dareth-sh1ral - Tumblr blog

[dareth-sh1ral]

Jaws of Hakkon is so incredibly impactful every single time. It aches. It aches in ways I struggle to capture with words. Jaws of Hackon has two overarching themes, themes that compliment and inform one another to create an achingly bittersweet dlc.

First is the last inquisitor. By exploring the frostback basin through the lens of a historical expedition into the last to hold your own title, the game forces us to come face to face with how the world at large might remember our inquisitor. Ameridan's life has been stripped clean and made digestible for the Chantry and ruling classes of Thedas. It is no longer remembered that he was a mage or an elf. His lover? Not remembered at all, even though she died of a broken heart waiting for him to return to her. His companions? We know nothing about but what he tells us, despite how deeply important they are to him and how he'd be 'lost without them'. The last inquisitor is a hero in his own right, but a hero that wasn't remembered even half way respectfully because of what the chantry/society found embarrassing or simply not useful for their propoganda. We are then forced to confront how our inquisitor will be remembered and if anything we've done throughout the game will truly affect meaningful change in the long run.

Second we have the Avaar. You are thrown into a society which is completely antithetical to the chantry and circle teachings and yet...they work. Spirit possession is a regular occurance and one that ends peacefully and willingly when a mage comes of age. Spirits are honoured and spoken to regularly by those trained to do so, listened to even. There's no fear of having too many mages either, being a mage is seen as truly a gift. And then! You have the fact that they respond peacefully to whatever race you are. Meanwhile, your companions are freaking the fuck out: take Bull, Sera, Viv in particularly and they are straight up not having a good time. To a lesser extent, neither are Dorian, Blackwall, Varric or Cassandra. The only companions who seem truly comfortable with the society in the frostback basin are Solas and Cole who both obviously have grown up outside the current reigning cultures in Thedas and so have no hang ups the Avaar are forcing them to confront.

And these two themes together mutually inform one another. You are left with a sense of what society could be without the reigning beliefs on mages/magic/spirits by hanging out with the Avaar but then by uncovering more about the last inquisitor you are shown both what society is and how hard it would be to ever change anything even if you - the most important person in Thedas currently - are leading by example as a mage or a non-human. All of that can be so easily erased after all, forgotten and made more convenient.

And I just love that. I love the whole dlc. I love it so goddamn much.

[dareth-sh1ral]

I could fix him. I could make him worse. Good for you. I could gently take the weapon out of his shaking, blood-soaked hand and hold him until he finally believes that he doesn't have to be defined by all the ways the world has hurt him. Then we could ruin the lives of everyone who has ever treated him like he's a monster who doesn't deserve love.

[dareth-sh1ral]

Solas - "No real god need prove himself"

I think I've finally found some sort of consistency in my style ahah!

[dareth-sh1ral]

A wee sample of my next one-shot, in which Varric has finally pestered Solas into being social for once.

--

Iron Bull was the first to catch his notice. It was inevitable. Even in the dim light his hulking frame loomed large above the rest. 

Seated on either side of him were two of The Chargers. Solas recognized Krem at once. The other—a male human with broad shoulders, stubble, and shaggy blonde hair—he knew by his looks but could not name. Solas had seen him on more than one occasion around Skyhold, as well as Haven, but the two had never interacted in any meaningful sense. 

Sidled up on Krem’s right was Sera, who appeared to be already drunk. Red faced, she had an arm thrown over The Charger’s shoulders and was talking his ear off about something or other. Krem appeared to be feigning only a polite interest, likely because he had yet to make any sense of what was being said. Even sober, Sera could be difficult to follow. But drunk? Solas could only imagine what atrocities she might inflict upon the spoken word in such a state.

Farther to the right, presently attempting to pry the drunken Sera from her chokehold on Krem, was Blackwall. He appeared somehow smaller than usual. Solas quickly noted that it was the lack of armor. Instead of his usual studded gambeson, he was dressed more casually in a simple linen tunic and doublet. The lack of his extra bulk left his normally stalwart physique diminished in a way that Solas found inexplicably amusing.

Farther down the table he noticed Cole, owing to the signature oversized brim of his hat. The Spirit was crouched in his chair, legs folded in front of him with his hands resting neatly atop his knees. It was only a moment after his eyes found on Cole that the Spirit looked up and took note of him as well, having likely sensed his presence. 

His face lit up—what little if it could be seen—and he exclaimed, “Solas!” 

The whole table fell silent. Those already facing the Elf looked up. Those who weren’t, twisted around in their chairs and stared in mild disbelief. 

There was a faint gasp as Dorian, seated opposite Cole, brought a hand to his chest, evoking the image of a prim Orlesian clutching their pearls in the face of scandal. Given Dorian’s flare for showmanship, this was likely the intended effect. 

“Is that…Solas? In a tavern? As I live and breathe!” 

__

Been struggling to get this one going forever. Had an outline stagnating for weeks and finally started making some headway this morning.

[dareth-sh1ral]

[dareth-sh1ral]

Emotions.

[dareth-sh1ral]

“pretty boy :3” i say. to my screen. on which there is a middle aged man deep in despair

[dareth-sh1ral]

“Your abilities declare the world real. Who, if not the Maker of this world, could grant such a gift?”

[dareth-sh1ral]

oh, josie!

[dareth-sh1ral]

i think that killing a dragon should have catastrophic nuclear-fallout level environmental consequences tbh. their blood should scorch and wither the earth with fire and poison, the toxic fumes released as they decay should choke the land and all nearby living creatures, and the entire landscape where they fell should be transformed into a blighted wasteland where bleached leviathan bones loom upwards out of the ground as a warning that can be seen from miles away, the boundary markers of an exclusion zone.

[dareth-sh1ral]

Y'all are just upset bc your horrible flat water has driven you into the depths of madness

Guy about to invent sparkling water: water is so good but I wish that it tasted terrible and hated me

[dareth-sh1ral]

doctors will be like. yeah. there’s something so so so so wrong with you. idk what and I don’t really care

[dareth-sh1ral]

“pretty boy” is such a good and fun gender i’m a big fan

[dareth-sh1ral]

sorry for logging on just to talk about that man. Will happen again

[dareth-sh1ral]

The Inquisitor, as a bit: how often do think about the Elven Empire?

Solas, trying not to reveal that he is in fact god:

[dareth-sh1ral]

I love the term Solasmancer bc it makes me sound like I have magical powers directly related to Solas