after he happened to see one of her pictures taken by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. Though it was not successful at the box office, the film went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, and garnered Naidu critical acclaim. The movie's music, including the songs Haye re woh din kewn na aaye, Jaane kaise sapnon mein kho gayin ankhiyan and Kaise din beete kaisi beeti raatein, were composed by sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. Naidu's next film was Nitin Bose's Ummeed (1962), alongside Ashok Kumar and Joy Mukherjee. She played an offbeat role as an adulterous wife in Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke (1963), directed by RK Nayyar. The movie, which co-starred Sunil Dutt and Rehman, was based on the real life case K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra. Despite its topical nature and controversial theme, the movie flopped; however, some of its songs, notably Ye Khaamoshiyaan, Ye Tanahaaiyaan, became quite popular. In 1963, Naidu played the lead role of a rebellious young bride in the first Merchant Ivory film, The Householder, directed by James Ivory. According to Leela in her 2009 semi-biography, Ismail Merchant and James Ivory had approached her about making their first ever feature movie with a story about an archaeologist but this fell through as the backers did not like the film script. She then suggested to Merchant-Ivory, making a movie about a book called The Householder by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala which led to their introduction to Ruth and a fruitful lifelong partnership. Satyajit Ray loaned his crew, got many of the actors he used in his movies to act in this movie, selected the music and musicians, and re-cut and reedited the final version, thus guiding and teaching Merchant-Ivory in movie making technique which they successfully used in their award-winning movies and documentaries in the future. After watching her performance in the "The Householder", Satyajit Ray who had actually assisted and guided Merchant-Ivory in their first film venture, planned an English film, The Journey, with Marlon Brando, Shashi Kapoor and Naidu, but sadly the film was never made. She was considered for the role of Rosie in Vijay Anand's Guide (1965), but the role required a trained dancer, and so Naidu lost out to Waheeda Rehman. Her last film in Hindi mainstream cinema was Baghi (1964) a costume extravaganza co-starring Pradeep Kumar, Vijaya Choudhury, and Mumtaz. Later, Naidu made a guest appearance in the Merchant-Ivory film, The Guru (1969). She returned to cinema in 1985 to play a Goan matriarch in Shyam Benegal's period film, Trikaal. Her appearance in Electric Moon (1992), directed by Pradip Krishen, turned out to be her last cinematic role. She turned down Raj Kapoor four times when he approached her for casting her in his films. David Lean wanted to cast her as Tonya in Dr Zhivago, Satyajit Ray wanted to make a film with her and Marlon Brando. Leela Naidu produced a documentary on mentally challenged children, A Certain Childhood, which was Kumar Shahni's first directorial project under the banner of Leela Naidu Films. Later, she registered under Unicorn Films to make another film, Houseless Bombay, which was never made. She briefly held a job as an editor at the Bombay-based magazine Key Notes. In September 2009, Lila, a documentary on Leela Naidu's life, by Bidisha Roy Das and Priyanjana Dutta was released.

#leela naidu #bollywood #bollywoodirect

[lairofsentinel]

DLC: Honnleath and Enchanter Wilhelm’s basement - DAO

Polished version of this post in DLC: Honnleath and Enchanter Wilhelm’s basement - DAO

#da lore #dragon age lore #playing da like an archaeologist #I'm playing DA like an archaeologist #tevinter #old gods #statues #alamarri #avvar #elven gods

[musingmycelium]

da 20 questions

i was tagged by @goblin-deity thanks dear <3 and i’ll tag @lyrium-lovesong @raymurata @pegaeae @veridium-bye and @crystal-grace <3 no obligations of course <3

01) Favourite game of the series?

ooooghghghghghgh Origins is my Favorite, the Story........

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

i recieved a copy of inquisition as a gift, became immediately immursed but i didn’t dig more into the series for a good half a year or so? at which point i discovered the other two games and went Oh Fuck

03) How many times you’ve played the games? 

oh, uHHHHHHH, Far Too Many. i’ve sunk over 1k hours into dai alone, origins and da2 probably have about 1k combined?

04) Favourite race to play as?

i’m always a slut for elves 

05) Favourite class?

me, a staff wielding bisexual: i’m Mage, all the way. though i don’t mind rogue if i mix things up [which is like, i think i have three or four rogue play throughs out of all of them?] i NEVER play warrior bc i’m a bottom i’m not about that life

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

i play in character! so i’ve got some Wildly different world states depending on which playthrough/oc i’m on

07) Go-to adventuring group?

for my Canon world states i’ve got origins gang: sten, zevran, morrigan. da2 gang: fenris/aveline, anders/merrill, varric. dai gang: dorian, bull, solas/sera  i sense a theme...... 

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

oh god, ellanis and noure are my most fleshed out origins kids, wren and galahad are less fleshed out, sorta, but i Love them, idrilla and da’ean are pretty fleshed out as well -though linayel and mithra are also fairly fleshed out i just never write about them 

09) Favourite romance?

ZEVRAN -god i love him so much hhhhhHHHHHHHH he’s got Everything, everytime i play ellanis and he goes ‘the grey wardens die here’ i’m Fucking Lost Already man. hhhhhoooohhghghghghghgh i’d go on but i’m running on cough syrup and midol so it would be even less coherent than ususal

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

lmao i own all the books but i haven’t been able to finish them because My God are they poorly written. LIKE good Characters, good characters, shit prose.

11) If you read them, which was your favourite book?

the one i’m furthest along in rn is stolen throne so i’ll go with that one

12) Favourite DLCs?

jaws of hakon -holy shit as an archaeologist grad student i cannot tell you how much i Fucking Loved the lore dump in site form that was jaws of hakon JUST OH MY GOD it was AMAZING the first time you talk to professor what’shisface with the hot accent and he starts talking about chronologies via buckles i was fucking lost in nerd heaven

13) Things that annoy you.

homophobia and transphobia and racism. the games are Rife with bad correlations between real people and grey morality and poor handling of sensitive contents, though i don’t know if it was all done for ‘woke’ points or if some came from legitimate good intentions, most of my problems lie in those areas. fandom also hits a lot of my annoyances but that’s what block is for

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

antiva bitch

15) Templars or mages?

mages

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

same one! ellanis is my canon hof but noure is a part of his backstory and they meet during the blight [ellanis frees noure from a sentence of tranquility and conscripts them, uh, temporarily] noure leaves the group after like a week?ish and goes to nevarra. wren and galahad are twins, wren being the older one and the main rabble-rouser hawke. da’ean is the only quizzy but idrilla, linayel, mithra and a handful of other lavellan ocs all exist within the clan -idrilla and linayel and a few others come to skyhold after clan lavellan handles the unrest in wycome with da’ean’s help [my canon there is a bit wonky as of yet as i’m still working out the kinks]  

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc)

this is the part i suck at, i think ellanis named the mabari something after the flower that saved him? but i don’t remember tbh, and that’s the only one i cna think of rn too lkjlkjlkjklj

18) Have you installed any mods?

oh yes. ohhh yes i have an extense amount of mods on all three games, mostly cosmetic ones but a few gameplay ones

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

ellanis didn’t no, he thought warden’s were a bit of reality mixed with myth. when duncan shows up he’s more skeptical and curious than anything else, and his joining is less than enthusiastic but he makes the most of it for a good five years, before he fucks off to do his own research in antiva in seclusion -he just leaves, with an encripted note for nate making him warden-commander of ferelden while he’s gone and tells him not to tell anyone where he’s gone. only nate and velanna know where he is in the wardens

20) Hawke’s personality?

wren is a purple hawke! she knows what she wants and she is not afraid to go after it, although she does care deeply and shows her affections loudly. she’s a fucking chaotic stupid mess and i love her.

galahad is blue throughout. a natural big brother, super loving and patient and caring. he’s always looking to help, though when things go wrong he tends to blame himself only, he’s more together than wren though. 

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

....yes.......  my inquisition is a fashion disaster, everyone has a palatte but i do complimentary colors for my parties and lis Of Course

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

yes, ellanis would go back and kill the shems before they could crash the wedding -to prevent shianni from ever having to live through what she did. he would still have probably been conscripted by duncan soooo not too big a change for him but, for shianni it would be huge. 

ellanis has another but it’s tied up with noure’s: noure would go back and ambush the templars before being captured and then run for their life. without ever having lived in the circle i don’t, know exactly how noure would come out -probably happier, less jagged, less terrified and paranoid. but probably not by much if they had to live their life constantly looking over their shoulder. they may have ended up in nevarra this way too, but they wouldn’t have ever made it to kirkwall and they never would have met anders or karl, they may have never fallen out of love with ellanis via distance/assumed death, it would be far different than what happened.

wren and galahad both would go back and save bethany. doesn’t matter how, or what the cost to themselves would have been that’s their little sister and they would do anything to save her if they could.

da’ean’s is much the same. his biggest regret, the thing which haunts him the most is ashalle’s [not dao ashalle lmao] death. he was supposed to protect her and after what happens in that field and that month, da’ean blames himself for how his sister died. though he isn’t the one to blame, and later [far, far later] he is able to come to terms with what happened. though he never Truly shakes the guilt.

linayel would probably try to save his mother’s sight. he would tell her to stay with him by the fire, or would try and find a cure faster for her. the illness wasn’t his fault and he knows it wasn’t but given the chance he would save her sight if he could.  

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

lmao canon? never heard of her, a shitton of what i write is either me taking canon and making it Good/Useable or me shitting on it and saying this is My Castle Now

24) Who did you leave in the Fade?

this choiice always pissed me off, or it did after i knew who they were. when i first played i had no idea who hawke was or who the grey warden contact was [stroud for my first couple of play throughs] at all. so i would flip flop between them without care really. 

now, in my canon alistair stays behind while hawke physically drags da’ean out because he was going to stay and fight or find a different way out. i still think its shit and a naratively piss-poor meta punch though

25) Favourite mount?

i’m a dirty gatherer so i don’t actually use any mount. the only time i Have used a mount was the royal 16 for screenshot purposes, which i lost when my harddrive crashed a couple months ago D:

#thanks for the tag! #<3 #uwu this was fun and good bless you owen