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lairofdragonagelore · 1 year

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Arbor Wilds: Temple of Mythal in detail

The Temple of Mythal was a place of justice, where petitioners walked religious rites of passage in order to have their pleas for justice heard by Mythal. According to some, it is also the site of some mysterious religious artefact called the vir'abelasan.

This post is similar to Arbor Wilds: Temple of Mythal - Part 4, but it is not analysed within the context of the main quest. This is a more detailed exploration and analysis of the chambers.

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

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore]

Petitioning Chamber

The ground mosaic in the petitioning chamber is the standard one used in most elvhen ruins. What I always highlight in it is the asterisk symbol that we have seen in elvhen murals to represent orbs or titan’s heart. It is inside a structure of circles and triangles that may suggest a sun inside a double circle. At the corner, we find a figure which outline looks like the shape of Dragon Mythal’s frame doors.

It’s very interesting that the brazier in most of the rooms of the temple are placed on the very centre of this mosaic, on the “asterisk” symbol. Similar detail happens in some elven murals, where the braziers of Veilfire are placed on the circles with the asterisk symbol on it. When there is no brazier or fire, the idea is to place a person on the asterisk symbol which gathers all the focus of the room, as it seems to work in the petitioning chamber or in the Fen’Harel rooms along the Temple.

The entrance of the chamber shows a disposition of statues and mosaics.

Mythal statues everywhere doesn’t seem odd considering this is her temple; she is the entity that will impart justice in this chamber [or her high priest]. What is curious are the details around the chamber:

There are unique banners hanging from the sides of this chamber. I didn’t see them before in game. Probably this is related to Mythal or Elvhenan symbology. It’s a flower of many petals, and many many dots to a side. The other side of the flower seems to have just lines. Once more, Flowering Imago from Ancient Elven codices; Vir Dirthara comes to mind, the idea of several wills [dots] feeding flower.

At the sides of the platform where Abelas speaks there are two mosaics: Falon’Din’s and June’s.

This is very curious. They are not central, so it’s hard to see them when you have just stepped into this chamber, but they are more easy to see as you approach the main platform.

There are two small stages aside the main platform, with a long brown rug decorated with spherical trees. Each stage is closer to one of the mosaics. Imparting justice in this place may have had results that would lead to Falon’Din’s path or June’s. A path or judgement to Death (?), or one of… reuse? to be crafted anew? June is a mystery so far. We know he is related to the art of crafting in some ways, but we also know it’s not exactly in the ways Dalish think so.

On the other hand, giving followers to Falon’Din in judgements seems to be a terrible idea if we take into account what Solas told us in Part 2. But this temple may have been worked in this way before that event. Things may have been different until Falon’Din killed some of Mythal’s servants.

Each of these mosaics is beside a door. I think it seems reasonable to assume that those that were judged in a way or another, got a result that was associated with Falon’Din’s field [I suppose related to death] would leave the chamber through that door. In game, it’s blocked and goes nowhere if you cross it with fly-camera.

Now, the door beside June’s mosaic leads us to the Inner Sactum. Is this mosaic a representation of what June crafted in this Temple? Did June build the Vir’abelasan? Or this journey along Inner Sanctum grants a transformation of the persona that seems like a being “crafted” anew?

Remember that in the Courtyard, June and Sylase were in the entryways of the ritual-puzzles, giving the impression that this was a “sign” of their work, those mosaics were there to denote they were the ones responsible of crafting them. Maybe the same can be applied here. Even though it’s a bit more obscure since the opposite wall displays Falon’Din’s mosaic. All these questions and assumptions seem to be too much for my taste. There is so little we can use to infer with some degree of certainty.

The mural paintings of elves riding towards a battle can’t be overlooked [these murals are analysed a bit in Nation Art: Elvhen]. They are everywhere in this chamber and in the last part of the temple. It could represent the battle against the different Evanuris, probably using troops made of their own followers, but also it seems to be related to the battle for rebellion, since it has appeared in the ancient Crypts in a small chamber with sitting Fen’Harel statues. It could also be related to the battle against the Titans. It’s hard to know because the game has never ever gave us a lead to how understand that painting.

There are two ways to enter the Inner Sanctum: Forced [red line in the map] or Allowed [blue line in the map]. When we are allowed to enter, you have to follow an Elvhen Guide who grants you access to a unique chamber that, otherwise, you wouldn’t see [where most of the codices of the Temple of Mythal are placed]. The Guide opens secret doors and makes us avoid the combat against the red templars. Some rooms are separated just by a fence, which allows us to see what’s going on at the other side of the chamber. The Forced path is the one less rich in terms of details. It’s mostly rooms with minimal decoration and sentinel fighters.

Allowed Path [Blue]

Chamber M

The name of the rooms refer to the map of the beginning of this post.

The immediate chamber we are introduced, as we follow the Guide, is a small room with a golden statue and mosaic of Mythal. Here is where we can trigger the codex “The Judgment of Mythal” analysed in Ancient Elven codices, Temple of Mythal. [Note on the asterisk symbol of the ground mosaic: Mythal statue is placed on the asterisk. There is another asterisk without anything on it.]

In front of the mosaic there is a rug with a pattern that looks like stars. I guess it may be used by the followers to sit and pray in front of her mosaic. The statue has the detail to be named “Statue of Mythal”, so there is no way we can question this.

Chamber D

We continue towards the Chamber D using a corridor. From afar we see that at the end of the next room there is a Mosaic of Dirthamen.

We reach to a unique chamber that we can’t have access to if we antagonise Abelas.

Here, there are four mosaics that trigger some codices, and a rune, on a wall that the screenshot does not show, because it is opposite to Dirthamen’s mosaic. [Note on the asterisk symbol of the ground mosaic: there is a brazier on it]

The mosaics are Elgar’nan’s, which triggers “Song to Elgar'nan”; Ghilan’nain’s, which triggers “The Ascension of Ghilan'nain”; Dirthamen’s, which triggers the very suspicious and unreliable “Twins in Shadow” [I would love to hear a dev to tell us that this codex here is a mistake. What is this scholar doing here? Abelas and his sentinels would have never allowed a human to do anything to their gods’ mosaics. The author of this codex, a contemporaneous scholar, makes no sense to be found on this mosaic. This is painful to me]. Fen’Harel’s mosaic does not trigger anything.

The rune on the opposite wall triggers “Unreadable Elven Writing”. This same codex can be found in the Ancient Crypts if we skip the rituals to enter the Temple, but since we are following the path of the Guide, it’s obvious that we solved the rituals and didn’t explored the Crypts. This means that the devs considered this codex so important for the player that they made sure they would read it no matter what path you follow.

It’s curious that in Inner Sanctum, we cannot find any mosaic of Andruil. The only reference to her is this rune [there are also the owl statues that could be her messengers, or the hart statues, but both animals are not unequivocal representation of her]. This rune speaks about the construction of a weapon, a golden spear, which use will be catastrophic. [For more details, Ancient Elven codices, Temple of Mythal] I think there is more meaning for this to appear as a rune and not as a mosaic. The lack of an explicit mosaic of Andruil seems to speak of an enmity with Mythal. At the same time, a veilfire rune, which preserves memories and information much better than a mosaic which can fall apart over time, may imply that the people writing this wanted the message to exist even despite the worse conditions. However, Andruil has a place in Mythal’s temple: outside, in the ritual garden, inside a room that looked like a golden cage. One for her, another for Falon’Din [maybe the most problematic Evanuris for Mythal?].

Each of the mosaics have a rug in front of them. Since this chamber follows the room M, focused only on Mythal, and it’s protected by the activation of the secret paths by the Guide, one could suspect this is a room where Mythal’s allies are represented.

Fen’Harel has always been a good friend of Mythal. There are many proofs from Solas, defending her memory, but the most important one for me is Flemeth in the last seconds of the game, calling him Old Friend. Fen’Harel has always been her friend, and Fen’Harel has always respected Mythal, considering her the best of all the Evanuris.

Elgar’nan may not have been a friend, but his trust in her is undeniable. He gave Mythal the ability to impart justice so his fury would not go out of control for every argument [codex: The Judgment of Mythal]. He also trusted her wisdom when Falon’Din tried to start a war against him [codex: Duel of a Hundred Years].

There is no information about the relationship between Mythal and Ghilan’nain, but given the fact that there are two mosaics of allies in this room one can suspect that she belongs to allies too. Or at least, she was an ally in the beginning.

We know there is a relationship between Dirthamen and Ghilan’nain [Red mosaic of Ghilan’nain in The Lost Temple of Dirthamen, and her involvement in suggesting one of the servants of Dirthamen to take Divine shape, codex: Ancient Elven Writing in the Ancient Crypts of Temple of Mythal ] that may have been extended to Mythal, whoever of them had a deeper link with her.

I suppose Dirthamen had a relationship with Mythal since in Flemeth’s Fade we see a statue that the game has unreliably suggested to represent Dirthamen, stabbed and bleeding. But due to his duality nature with Falon’Din, it could be him, being bled as Solas told us that Mythal had to do with the rest of the Evanuris to stop Falon’Din. It’s always a problem to understand anything with those two involved.

I suppose that the Veilfire rune present in this room, in this particular context, can be interpreted as a Warning for the supposed allies of Mythal. After all, the rune speaks of a terrible weapon made by Andruil.

F’H Room

[Note on the asterisk symbol of the ground mosaic: there is a brazier on it]

The next room has two sitting Fen’Harel statues and a rug in between. It’s not clear if this is a place to pray for him since the rug is in front of a wall without a mosaic [of we follow the pattern in most rooms], but it could also be prayed at the statues, I guess. There are some broken funerary lids in the southern corner of this room.

Sy Room

Next room is Sylaise’s. [Note on the asterisk symbol of the ground mosaic: there is a brazier on it].

She has one full room for her in Mythal’s Temple. This is very curious to me. There is a mosaic of her that triggers the “Song to Sylaise”, which is the only real codex we have about her non-based on Dalish legends. In front of it there is a rug to pray in front of her, and two elven hart statues, which are rare objects to find here. We know little about the true Sylaise [the one which is not based on Dalish Tales], and so far I know, we connect the hart symbol with Andruil or Ghilan’nain. That these harts are positioned as guardians around her mosaic, may have similar meaning to those located around Dirthamen’s mosaic? Is the Hart a shared favoured animal between Sylaise and Andruil? Or this is a symbol to show that Andruil and Sylaise were allies? If that were case, would Mythal allow a single room for praying to her? Tons of questions, none answer.

Corridor with Archers

The Allowed path lets us explore a broad over-flood corridor. There are no mosaics here, but only two archers that point nothing. Similar configuration was found in The Lost Temple of Dirthamen - Part 2, in the Path of Secrets.

I’m not sure if this could be understood as something related to Andruil or The People. There is no much to conclude here.

Room 3

This is the room where both path, Forced [red] and Allowed [blue], gather once more.

From the corridor with Archers, we open a sealed door and have access to this room where we see a stair with a painting of the black dragon [Nation Art: Elvhen] on the walls heading up, inviting the walker to go upstairs. I suppose this will imply a meaning of ascension [we are getting close to the Vir’abelasan], while on the ground level’s wall we see the “zombie” elves.

The stair rails are decorate with many small Mythal statues. There are no imposing statues of her outside the petitioning chamber and the M room. And even in those rooms the statues are rather medium.

F’H Golden Halla

At the top of the stairs we find what I called “F’H Golden Halla”

[Note on the asterisk symbol of the ground mosaic: the place is free for the person who would contemplate the hidden room could stand on it.]

Howling Fen’Harel statues guard a secret room where there is only a golden halla painting [Nation Art: Elvhen] and some minor loot. This small room can’t be seen by those who forced their entrance, since it’s our Guide who opens it. It seems to be a secret messenger to those who are friend to Mythal.

Or maybe this whole configuration means that Fen’Harel [Howling wolf] is guarding “the people” [represented in the Golden Halla, a Halla that is valuable because it’s golden like all the golden statues and mosaics in the temple that only represent Evanuris].

It could also mean a small tribute to Fen’Harel’s work: if the halla represents The People, Fen’Harel statues at the sides of what looks like a small, humble chapel would suggest that the real entity that should be worshipped is The People? So many holes in the many, many elvhen symbols we have in the game.

The Halla faces, bellow and across the room, directly to the ascending dragon. Both images are very well framed in the configuration of the room. Not sure if it means anything, but it’s a detail that stands out if you spin in this place.

Rooms 4

In this part, we see the last fighters of the elvhen, killing Red Templars. There are more mural paintings of the battle elves and the dragon from the room 3. If we see the connotation, it is as if this dragon were guiding the zombie elves from the previous room, at the ground level, into battle: now they became these elves that fight guided by the dragon. It’s hard to know when these murals were done, if they were always part of the Temple since the construction of it or were decorations made after, during the last times of the Evanuris. If we could know this, it would allow us to develop many different interpretations.

By walking past a small figure of Mythal, we leave the room heading into the garden where we find the Vir’abelasan.

Once more, Mythal appears in non-imposing sizes. She is always small, decorative, while what’s truly imposing and overwhelming is the mural of the battle.

Forced Path [Red]

The only two rooms we don’t see if we go through the Allowed path are Mu Room and Room 2

Mu Room

The only particularity that this room has is that it has four mural paintings: two standing elves on a side and two in fighting position with a shield, on the opposite wall.

It also has a small decorative pool.

From here we can see the superior rooms: Room 2 and 4.

One would suspect these murals are as old as the temple, and were intended to be part of it, simply because the walls where they are painted on are not “old golden”. It seems to be meant that these drawings would be part of these walls from the construction of the temple. They do not look like “graffiti”.

Room 2

This room has nothing to add. It has a squared pool too, less pretty than the one below.

These three rooms [Mu Room, Room 2, and 4], can be seen at the same time since they are placed in the same space but at different levels. [Note on the asterisk symbol of the ground mosaic: none of these rooms have this ground mosaic.]

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hipandhorrific · 2 years

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guys, i know the title seems silly and obvious to the fans of the game. but the title of the game isn’t really for us as weird as that sounds.

There’s a whole group of people who are new to the franchise who don’t know anything about the lore and are gonna hope onto that as their first game. The same thing happened when Inquisition came out.

Fans are already customers, we’re going to buy and play the game because Dragon Age. Potential customers have no attachment to Dragon Age and don’t know what the fuck a Dreadwolf is other than it sounds kinda cool.

they’ve been ramping up the Dreadwolf campaign since 2018, it’d be a really weird pivot if they moved away from that.

speaking as someone who works in marketing for a living.

#dragon age #like i get it some people hate the egge #i cannot wait to punt solas into orbit so he can become thedas's third moon #you don't have to like the name #but solas has been set up as the main antagonist since tresspassers so idk what to tell you #we all know dragon age doesn't stop at one big bad #Fereldan Politics Loghain and the Blight in Origins #Bartrand the Qunari and Merideth in 2 #The Mage Templar war and Corypheus in Inq #there's is a high probability that the game will not be the Solas Show

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foxx-queen · 2 years

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I was recently replaying inquisition and I think I've worked out why solas' character bothers me so much (beyond like, what I think of his actions within the game) and I think it's because the game doesn't let you ask him the questions that my inquisitor would want to ask.

like whenever you ask him questions about the fade he uses very flowery language to explain what he's seen, but you can't actually press him on it. you can't ask him, as a mage, how he does it, or if he can teach you, or if he can offer advice on how to guard against demons or talk to spirits, even though he constantly talks about his friendship with spirits. as a dalish elf you can't really challenge him on his views of the dalish. when he mocks their burial practice and says 'oh the dalish got one thing right maybe we should plant a tree' there's no way to call him out for literally making fun of your people for literally... burying their dead?? you also can't push him on how he got all this knowledge of the ancient elves. like he says he tried to share it with the dalish, and that he's 'seen it in the fade' but there's no option to say oh can you show me?? or to ask what places he visited that had significance, can you share that knowledge with me (especially if you're a dalish mage because you're literally the clans first and that's your job!! preserving and gathering knowledge about your history!!). we all know the famous racist 'high friendship approval' scene, and there's no way to follow up on that and be like hey it really bothers me that you think of me as an outlier can you maybe educate yourself. or even to point out that... if he sees only you as an outlier/person, does he see your other companions as less than people? even the ones he's 'friends' with?

or the wardens! he hates the wardens! he talks about how stupid their plan was and how foolish they would be to seek out the archdemons / old gods but you can't ask him why!! like as far as our inquisitor knows that's literally the only way to stop the blights, and here's solas going this is stupid and foolish the wardens don't know what they're doing! why can't we ask him why he thinks that? why can't we ask him what he would suggest doing the next time there's a blight? even at a very basic level, we can't ask him about his fresco?? and like I get that they probably had to have that because the moment you start asking about the fresco and certain details, the more likely solas is to slip up and reveal something, but it just feels like a plot hole because you're really telling me the inquisitor wouldn't be like huh you're painting in my castle. why are you doing that. what does that picture mean. why are there so many wolves why do you look nervous solas what's up with you and wolves why -

even the scene where he takes you into the fade. like personally for my inquisitor, that's a massive consent issue. he essentially puts you to sleep mid-conversation to drag you down memory lane, and my inquisitor would've wanted to say um hey can you ask?? me before you do something like that?? also how did you do that without me knowing what was happening (fun fact Ive been playing dao and what solas does reminds me of the sloth demon and the hell fade quest) can you tell me how to guard against that.

like they needed solas to be this figure you couldn't find out too much about, because he needed to be mysterious so they could hide who he really was. but as a result you cant always react to him the way you want to and it's so frustrating replaying the game like that. like no wonder the dalish didn't believe you my dude if all you did was say I saw it in the fade no I won't show you no I won't provide proof just believe me, a guy who shows up and mocks your burial practices.

like it's definitely a flaw with the writing in dai in general, there's a lot of moments where you can't really react to something the way you'd like to or your character doesn't respond the way you want (ie the v first dialogues) and you can't really challenge people on their way of thinking (cassandra and the chantry, dorian and slavery etc) but its just so much worse for me with solas.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #solas critical #dai critical #like i just end up not wanting to talk to him because interacting with him always feels pre scripted #it doesnt feel like 'roleplaying'

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lupismaris · 3 years

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Summertime, And The Livin’s Easy- a black sails fic prompt fill

this became incredibly long so instead of just posting it with the ask i’ve made it’s own post

@themelonface asks- For the fic prompts (if you're still taking them), silverflint talking about children. Can be AU, can be set during or after canon. I just have a feeling Miranda never wanted any, Thomas was too wrapped up in the fight for equality to need anything more than cats, but maybe James would have wanted kids in another life.

HERE MY DARLING HAVE THE FIRST OF hopefully TWO PROMPT FILLS because i want to write a post canon ficlet for this ask as well.

but for now have modern au silverflint (and hamilton at the end) and the discussion of children 💕

cw for mentions of child abuse and shitastic fathers!!! but theres nothing graphic mentioned or shown.

***

It was the hazy space between what would have been brunch on a weekend and the corporate lunch time rush and the start of cocktail hour on every other day when half the bars in Brooklyn Heights hadn’t actually opened their doors yet and those that had were serving sandwiches and day drinking friendly cocktails.

The Walrus was one of the latter.

Silver slid off his bar stool as the last member of the aforementioned lunch rush stepped out the door and leaned against the polished bar top with a bright grin. “How you holding up, honey?” Muldoon rolled his eyes. “Please, a corpse could make an aperol spritz.” “I doubt a corpse could make that many of them that quickly.” “Flattery might work on other men,” Muldoon said, as he always did, with a wag of his tattooed finger and a smile fighting to show on his face. “But it will not work on me.” “Are you sure? Cause you were pretty sexy with those martinis. Remind me why its always vodka?” “Your boyfriend has told you that a dozen times already, I know it for a fact, you shit.” “Okay but maybe I wanna hear you explain it. Again,” Silver said, propping his chin on his hands and putting on his best Cheshire smile, throwing in a slight batting of the lashes just for Muldoon’s sake. They played this game every time Silver wasted away a few hours at the bar, which he was starting to do more and more often. He’d joke with Flint that it was only out of boredom, but in truth, he felt safe there, nestled in the corner with his laptop or acting as an honorary member of the staff when they needed some help. He didn’t want to dwell too much on it, on why he felt so safe there or why after so many years he was once again feeling so painfully devoted to the same group of men who’d despite everything, seen him through hell. Muldoon sighed, his hands making quick work of filling the high powered steam dishwasher under the counter. He pushed it closed with his hip and looked up at Silver, finally cracking a smile. “Do you want to help me run bar for a bit, love? While it’s quiet?”

Silver was behind the bar before Muldoon could even consider changing his mind. He did pause to duck into the kitchen quickly, where the two line cooks- Randal and Dooley- were working on their mise en place and Vane was wedged into the alley doorway with a cigarette in his mouth, recovering from the lunch rush. His long hair was carefully tied up in a braided bun and covered in a bandanna, ears lined as always with half a dozen hoops a piece. “Why do you look like you just ate a canary?” Vane asked around his smoke. “No reason. Where’s the Captain?” Vane nodded to the walk in pantry where Flint was likely checking stock counts, “he’s in a mood again.” “When isn’t he? When he’s done tell him to come up to the bar I’ve got a surprise,” Silver said, still wearing that grin, and Vane laughed with a nod, going back to watching the alley behind the bar. “Alright come on you flirt-” Muldoon called, and Silver quickly washed his hands and snagged one of the spare aprons Hal kept behind the bar. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how to make a cocktail, he played bartender for house parties all the time. But there was something different about learning to do it properly, from Muldoon who clearly took great pride in it, and in a place that was quickly becoming a second home to him. An hour in, and several successful cocktails later, Muldoon allowed Silver to help him actually fill orders for the few customers they got, though it wasn’t many. Flint still had not resurfaced from the kitchen, and so Silver kept his focus on the recipes Muldoon had him run through- proper martinis and Manhattans, Mojitos and mules, mezcal margs and all the things you could do with the collection of Amaros and aperitifs behind the bar. The customers were students on their way home from morning classes, morning shifters heading home or stopping for some food before the evening shift at their second job started, regulars who stopped in for lunch because no one made a cuban quite as well as their kitchen did. And then the door chimed and Silver looked up with his customary smile and greeting ready, waiting to see where the guests might seat themselves- the host wouldn’t be in till four when the official dinner service started- and found himself staring at, well, children. Six of them, all too young to be in a bar unsupervised even before happy hour but probably even too young to be wandering around Brooklyn by themselves as it was. The older two definitely had the hardened older sibling with “semi absent if not entirely absent parents” look around them, Silver knew that look far too well, though whether the four younger kids were siblings or just under their care he couldn’t be sure. All of them were wearing some variation of public school uniform which Silver recognized from the public school a few blocks away. “Hey Nicki,” Muldoon said with a wave, and one of the older kids with short messy dark hair and equally dark eyes waved back. Silver looked at Muldoon quickly with raised brows. “Do me a favor go find Flint, okay? Tell him the kids are up front.” Silver just nodded, watching as Nicki and the other older kid shepherded the younger kids into the big corner booth closest to the bar without being told to, and slipped into the kitchen. Vane was at the prep table, knife in hand and making quick work of a cut of meat. He didn’t look up when he heard the door swing open but tilted his head expectantly. “Flint?” Sliver asked. “Smoke break, should be about done. Said he was coming up to see you in a minute.” Silver threw open the back alley door and there was Flint, propped up against the wall with a beaten up paperback on his knee and a forgotten cigarette in his hand. He looked up at him with a frown. “Hey whats wrong? You set the bar on fire with a flaming mojito or something?” he said, wearing a rare teasing smile. “Not yet but theres like, half a kindergarten class upfront.” Flint blinked, looked at his watch, and swore, “shit they must’ve let out early cause of the heat.” “Darling, what in the hell are you talking about.” Flint stubbed out the cigarette and tossed it in the ashtray by the door, kissing the top of Silver’s head as he passed. “I’ll explain in a minute- Vane! Leave the dinner service I need you on the meal kits with me-” “Already started on them,” Vane said, waving the knife idly as he portioned the meat into rather exact ready to cook portions. Flint nodded and washed his hands. “Dooley wheres those sandwiches I told you to fix-” “Here boss.” “Silver,” Flint loaded up six plates of sandwiches onto two serving trays and passed the lighter of the two to Silver. “Take one of these out with me ‘kay?” Silver nodded and balanced the tray on his shoulder, following Flint out of the kitchen. The bar was still mostly empty, Muldoon hanging out at the corner of the bar closest to the kids, making them each a Shirley Temple and passing Nicki a pitcher of water for them to share. Normally, Silver would’ve made some smart ass remark about how apparently it was normally for a bunch of kids to just turn up at the bar for lunch but something about this felt different and something in the set of Flint’s shoulders told him to stay quiet. “Let me guess the AirCon crap out again?” Flint asked upon reaching the table. “Or did one of you sabotage it to get out early?” The younger kids all started talking at once, bursts of loud excitement at seeing Flint, and the food, all wanting to explain why they had been let out of school a little bit early that day. Nicki and the other older kid, Sola, helped distribute the plates of food with smiles and nods of thanks while Flint listened intently to the kids’ rambling and incoherent explanations. Once the young-ins were distracted by the sandwiches, Nicki offered a more coherent explanation. “Yeah they said the AC’s gonna be out till tomorrow with the heat, so they’re closing school till Monday,” he said. “Three day weekend I guess, without the extra homework since the teachers didn’t have time to prepare for any.” “Nice. Gonna meet your friends at the bridge park tomorrow? You mentioned wanting to get your kick flips more polished.” Nicki shook his head, looking bitter about it. “Can’t, busted up my front bearings and wheels on a ride home last week, won’t be able to afford to fix it for a bit. S’fine though, got chores to do.” Flint nodded, leaning back against the bar with his arms lazily crossed over his middle. “Do me a solid and bring the board by tomorrow okay? I think one of my guys might have some spare parts they’re not using.” Silver felt something in him break a little at the way the boy’s face lit up at Flint’s words. Or maybe it was at the ease with which Flint handled the kids, the openness he showed them, listening to how their days had gone, if only in brief, listening to their problems, which to them seemed world ending- Sola’s internet was out for the weekend, so she’d be at the library doing homework on Friday and probably most of the weekend when she wasn’t helping at her aunt’s salon, the little ones would all be shuttled to various relatives until Monday until they went back to school and Sola and Nicki, or another of the older kids in their building would take charge of them again. One of the younger kids was staring at Silver, her sandwich half held to her mouth. Just staring, bright brown eyes fixed on him in that quizzical way that children possessed that always made Silver feel transparent. Flint noticed and followed her gaze with an amused grin, waving for Silver to come over to join them instead of hiding behind the bar with Muldoon. Silver looked at him wide eyed for a moment, then at the kids, specifically the little girl who was staring him down like a gunslinger, and then back at Flint, who just reached for him. Damn the bastard, he knew that was all it ever took. Silver came over and let Flint pull him in under his arm, feeling like a bug under the microscope in a science class he never attended but had heard about from other people. “You have pretty hair,” the little girl said. She was missing her two front teeth and Silver wanted to melt. “Thank you. You have big eyes.” “Yeah. They see a lot,” She said nodding solemnly. Silver could feel Flint shifting with the effort it took not to laugh. “They’re a pretty color. They remind me of this stone called tiger’s eye,” Silver continued. He could see Nicki giving Flint a look, though he didn’t know what Flint was doing in response. The little girl tilted her head. “Whats that?” So Silver pulled out his phone and showed her, which lead to a short lesson in gemstones that mostly amounted to excited cries of “oh shiny” and “I’d steal that one” which did Silver’s heart good. “This is Silver, a friend of mine who just moved back to town. He’s helping out round here. So he and I are gonna go fix your take away bags,” Flint said, once the momentary fascination in gemstones had faded and the kids were once again fixed on their plates. “Sola, you and Nicki just let Muldoon know if you guys need anything, or stick your head in the kitchen and yell okay? We’ll hear you. C’mon Silver.” If Silver had hoped for an explanation, he didn’t get one. Once he and Flint crossed the threshold back into the kitchen there was work to be done- Randal and Dooley handled the orders brought to them from the waitstaff while Flint and Vane, with Silver doing whatever Flint told him to, made quick work of assembling meal kit after meal kit from dishes both on and off the bar’s menu. Everything was boxed up and taped shut, paired with pre-typed instructions on how to cook the meals and how many servings each would make, and tucked into sturdy double layered brown bags that would hopefully survive a trip across the neighborhood. As they were finishing twenty minutes later, Hal’s voice could be heard through the window behind the bar, which answered Silver’s most pressing question- did he know that Flint was just running a school cafeteria out of the bar? Apparently yes, and apparently the kids were just as excited, if not more so, to see “Uncle” Hal. Because of course they called him Uncle Hal, why wouldn’t they. God, Silver was going to have to book a fucking dentist appointment for all the tooth rot the sweetness of this was giving him. He helped Flint carry out the bags of food, Vane insisting the kids would be too scared of him while Flint argued that Vane was just scared of the kids, and Silver watched as Hal and Flint got the bags labeled for each child and into a push cart that Sola promised to bring back the next day when she passed on her way to her Aunt’s salon. He then did his very best not to pass away on the spot as each kid, even Nicki and Sola, hugged Hal goodbye. Flint had crouched down to say good by to the little ones, accepting their clumsy hugs, reminding them to be careful walking home, and asking them to recite the bar’s phone number for him just in case (though Silver was sure they probably had cellphones, even if they were elementary schoolers), before he stood and gave Nicki and Sola each a one armed hug and watched them shepherd the group outside again. “Only group today?” Hal asked and Silver thought his voice sounded a bit heavy. “So far. Powers out at their school though, likely a couple others’ll come by later. Want me to call around to the other bars and see if they’ve heard anything?” “Yeah call the food bank and the closest shelter too for me, see if we can’t drop off our end of night supply to them this weekend.” Later, several more hours of food prep and three more groups of wary looking kids who all seemed completely unafraid of Flint and his crew, plus a Thursday night dinner rush, and Silver finally got his explanation. He also thought he should have gotten the nobel prize for being able to keep his mouth shut for as long as he did. “So are we gonna talk about it?” Flint was sitting on the floor in front of him, half asleep already between his thighs, as Silver combed his hair. They had taken home food from the bar and shared a six pack between them on the deck, Thomas held up at a Client dinner where he was no doubt being wined and dined and bored to absolute tears. They had treated themselves then to a hot bath, with the jets, and were now just wasting time with the kind of nonsexual intimacy that Silver had learned he craved with Flint, waiting for Thomas to join them so they could all manage a good nights sleep. “Talk about what?” Flint asked, his voice a heady rumble. “The kids. And why they knew to just wander into a bar on a Thursday,” Silver said, keeping his voice gentle. He coated his hands in more product and worked it into the shaved sides and back of Flint’s head, massaging his scalp as he went. “Why you and Hal and the rest of the crew seemed completely unphased by it.” Flint hummed lowly, nearly a purr as he leaned into Silver’s touch. They’d settled into the bedroom Thomas and Flint shared, like they did most nights since it had the nicest adjoining bathroom and all the obnoxiously nice hair and skin care products. Silver sat in the old plush armchair, bundled up in a robe while Flint, naked and content to air dry, leaned into him, a picture of ginger hair, rich freckles, and well loved tattoos on a soft strong figure. If Silver hadn’t been so distracted by the day, he’d have been more appreciative. “S’not that big a deal. Lots of families round here with young kids, can’t keep an eye on them between working two or three jobs, haven’t got money for babysitters or relatives to watch ‘em, or enough to cover food for the week, especially when the public schools can’t feed em. You start to notice which kids it is, when they pass by, which schools they go to, which blocks.” “In Brooklyn Heights?” “They don’t live in this neighborhood, Silver, you know that, not all of Brooklyn has been gentrified to shit by the developers. Hell walk a few blocks east towards the tech school and you’ll find a lot of them. Or south towards Bayridge. Anyway, the groups you met today are all right from Downtown Brooklyn, they go to school nearby you’ve seen them.” “Yeah I just… I dunno, you see so much of the multi-million dollar condos I guess you forget thats not all theres is.” “Nicki lives with his mom, his dad walked out and she’s working two jobs to keep the one bedroom they share over on Jay street. He’s only thirteen but he tried getting a job with me washing dishes last summer, I turned him down, sent him home with some food for his trouble,” Flint continued. Silver smiled, he could picture the scrappy dark haired boy trying to square up with Flint, trying to convince him he was old enough to legally work. “Let me guess he wasn’t the first.” “Won’t be the last either. If they aren’t working for the family to earn some extra money or to cut back on hiring expenses they’re looking for shifts somewhere to pick up the slack. They’re losing out on being kids all because the rent keeps going up and there ain’t shit else to do about it other than leave. And a lot of them can’t even afford to do that.” There was a familiar grit to Flint’s voice, the old bitter salt that meant someone had touched a nerve. It scared other people, but Silver knew it just meant Flint was, for the moment, being vulnerable with him. “Were you Nicki once? Trying to bully your way into work?” Silver asked softly. He reached for the comb again and sectioned off a part of Flint’s hair to start working with. Flint was quiet a moment. “Yeah. Yeah worked the docks a bit as a boy, most kids did it to earn pocket money or to help out with the bills.” “Which was it for you?” “Granddad only had his pension. And he spent that on booze. So whatever I earned at the docks helping the fishermen, or from pickpocketing, that was what bought food. Kept the lights on, shit like that. I told you once, that I met Henessy that way, picking his pocket.” Silver laughed softly. “I do remember. You technically succeeded, didn’t you?” “Mm, he only caught me cause someone snitched. Broke that fuckers nose real good I’ll tell you.” They were quiet for a moment, Silver combing Flint’s hair with impossible care, working his fingers through any knots he found, before following with product and conditioner, Flint grew heavier and heavier against him, warm and soft and his. “So you and Hal decided to do something, the way you always do?” Silver asked. “Hm? Oh yeah- city isn’t doin’ much, food banks and schools are already over run, and when school holidays hit, they can barely keep up demand for kids who need free meals. So we got a few other bars involved, met with some schools and the food banks and sent out some notices and just- started feeding people. I mean thats why Hal wanted to open the bar you know? You feed people and you give them everything. You feed them and they’ll do the rest. So thats what we did. In a week or two when the schools are out for the summer we’ll have a couple trucks that’ll make deliveries, so the kids don’t have to come to the bar.” Silver hummed and kissed his temple. “You’re sweet.” “Am not.” “You’ll let me help, right? Prep the meals and stuff?” Flint tipped his head back to look up at him. “You want to?” “Yeah. This altruistic thing is new to me, as is the cooking for fun thing but… it matters, to you, any idiot can see that. And I want to be part of it.” Silver smiled and leaned down to kiss him best he could. He could feel Flint smiling into the upside down kiss. “You’re really good with them too, you know, which please don’t take this the wrong way, I did not expect,” he added when he pulled back. “What with the kids?” “Yeah.” “Oh no offense taken I have no idea how it happened. They just aren’t afraid of me for some reason. I fully expected them to be, mind. I used to think I had the kind of face that would make babies and small children cry but apparently they just, I dunno, think I’m alright.” “They trust you, thats a big deal for kids. Especially ones who have clearly been let down by other adults. I mean you also talk to them like they’re just tiny adults which probably helps.” “They’re gonna be adults one day, might as well treat them with dignity well before they realize they should be fighting for it, you know?” Silver smiled softly, “Sometimes I don’t think you realize how magnificent you are, you bastard.” Flint didn’t say anything, just blindly reached for Sliver’s hands so he could pull him closer. So silver set aside the comb and rested his chin on the top of Flint’s head, wrapping his arms around him and holding tight to his weathered, tattooed hands. “You were good with them too, once you stopped being scared of them,” Flint offered. “Kids scare me, I’ve never spent enough time around them to learn how to make them happy. They’re so easy to hurt, so easy to damage. And extremely durable, extremely resilient but… I dunno… Just never trusted myself and never had the opportunity to do more than amuse them for a few minutes at a time before vanishing into thin air like Santa Claus.” “Well, you’ll have plenty of practice at the bar. I still think you were good with them. Little Sylvie likes you at least.” “Not as much as they love you.” Silver thought a moment. “Hey…” “Hm?” “Have… Have you and Thomas ever talked about kids?” It was a heavy question, one that might have been too much too soon and a part of Silver wished he hadn’t asked it. But there had been such a softness in Flint’s face when he’d spoken to the children, a kindness and a focus in his attention that meant he’d put time and effort into his actions, into making sure what he was doing was what the kids needed in that moment. It wasn’t just an adult slumming it with the neighborhood kids cause he had nothing better to do, it was almost, dare Silver think it, Paternal in nature. Paternal and the dread Captain Flint being used in the same sentence had not been something Silver had ever considered as possible, and yet- And yet it was, and it had piqued the old curiosity. Flint was quiet again, though he didn’t pull away or let go of Silvers hands, so Silver trusted that he hadn’t upset him. Silver held him tightly, turning his head to rest his cheek on Flint’s hair and wait patiently for him to speak. “Its complicated, pup.” “You don’t have to tell me. I was just curious. I never thought of you as a dad until today but now I’m… I won’t lie a part of me is still thinking about it.” There was a soft shuddering sound and Silver felt Flint shift in his arms, curling tighter in on himself for a moment before trying to settle again. Silver held tight, pressing his face into his hair. It took another moment or two, and several deep breaths, but Flint eventually spoke. “Thomas and Miranda were expected to have children when they married,” he said lowly, “all wealthy families expect heirs. But Miranda didn’t want to go through pregnancy and Thomas wasn’t sure if he could sire so they found ways of putting it off and focusing on Thomas’ political career. Thomas… he wanted to save the world, I’m sure for a while he thought he couldn’t allow himself thoughts of a future until that was done.” Silver hummed. That did sound like Thomas. Even now, with the chip on his shoulder and the somewhat colder view of the world, he still seemed to think he could save it. Silver wasn’t about to point out that Flint still seemed to think the same way. “And after everything I dunno I guess it just took so much time to remember how to be living, breathing people again, that children were never part of the consideration,” Flint said with a shrug. There was a weight to his voice, an emptiness that had Silver frowning slightly in surprise. “How can you care for a child when you’ve only just come back to life? When you’ve only just found reason to stay alive? It- Any child we brought into our lives would have been at risk, back then for certain, though I’m not sure a child would be better off now and besides with how much we work its not like-” “James,” Silver said softly, lifting his head, “you’re rambling.” Flint went still in his arms, still as if waiting for the lash that he knew would never come, but waited for all the same. The readiness with which Flint expected violence broke something in Silver, just as much as it felt like a mirror, smudged and smoky and cracked with age. “Is this your way of saying you want to be a father, but the thought of it terrifies you?” Silver asked. “The things I’ve done,” Flint said in a rough voice, “The stains my hands have carried- I’d see them every time I held my child. That’s my fear, I think. That I’d see them, and that violence would stain them as well.” He paused. Silver held him, hiding his own face. It was easier, they had learned, to talk about such things like this, with Flint’s back to Silver, their faces just hidden enough to give the illusion of control. How many secrets had they shared like this? Silver was losing count. “I was raised by a drunken old sailor and a bastard of a navy man who brought nothing but ruin- what could I ever give a child, John?” Flint asked, his hands white knuckle tight on Silver’s, his eyes the deep green of the sea, ghostly and far away. “What could I give them but that same ruin?” And what could Silver say in the face of that? So he said nothing, just nodded and kissed Flints throat until the tension in his shoulders softened and Flint settled back against Silver’s body to rest, weary and still haunted, but at least no longer at knife point in his own home. Silver went back to brushing his hair, singing softly to him as he worked, until Thomas came home and they were able to find more pleasant ways to spend their evening than discussing the sins of one’s father. They didn’t talk about the possibility of children again, not for the whole of the summer. They helped the food banks and the neighborhood families as best they could through the summer, made sure whatever kids stopped by the bar or the kitchen door in the alley left with something to eat, on the house. Thomas made sure checks were written to the shelters and the food banks that needed them, that the families that needed childcare could get it free of charge. They got through the summer, and the conversation never arose again. Silver just kept the thought of Flint holding a bright eyed child that sometimes looked like Thomas’ kid, and sometimes looked like his own, locked away safely in his heart and didn’t examine it too closely. Then Idelle had her baby in August. In October they held a two month belated baby shower for her at The Walrus, so the crew could meet little Wesley Ira Featherstone and his father, bless him, could cry with his crew mates about how proud he was while Idelle had her first stiff drink in over a year. Rackham was there, of course, as the boy’s God father (Silver was delighted by the idea because Rackham was absolutely as terrified by the concept as he was as honored) and Wesley took to him as well as any two month old possibly could. But when it came to crying babies, Rackham didn’t know what to do, and Hal the God Father to all and obvious baby whisperer was back in the kitchen unable to assist. And so Thomas and Silver watched as Flint, who seemed to be acting without really thinking about what he was doing (outside of scolding Rackham who was himself on the verge of tears) scooped up the baby and promptly rocked him calm within moments. “How did you-” Rackham stared at him in shock. “If you didn’t fuckin panic all the time then he wouldn’a started crying,” Flint growled at him, which Wesley found hilarious, if the slew of gurgling giggles was anything to go by. Silver watched, feeling his face split into a ridiculous smile, as Flint refused to give the baby back to Rackham until he’d sobered up, and instead let Idelle tie a sling around his chest to tuck Wesley into, so he could still fix drinks and use his hands while keeping the baby safe. “Sure you don’t want me to take him back?” she asked, Max watching with an amused smile. “You’ll have plenty of him soon, I got ‘im. Just give Rackham a 101 on how to actually hold a baby.” Silver leaned into Thomas as they watched Flint from their seats at the bar, humming as Thomas’ arm went around him automatically, pulling him close into his side. He looked up, curious to see what Thomas thought of his husband suddenly so at home with a child. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but whatever it was, it wasn’t what he saw. Thomas’s face had gone soft, from the crows feet around his eyes to the laughter lines around his mouth, which parted in the gentlest shape of awe Silver might have ever seen on the man, as if he’d realized something he’d never considered before. His shoulders were rounded, leaning forward against the bar, hand fidgeting against the polished bartop as if desperate to reach out for his husband. Silver could feel the arm he hand around his shoulder tensing with the need to act. They watched as Flint moved behind the bar, one hand resting where Wesley’s head was under the sling, rocking him gently as he fetched fresh beers for himself and for Hal. Silver was watching his face, watching the way his lips were moving, as if he were talking to the baby, but he was just too far away to hear what he was saying. “He’s singing,” came Thomas’ voice suddenly, almost lost to the noise of the bar. “What?” “He’s singing,” Thomas said again, nodding to his husband. “Padstow Farewell, he sings it to me sometimes when I have nightmares, I’d know the lyrics on his lips even in the grave.” Silver smiled softly. “He sang it to me when I was recovering from my leg. I didn’t know it could be a lullaby.” “Neither did I but…” “But now-” “Yeah.” Silver reached for Thomas’ other hand and kissed his knuckles, leaning into him further. Thomas held him impossibly tight, resting his cheek on his hair. There’d be more to talk about in the morning, tomorrow, the day after, next week, next month, next year. And there was a dizzying sense of joy in that, the same kind of joy that came from watching Flint carrying the future in his worn and weathered hands.

#my fic #jamie's fic prompt fills #black sails #black sails fic #black sails modern au #silverflinthamilton #silverflint #james flint #john silver #thomas hamilton #@themelonface #muldoon #hal gates #charles vane #i had a lot of feelings writing this one y'all just so many feelings all over the plave holy shit!!!!

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felassan · 3 years

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Gamers For Groceries 2 event

A Twitch stream event from a few days ago. It can currently be re-watched here (it was fun & interesting, so I do recommend to check it out direct). This post contains some notes on things of particular interest & relevant timestamps, in case this is useful to anyone (for example bc of accessibility reasons).

First up is the All About Animating panel, a series of mini-interviews with game devs (animators) asking what they do, how they got there, and advice for anyone interested in getting into the industry. Some or all of the devs that were interviewed are currently working on DA4. They talked a bit about their day-to-day work and a lot about the craft of game dev animation in general. This segment runs from timestamp ~38 mins 40 secs to 1:07:50. Some notes:

[sounded like DA4] Right now the creature team are working on different creatures in a way which involves going through a lot of mocap data

At BioWare they have a pretty big technical animation team, to support their animators, so each tech animator has a different specialty. Tech anim involves animation support, character art support, and rigging the characters so that the animators can pose them

[not sure if re: DA4 work specifically, another project or a general comment on the craft] One of the featured animators’ area of specialty at the moment is faces and hair (building the control structure for face animations). First they had to decide how the face rig and its control structure would work. This involves a lot of performance capture of live actors for things like cinematics and gameplay animation, therefore the rigs for bodies and faces have to be able to accurately capture the full range of expressions and emotions that the actor is portraying. Right now the stage that this dev is working on most is setting up the heads that they’re getting through the pipeline from character art e.g. making adjustments based on feedback from the cinematics team. “Polish - just trying to get realism”

Hair tech has come quite a long way in the last few years [in the industry]

[not sure if re: DA4 work specifically, another project or a general comment on the craft] Hair is very complex to get right. “In the past most games have used card-based hair, which is basically like sheets of polygons with a texture on it that looks like hair, through layers of transparency. But real hair is strand-based, digital strands, so we’re starting to look into that kind of tech - try to get more realistic, more beautiful hair, but there’s always a performance cost to hair. Layers of transparent things are always an expense, they need to balance like, it looks good and moves well, but it doesn’t make your computer or console chug. [...] I guess we’re in the prototype stage but we’ve almost got a set pipeline. It’s always fun to experiment”

In Mass Effect 2 or 3, Miranda’s hair was as expensive as a whole character (!)

[on balancing hair costs/performance, general] It depends on things like character importance and how many characters are on-screen at the time. When you’re in gameplay fighting a bunch of monsters you’re not going to be giving full beautiful hair to all the characters and the monsters, as it will cost too much. (Having a helmet on is a convenient way to get rid of hair.) But if it’s a cinematic scene, with 2 characters talking to each other in a dramatic context, there’s a better budget for nice hair allocated

Some of the hair in Anthem was quite expensive in cinematics. They kept getting bugs from QA saying (for example) that a character’s hair was tripling the performance cost in the scene, so it would go back to character art so they could take away some of the hair cards. “Tough balance, quality versus cost”

“I wish all the characters could have beautiful strand hair”

For p-cap, a lot of the time they don’t want to be too prescriptive in terms of the direction that they’re giving the actors, as the actors know what they’re doing and have a lot of experience, so they give them vague instructions that they then riff off of

[sounded like DA4] They recently did a mocap shoot

[sounded like DA4] There’s a bit more productivity happening now in the pandemic situation; now that the animators are not all going to the capture lab in Vancouver in person for shoots, if it’s not their turn to direct a shot they can instead be working on something else on their computers (multi-tasking). ((Lead DA4 Producer Scylla Costa recently gave a talk at a games festival on the challenges of DA production during the pandemic. In part of this talk he talked about various benefits and drawbacks to the remote-working situation. He also talked about and showed some behind-the-scenes stuff for p-cap and mocap. Notes, images and link here))

[sounded like DA4] Special mocap suits were sent out that they can use with a laptop to go anywhere and shoot motion capture. It’s not as high fidelity as what comes out of the capture lab, but it’s really good for prototyping stuff. Before the pandemic they did some of this (going to a park and shooting some running around)

[sounded like DA4] In one of the shoots they had some actors who were really well-trained in dancing. They were trying to get them to do some combat stuff. This was a bit challenging in the pandemic situation as there’s only so much they can demonstrate/portray as an example to the actors from a distance on camera. “It’s hard to describe what a ‘dodge to attack’ is through the camera to somebody who has no idea what combat looks like in video games”

[not sure if re: DA4 work specifically, another project or a general comment on the craft] The pandemic has really affected performance capture for the face side of things badly, as in order to record, the actor gets dots painted on their face in specific locations by a makeup artist. They can’t do that right now because of social distancing/restrictions, so they haven’t been recording faces at the moment

The more detailed a face, the more joints it has, the more the cost to performance is

---

There was also the Writers’ Block panel, featuring DA writers Mary Kirby, Sheryl Chee and Patrick Weekes, and DA editor Karin Weekes. The timestamps for this segment are ~2:37:50 - 3:26:20. Some notes:

PW has never been weirder than when they were writing Cole on DAI

PW thinks that they accidentally wrote part of “Timber” by Kesha into Solas at one point and they were like “Well, okay, I have to stop listening to Kesha”

For Sheryl, after a while Blackwall’s VA always nailed doing his lines. She loved the quality of his voice and so after a while would always hear his voice while she was writing. This really worked out

^ Mary had this with Merrill. As soon as they cast Eve Myles she listened to several hours of her in Torchwood, and then just wrote to the way that she spoke as much as possible

^ PW had this with GDL as Solas and FPJ as Bull. As soon as they heard FPJ’s delivery, they were like “Oh, okay, I have to write some lines differently, because Bull is smarter than I realized”. With GDL they were like “Okay, he’s going to put poetry into anything I say, in the best way possible”. In early drafts of Solas lines there were parts where they [PW] wondered “Is this too melodramatic? Is this too tragically-angstful?” and then they would hear GDL and be like “Oh! [It’s fine] Game on!”

For localization, German words are often quite long so they often have to make sure that everything fits on the GUI

They think scenes like the romance scenes sound prettier in the Italian versions

Behind the curtain in creating the in-world languages: PW: “There are some awesome websites that have every elven word, like ‘Here are the translations and verb tenses and conjugations’ [etc], [...] and usually Mary and I get very sad slightly looking at those pages going like ‘Does that mean that we have to stick to that?’ [...] The rule is, if I’ve looked at the Wiki and the words, and I go ‘Here’s the correct grammatical way to do it’, and if that turns out to be too long or too many disconnected syllables and it just looks bad or sounds bad, then we shorten it to something simpler, because the key is we want to give the flavor of a foreign language, but we don’t have the world-building budget and capacity to make something that is going to be dictionary-real [in a way that] someone could go through and translate all the background things written on the old temple walls”. Part of the reason for this is the consideration for VAs, who already have to act while bearing lots of things in mind, like the cues in the script for each line

Mary: “For building a language, the first things that I started with for qunlat, elven and dwarven, was what words do we need to use the most? Greetings, farewells, words for friend and enemy, basic things that will come up easily in conversation. After that it’s ‘How difficult is this for other writers to use?’ Can they just pick it off the Wiki? Do they need just one word? Do they need to write whole sentences, and how does that work? Qunlat has almost no grammar to it because asking anyone to learn how to use Qunari grammar and conjugate verbs in a pretend language is impossible, and then once you’ve done that a human being has to be able to read it, while not knowing what any of it means”

PW: “One thing that I was really impressed with with Mary in particular doing, Mary was one of the big lore people across the entire DA series; I can look at a word and go like, ‘That has two A’s in a row, that’s definitely a Qunari word. That word is kind of long and maybe has some apostrophes and has a couple of flowy vowel sounds, that’s probably elven’, I think that’s what’s important. You want players to be able to look at a word, players want to feel smart, [like] ‘Oh I don’t know what that means but I totally know that’s a word from the Qunari people!’”. Mary: “Every language has its own set of phonemes, the sounds that they make, and the sort of word structure and spelling so that it gives a flavor to that language. Hopefully that is always chosen to be pronounceable, because again, very important that the words can be said by human beings :D”

Sheryl: “One of the fun things to do is to make up swear words in the fake languages [...] Recently Brianne wanted a word, I don’t know if she managed to find one”

The origin of bosh’tet in ME: it’s just saying “bastard” and slurring it

PW: “I feel like there are times when past writers kind of leave traps for future writers, where past writers will go ‘Okay, I’m going to write this detailed phrase in a codex entry but don’t worry, it doesn’t matter if it can never be said aloud, because it’ll never have to be voiced!’ and then, next game, guess what guys! Look what you have to make someone [a VA] say! And you’re like [facepalm], c’mon!”

Karin: “Now, four games in, we have pages and pages of all these examples, and I wanna say this, well that’s how we said something before, well that’s ridiculous, I don’t wanna say that, but now we’ve said it and it’s out there, so it’s like, how do we, y’know, how do we evolve, and sometimes we just go ‘Screw it! Languages are living languages! We’ll just say it like this now!’”

PW's favorite is the sarcastic Mythal’enaste, “Because it’s the sarcastic Mythal's blessing that basically means you’re getting screwed over somehow. I love it because Mythal nasty! Whoever wrote that clearly never thought that someone would have to say this out loud”

Sheryl wrote Bull’s joke icicles line. She also wrote Isabela’s big boats line - Jennifer took it out but then DG was like “No it has to come back”

They have a pun test, they get a few of them and have to allot them wisely so as not to oversaturate on the puns. “Is this good/bad enough to be one of the times that we pull the trigger? We did have one of those recently, I obviously can’t talk about it, but it was pronounced Okay to go ahead”

The ‘baby-est’ writer is Brianne, who’s been there 8 years

It makes PW sad that the players never get to see the writers’ temp-text [placeholder text when portions are a WIP]. “People have the best temp-text". Mary: “The number of conversations that I’ve temped in like ‘WELL. I hope nothing BAD happens HERE’”

Q. If you could bring in anybody from outside of gamedev, who would you like to work with and do a writer’s session with? PW: “I will say romance novelist Nora Roberts, she is really smart and also she knows how to write inside a genre, and do wonders within it. Her structure is so good. If you pick up one of her books, you know here’s when this is gonna happen, here’s when they’re gonna meet, here’s when this first moment will happen. We’re all experienced and I feel pretty good about that but I really like all of the things she does that way, and also I am a sucker for romance so I would love to bring a romance novelist in and just have them look at our scenes and go ‘Okay here, no, they should pull the tie so that the article of clothing comes open, we need a sense of how warm the skin is here’ - something like that. I’d wanna see what they could do with that”

“Luke writes the best worst lines”

“I’m always impressed with Mary getting away with lines. There are lines that I look at like, wow, you buried that one. [...] The only players who get that line, I feel like they earned it if they went that far into it. [...] And then Varric or Merrill says a ridiculous line in a one-time throwaway”

Karin: “The group dynamic, you’ll see conversations or snippets of a lunch chat or a thing we’ve been joking about and you’ll see it get pulled in, and how all of you [the writers] are able to take a normal kind of thing - as normal as we get as a group anyway - and then turn it into a moment, and use it to further the plot or use it to further a character. It’s just the cleverest thing and it happens in so many different ways. [...] The little snippet of life, then how you crafted it into this very cool thing”

Quartermaster Threnn was written by PW in half a day. “When I was writing Threnn, ‘Okay, this is a good-hearted [person], I was doing a little bit of Steel Magnolias, southern, no-nonsense, but like, blue collar Steel Magnolias’. This is someone accustomed to the ways of the world so she’s going to call a spade a spade. If you come up to her and you’re an elf she doesn’t recognize you and says ‘Buckets are over there’ because she thinks you’re there to clean, [but] ‘Anyone calls you a knife-ear you come to me I’ll take care of it’. It’s problematic but she’s trying - the good-hearted person rooted for the wrong group on every occasion. She was a proud Loghain supporter, she gets really exited if he comes to Skyhold. That was a fun character for me to write because I had a viewpoint in my mind. I remember someone was like ‘Threnn is really important to me’. And you have to honor that, cause you’re like ‘Cool, it means so much to me that this connected with some part of you’”

---

Also of interest was the Mass Affection panel, in which BioWare devs looked back in over a decade of history to remaster a classic. It featured devs who worked on MELE. The timestamps for this segment are ~3:36:09 - 4:24:37. Some notes:

When the pandemic hit the MELE team were in a relatively awkward spot. They were really entering into what they consider full production and were on-boarding a bunch of teams, as well as training and on-boarding third-party external partner specialized teams worldwide. When the pandemic hit, BioWare and EA were super on top of it. They were tracking it weeks beforehand, getting everyone their computers ready, and getting everything encrypted. When the middle of March 2020 hit they were home rightaway. EA were nothing but supportive throughout the entire thing. They got money every quarter for stuff. It functionally ‘hit’ at 4-6 different times for them as the pandemic occurred in different places throughout the world at different times depending on each country’s response plan (and their external partners were in different countries). “So it was one of those things where it was just like, every day we’d come in like can we still work with this company anymore? Do we need to find someone else? Do we need to pull people in off the other projects at BioWare to fill gaps here and there?”

There was a bug on Virmire at the part when you’re coming into the STG camp. If the Mako had its new boosters on and you came hurtling in really fast, it cut to the cutscene, but the Mako hit a jump and when Ash was like “What do we do now?” the Mako ended up literally flying around in the background sideways and then crashing into the camp

Another bug: when they were re-tuning the guns, the physics force on some of the guns with Hammerhead rounds was so high that when you were fighting some of the Thorian Creepers, you could ragdoll them so hard that you could basically embed them in the roof. They’d be moving so fast that they’d penetrate all the walls with their legs dangling out. It was so easy to do and you could do it to everybody. You could launch a geth halfway across an Uncharted World

Another bug: with Shepard’s casual appearance in ME3, if you didn’t have it set up perfectly correctly it would default to Grunt for some reason. You’d be walking around as Grunt, going on dates as Grunt, and your face would be all scrunched up because it was all mapped to human bones still, so it was just, like, Nightmare Fuel of Grunt

Another bug: in ME2 on Illium when trying to recruit Samara, the Asari enemies just would not stop screaming - regardless of whether they were hit or not, it was endless screaming. Later one of the devs got an audio file of the scream, endless and looped, and now one of the devs has it on their phone and uses it for their morning alarm tone

“Shepard would come up to characters and they’d just be screaming”

---

There was also the Programming Variables panel, talking about what hurdles game programmers face. Some [or all?] of the devs that were part of this panel are currently working on DA4. They talked a bit about their day-to-day work and about the craft of game dev programming in general. The timestamps for this segment are ~ 4:24:46 - 5:06:02.

[source]

[insights/notes from Gamers For Groceries 1]

[☕ found this post or blog interesting or useful? my ko-fi is here if you feel inclined. thank you 🙏]

#dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #video games #long post #longpost #in case this is of interest to anyone #mass effect #anthem #covid mention #cole #spirit boy #solas #lul

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skyholdlibrary · 4 years

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I've been thinking quite a bit about the singing scene after Haven since i started to replay DAI in May.

This is going to be a long post so please be patient with me.

When i first played years ago i thought just as everyone else that it seemed a little bit cheesy. But it is actually not and i needed a few years and actually giving it a thought to finally see why does it make perfect sense and it is in fact not “a bit too much.”

Someone somewhere i am sure already wrote this but i just had to get it out of my head. So this is nothing big actually.

In advance i was pretty slow to this realization because i'm not particularly religious. At least not in the common sense so i did not exactly obseved the scene in that regard for quite some time. This post was brewing from some time now and i finally got around to write it down. It's mostly to calm my brain not to change the world.

See we know Haven was an isolated mostly religious-traditionist village and DAO and the Warden happend. No need to elaborate. Than thanks to Divine Justinia later it became an important destination for those who went on a pilgrimage to the Temple of Sacred Ashes.

Now if we consider all this, chances are that the citizen's of Haven are highly religious, with maybe a few exceptions. Like traders or the like. They do believe in the Chant and all.

So when the Inquisitor or back then “only” The Herald of Andraste (the same Andraste that is a key figure in the religion that all of Haven follows) shows up from the fade presumably with the guidance of Adraste herself, it is only probable that only those stayed in Haven who belived that they actually are the Herald because the Chantry declared them and their supporters a madmen and a bunch of heretics. Especially after officially declaring the founding of the Inquisition there was no Chantry support.

Then Corypheus attacks and the Herald sacrefices themself to save the citizens and maybe a few pilgrims who stayed. Basically everyone. And as we established they probably all are religious people. And later the Inquisitor rises from under the mountain and return to “their people” almost as if it’s some kind of miracle. You know the kind that is an important piece in most religions.

Death and resurrection.

It very well could be seen as a miracle because the circumstances are grim and people are more prone to see wonders in time of great need. They are all lost in somewhere among the mountains. A few weeks ago their sacred temple has been blown up. Their Divine is dead. They just have been attacked by a monster of legends, a darkspawn who was an ancient tevinter magister before who also happens to command a corrupted high dragon that looks eerily like an achdemon. Haven, their home or home for the past few weeks is buried under the mountain. They do not know where they are, they have so much supplies and no real sense of when the closest place of safety is. They are scared and understandably so. They have no plan, no concept on how to step forward. They are scared and frightened.

Do you remember what is one of the gut reactions as a child when you are afraid? Singing. It provides comfort, it is soothing. It does not matter it is by yourself, your mother, father, grandparents, brother, sister or just yourself. Singing calms people.

What ultimately the Chantry should be about? Comforting those in need. Just like any religion. Mother Giselle does not have answers but she is a devout Sister of the Chantry. She is a Revered Mother. So she tries to provide comfort to the refugees the only way she can. So she starts to sing. Sings about hope and the light after the darkness. That the dawn will eventually come. And in the camp everyone wants to believe that. All of them. Because they desperately want to feel safe. They need to feel safe and focus on going forward. Not succumb to desperation. So they sing with her. And never forget that everyone knows the lyrics so it is a hymn that is actively part of the Chantry repertoir not some long forgotten verse with a tune. It is familiar and represents hope. So they join in to the singin. The only ones that are silent are Solas and the Inquisitor.

The Inquisitor because they are the one that is the centre of the awe. Everyone sings because of them. He is the beacon or at least focuspoint of the hope in camp. Solas in the other hand silent because he knows a bit more than anyone else about what is going on. And this is definitely not his religion if he has any. And he also knows a place. He is aware that Skyhold is not that far. They could make it there if he decides to let them know of it, which he eventually does.

So considering all this i really do not think there is anything overblown about this scene in the end. Actually the more i think about it the more i like it. There was some seriously good writing in this game.

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virlath · 4 years

Text

environmental lore ~Dirthamen and Falon’Din

Part 1 - origins and the four armed statues Part 2 - their alliances

===

Part 3 - the origins of humans

This is getting to crackpot territory so byo tinfoil

Falon’Din and Dirthamen each have their own elven statue representations in the form of an owl and a raven, however they are also represented around Ferelden as hooded, almost human-styled figures. This is because I think there’s a strong possibility they themselves had a hand in the origins of humans and may have taken human form themselves.

In the Hinterlands, a statue of Dirthamen can first be seen at Calenhad’s foothold.

Note the artwork on the wall underneath this statue, which is repeated at the back of Blackwall’s stable in Skyhold.

Personally I think this artwork is probably related to the backstabbed, weeping Dirthamen statue in the Fade.

I’ve speculated on this previously, but I’ll reiterate again there is a lot of evidence Dirthamen, Falon’Din, and Fen’Harel were once close allies which makes this all the more interesting.

Hooded Dirthamen statues can be seen in the first camp you arrive at in the Emerald Graves.

Falon’Din is also represented in the graves as a hooded, pointing figure. Both he and Dirthamen feature prominently at separate Inquisition camps, and interestingly, all these locations are guarded by wolf statues which also happen to depict Fen’Harel.

Consider the fact Solas says “my people built a life here...it must have been something to see” right before Elgar’nan’s Bastion where the Din’an Hanin is located. This dungeon features an abundance of repeated imagery of Mythal, Falon’Din, Fen’Harel(gilded! so you know its important), and even June, further hinting at an alliance between all four.

Even more interesting is the fact that Falon’Din’s statue points away from the path lined with Andrastian imagery, and that some scholars believe it to be an elaborate elven joke.

Historians have been unable to identify the mysterious and cloaked pointing figure in the Emerald Graves. Some believe it a representation of the elven god Falon'Din, known also as the Friend of the Dead, or the Guide. Others believe it an elaborate elven joke, its punch line lost to time.

—From A Journey through the Dales by Lord Horace Medford, "Adventurer"

A statue of Dirthamen can also be found at the Citadelle Du Corbeau in the Exalted Plains, which was formerly an old elven fortress.

This mysterious hooded figure in Citadelle du Corbeau was nicknamed "the Raven" after the second Exalted March. The human forces - unfamiliar with elven iconography - saw the shadow the statue cast upon the courtyard, and imagined dark wings spread over the keep. Some years later, scholars of elven history hypothesized that the elves may have intended the sculpture as a representation of Dirthamen, the elven god of Secrets.

The Exalted Plains is considered the dirthavaren by the elves- land promised to them by Andraste. Despite this I believe the meaning of dirthavaren can be traced back to the promise Fen’Harel made to his people- that someday they would be able to live in freedom on land they could call their own.

We can assume Dirthamen likely had an active role in Solas’ rebellion because a double raven standard is clearly shown within the weaponry at the elven ruins in Trespasser.

The fact that Dirthamen’s statue features so prominently at the Citadelle Du Corbeau which is also guarded by several large Fen’Harel statues suggests he was also actively working in the Exalted Plains, possibly to help plan or direct settlements of rebels.

However it’s clear something happened along the timeline that caused the alliance to fracture. It could be Mythal’s death or it may even have been earlier, perhaps to do with the Sinner and Dirthamen’s relationship with Ghilan’nain.

Dirthamen and Falon’Din’s actions in Ferelden are also muddied by one thing, and it is that their statues closely resemble human sculpture. Much like the human/elven ruins in DAO, I believe this is because these hooded statues are also of human and elven origin, suggesting that D+F’s followers were at some point in time, human and elven.

Dirthamen’s hooded statues are very similar in style to the Guardians of the Path landmarks in the Exalted Plains, which is clearly influenced by humans and Andrastianism.

The plaque on the statue reads: "Let the Light of Andraste lift your spirits"

The plaque on the statue reads: "Let the Eternal Flame purify your soul."

Not only do these statues mimic Dirthamen’s hooded pose (kneeling, holding aloft a brazier), these statues interestingly also echo each other alongside the path into the plains, reiterating the concept of D+F being two aspects of the same being. Knowing these gods walked the shifting paths beyond the Veil, ‘Guardians of the Path’ seems like a subtle nod (and perhaps even another elaborate elven joke) to Dirthamen/Falon’Din.

And if you compare these statues to the archer statues at the elven ruins, the difference is night and day. Elven sculptures seem more abstract and symbolic, whereas human sculpture is more figurative and has a more ‘human’ facial expression.

Much like the human and elven architecture found in DAO, this is further evidence to me that Dirthamen and Falon’Din had a significant history with humans, possibly even taking on the human form themselves.

To take it a step further, I theorise the human form was actually created or willed into manifestation by the elves to better survive the unchanging world. Much like how the elven form is more suited to the Crossroads-like worlds, the human form suited the physical world and ensured better physical survival.

The reference to the Guardian with regards to these statues is also interesting. The Guardian is a spirit from DAO who questions you and your party when trying to enter the Temple of Sacred Ashes. When questioned by Zevran on how he knows so much about their lives, the Guardian simply answers that “he is allowed” this information. Which sounds pretty similar to a spirit bound to the service of a god like Mythal’s well of sorrows...

These same Guardians of the Path statues are reused again at Suledin Keep after you claim it for the Inquisition. This in itself is notable, because no other claimed building in the game changes this much in scope and detail with regards to religious imagery.

Based on initial detailing found within the keep, I think it once may have been Falon’Din’s fortress due to the prominence of the owl statues. After it’s claimed, it simply looks like Orlesians have taken over and dragged in their Andrastian symbolism. However, I think the environment change could also be a hint that the elven gods have a lot more to do with Andraste’s life and death than we think.

There are already many hints Mythal/Flemeth/Solas were actively influencing events during Andraste’s time. Throw in Falon’Din and potentially Dirthamen into the mix (I’m expecting the entire pantheon to show up in DA4 tbh), and it’s almost like the evanuris have been playing chess with each other and the mortal beings of Thedas are quite literally pawns in the evanuris’ constant struggle for dominance and attempts to one up each other.

Further evidence of Dirthamen and Falon’Din’s meddling with humans can be seen in DAO’s Brecilian forest ruins, through the very human like statues flanking next to the tainted eluvian. I believe these figures also depict Dirthamen and Falon’Din in human form.

I’m inclined to believe D+F took on human form before the veil, simply because Tamlen mentions the ruins look ancient and he suggests the architects definitely knew of the old elven gods.

If the above winged statue represents Falon’Din (which is found directly opposite the eluvian), the two figures standing next to the tainted eluvian must also be of equal importance- particularly so since it is very strongly hinted at that it leads directly to the Black City. Considering they mirror each other like twins, it makes sense these statues also represent D+F.

Also remember, the eluvian in these ruins was active when Tamlen and the Warden discover it for the first time. This place was also only previously accessible by this eluvian, and the only reason it is discovered is because somehow a cave has magically opened up and a wall was broken into, probably by the darkspawn themselves.

This means the eluvian was unlocked by someone or something and darkspawn were probably using this eluvian and coming from the Black City itself. That someone or something could be associated to any one of these gods, considering they somehow managed to access the eluvian to their temple.

The same tainted eluvian design is also reused again in the Dragonbone wastes, where Morrigan makes her escape to the Crossroads to raise Kieran.

The Dragonbone wastes was clearly a very significant site to the ancient elves because a varterral guards the entrance.

The varterral was supposedly created by Dirthamen, bound to protect elves from danger for eternity.

In the days before Arlathan, there was a city in the mountains beloved by Dirthamen, Keeper of Secrets. Its people were wise beyond measure, thanks to his counsel, and the city flourished.

Then a high dragon settled in the mountains, and her hunger threatened the city. The elders cried out to Dirthamen for protection as the dragon's rampages struck ever closer, and for three days and nights, the people shut themselves in their homes and watched the skies in dread.

On the fourth day, Dirthamen heard them. He whispered into the mountains and the fallen trees of the forest gathered, shaping an immense and agile spider-like beast. It was the varterral. With lightning speed, vicious strikes, and venomous spit, it drove back the serpent. From then on, it was the guardian of the city and its people.

Many years passed. The gods were trapped by Fen'Harel and the people left to gather in Arlathan, but the varterral kept its everlasting vigil, guarding Dirthamen's city as it eventually crumbled to dust. To this day it stands there, watching over the rubble. Any travelers foolish enough to wander there find themselves face to face with wrath incarnate.

—From The Tale of the Varterral, as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of Dalish elves

If this location is guarded by a varterral it implies the Dragonbone wastes is under the protection of Dirthamen himself. And given the fact that the eluvian at this location leads directly to the crossroads, it does suggest humans existed and helped created these ruins before the veil was created.

Entering the lair to the eluvian, two of these statues also guard the entrance. Notice the sealed mouths- they are very much like Dirthamen’s mosaic in DAI, symbolising secrets and Silence.

===

theory: humans were originally spirits/elves

Based on evidence outlined above, I theorise D+F had a significant role in the origin and affairs of humans and probably took on human form themselves. Like the elves, I think humans were originally spirits that manifested as humans to withstand the unchanging world.

Knowing that Falon’Din hungered for worshippers, perhaps gathering human followers ensured they would be able to stand up to forces beyond his control in the unchanging world - the world the evanuris declared was their “right”.

When the veil was created, I think a schism formed between humans and elves because of differences in ability. Like the elves whose form allows travel through the Crossroads with ease, humans suddenly prospered post-veil because their form was better suited to the environment.

I also think the veil had a large part to play in making everyone ‘forget’ the most significant parts of themselves and their connection to the fade, which is why no recorded history exists before the veil.

In any case, I think it’s likely Dirthamen and Falon’Din are now playing the long game just like Mythal and Solas, and they have been somewhat successful because they're knowledgeable of humans. I also believe they are the masterminds behind the whispers of the old gods- Dirthamen as the keeper of secrets aligns with Dumat, Dragon of Silence, and Falon’Din, friend of the dead and master of the dark aligns with Lusacan, Dragon of the Night almost too perfectly.

Whether or not D+F knew about Solas’ plans for the veil remains to be seen, however I think it’s likely they had fail safes of their own regardless. And despite all the environmental lore suggesting a strong alliance once existed between Dirthamen and Fen’Harel, Solas says himself ‘only an ally can betray you’.

With the teaser images and foreshadowing of an encroaching darkness and darkness cloaking all realms, I think Lusacan will likely make an appearance in DA4 on ‘wings of death’. Ultimately, I think he’s so corrupted his ultimate goal may be to taint every living creature on Thedas to reinforce his/his and Dirthamen’s divinity (much like Corypheus’ own aspirations, he had to have gotten the idea from somewhere after all). The kicker in this is that it’s also likely **TN spoilers

Ghilan’nain is also tainted and amassing her own blighted army. It remains to be seen what she intends on doing with it, but I can’t imagine it’s anything good.

===

Part 1 - origins and the four armed statues Part 2 - their alliances

#dragon age #da4 #da theories #dirthamen #falon'din #environmental lore #drabble #origins of humans #human history

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greenjudy · 3 years

Text

Inquisitor Ask Meme

Reposting this for fun.

Anyone else want to take a crack? What kind of Inky would you be?

@allsortsoflicorice? @tyramir ? Bueller?

1. Race:

Human.

2. Class/Specialization:

Rift mage.

3. Your homeland?

The Free Marches. Wycome, to be precise.

4. Your family?

Keep my family out of this; they have things to do besides die.

5. Who were you before?

A Circle Mage of some skill and much fear. Given my personality, the Circle would probably not cater to my strengths. It would make me more nervous and paranoid than I already am. The Inquisition would force me out of my comfort zone and give me some resilience I would never otherwise develop. Left to my own devices, I’d fall prey to obsession, and possibly possession by a Pride demon.

6. Would you be religious?

I’ve read a lot of books by Brother Genitivi and Philliam! A Bard; I’m actually using my clout as Inquisitor to gather whatever is known about the Black City. You might say I’m an originist, I want to know where we came from; Andraste is kind of late on the scene for my interests.

Post-Trespasser, this quest will more or less eat my brain.

Short answer: obsessed with “religious” subject matter, not religious per se.

7. Do you have a mabari?

Nope. But I spoil Cullen’s baby.

8. Your opinion on other races?

Raised to “not be racist” (as far as that goes) in cosmopolitan, edgy, free-wheeling Wycome; family with a ton of Dwarven trading connections. Angry about the elves. Knew loads of elven enchanters in the Circle, but I have awkward awareness of human privilege around the Dalish.

Fascinated by the Shaperate. Wish all Thedas had those. Can you imagine?

Worried about the Qun, but deeply impressed with the handful of Qunari I’ve met in person. Not mindless drones at all. Disciplined. Community first has some virtues, must say.

9. What would Varric’s nickname for you be?

Baffler.

10. What would your tarot card look like?

The High Priestess: an older, abbess-looking chick standing at a scriptorium, surrounded by magical paraphrenalia and a gorgeous view out my high window. Raven (with message) standing on the windowsill.

11. Where would you hang out in Skyhold?

My bespoke mage tower, if I’m not in the Undercroft picking Dagna’s brain. Do a little weeding in the herb garden from time to time; we’re growing some fascinating things in there.

After Solas leaves, I’d go spend time in the destroyed holding cells, watching the water fall.

12. What would you do for fun?

Study. Knit. Paint. Visit my horses; the smell of horses is very comforting.

I’d have highly technical arguments with Dorian and spend a lot, a lot, a lot of time talking to Solas.

13. What armor would you wear?

Cutting-edge tactical enchanted fabric. Light, layered, tweedy, enchanted.

I’d probably get sucked into magical materials research, specifically, making improvements to armor base-layers. I’m obsessed with armor. I have a whole research group (headed by Dagna, Cullen consulting) devoted to armor improvement.

14. What would your room look like?

Given the state of my current room, a chaotic mess of books, papers, research tools, letters from colleagues, blueprints, schematics, dirty dishes, orchids, and automata (Josie and I would be doll-geeks together).

15. Who would be your friends at Skyhold?

I try to make sure that the Inner Circle understands how much I appreciate them as a general rule.

As for friends:

Cassandra is one of the great ones. Just about the best person I know. Never met anyone so ready to acknowledge her mistakes. I’d trust her to be the next Divine.

Dorian is a dear. One of the best sounding-boards. Somebody peel that man a grape.

Cullen and Josephine are terrific advisors, couldn’t ask for better, their own problems of course, we’re all doing our best. I’d like to know Cullen better—suspect we have things, Circle things, to talk about. In another life, maybe.

I’d get on with Varric—everyone gets on with Varric, come on—but I find him ultimately very armored, hard to know. Hid his best friend, didn’t he? Never talks about the lady he loves.

Sera is actually easy to understand. Raw genius with a bow, one of the best to have along, out in the field. Not exactly my friend. So down on the Dalish. It’s her business, though. She and Dagna are adorable together. She makes Dagna happy, that’s good enough for me.

I have a bit of a GP for the Iron Bull. (He had me at “front-line bodyguard.”) Never acted on it, though.

Solas is my… see… well, see below.

16. Would you have any friends outside of the Inquisition?

I’d have the Thedas version of LinkedIn comrades in Antiva, Nevarra, and Orlais—researchers all. Plus one brilliant friend who’s a materials mage based out of Denerim, working with Sandal on woven metal enchantments; call her my “knitting buddy.”

17. Who wouldn’t you get along with?

Leliana would trouble me. Don’t like having someone this emotional and vindictive managing our intel networks. It’s bad juju, Ambassador; can’t trust her judgment, can you? And that feels like a loose end. Put us in a tight spot someday. Couldn’t we ask Varric…? No, I quite see that. Still.

I’d understand Vivienne, and try to maintain a cordial relationship because I think most of her head is in the right place, even though she is entirely too power-oriented for a real friendship.

Blackwall’s “find Darkspawn, kill them, repeat” approach would bother me. When I found out the truth about him, it would confirm my feeling that you need to lie to yourself, a lot, to just have enemies and kill them without compunction. I would also find myself highly influenced by Solas’s take on the Wardens.

18. Who would you romance?

I’m a Circle mage who’s watched close friends be tormented by romantic love. Demonic possession and Tranquility. Babies taken away. This is not the kind of conditioning that disappears just because you take me out of a Circle. In my youth I worked it out by restricting myself to impossible love objects—there was this one Templar, very stern, very disciplined…he’d barely speak to me… Well. That was many years ago.

That said, the best impossible love object I’ve ever encountered in my life is Solas.

What does it matter, really? Bonds of friendship, don’t you know; romantic love leads to envy demons. I’m old now, at any rate. Inquisigeezer not exactly a romanceable character.

19. Would you do pranks with Sera?

Probably not. Too busy. Too tired. Feel too much sympathy for her innocent victims.

But I would do operations with Sera, with pleasure.

20. Would you sleep with the Iron Bull (casually if not romance)?

My front-line bodyguard? Get on with you. It would get too complicated—for me, I mean, not him.

21. Would you keep Cole around?

Yes. And I’d agonize about what would be the best path for him to take, and probably make him a spirit.

22. Can you play the game (politics)?

Yes. I’m better at it the more distant it is. If you’re talking about what to say at a party, I’ve developed a persona for that sort of thing. Stakes are high. Can’t be fooling around. A mage, remember? This guard drops, I get possessed; lose my temper, might incinerate you, can’t have that.

23. What would be on your tombstone in the fade (What are you afraid of)?

“The world fell apart on my watch.”

24. Who would you recruit to seal the breach?

Mages. I understand mages. Their leadership’s been simply awful. Not sure what Fiona did with her spine. Without decent leadership, it’s mages running amok, trying to protect themselves, doing awful things out of fear; can’t have that, they’ll pull their own house down. Get them out of the weeds, stick ‘em in the Inquisition, give them a chance to show what they can do for the right cause.

25. Opinion on Mages versus Templars?

It’s all about training, though, isn’t it? Templars and mages both need much, much better training. Without training, without a penetrating education with a solid grasp of magical theory, history, ethics—co-train the mages and templars, make ‘em take core courses together. Make them work together in strike teams; I’ve been doing that since we recruited ‘em, they actually partner well, as long as you’re not, you know, mad.

I would become obsessed (do you see the recurrence of this word) with the idea that mages could be Seeker-trained to resist possession and mind control, obviating the need for Tranquility. These disciplined (another key word) and trustworthy mages could be placed in a position of joint authority with properly educated Templars to create a College of Magi with research cells all over Thedas…

Yeah. We’ll see how that works out.

26. Who would be put in charge of Orlais and why?

Celine and Briala. Celine is the one with the right temperament, and for some reason I viscerally understand Briala. I’m all about reparations and integrating elven populations and something something protect the Dalish (can’t we actually give them the Dirth?).

27. Would you sacrifice the Chargers?

I couldn’t.

28. Would you go after Blackwall?

Oh, yes. And I’d keep him on, as Thom Rainier.

29. Would you drink from the well?

Knowing me? Not knowing the implications except for those vague warnings? Yes, I would, and it would affect me for the rest of my life.

I’d spend what’s left of myself using whatever insight and connections the Well gave me to work on Solas.

30. Where would you go if the Inquisition was disbanded?

Under ordinary circumstances, the College. Daresay they’d want me to do something draining and administrative because of my being the (ex)Inquisitor; I’d look for a research niche but probably not get to keep it.

Solas is not ordinary circumstances. I’d dedicate the rest of my life to that problem.

31. How do you react to the egg telling you he is an elven god?

I’d naively and arrogantly imagine that I could—if we could just get enough time to sit down together—he must understand what he’s likely to bring about, he needs people to talk to, dammit—

He would be the death of me, I’m afraid.

#DA:I

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dragonswithjetpacks · 3 years

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I’ve been really wanting to write more about Astarion and Ferelith in the beginning lately.

Like she’s just so utterly disgusted by him at first. She finds him difficult to deal with and his flattery unnecessary. Ferelith is the type of person who like to be wooed, but only by a specific type of person. And while Astarion does meet some of the criteria, a deceitful vampire spawn isn’t exactly what she has in mind. She also hates egotistical men who pursue her despite her rejections. And she gets a little squeamish around undead. But he’s a very pretty undead so it helps.

Because that’s the thing, though, she’s very attracted to him physically. And eventually, he discovers making her laugh, which can be difficult, is a direct line to earning her trust. He charms her, as he does everyone. And though she tries to resist, eventually, she gives in. But she refuses to be another notch in the belt. She knows it’s not a one way street and she has certain skills with her charisma, herself. So she begins to play his game, learning what raises his brow and makes him grin. It’s a battle of wits and charm. That eventually turns into they don’t know if they’re toying with each other anymore... or if it’s getting too real.

Once past the insults and the obvious accusations of mistrust, their camaraderie turns into teasing banter and a certain confidence on the battlefield. Ferelith tolerates him and he slowly opens up, He develops genuine affections, but I mean, clearly has no idea how to deal with them. So he does what ever confused person does with emotions they don’t understand and... ignores it. The gestures of friendship he makes, showing an aptitude to kindness, are just ways to ensure Ferelith won’t eventually gut him. And the continuation of the romantic advancements are a way to hide how he really starts to feel.

And of course Ferelith starts to show a hint of emotional attachment, but buries them away. There’s a lot of tension and complexity to it all that she doesn’t want. And while he insists it’s easier than she’s making it, she basically doesn’t believe any sort of relationship with him is viable. Still, she can’t deny that the want for it is there. They’re basically playing a game called “First one to fall in love is a rotten egg.”

Which brings me to post game. Or post early access. I dunno. Well, I imagine they probably continue the sexual part of their relationship regardless. Unless he betrays everyone. In which case, Ferelith already warned him she’d kill him no matter how attached she got. She doesn’t deal with cheaters and liars very well. Her pride is way to massive to let it go. Me personally, I just want them to be happy. Ferelith has been alone for a very long time. And Astarion has never known what it’s like to be with someone romantically. It would be a nice ending if they found that trust with each other. Even if it is just for the game, their little rendezvous will at least be somewhat meaningful and they could know happiness with someone else for a short time. *holds onto that thought dearly*

Or, you know, Astarion is just a bastard and leaves her high and dry. And she basically hates him forever. Which is cool, too, because I am a sucker for tragedy. Looking at you Solas. Making me fuckin cry.

Long unnecessary post short: dislike - you might be ok - i guess we’re friends now - are we flirting for real this time? - oh... we’re flirting for real this time - i’m not falling for this - shit i’m falling for this - ok let’s just make out

Denial is key.

#astarion x ferelith #ferelith #ferelith moonshade #astarion romance #idk man #i just wanna run away with him #tell the world to fuck off #and just go and do crazy stuff #i dont even know why i wrote this #just thinking on my fingertips i guess #thinking about my evil boyfriend

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ink-asunder · 3 years

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The Heartless DLC - The Rest of the Story

I’ve given a lot of thought to this, but I’ve decided to drop my Dragon Age: Inquisition/Dragon’s Dogma crossover fic, The Heartless DLC. I’m not out of ideas, but it turns out retelling the entire last 2/3rds of the game WITH original quests was too much of an undertaking for me. That combined with my surprising distaste with elements of Dragon Age and issues with the fandom just made it a project that I have no interest in continuing at this time.

It’s not fair to keep my readers in the dark, even if I *do* plan to get back to it someday. So I’m going to give a heavily abridged but general summary of how The Heartless DLC would’ve continued and ended right here, just so you get the full story instead of me leaving you hanging. It’s also a fairly long post!

After the events at Adamant, the Inquisitor and Arisen ltake care of some side-quests, favor quests, and cleaning up some areas whilst also preparing for the ball at Halamshiral. As stated previously, the Arisen and Gale will be going on their own, not under the Inquisition. Once there, the Inquisitor searches for clues, and the Arisen very quickly realizes that there are pawns serving at the ball. Gale pretends to faint, which allows him and the Arisen to be temporarily excused while the pawns take them to the servant’s quarters.

Once in the privacy of the servant’s quarters, the pawns give Marnie an urgent update about the state of things in Gransys. The Duke wasn’t ill, he was trying to keep her away. Nothing particularly heinous is unfolding, but the pawns are worried the Arisen has abandoned them. Marnie assures them that she’ll return, but before they resolve the issue, the harlequin drops in and tries to murder them.

Cut back to the Inquisition. The Inquisitor finally finds some clues and escapes to the servants quarters with his companions. By the time they get there, Marnie and the pawns are nowhere to be found and everyone else is slaughtered. They briefly have a moment of “oh, so I guess we might have to consider Marnie did this” and move on. They find Marnie and the pawns engaged in battle in the courtyard, and the two groups converge for the rest of the quest. They discover the pawns have been traveling to and from Gransys by a Riftstone they brought overseas with them. This Riftstone is later transported to a grove closer to Skyhold for ease of access to the Pawn Guild. It might be noted that Marnie is the one who finds and unlocks the Empress halla door, mostly because her pawns were collecting whatever they could find already. She has Gale interrogate the man for her, then she brings the information to the Inquisitor. The empress is spared, Florianne is arrested, and the Inquisitor has enough evidence to ally all three parties.

Now that there’s a Riftstone at Skyhold, Gale is going out at night on jobs in other worlds. More pawns begin to frequent Skyhold. They don’t blend in well, but the Arisen is able to explain it away as if the Duke sent over members of his elite army, of which the Arisen is a commander. No one ever suspect she had that kind of station. The pawns all seem moderately wary of Solas, but decide he won’t pull anything in Skyhold around the Arisen, for whatever reason. Gale has the most influence over the other pawns aside from the Arisen because he is the main pawn in this universe. That puts him at a high position, even though he may be younger than many pawns he meets.

Gale still goes to Solas frequently. Their meetings range from Gale asking for help with spells to discussing the Inquisition and the Arisen. Solas starts asking Gale to keep their meetings a secret from the Arisen (red flag!). Meanwhile, Cole and Marnie settle their differences; Marnie says she was never upset with Cole to begin with, and they both make a point to be more objective and communicative with each other. Marnie resumes training Cole and gifts him a pair of climbing boots with spikes on the bottoms (shout out to RavenNox on fanfiction.net for mentioning the strider concept art in a review, because I hadn’t seen it before!).

After Wicked Eyes, Wicked Hearts, the Inquisitor decides to finally get in a good dragon hunt like I’ve been teasing. This is a long-ish “Dragonhunt Arc,” and it’s what I’d imagine Marnie’s main favor quest would be if this was a real DLC. They go to the Hinterlands to fight the Fereldan Frostback, (I know, I should be writing them getting back at that damn dragon in Crestwood, but I haven’t written anything in the Hinterlands yet, and I wanna get to it). There’s an epic battle where the Inquisition FINALLY gets to see more of that dynamic climbing from Marnie and Cole. Gale also shows some creative use of healing spells by preemptively casting healing spells while Marnie is in danger, then she’ll heal as soon as she’s injured and it’ll spare her, (Gale actually did stuff like this with consumable curatives while I was fighting the Ur-Dragon quite a few times, so I wanted to implement it).

At the end of the battle, the Arisen realizes that dragons are just animals here, as opposed to intelligent, self-possessed beings like in Gransys. Therefore, the only real “reason” she came to Thedas was a bust. She’s noticeably sullen and distraught for several days, and Gale begins to worry. Eventually, Gale reaches out to the Inner Circle for help, and they arrange a quiet evening in the yard where she and Gale could dress fancy and slow-dance because it was the one thing she wanted to do at Halamshiral and couldn’t do. There’s this vague internal monologue about how she never gets to keep what she loves, and it’s implied she only truly loves Gale, and it’s also a subtle reminder that she’s a fucking god, but anyway.

After the Dragonhunt Arc, I get back to the main quest, except I kind of don’t, because I want things to be more dramatic. They chip away at some favor quests, and oddly enough, Gale and the Arisen start to drift apart. This is due to several factors including but not limited to Marnie being preoccupied with other pawns and Inquisition-related duties, but it’s also largely because of a concentrated effort on several people’s part to get Gale to assert himself as an individual human as opposed to a pawn defined by his Arisen.

When they go to the Temple of Mythal, Marnie and Gale can barely keep themselves together. The group manages to complete the quest regardless. They ally with Abelas and Morrigan drinks from the Well of Sorrows.

When they face off against Corypheus, Marnie uses the Backfire skill when fighting the red lyrium dragon to ensure it dies. In that moment, a part of her is frighteningly powerful, almost like she is no longer human. (God this stuff sounds corny.) She passes out for a minute and Gale stays with her while she recovers and the others go to fight Corypheus. Corypheus probably delivers a villainous monologue. I was originally going to have Marnie and Gale bust in and at the part where Corypheus says "ancient ones, if you've ever been there, be with me now," Marnie says "I am one" but I decided against it. The Inquisitor lands the killing blow because this is his quest and his game.

During the afterparty, the Arisen and Gale interact with each member of the inner circle with the news that they'd be leaving for Gransys in the morning. Neither are drinking and they're both dressed as if they're going to leave any minute.

When Marnie and Gale are setting off, Cole comes to Marnie one last time and tells her she never will be alone. That reassures her and, for the time being, she seems ready to confront Grigori upon her return to Gransys.

When Marnie and Gale return for the Tresspasser DLC, they still haven't killed Grigori, but they did go to Bitterblack Isle. As such, their gear is dope and dragonforged, and their mental health is in shambles. Gale also converted to the way of the bow while they were there. They aid the Inquisition in fighting Qunari and finding Solas, and he and Marnie have a final showdown where he's revealed to be the Dread Wolf and she's revealed to be the Seneschel who reset the world so she could relive being the Arisen again and again. Solas needles her about why she redid everything, why she refuses to assume her place as Seneschel, and how many times she's done this same thing over and over again. Gale manages to shoot Solas from afar and they're all driven apart.

After the Inquisition returns to Skyhold and orients themselves, only Gale reappears saying his Arisen sent him in case they meant her any harm after her reveal. After the Inquisitor agrees not to compromise Marnie, Gale leads him to the ruins by the Riftstone, where Marnie's been waiting. They have a chat about her true origins and intentions, and she admits she didn't defeat Grigori because she knew she'd have to leave the mortal world soon after. She agrees to help the Inquisition when she can and places a Portcrystal by the Riftstone. They both agree that things are probably going to get a whole lot worse.

And that's where the fic ends. There's also a number of subplots I neglected to detail. Cole's favor quest, a few side quests related to the pawn guild, etc. As I said, I might return to the fic later on, but I really don't care for it or the fandom or the source material anymore. It's sad, but I'm happier elsewhere. And I thought it was only fair to leave some conclusion to the fic regardless. I might post certain chapters and snipets on my tumblr, but for the most part, this is the last you'll see of the official fic.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the readers and fans that have stuck with me through all this. I wish you all the best, and I'm sorry I couldn't give you the full fic. Stay safe out there!

#the heartless dlc #my fanfic #a conclusion of a project

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ir0n-angel · 3 years

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For the ask game- vanilla and coffee cake?

Vanilla : Are you single?

The short answer is no.

Coffee: Book that reminds you of your childhood?

*forgets every book ever read*

*thinks really hard*

Okay, I think I got an answer.

In the ancient times before it was made into a TV series, the writer of the Vampire Diaries -- L. J. Smith -- had another series of books called The Night World. It was supposed to be 10 novels, but I’ve been waiting since 1998 for #10. I understand that Smith went through some horrible life tragedies that kept her from finishing the series, so I will never be angry at not getting to finish the story.

I have all the original books, including the ones that were later changed because the cover artist used copyrighted images (the most famous being a picture of Gene Simmons “The Demon” from KISS). I also have the original copies of The Secret Circle (love) and The Forbidden Game (it’s got it’s moments). I think I have Dark Visions?? I know I read it, but I don’t remember if it was a library loan or not. Didn’t care for it much; it tries too hard to be grim. It was the early 90s, man. Never read Vampire Diaries. Never had a vampire phase.

Anyway, all of that to say my most memorable books from childhood was L. J. Smith’s. (I’m showing a bit of my criminal past here, but...) I “borrowed” the car to go to the bookstore to buy the 3rd Night World book and then stayed locked in my room for an entire day to read it from cover to cover.

Then there was Piers Anthony’s If I Pay Thee Not In Gold. Because this Angel’s always been a bit naughty with the supernatural creatures. (Spoiler alert: He was an incubus.) I read it twice a year, every year, while I was in high school.

So, nonny, how long do you want this thread to go? Because I can go on and on and on...

The other extremely big influence on my childhood was the comic series Elfquest. So, technically a book? I was probably too young for it -- it does not hide anything -- but I devoured it then and I devour it now. You want good LGBTQ+ relationships? Elfquest. You want good polyamory? Elfquest. You want beautiful art and story? Elfquest. For my Dragon Age followers: You want Solas before Solas existed? ELFQUEST. (Yes, I’m dragging the hell out of Rayek right now, but read it and you cannot tell me I’m wrong.)

Y’know what? I think I’m going to go re-read my Elfquest comics now.

Thank you for the ask! Sorry it got a bit long, but I hope it was entertaining. 🌼

#asks

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fandomn00blr · 4 years

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It’s Thursday again! And boy howdy do I have lots of things that I should have thrown away a long time ago. Tagging @funkypoacher again, because we have an understanding 😉. Also tagging eranehn@parera-zuul-jar, @zuendwinkel, @johaeryslavellan, @convenientcoma, @grumpkinvicky, @serial-chillr, @paraparadigm, @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold, @factorykat, @pinkfadespirit, @barbex, @ginnyq, @lostinfantasies38, @elveny, @kunstpause, and anyone else who has something that they never finished or cut from a WIP but couldn’t quite get rid of! Feel free to use the banner if you want!

I dug way deep this week, to the very first DA fic-type thing I ever wrote down (and have subsequently never shared with anyone because it’s just that good). I may have mentioned before that I started playing Dragon Age games when I was pregnant (now it’s a theme, I guess), and I started with Inquisition, so I apologize to the entire fandom for what I’m about to share...

Without further ado, here’s a fade-preggo SolAdaar/SerAdaar? baby shower situation at Skyhold (under a cut because I warned you...also, it’s pretty long):

“I know that I am incredibly popular now that I am the size of my own war nug, but at least one of you has to shove off and mingle before Josephine throws a fit.”

Solas only reinforced his dutiful stance at Adaar’s side, planting his feet, and clasping his hands together behind him, looking as immovable as a statue in his determination to stay.

“Hey, I’m following the rules for once. I’m on the schedule! At least, I think…” Sera turned pleadingly toward Dorian.

“Oh, but I really wanted to be a part of this adorable love triangle...er, quadrangle?” He winked at Solas, who met this gesture with the same stoney glare. “Very well, then. If you need me, I’ll just be entertaining your guests in the library upstairs.”

As Dorian strode away from them to break up some of the group of Orlesians that had surrounded Cullen, an unfamiliar masked visitor approached.

“Inquisitor Adaar, may I introduce myself? I was expecting a formal pronouncement in the reception hall, as is the custom in Orlesian society, but I see this is not Orlais.”

Sera made no attempt to hide her eye roll as she let out a loud audible sigh. Solas tensed slightly at his accusatory tone, but his facial expression remained unchanged as he stared out over the hall.

“I am sorry you were disappointed, friend. What is your name and your relationship to the Inquisition?” Adaar was the only one of them who even pretended to have any manners. Such was the burden she had to bear, she supposed, as she felt the other burden kicking at her insides.

“Oh, another unfamiliar custom, but I will take it as an honor that you call me your ‘friend.’ My name is Etienne de Beaulieu. My family was one of the first that Lady Montilyet asked to aid your cause in the Exalted Plains after Haven fell.”

“Well then, you are indeed a friend to the Inquisition. Thank you.”

“Excuse my boldness, Inquisitor, but perhaps you can settle a great mystery circulating throughout the lands.”

“Probably not. Solving mysteries is really not one of my skills.”

“This mystery pertains almost exclusively to you.”

“Even more reason I probably won’t be able to solve it!” She laughed, trying to mask her discomfort as the thing inside her did some kind of somersault into her bladder. How many knees and elbows could it possibly have?

This was, of course, not how these conversations were meant to go according to the extensive books on Orlesian etiquette that Josephine had provided her. Again, she found she just didn’t care. Her house, her rules, after all.

The other man, however, seemed perplexed that she was not willing to answer his questions with questions and go round and round until they both believed that the other had confirmed what the other had wanted to hear without actually saying anything.

“Well, I…”

“Oh just ask her your friggin question!” Sera blurted out.

“This is quite a departure from what I am used to.”

“I’m sorry, Etienne. But you will find that we are all quite terrible at the art of Orlesian conversation here. Please, just tell me, what do you want to know?”

“Well, there are many rumors, many speculations.”

“About?” Solas was growing impatient with this conversation as well, especially once he realized where it was headed.

“The parentage of the...child...growing inside of the Inquisitor.”

Solas shot Adaar a quick look, as if to warn her to be careful about her answer or retreat entirely from the conversation. Maybe she would need to use some of her conversation lessons, after all.

“Parentage? Well, I am clearly the mother.” She chuckled again, though it sounded far more strained this time. She didn’t know whether or not to play coy, pretend she didn’t know, or to turn and embrace Solas and loudly declare him the father of their mysterious Fade baby right there in front of the whole hall to dispel any other possible speculations.

As if he could read her mind, he shook his head just enough for her to notice, a thin smile across his lips as his eyes continued to stare out in front of him.

“Many fear that it could be the Tevinter Altus you have taken as a companion.”

This broke the spell of uncertainty that had suddenly made her pause and she burst out into deep, genuine laughter. This young, inexperienced nobleman had just given her the perfect out.

“Ah, Dorian Pavus? He is of high standing within the Imperium. Would the Orlesian nobility object to this match?”

Sera was pretending to puke behind her, an effective discourse strategy that somehow was not mentioned in any of the Orlesian handbooks she had read.

“I believe it would be quite the scandal, Inquisitor, to have the spiritual figurehead of the Inqusition, a Qunari at that, matched with a Tevinter of any standing,” he explained with the condescending patience of one who thought he was speaking to an imbecile. “But then, we hear other rumors, too...”

“Well, you may find the answers you seek in the Library, Monsieur de Beaulieu, but for now, I must bid you adieu.” Adaar felt the sudden petty rush of winning, however unconventionally, this small part of The Game, and her attempt at an ‘adieu’ was a bold show of chutzpah. Plus, it rhymed.

“Not that it’s important in the least, but it’s pronounced, ‘ad-yoo’...” He dared to try to get the last word with a pronunciation lesson? He truly was new to this.

“‘Frig you, nob!’ is how I actually pronounce it,” Sera announced, rather loudly, moving towards the nobleman menacingly.

He took a few steps back, realizing this was as much as he was going to get from the Inquisitor on this matter, and Solas shook his head at them, a broader smile creeping across his face as he looked down at Adaar’s swelling ankles.

“It is natural that they are curious, but I think you were wise not to declare the truth in front of everyone,” he murmured, once Sera had chased the man out of earshot.

“I wouldn’t have --” Adaar began to protest, but Solas turned and tilted his head at her with that infuriating smugness. “Aren’t you supposed to be getting me some cake?!” she demanded.

#dragon age #throwaway thursday #adaar #solas #sera #baby shower #please don't ask me how this happened #the answer is always magic #does this count as crack fic?#i sure hope so #melihan adaar

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a-world-in-grey · 4 years

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Take My Breath au - Altissia II

Added some of the thoughts I had about Altissia after playing through that part of the game, that I shared with @secret-engima.

-Sola shakes her tails easily, joining up with Axis and Prompto and making it back to the Maahgo uncontested. Ignis, Gladio, and Noctis are waiting for them at the bar. They relocate to the Leville, where Noctis tells them how the conversation with Camelia went.

-Not terribly, all things considered. Actually, it went very well, Ignis' sharp eyes and Gladio's intuitive sense of people picking up that Noctis somehow managed to win the woman over. Camelia has agreed to allow the rite to proceed. In exchange, Noctis will lend some of his people to help evacuate and protect civilians during the rite.

-Sola eyes Noctis and asks if he really promised that. Because four or five people won't be much good for more than a symbolic showing. Gladio dryly states that Sola says that like she can't personally hold off a dozen airships on her own. Noctis snorts. Sola counters that is not the point. Nor is it something Camelia knows or even needs to know.

-Ignis states that Noctis did promise aid to evacuate civilians. A necessary concession to secure the Secretary's aid, but nonetheless it will make it difficult to aid Noctis during the rite… he trails off when he sees how Sola is eyeing Noctis. Not with anger, but dawning suspicion, because Sola can feel the smug curl to Noctis' magic - suspiciously similar to Abyssus whenever her glutton of a cat manages to con more food out of the cooks. Sola asks what Noctis did.

-Noctis smirks and says that he promised to lend Camelia some of his people. He never said who those people are, or that they're in the city currently. So he called Cor, and then talked to Cid and Weskham. Two full squads of glaives will arrive in Altissia the night before the rite. He told Cor that he'd have Sola call Pelna to sort out the assignments, so Sola should probably get on that.

-Everyone stares at Noctis. Then Axis starts quietly laughing and Sola groans, calling her brother a sneaky little shit. But she does get up and call Pelna.

-Weskham calls in a favor and asks them to take care of a series of hunts that have popped up in the last few days. He's the only tipster in the area, mostly because prior to a week before there was no need for a tipster. Altissia simply isn't plagued by beasts and daemons the same way most of rural Lucis is, eliminating the need for hunters.

-Except it seems there are several daemons who haven't got the memo, because they've been appearing within the city limits. Weskham heard about it, recognized it from his own road trip with Regis three decades back, then talked to Camelia and set up a hunt system. Only, since there is no Hunter Organization outside of Lucis, and Camelia is trying to keep the surge in daemons discreet to avoid panic, Weskham hasn't been able to find anyone to take care of the daemons. At least, not until Noctis and his retinue showed up.

-They take on the hunts. Sola and Axis take on the single daemons while Noctis and the others go after the groups, because Altissia's streets are tiny. Fitting six people into an area is hard enough without adding hostiles and weapons.

-(Except for the cursed painting. They all go on that one, because Prompto wants a picture of it for that magazine reporter back in Lestallum and everyone else is curious. To be fair, a daemon painting is a new one.)

-Sola is concerned. Altissia isn't Insomnia, but it's brightly lit. Daemons shouldn't be manifesting inside the city limits. But they are, and with Camelia trying to keep a lid on things there aren't any orders for people to stay inside once it gets dark. Sola and Noctis and everyone won't be in Altissia forever. What does Camelia plan to do once they leave? Does the First Secretary know anything about daemons?

-Probably not.

-Sola borrows Ignis and goes to talk to Weskham and Cid. Weskham because he'll be able to both talk to Camelia and have her listen, as well as be the one most likely to recreate the Hunter and tipster system here in Altissia. Cid because Sola might have to reveal some painful truths and her uncle has been her emotional support for such things ever since her hanahaki.

-It takes hours, but Sola tells Weskham the truth behind the Starscourge - that it turns those infected into daemons and the only known cure is the Oracle's healing - and that Niflheim has been using daemons to fight Lucis for years now. They've studied the Scourge. The High Chancellor knew Sola was Scourge-infected at a glance and is enough of an expert to be able to guess what sort of daemon she'll turn into if she isn't cured.

-Then Ignis, Sola, and Cid write up dossiers on all of the daemons they can think of off the top of their heads. Sola provides quick sketches while Ignis provides what analysis he remembers of the daemons' strengths and weaknesses, as well as their general ranking. Cid's knowledge is more general than anything specific, but he has thirty years of knowledge from listening to Takka and hunters passing through Hammerhead.

-They give the information to Weskham, to do with it what he will.

-Then, the day before the rite, Sola finally works up the courage to wander by the shop displaying her wedding dress.

-She knows it's on display. She and Axis overheard gossip about it the day they arrived in Altissia. And it's not like Sola doesn't know what it looks like - she helped design it. She was there for the fitting.

-She's always been too curious for her own good.

-In her raincoat and with a small umbrella, Sola blends in with those few surrounding the shop. Just another person out to see the sights.

-It is a beautiful dress. Floor length, wide skirts made of white silk and embroidered with a net-like pattern of gold. Sleeveless, straps sitting wide on the shoulders and letting the collar dip low on the fitted bodice. No gloves, but a gold and diamond diadem and sheer white veil embroidered with more gold. Made exactly how she imagined it.

-Sola hates it.

-And as she stands there, listening to those around her chatter, Sola finds she hates them too. These, these Outsiders who understand nothing. Who see the white and the gold and don't think of what it means. Or who do think, who know that Lucian brides wear black but think this a show of support for the marriage.

-She hates that they look at the dress and are happy.

-"Is it not to your liking?"

-Sola doesn't look away from her wedding dress. Doesn't look to where Ravus stands at her right, no umbrella and blatantly in uniform, drawing the attention of the few people present.

-Some people have no concept of discretion. At least Ravus has the sense to keep his voice down.

-"No." Sola says. Silence falls, thick and uncomfortable and Sola has no inclination to break it. She can't stab Ravus, not yet, so she'll settle for making him as uncomfortable as possible.

-Ravus shifts slightly, but doesn't leave. Why is he here? After their last encounter Sola thought Ravus would prefer to have nothing to do with her. "I was led to believe you designed it yourself."

-"I did."

-"…I don't understand."

-Sola smirks bitterly. "Of course not."

-"Sola." He says her name so quietly she barely hears it over the rain, but there's no mistaking the weight Ravus puts into it. "Please."

-For a minute, Sola debates not answering out of spite. Then she sighs, lowering her umbrella to better obscure her face. "I had a life, Ravus. A future. I gave all that up. For a promise you never intended to keep."

-Ravus says nothing.

-"You are Luna's elder brother," Sola says softly, "so you get one warning: cross me tomorrow and I will kill you."

-She leaves him with that.

#Take My Breath au #ffxv #Sola Lucis Caelum #Axis Arra #Chocobros #Weskham Armaugh #Cid Sophiar #Ravus Nox Fleuret #I was going to cut the wedding dress side quest #because obviously Luna's wedding dress doesn't exist in this au #but then I thought hey #I can stick Sola's wedding dress here instead

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