#Ben Bard

[mariocki]

The Ghost Ship (1943)

"The man is dead. With his death, the waters of the sea are open to us. But there will be other deaths, and the agony of dying, before we come to land again."

[letterboxd-loggd]

7th Heaven (1927) Frank Borzage

May 24th 2023

[viamutationis]

OH GREY WARDEN, WE'RE REALLY IN IT NOW.

ID in alt text, notes and oc infodump under the cut! PLEASE ask me about them they're my new babygirl of the week

Yeah. Ben-Hassrath Cousland is wild, I know. This was one of those 3 am thoughts that became a beloved oc and now they're my canon protag. Basically: She was being trained to be House Cousland's left hand to spy within the noble courts and intercept threats to her family's rule, and a large part of that meant being covertly sent to Orlais to train as a bard. Buuuut the bardmaster she studied under was an undercover Hissrad, and she wound up being converted to the Qun by her. Teenage Laurentia was in a spot where, like every kid, she was questioning the Andrastian beliefs she was raised with and all the unfair things she noticed in her society, so she was very open to the Qun.

Her role once she was sent back home was basically just to send reports detailing the inner workings of the Ferelden nobility and to be aware of any Tal-Vashoth activity in the area. Pretty benign shit, and the former task is what she was doing for her family anyway. Still recruited by the Wardens the normal way, via Duncan doing his "come with me if you want to live" shtick after the fam dies. None of the Blight Crew find her out save for Leliana, because Leli knows everything. She only reveals it to Sten just as he's about to hop on a ship back home LMAOOO.

They're genuinely very compassionate and sweet. A lil whimsical. Highly loyal and protective. Very lawful good (emphasis on lawful). It's a weird sort of internal reconciling - they are genuinely kind to most people and love listening to others' issues and helping them out. It just so happens that this makes them an excellent spy, because they're exactly the sort of person people feel comfortable opening up to, and they see no issue with passing relevant information on to the powers they spy for. The kindness is genuine, but it's also a tool, if that makes sense. Their duty comes before any attachments. On that Master Coercion grindset.

No romance because they're aro, but they do have a little homoerotic espionage cat and mouse goin on with Leliana (singing campfire songs and trading stories and braiding each others' hair included). They get along with all their companions besides Morrigan and Oghren, and even Morrigan is more just.. cordial passive aggression.

They exist in the same worldstate as my Orlesian Warden-Commander Gavriel! He's a veteran warden who joins them on the road after Lothering because his ass snuck into Ferelden to help the Wardens solo, and then he'll later become the WC while they become Arlessa because they have more political experience and he has more military experience.

They generally make the nicey nice choices, albeit not where magic is concerned, and even then it's purely out of an abundance of caution. They do NOT annul the Circle, they do that secret third option where you tell Greagoir there could still be blood mages so he puts the mages into quarantine and Wynne still joins you but the game counts it as siding with the Templars. They let Isolde kill Connor, rip lil dude. (Not like they have a choice, they would rather that than the blood magic anyway, but they kill Jowan soooooo.) Besides that, all nicey choices. Bhelen on the throne, Anvil destroyed, Zathrian reconciles and everybody lives, Ashes are not tainted, Loghain recruited, Alistair and Anora rule jointly, Gavriel and Morrigan know they'd never agree to the Dark Ritual so they do it behind Laurentia's back and nobody dies lmao.

Small notes on their disabilities: Wynne was the healer that did their cleft lip surgeries as a kid!! Their last surgery was when they were 6, so they do remember her :D & their hearing aids are lyrium-infused lazurite, the runes are all enchantments that combine to make it collect and amplify sound like an actual HA does. I love bullshitting magic technology.

Their mabari is named Princess, because they got her when they were 10, okay.

[thebeardlyben]

Some recent commissions!

[taliesin-the-bored]

"What's the deal with Taliesin?"

A somewhat lengthy ramble about the most powerful (or most arrogant) character in Arthurian legend

One the one hand, his powers exceed Merlin’s—Merlin describes himself as “second only to Taliesin” (in “Ymddiddan Myrtin a Talyessin”), and Taliesin claims to have profound knowledge of the cosmos dating back to Creation (he says poetic inspiration was created at the same time as fresh milk, dew, and acorns). He knows everything and can shapeshift into pretty much anything, if the catalogues he gives are anything to go by. He survived being swallowed alive, being thrown in the sea ("Ystoria Taliesin"), and (it seems) going on a raid of the Otherworld during which all but seven of Arthur’s many warriors died ("Preiddeu Annwn"). Then or at some other point while he was in Annwn, he pierced 8,000 men with spears he got from Heaven ("Cad Goddeu"). That puts his casualty count above that of anyone else I can think of in Arthurian legend (They fall "by the hundred" to Bedwyr--"Pa Gur"--but by "forty score hundred" to Taliesin). For all we know, he's indestructible; from what he claims, he's omniscient.

On the other hand, he sometimes seems like Sir Kay Xtreme Bard Edition with Extra Arrogance. In The Book of Taliesin, he has a really bitter (one-sided?) feud with other scholars and monks (some variant on "pathetic men of letters” appears many a time), who he accuses of ignorance because they don’t know the answers to various questions he never gives the answers to himself, and he loses or alienates everyone until the only person who visits him is a dude named “Goronwy, from the dales of Edrywy” ("Cad Goddeu"). Not much is known about this Goronwy, though it’s been speculated that he’s the speaker in “Claf Abercuawg”, in which case he’s an ailing societal outcast and probably couldn’t get anyone to talk to him except Taliesin. There’s a strong pathos to this—time, and maybe hubris, came with a fall, leaving him somewhat like a washed-up starlet or a burned-out wunderkind, abandoned now that he’s no longer the shiny new thing.

On the third hand, which I don't have but Taliesin could probably manage if he felt like it, much of this is from his point of view, and we have no way to prove he's telling the truth. When he tells his own origin story, he claims that he was Frankensteined together by enchanters at the dawn of time. This flatly contradicts "Ystoria Taliesin", so either there are multiple canons for his life story, he's talking as the Awen rather than as himself (in which case he's still contradicting himself--he also says it's a creation of the Lord), or he's lying about some of it. Why he would want to is anyone's guess, since he is quite powerful regardless.

If we don't take Taliesin at his word about his ability to kaiju battle giant toad monsters ("Cad Goddeu"), or take it with a grain of salt, then what are his accomplishments apart from self-preservation and repaying a life debt to Elphin? I am by no means an expert on him, but in what I've read, he does almost nothing in anyone else's story. It's almost like, apart from one or two times, he isn't able to find a way to use his powers for anyone else's good.

Then again, what is his primary power? Shapeshifting seems obvious (too obvious). He uses it for self-preservation (which is valid), for the heck of it (maybe), and/or for really dubious ends (see "Angar Kyfundawt" if you really must know, but trust me, you don't want to). Fighting is a less talked about ability of his. He can cause a lot of destruction (according to himself). It's not really clear what he fights for, though the various legendary kings he hangs out with are probably implied. Then, there's...

...the Awen. Inspiration. Poetry. He can do poetry, and he can do it very well. That is what he boasts about the most, and his boasts seem pretty justified. He’s Taliesin Ben Beirdd, Taliesin “Chief of Bards”, not Taliesin “the Shapeshifter” or Taliesin “Best of Warriors”, even though he may be both of those things. Shapeshifting only benefits him, and he's seen the horrors of war more than most people: his close friend Merlin killed his own nephew in a battle. When Taliesin fights, he kills terrifying numbers of people, maybe without full control (whether he's fully cognizant while he's using his powers is an interesting question which I won't get into right now). Perhaps that's why he doesn't interfere with others' adventures much: he is too powerful to do less harm than good for the people around him and for the narrative tension. Or maybe he just doesn't feel like it, or he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they just don't want him there anymore, or his role as a teller of stories is more important than his role as a person in them. 

[afrogwhocantdraw]

I doubt anybody will know this song but sheep in wolf's clothing by Marilyn mei is so Ben Clarke it's actually crazy

[trans-xianxian]

tagged by @llycaons to make a poll of my top 5 favorite characters tyyy hehe

hmm I will tag @qujianglin @enok1 @mqfx @recapitulation @rosasappho @vampirekinn

[columba1234]

Oliver Thistle 💚🕊🎻🌿 & Cherry Thistle ❤️⚔️🎸🍒

Music boy and Mercenary girl Oliver: violin and musical prodigy and nerd, serious and stuck-up on the outside but insane and rebellious on the inside. He is introverted, creative, disciplined and passionate about becoming a singer, conductor and violinist but hates being king (or anything related to leadership outside of conducting in general,). Oliver panics easily, is a perfectionist, and can be inconsiderate to others' needs. But if somebody asks him anything about music and violins in general; he would be delighted (but not to those ain't practising) . He's a waistcoat enthusiast like his great-grandfather (Victor - Oliver is Granpapa Thistle but more recessive and needs to be awakened lol)

Cherry: polar opposite of Oliver: laidback, not serious on the outside but is on the inside, aviation and ladybird nerd. Sporty and a natural warrior (she even has one as a pet and rides it as her "motorbike". And that ladybird later to be revelaed to be one of the canon characters in BAHLK, but wait and see) .She loves to rule and be the leader, extroverted and not as disciplined as her brother. Unlike Oliver who usually follows rules, Cherry likes to break them. She's not as stuck-up and perfectionistic as Oliver

Both of them are equally stubborn and competitive lol.

Their personalities can (and will) change in the development in my AU thought so treat it as a snapshot of the process.

[thaimolpiyas]

started playing divinity original sin 2. obviously i love ifan also here is my godwoken arthur + bg3 stuff

[smashpages]

Out this week: A Last Goodbye (Band of Bards, $5.99): 

In this one-shot by writer Travis B. Hill and artist Ben Humeniuk, a man and his dog travel across an apocalyptic Earth to visit home one last time — only to encounter a group of mutant cannibals targeting one of the last surviving human communities.

See what else is arriving at your local comic shop this week.

[seeyabythemarina]

Fall Little Benny Boo Fall

The decrease in fairy population happens between the 20 years of Auradons creation. Beast anti-magic bans and teachings of the fairy killing words is killing many. In get more concerning when some fairy die from no belief from just a few months and not years. When the idea of child from villains on the isle of the lost is learned about Peter and tink rush and take the kids.

Not trusting Aurdon and neverland being morally dubious like the kids are used to they live their pretty well.

When Ben gives the proclamation and invite for the VK's the fairies are scared that Auradon will convince the VK's the forgot magic. They already were consider assassinating beast for how he's ruin things for magic creatures so Ben might not be far out of risk.

[platearmourpiglet]

Can somebody explain to me why they have a German accent??? 🤣🤣🤣 I mean hearing Ben go Ja!! is hilarous but...are they parodying a specific band...?

[thebeardlyben]

Happy #PortfolioGay everyone!

[taliesin-the-bored]

And now, for the most niche poll I’ve ever posted or even encountered on this website:

[flutteringfable]

yeah because i get to see u again venven :3 <3