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Jen Caywood (based Bellingham, WA, USA) - The End, 2021, Paintings: Digital Art

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The Social Network (2010) dir. David Fincher

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so the vision: as the ancestral and sacred homeland of the elves as well as a central area in veilguard, arlathan deserves a lot more focus. the veil jumpers occupy a unique position as historians in this uniquely dalish area, and as thee game regarding elven history, veilguard really drops the ball here.

the veil jumpers should be an organisation that's been around significantly longer: maybe they have/had an elven name, originally, and only become “veil jumpers” when they rose to prominence in the esteem of non-elven researchers, but given the dalish emphasis on preserving their history, there's no reason to suggest that there wouldn't have been cross-clan efforts to recover and repair dalish artifacts prior to the events of veilguard (or even origins). many veil jumpers in camp will speak to you about their clans and why they chose to lend their support, with a few identifying themselves as their keeper’s first apprentice; it’s culturally vital, significant work that, while it has recently become an area of interest in the wider world as the blighted evanuris (more on this later) threaten thedas, has been a respected craft among the dalish since before origins, and many dalish mages in particular work with the veil jumpers for a time as part of their apprenticeship (hence the perception of dalish mages being “sent away” that’s introduced in inquisition). while the group is now open to anyone due to the increased magical activity resulting in a higher demand for veil jumpers than ever before, it remains a distinctly dalish culture, and many veil jumpers will express grief and confusion over the fate of their gods as you explore their camp (more on this later). 

rook visits the veil jumpers at the same stage in the original game, where they meet merrill, who's been working with the veil jumpers, lending them her eluvian expertise. she gives you a rundown of the situation, here: with the rediscovery of arlathan and resulting increased movement of the dalish towards it as a culturally meaningful site, the chantry has taken interest. the reemergence of the evanuris has their back up, hostility building against the elves, and the situation in arlathan is fractured. the instability of the veil has lead to the activation & malfunction of these artifacts, resulting in veil tears and increasing levels of corrupted spirits passing through the fade: with the onslaught of ‘demons’, the chantry is seeing a justification for another exalted march, and are sending forces against the inhabitants. the nature of these forces varies depending on inquisition choices (whether the templars were disbanded or abandoned; whether the inquisition itself was disbanded or passed onto the chantry), but the threat remains the same: the dalish face andrastian crusades on one side, and waves of corrupted spirits on the other. the veil jumpers, who are no longer purely dalish but remain focused on dalish magical history, are working to calm artifacts and strengthen the veil, and rook's help is needed on all fronts.

on first entry to arlathan looking for an expert to repair your eluvian, merrill (acting as leader of the veil jumpers and resident expert) tells you that she developed current understanding of eluvians, but she can’t leave the veil jumpers during this critical period of brewing conflict. she would, however, be willing to allow her most promising researcher, bellara, to join you — except bellara, along with her team, have not returned from the field. you find them not in arlathan, but in a chantry encampment currently overrun with corrupt spirits; the chantry intrusion and raised tempers of soldiers has triggered an influx of spirits, and the elves are being blamed. bellara attempts to rebuke the soldiers, who dismiss her; rook attempts to intervene, but the soldiers are quickly killed by spirits and rook can only help the elves fight the spirits back. this sets the tone in arlathan: future quests revolve around repairing and activating artifacts to heal the veil, protecting researchers from chantry activity, and eliminating chantry presence through both combat and diplomacy. 

(previous — minrathous-treviso choice part two)

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chappell roan on my ‘80s tv just feels right

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MY FAVOURITE BUFFY LOOKS (1/?) — WILLOW in 3.01

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a love supreme by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

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This made me laugh. At least he’s honest about how awful he is.

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I think that if you manage to meet a very specific set of circumstances like flirting with both of them right up until the point of no return then you should activate a love triangle route with Lucanis and Neve that just ends in a poly relationship but alas. The writers are cowards

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"wtf are u guys yapping about?" - rook, probably

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every time the wardens do something fucked up i like them even more. this isn't about any game specifically but all of them. i fucking love the knockoff night's watch, i love that they guzzle nasty ichorous darkspawn blood that you'll die from 1) now or 2) in thirty years and how they don't tell their recruits until it's too late and the damage is done. i love their secrets and corruption and their heroism in the face of primordial darkness. i love warden leaders and warden recruits trying their best and the infighting that inevitably happens when they disagree.

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The Witch's Son 🐦‍⬛

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one of the more interesting gender selectors i've seen

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dissociating after a Hard(ing) day

(tweet)

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lucanis and his contract negotiator