#Warden 30 Days Challenge

[littlerune]

day one of the 30 day dragon age art challenge // an oath

[dgrailwar]

Round Δ, Day 3 - 'Faker' versus 'Gatekeeper'

"Heh, I've been itchin' to go at you, Gatekeeper. Guardian of the Threshhold, my ass. You're just a lapdog, or is that a 'guard dog'?"

Without a verbal response, the warden Gatekeeper drew her blade in a lightning fast iai, cracking the ground just before the Faker. Faker stepped back, staring at the crack before her mouth split into a wide grin, eyes glinting with maddened excitement.

"Struck a nerve, did I! As a fellow Servant of the two ancients, I challenge you! My True Name is Hephaestion, though even that is but a shadow of the truth! Warden of Hell, meet the power of the drunken god, and the curses passed down from the titan of witchcraft!"

Such was a declaration of war made by the retainer of the Conquering King, she who served the mad god Dionysus and engaged in violence and revelry alike. The epitome of hedonism, standing before the arbiter who had judged countless hedonists. A death sentence, in every sense of the word.

The faker let out a devastating war cry, slamming her spear on the ground as a massive chariot formed near her.

Crimson lightning flared and struck the ground, rending it asunder and scorching it bare, as skeletal beings beginning to claw their way out of the ground and lumber towards the sparrow, who took in a deep breath, sharp eyes reading herself.

"…Ready, Enjaku Battoujutsu Esoteric…the Crimson Vermillion Beni-Enma marches forth!"

The boosts in play are...

Hephaestion: +10%

Vermilion Beni-Enma: +5%

Servant Skills:

Hephaestion (Faker)

For He Is Another Iskandar (Fake) (A Rank): When engaged in a One-on-One, gain a +20% boost, increased to 30% when in a Free-for-All.

High-Speed Divine Words (B Rank): Demerits against her have their effectiveness cut in half. (Note: Skills that 'cut' boosts, such as Gatekeeper's skill, do not count as 'demerits').

Noble Colors - Mystic Eyes of Compulsion (Unranked): Opponents against her are struck with a -10% demerit.

Vermilion Beni-Enma (Gatekeeper)

Suzume Gaeshi - Suzume Rokurin (A Rank): A special technique that punishes the wicked by first cutting their tongues, and then the rest of their bodies. When facing against a Servant of 'non-Lawful Good' alignment, cut their boosts in half.

Faker is categorized as 'Non-Lawful Good'!

Mind's Eye (Fake) (A Rank): When losing against an opponent, if score is within 5% of the opponent above her, avoid taking damage.

Enjaku Battoujutsu Esoteric (EX Rank): Gain a +10% boost to your poll results, increasing by 5% per non-'Lawful Good' aligned enemy present. Additionally, those who fall to Gatekeeper's blade (as in, lose against her in combat) are instantly killed and sent to hell. Such is the fate of the wicked.

[mortallyminiaturewerewolf]

November Mini Challenge 19/30

Each day brings me one step closer to the goal, have this bootleg Gouf Guy

Another Clan Wolverine Zeta Galaxy mech. My (early draft) lore for how Clan Wolverine still exist is they narrowly dodged their annihilation, perhaps a more traditional member merked McEvedy and took over, but are still something of an outlier in Clan Culture probably on the same level as Hell's Horses with their Combined arms obsession. They'd probably end up being Wardens and potentially a close ally of Warden Clan Wolf.

As for who is the Not Named Clan in this reality? It'd be easy to pick one of the less important Clans and just be rid of them but I wanna think a lil bigger.

[felassan]

Spacelab9 have revealed more details about the upcoming Dragon Age Vinyl box set. (It's a 70 track collection which will include songs from DA:O, DAII, DA:I, DLC and also some DA:I bard songs.)

I found this new info blurb about the cover art really interesting 👁️ (emphasis mine):

Deluxe package features all-original artwork by Dragon Age Concept Director Ramil Sunga and Lead UX Artist Danny Richardson, created exclusively for this album set. The beautifully detailed artwork presents a pictorial timeline following the lore of the Dragon Age series, beginning at the dawn of the Golden City, throughout the City's Fall and culminating in its re-emergence as the Black City, seat of the Old Gods. [source]

hello??? (the announcement blogpost for the vinyl contained the flavor text "From the land of Thedas, at the dawn of the Golden City".)

they also announced that the pre-sale for the box set was scheduled to begin April 27th (can't see it atm unless I'm missing it, maybe it's not yet started?) and that on the BioWare Gear Store it will begin on May 10th. each outlet will offer their own exclusive color variant of the vinyl.

lastly they also posted the full track listing (emphasis mine):

"DISC 1 SIDE A [DRAGON AGE ORIGINS]

1. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS (2:49) 2. ELVES AT THE MERCY OF MAN (1:21) 3. RUINS OF OSTAGAR (1:18) 4. THE COMMON DWARF (1:24) 5. THE PARTY CAMP (0:44) 6. THE DALISH (1:18) 7. DARKSPAWN IN THE WILDS (1:13) 8. HUMAN NOBILITY (1:21) 9. URN OF SACRED ASHES (1:01) 10. JOIN THE GREY WARDENS (1:53) 11. BATTLE THE DARKSPAWN HORDES (1:05) 12. MAGES IN THEIR CHANTRY (2:01) 13. LELIANNA'S SONG (2:33)

DISC 1 SIDE B [DRAGON AGE ORIGINS]

1. THE CHANTRY'S HUBRIS (3:16) 2. THE NATURE OF THE BEAST (1:30) 3. TAVERN BRAWL (1:15) 4. THE DALISH ELVES ENCAMPMENT (1:18) 5. FERELDEN AT WAR (2:57) 6. KING EDRIN (1:32) 7. CHALLENGE AN ARCH DEMON (3:12) 8. THE CORONATION (1:03) 9. I AM THE ONE (HIGH FANTASY VERSION) (4:02)

DISC 2 SIDE A [DRAGON AGE II]

1. DRAGON AGE II MAIN THEME (2:03) 2. HAWKE FAMILY THEME (2:00) 3. QUNARI ON THE RISE (2:04) 4. LOVE SCENE (1:39) 5. VISCOUNT (1:29) 6. TAVERN MUSIC (2:11) 7. KIRKWALL ARRIVAL (5:13) 8. ROGUE HEART (3:12)

DISC 2 SIDE B [DRAGON AGE II]

1. JOURNEY TO DEEP FEAR (2:55) 2. MAGE PRIDE (4:03) 3. KIRKWALL TOWN ACT 2 EXPLORATION (2:05) 4. DARK DAWN (3:22) 5. FENRIS THEME (2:30) 6. NIGHT ATTACK AND VICTORY (1:56) 7. DESTINY OF LOVE (3:25)

DISC 3 SIDE A [DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION]

1. DRAGON AGE INQUISITION THEME (2:52) 2. THE WRATH OF HEAVEN (5:25) 3. ESCAPE FROM THE FADE (1:14) 4. CALLING THE INQUISITION (1:59) 5. IN HUSHED WHISPERS (4:49) 6. THE WESTERN APPROACH (2:07) 7. JOURNEY TO SKYHOLD (1:48)

DISC 3 SIDE B [DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION]

1. THE DAWN WILL COME (1:58) 2. ORLAIS THEME (2:44) 3. THE SCAR (0:56) 4. SIEGE OF ADAMANT (1:14) 5. WICKED EYES AND WICKED HEARTS (3:35) 6. THEDAS LOVE THEME (1:59) 7. CHAMPIONS OF THE JUST (3:55) 8. SACRIFICE (1:01) 9. RETURN TO SKYHOLD (2:13) 10. EPILOGUE (1:10)

DISC 4 SIDE A (BONUS DLC TRACKS)

1. I AM THE ONE (DARK FANTASY VERSION) [DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS] (4:10) 2. MAIN THEME [DAI DESCENT DLC] (2:58) 3. AFTERMATH [DAI DESCENT DLC] (1:29) 4. DARK SOLAS THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:01) 5. QUNARI ATMOSPHERE [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (2:41) 6. LOST ELF THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:58) 7. D'READ KODA (1:08) [HIDDEN TRACK]

DISC 4 SIDE B (DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION - THE BARD SONGS)

1. ENCHANTERS (3:23) 2. GREY WARDEN (2:12) 3. I AM THE ONE (1:58) 4. ONCE WE WERE (2:10) 5. RISE (1:26) 6. SERA (1:45) 7. FALL OF THE MAGISTER (3:01) 8. SCOUT LACE HARDING (2:08) 9. THE SLIGHTEST ONES (2:28)" [source]

👁️ Hidden track - "D'Read Koda"? ^^ Koda like a coda? (of interest here is that the recent Mass Effect vinyl collection contained some previously unreleased and some rearranged/remastered music.)

[source]

[friendly-books]

Dresden files Brief cases and Monster live blog

Dresden files Brief cases and Monster live blog

A fistful of warlock

The American West was not the most miserable land I have ever traveled but it came near it.” pg. 16 Excuse me what nonsense are you talking about Luccio? The Midwest is great.

I like the nacken

“The warlock would hide in the rough part town-his kind could rarely find sanctuary among stolid, sober townsfolk” pg. 18 His kind? Kind? He’s still a person.

Cool spectacles

“The current Captain of the Wardens, a man named McCoy, a man with great deal more powerful and experience than me, had brought down three.” pg. 24 Eb mention

“Not only that, but such an action would brake one of the Council’s unspoken laws: Wizards were expected to minimize the use of  their abilities in the presence of magic-ignorant mortals.” pg. 25 Harry breaking spoken and unspoken laws

“My name is Wyatt Earp” said the deputy “And I think I’m the law” pg. 29 I like Wyatt

“Thule Society” pg. 30 Isn’t that the thing Thomas and Ivy is apart of?

“He will be fairly tried, and then, I expect, beheaded for his crimes.”

Earp examined the fingers nails of his right hand. “A real fair trial?” pg. 34 Yep real fair :|

“Well Bill’s partner” pg. 38 GAY COWBOYS!

“You’re willing to challenge an entire town to a fight? For the sake of your friend’s salon?” pg. 41 Is…is Luccio type people who stand up for the right thing? Like Harry and Earp. No one wonder she and Morgan didn’t get together

“It was then that the drum began beating, a slow, steady cadence in the darkness.” pg. 42 Oh no necromancers

“Rage, pure and undiluted, rage that this man, this creature, would spurn his responsibility to humanity and distort the power that created the universe itself into something so obscene, so foul.” pg. 51 Whoa there Luccio let’s not call people ‘creatures’ that’s how dehumanizing begins at that’s bad

“Kemmler” pg. 55 Oh no him that’s not his last time around

B is for Bigfoot

“Volkswagen beetle” pg. 60 Blue Beetle!

“I’m not a moron, usually.” pg. 60 Ha

“The whole PI gig is mostly about patience.” pg. 60 It’s fun seeing Harry being a pi after several books of him not being one

“My jaw dropped open. I mean it literally dropped open.” pg. 62 Ha

Bigfoot!

I like Dr. Helena Pounder

“But how did I hookup with a BigFoot?” pg. 67 I mean we were all wondering so…

“People can overreact to things when their kids get involved.” pg. 71 Yep you’ll find out soon enough Harry

“I winced. I knew where this was going. I’d seen it before, when it had been me with the book and the lunch tray.” pg. 73 Poor Harry poor Irwin

I like Irwin

I don’t like Couch Pete

“He is a Whitestone,” he said “They sharpen their instincts upon him. He is good for them.” pg. 84 He’s a child

I like Harry’s speech to Irwin

Go Irwin!

AAAA Wizardly

“They all look so darn young.” The close second was “Myers God I’m I getting older” pg. 106 Poor Harry

“The war had simply made the penalty for not learning quite a bit steeper.” pg. 107 Poor kids

I like Harry teaching the young wardens

“Oh God” she said “I think I like you”

“Give it time” pg. 117 Ha

“I’ve never met anyone who was breathing who I thought was too far gone to help.” pg. 122 Aw Harry

Boogeyman

“Only kids can sense them” pg. 123 Oh interesting

I’m glad the family got better

I was a teenager Bigfoot

“I’m in the ninety ninth percentile for height, but this guy was tall.” pg. 144 Yep

“You have an unsophisticated sense of humor.” pg. 145 Yes he does

River Shoulders!

“He was a good-looking man” pg. 151 Bi Harry 39

I can’t believe Irwin’s already a teenager

“I can’t think of anything sexier first impression than a man quoting Yakko and Wakko Warner” pg. 154 Ha

“Optio” pg. 159 New spell

“It was beautiful magic, which was rare for me.” pg. 159 Aw

“My record for going without sleep was just under six days” pg. 168 Harry you need sleep

“Wah” I said, Bruce Lee style” pg. 172 Ha

“You used black magic. To grow hair.” pg. 178 Seriously :|

“And I had no intention of turning anyone over to the tender mercies of the Wardens if I could possibly avoid.” pg. 179 Yep

Curses

“I mean I didn’t take my feet down off my desk or anything. But I payed attention.” pg. 184 Ha

“Mr. Dovovan” I said “no one does discretion like me.” pg. 189 Ha

More lore yay!

“Weregoats” pg. 202 Ha

I like Jill

“Gwynn ap Nudd” pg. 211 Where have I heard that name before

“ruggedly handsome” pg. 211 Bi Harry 40

Since when did Harry get so many titles?

“I’d like to see them to beat out the Yankees.”

“Who wouldn’t? Bloody Yankees” pg. 213 Ha and yes beat the Yankees

I like Geynn

Yes baseball is very serious business

“I have this weird thing where I take professional ethics seriously.” pg. 219 Yep

“They’re going to fight through it eventually.” pg. 222 Yep and they did in 2016

“Gwynn ap Nupp’s handsome face broke into a smile” pg. 223 Bi Harry 41

Even Hand

EVEN HAND TIME BABY!!!

I’m so excited for this short story

“A successful murder is like a successful restaurant: Ninety percent of it is about location, location, location” pg. 226 Ha and I probably shouldn’t have laughed at that

“They knelt over a large faded stain the concrete floor, left on the floor by the hypocritical White Council of Wizardly during their last execution.” pg. 226 Is Marcone making a point by having this executive here? How does Marcone know about the execution? And yes the White Council is hypocritical. We now have three canonical warehouses in all of Chicago. They just cycle through them.

“The man was young and good looking.” pg. 226 Is…is Marcone Bi? Gay? Bi Marcone 1

Oh Marcone is doing the execution himself

Why Boston? That’s so far away

Mr. Morell is the mob boss of Chicago

“I run the whores” pg. 227 Marcone that’s rude to say. It’s either sex worker or seamstress

Marcone your putting the one alive guy in a shipping container with his dead colleagues.

“He twitched his chin in the slight motion that he used for a nod when he disproved of my actions but intended to obey be anyway.” pg.227 Marcone knows Hendricks well

“Location, location, location” pg. 228 Ha nice call back

“Obviously, I am not Harry Dresden” pg. 228 First Harry Dresden mention

“My name is something I rarely trouble to remember, but for most of my adult life, I have been called John Marcone.” pg. 228 John Marcone isn’t his actual name!?

“I’m not even possessed of the mystic abilities of a mortal wizard.” pg. 228 Not yet

Yes they broke Marcone rules about kids

“He was hunched over a laptop too small for him, plugging away at his thesis” pg. 230 Hendricks has a thesis?! Cool

“The problem was young and attractive.” pg. 230 Bi Marcone 2

Justine!

“You are a sometime associate of Harry Dresden” I said “Given his proclivities about those he considers to be under his aegis, it is sensible to identify as many of them as possible.” pg. 232 Of course Marcone keeps track of Harry and his friends. And Marcone you do the same with your employees.

I like that Marcone renovates old buildings instead of tearing them down.

Oh the Formor

“Précis please,” pg. 234 Of course Marcone know French

Hendricks knows how to use a sword!?

“I don’t grant favors” You don’t? What about helping save the thralls in White Knight? Or giving Harry info in Changes?

“He blasted the door into a cloud of flying splinters with what I presumed with magic.” pg. 235 Ha

“For God’s sake

At least the vampires would call for an appointment.” pg. 235 Ha

“After a few visits from Dresden and his ilk I’ve invested in cheap, light doors at dramatic (as opposed to tactical) entry points.” pg. 235 Ha and glad to see Harry left an impression. Has Harry noticed the flimsy doors?

“Sir. Please” pg. 236 If Harry was the one asking and saying please Marcone would cave and agree

“Is it so much to ask for civility?” pg. 236 Ha and you should be used to this with Harry

Ohhh copper circle nice

“you are property. You have no rights in the current situation” pg. 241 Marcone Justine isn’t property she’s a person

“I am not a humanitarian. When I offer charity it is for tax purposes.” pg. 241 Lying to yourself Marcone. Again what about the Raith deeps? What about the info he gave Harry in Changes? No wait this takes place before Changes. What about Amanda? What about saving Harry when Gard said he was to die?

“Hendricks looked at me sharply. He didn’t say anything he didn’t have to. I already knew the tone of whatever he would say. Are there no prisons? perhaps. Or, no man was an island, entire of itself. It tolls for thee. On and on.” pg. 243 Thank you Hendricks for being Marcone’s jimmy cricket/concussion

Yes she is a child

“It is, with the possible exception of Dresden’s home, the most secure location in the city.” pg. 245 Oh interesting that Marcone considers his safe house the second most secure place. He clearly respects Harry given his assessment of his abilities. How does Marcone know that Harry has the best? Could Gard not make the room the best?

“Honestly” pg. 246 Ha he’s so sarcastic

“They make the anti technology effect Dresden puts off looks like mild sunspot activity” pg. 248 Harry mention again that’s the fifth time and Harry isn’t even here

“I first handed in my patriotically delusional youth” pg. 250 Marcone was in the military?!

Oh no Hendricks :(

Ouch Marcone broke his arm

“Given a choice between that egocentric drivel and a broken arm, I prefer the latter.” pg. 253 Ha

Interesting armor that Gard has

“Be a dear and burn down the building” I said

 She appeared by my desk looking bruised, exhausted, and functional. She lifted both eyebrows. “Was that a joke?

“Apparently,” I said “Doubtless the result of triumph and adrenaline.”

“My word” she said. She looked startled” pg. 261 Marcone’s funny and why is Gard surprised? Harry and Marcone banter all the time

“Make it look like an accident.” pg. 261 So insurance fraud. What would Harry be under acts of God?

“quarter of a million dollars” pg. 261 Marcone just has that kind of money?

“He seemed fine by the time he left, growling at Gard as she fussed over him.” pg. 262 Aw

“To say nothing of the fact that the bullets themselves are rare.” pg. 262 Interesting

“Dear child,” I said “I am a criminal. One very good way to cover up a crime is to commit an another, more obvious one.” pg. 263 Marcone is so smart

“You might consider speaking to Father Forthill at St. Mary of the Angles. The Church appears to have some sort of program to place those endangered by the supernatural into hiding.” pg. 264 Interesting

“I debated putting a bullet in her head but decided against it.” pg. 265 Marcone no and besides didn’t you just talk about Harry and those under his protection

“If she should speak of today’s events to Dresden…” pg. 265 Sixth Harry mention. Did Justine tell Harry? I do wish Harry and Justine interacted more

“They were there to kill Harry Dresden.” pg. 265 Seventh Harry mention Bit dramatic much. I don’t know if all that would kill Harry. The bombs in his office didn’t do it. The sprinkler system might work. Not sure about Gard and the magic bullets. Besides it’s so dramatic. If you want to kill Harry just do what Kincaid did. Sniper rifle but this time aim for the head. This whole plan involves Harry attacking Marcone on his home turf and using magic instead of a gun.

“I would test myself against Dresden in earnest on day” pg. 265 Eighth Harry mention. Besides if they wanted to kill each other they could have done ages ago. Harry doesn’t even threaten Marcone that badly like he did with Marva. Eight mentions of Harry Dresden in one story.

“Location location location” pg. 266 Ha

Bigfoot on campus

“It’s coffee flavored coffee,”

“No mocha?”

“Fuck mocha”

“Thank god” I said. “Black” pg. 267 Ha

“Am I under arrest?”

“That’s what we’re going to talk about” pg. 268 Ha 

“you could explain why I found you in the middle of an orgy.”

“Well” I said “if you’re going to be in an orgy the middle is the best spot isn’t it?” pg. 268 Ha

“Maybe you could explain why there was a car on the fourth floor of the dorm”

“Classic college prank” I said

“Usually when that happens, it hasn’t made big holes in the exterior wall.”

“Someone was avoiding cliche?” pg. 269 Ha

“What about all the blood?”

“There were no injuries, were there?”

“No”

“Then who cares? Some film student watched  Carrie too many times.” pg. 269 Ha

“Six separate calls in the past three hours with a Bigfoot sighting on campus. Bigfoot. What do you know about that?

“Well kids these days with their internets and their video games and their iPods. Who knows what they thought they saw.” pg. 269 Ha

“They almost never get violated, and when they do, it’s a big deal.” pg. 273 Yeah like starting a war

“In the Midwest, if you show up to a college town on a weekend, you risk running into a football game. In my experience, that resulted in universal problems with traffic, availability hotel rooms, and drunken football hooligans.

Or wait: Soccer is the one with hooligans. Drunken American football fans are just…drunks I guess.” pg. 277 Ha

“There was nothing in particular that should have caused my hormones to rage.” pg. 281 White court vampire calling it now

“They were becoming increasingly flecked with motes of molten silver” pg. 284 I knew it!

Wait I don’t think she knows oh no

“I couldn’t answer him for a second, the air felt so close. The last time I’d felt this much latent waiting power, I’d been standing next to my mentor Ebenezar McCoy, when he was gathering his strength for a spell.” pg. 292 Eb mention

“And this organization called the Paranet” pg. 293 Paranet! This is what I’m talking about information sharing yes

“People don’t want to know the truth. That makes it simple to hide. Wow, ten minutes? Really? I guess I’m not an Internetty person.”

“Internetty” Irwin said, seriously “I guess you aren’t” pg. 294 Ha

“So how come Kid Bigfoot wasn’t dead?” pg. 302 Interesting maybe because he’s got do much life energy Irwin didn’t die?

“The girl was in love with Irwin” pg. 302 I wonder how Connie can touch Irwin without getting burn?

“My son has joined himself to a parasite.”

“I felt a flash of milf outrage” pg. 302 RiverShoulders she’s a person

“I’ll give you till midnight to leave the state. After that you’re gone. One way or another”

“Hang on, I’m terrified let me catch my breath.”

“I react poorly to those who threaten my family’s well being, Dresden.”

“Yeah. You’re a regular Ozzie Nelson. John Walton. Ben Cartwright.

“Excuse me?”

“Mr. Drummond? Charlie…in charge? No?”

“What are you blabbing about?”

“Hells bells, man. Don’t any of you White Court bozos ever watch television? I’m giving you pop-reference golf here. Gold.” pg. 309 Ha

Wild Bill!

“Also, my pants had shrunk by several sizes.” pg. 323 What? Why?

Go Riversholders! He threw a car!

“Don’t be a moron Harry,” I said “You came for the kid. He’s safe. That’s all you were obligated to do. Let it g- Oh who am I kidding. There’s a girl.” pg. 334 Ha

“Wait. A…what? Am I going to sparkle or something?”

“God, no” said Irwin and I together” pg. 340

Bombshell

“I miss my boss” pg. 345 Poor Molly :(

“Harry wouldn’t have felt that. Harry would have saved the day. He would have smashed the Formor goons around like bowling pins, picking the kid up like some kind of serial-movie hero, and taken him to safety.” pg. 346 Hero worship

Justine!

“When you’re in magic, people always assume you do must be connected to it. Harry always thought it was funny. To him, magic was just one more set of tools that the mind could use to solve problems.” pg. 350 Interesting

“I hadn’t wanted to hurt his feelings but that kind of thing really wasn’t necessary.” pg. 354  Interesting to see how Molly used Harry’s spell and changed it

“The math wasn’t hard. I had two angles measured against the magnetic north.” pg. 355 Interesting how much math is involved in magic

“That bitch deserved to be run over by a car.” pg. 377 Poor Molly :(

“This isn’t going to work.” Justine murmured

“It’s going to work.” I told her keeping my tone confident. We’ll breeze right in. The Rack will be with us.”

Justine glanced at me with an arched brow “The Rack?”

“The Rack is more than just boobs, Justine” I told her soberly. “It’s an energy field created by all living boobs. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.”

Andi started giggling. “You’re insane.”

“But functionally so,” I said, and adjusted myself to round out a little better. “Just let go of conscious self and act on instinct.

Justine stared blankly at me for a second. Then her face lightened and she let out a little laugh. “The Rack will be with us?”

I couldn’t stop myself from cracking a smile “Always.” pg. 381 Ha

“I spotted Gentleman Jonnie Marcone, the head of Chicago’s outfit, in attendance, with his gorilla, Hendricks, and his personal attack witch, Gard, floating around near him.” pg. 385 Marcone! Again with that spelling. Why is Molly calling Hendricks a gorilla and Gard a attack witch?

“Too easy,” I whispered “This was too easy.” pg. 397 Yep something’s up

“Mortal upstart. Calling himself a baron. He will pay for what he did to my brother.” pg. 403 Marcone! This is the brother of the Formor from Even Hand

“Miss Gard freaked out about two minutes ago and all but carried out Marcone out of here. Security is mobilizing.” pg. 407 Why am I picturing Gard bride carrying or fireman carrying Marcone?

“Dammit,” I growled “What would Harry do?” pg. 409 WWHD Harry would make it up as he goes so you’re doing great at that part Molly

“Harry had once told me that when you had one problem, you had a problem. But when you had several problems, you might have several solutions.” pg. 409 Interesting

“Hey God” I whispered. “I know I haven’t been  around much lately, but if you could do me a solid here, it would be really awesome for a lot of people. Please let me be right.” pg. 419 Ha

“Harry. Alive.” pg. 431 Yay!

Cold Case

“My own clothing, I knew disappointed her gravely, but I was used to doing that to mother-figures.” pg. 435 Ouch poor Molly :(

Carlos!

“Harry Dresden has had a horrible influence on far too many people, and has much to answer for.” pg. 449 Ha

“I’d had recurring nightmares about it, in fact.”  pg. 450 Didn’t Harry also have nightmares about the wardens?

Elaine!

“Psychic interrogation” pg. 460 Oh no

“Warden do a lot of good.” He said quietly “It isn’t always pretty, what we do, but it needs to be done.” pg. 464 Wardens kill children Carlos

“He dealt with them on a continuous basis, after all, and in his studied opinion, if you had one problem, you had a problem. But if you had multiple problems, you might also have an opportunity. pg. 468 Call back to bombshell!

“God, I love hero work.” Carlos said as we stepped back out into the storm. “No murky gray area, no anguished questions, no conflicting mortality. Bad guys took some kids, and we’re gonna get’em out.” pg. 476 That does sound nice and I like how this shows the reader how young Carlos is

“Maybe if someone had offered a hand to the monsters, they wouldn’t have become monsters in the first place.” pg. 477 Yes!

“I was carrying pliers with me, so that I could take vampire teeth as trophies.” pg. 477 Carlos that’s not a good thing. That’s spoils of war or serial killer trophies and that’s bad.

“Mom taught me, She was scoutmaster for my brothers.” pg. 480 Cool

“Outsiders” pg. 481 Oh no

So Outsiders plus fisherman equals Call of Cthulhu

“Harry was a big believer in kicking in the teeth of whoever you planned to fight.” pg. 485 Ha and yes good tactics

“kicked the big double door off their hinges as if they’d been made of balsa and Scotch tape.

At which point I learned the real reason Harry keeps doing that.

It. Is. Awesome.” pg. 486 Ha

“And then I was sitting on the floor of the shower, shuddering, hot water pouring down around me.” pg. 499 What

“I looked down at the water. The drain stopper was down, and it was seven or eight inches deep.

And pink.” pg. 500 What happened?

Poor Carlos :(

Ok so Molly can’t have sex and the mantel will attack anyone who tries to have sex with her.

“You want me to take their children.” pg. 504 Oh no :(

Jury Duty

“Summons,” I said glowering. “It’s a freaking command. They want to see a real summoning is, I could show them.” pg. 513 Ha  and I can’t believe the government got Harry a summons. He died then came back from the dead and was homeless for a bit. There’s no way bureaucracy was this fast. There has to be scheming involved. String pulling from someone. Maybe Lara or Marcone?

“More had been set aside by the new owner of my old address, formerly Mrs. Spunkelcheif’s boardinghouse, and now the Better Future Society. I hadn’t been able to stomach asking the new owner for my mail, but Butters had gotten it for me.” pg. 513 Wait does this mean that Marcone kept Harry’s mail? How long did Marcone keep Harry’s mail? Even when Harry was dead? Was Marcone hoping Harry would come get them? What was the conversation between Butters and Marcone like?

“The government isn’t the mob, Harry.”

“Aren’t they?” I asked “Pay them money every year to protect you, and God help you don’t.” pg. 514 Ha

“Then a guy in a black muumuu showed up and reconnected the plot of My cousin Vinney.

Okay, it was a robe and the guy was the judge, and he gave us a brief outline of the format of the trial system, but it’s not nearly as entertaining to say it that way.” pg. 516 Ha

“The new kid was in his late twenties” pg. 517 Who let this kid be the prosecutor? He can’t be that out of law school.

“So where was his public defender?” pg. 518 He’s got the right to a public defender so where are they? Something’s up I’m suspicious

“Everyone stood up. After a second, so did I.

I guess you could say I’m not really a joiner.” pg. 518 Ha

“He held up a glossy professional headshot of a handsome man in his thirties and showed it to us.” pg. 520 Bi Harry 42

“drag a female child, Latino, around the age of ten, into the alley.” pg. 526 Oh

“Something did not add up here.” pg. 528 Yep

So let’s review the facts

Harry who’s died and come back from the died for less than a month only a gets a jury summons despite bureaucracy being slow.

The prosecutor is a new kid and not the DA.

The defense doesn’t have an attorney.

The victim was a stock broker.

The defendant is a tough guy who’s definitely been in fights before.

There is supposedly a child that the man kidnapped.

The defendant is more beat up than seems appropriate.

In conclusion I think that the fear eating Raiths are the victim was a stockbroker and not a ghoul got the girl and the defendant killed a White Court vampire. Then either Marcone or Lara stacked the jury to have Harry involved. They made it so the prosecution was a new guy and the defense doesn’t have a lawyer.

“Nobody was going to go bat for him.

Unless I did it.” pg. 529 Yep

“I started with Johnny Cash version of “Hurt” which was pretty simple. I sang along with it. I’m not good, but I can hit the notes and keep the rhythm going” pg. 533 This is nice and I miss Harry’s guitar and I wish he’d played more

“The door was locked.

It was also made of glass.

I smiled.” pg. 537 Ha

“Tania Raith” I knew a Raith was involved

“She wielded enormous influence in Chicago, maybe as much as the head of Chicago outfit, Gentleman Johnnie Marcone, gangster lord of the mean streets.” pg. 539 Marcone mention!

“Because you know what happened the last time some vampires abducted a little girl and I decided to take her back. pg. 539 Yep scary threat

“I believe Baron Marcone has recognized claim on this city. Or am I mistaken?” pg. 540 It’s their city

“Luther was one of Marcone’s soldiers.” pg. 540 Oh

“He pulled some strings to get me on the jury.” pg. 541 I knew strings were pulled

“Dammit Marcone had put me where there’d be a guy getting fast- tracked to an unjust sentence and known damn well how I’d react. He could have asked me for help, but I’d have told him to take a flying…leap. And he’d have known that. So he set it up without me knowing.” pg. 542 Marcone knows him so well

“What does Marcone mean to you? You don’t owe him anything. Why not sit down, have a drink, help me celebrate.” pg. 543 Tania asking the real questions

Riley doesn’t get paid enough

Tania really does need a babysitter.

“Goddamn supernatural assholes” pg. 550 Does she know? Does the Judge know?

Day one

“There were a great many letters in that, and not much that I understood” pg. 558 Ha

Lamar!

“The skull is very dangerous object.” He said “It doesn’t…understand love. It doesn’t understand faith.” pg. 568 Bob!

Fear monster

Harry!

“Polka will never die” pg. 587 Yes!

“You stand up and kick it in the fucking teeth” he said and there was a quiet certain power in his voice that had nothing to do with magic. “You’ve forgotten the most important thing a Knight needs to remember, Butters.”

“What’s that?” I breathed

“Knights of the Cross aren’t afraid of monsters” he said. “Monster are afraid of you. Act like it. Commit to it, hard. And have faith.” pg. 590 Such a good speech.

“But I had faith in my friends

One friend in particular.” pg. 590 My heart :)

“ Ehyeh ašer ehyeh” pg. 594 A quick google search shows that this means I Am Who I Am

Zoo Day

“The man who mostly shaped me was a sadistic monster, and by the time my grandfather came along, Ebenezar wasn’t parenting so much as enticing psychological damage control.” pg. 599 Aw poor Harry :(

“I really really wanted to get this right.” pg. 599 Aw

Of course Maggie likes Star Wars

“She was the most beautiful child I’d ever seen, but everyone thinks that about their kid.

 Maybe everyone is right.” pg. 601 Yes! and my heart :)

“What if I do it wrong?” pg. 601 My heart

“What if…I don’t know. What if I set something on fire?”

“Maybe we’ll roast some marshmallows” pg. 602 Don’t worry Maggie if anyone is going to set something on fire it’ll be Harry. And this marshmallow comment reminds be of the one in Changes

Oh a warlock

“I stared at the kid for a while.

I had been that kid for a while.” pg. 608 Poor Harry poor kid

“Then I did something I don’t do very often: I turned my back and walked away.” pg. 608 What

“She picked up a French fry and dipped it in a large mound of mustard. Not ketchup.

What?” pg. 610 What

“If someone needs your help, you help them.” Maggie said simply “Even when it’s really hard. Miss Molly told me that about you.” pg. 612 Yep

“If I hadn’t been so exhausted, I’d have been just one more warlock slain while resisting arrest.” pg. 613 Interesting

I like all the dad Harry content I’m getting to see

Ohhh we’re getting two perspectives.

Maggie!

“My dad was a pretty scary-looking guy if you didn’t know him.” pg. 621 Aw and it’s always interesting to see other characters perspective of Harry

“Sort of like how grown ups can’t see the creeps” pg. 624

“If I didn’t have to worry about turning into a complete spaz” pg. 625 Aw poor Maggie :(

“Must be because Dad was here, and he really, really liked dad.” pg. 624 Aw

“What if he thought I was, you know? Broken. What if he didn’t want a daughter who was all funny in the head?” pg. 629 Aw poor Maggie I just want to give Maggie a hug

“And then my dad’s head shot up like Mouse when he smells lighter fluid at the Carpenters house, and his eyes flicked around him like big, hungry bear looking for something to tear  into.” pg. 629 Ha

“He should have had his coat. It would have been all swirly, like Batman. Jeans and an old Battlestar Galactica T-shirt just didn’t make the same impression.” pg. 633 I’m glad Maggie likes the coat.

“I interrupted it by throwing salt into its black, empty eyes.” pg. 634 Go Maggie!

“Because what if Miss Molly had told me the kid-safe version of the truth about my dad? What if he wasn’t as good as she said he was? What if he didn’t want to take care of a daughter who had issues? Who was really hard to be around.” pg. 639 Aw poor Maggie

“Hey you, Space Face” pg. 640 Ha

“Good boy, Mouse” pg. 642 Yes good boy!

Mouse looks really cool

Oh interesting that Maggie knows Spanish

Poor Maggie

Three perspectives!

Mouse yes you’re a good dog!

“My Friend was worried he could not be a good father to a little girl, which is ridiculous-but if he wasn’t worried about it, he wouldn’t be the person he is” pg. 652 Aw

“Is my Friend awesome or what?” pg. 659 Yes he is

“My Shadow, it would seem” pg. 661 Interesting

“Brother” pg. 670 Interesting

“Needs must be done?” I asked. “Who talks like that? Honestly.” pg. 673 Ha

“An acquired habit. I can’t imagine where I learned it” pg. 673 Ha

“You are like the others, after all. His slave. I don’t deal with trivial matters. I care nothing for your broken wizard.” pg. 674 No Mouse and Harry are friends and what do you mean broken wizard?

“I assume you’ve never seen The Dark Knight.” pg. 674 Ha and of course Mouse has seen it :)

“I was raised by a wizard. When it comes to fighting, I tend to cheat whenever possible.” pg. 675 Ha

“I told you, everyone says I am a Good Boy and that means treats. But perhaps I would make more time to exercise when this was settled.” pg. 676 Ha

“There was nothing more I could do to help him. I would have to trust to fortune and the Almighty and Queen Mab and Odin and whatever other friendly Powers that might be watching that My Friend would, please, please, please be all right.” pg. 681 Ha

“But what he meant was Good Dog.” pg. 686 Yes!

Dresden files live blog

Monster

“Plus, I’m never sure when she’ll try to kill me again.

It’s complicated” I’m sorry what

Marcone!

“No Valkerye girl Friday?” Ha

Oh someone broke Marcone’s rule they’re gonna die

“There’s another person I could go to.

But even if he believed me and agreed to the job, he would complicate it unbearably. We’d be at war with Canada within the week. Somehow.” Ha and I assume they’re talking about Harry

“There was angels standing guard around another house not unlike this one not three blocks away.” Michael’s house!

“Oh. Yes. People.”

“I keep forgetting them” Viti what do you mean you ‘keep forgetting them’?

“Viti had been a survivor of a training program  whose members had, as the culmination of their training, been assigned to murder one another” Is Viti a red widow?

Poor kids :(

“Viti turned the gun on the kids, who flinched.” VITI NO

“Hey, you know how a nine-hundred-pound Bengal tiger gets into a locked room?

Any damned way it wants.” Ha

“The next day, Marcone, with his big dumb Einherjaren bodyguard.” Who is this bodyguard? Where’s Hendricks? Where’s Gard?

“But grapefruit juice?” Grapefruit? Really? Who willingly drinks grapefruit juice?

“Monster LLC calling for Harry Dresden,” she said “Please tell that there are children who need his help.” Of course they call Harry. This is right up his alley! 

Final thoughts

I liked these stories especially Even Hand and Zoo Days. I loved all the Marcone mentions and his story. I liked the fights and thought the stories were funny. I liked the different perspectives. I want to give Maggie and Harry hugs. I loved all the Dad Harry content I got in Zoo Days. There were so many Bi Harry moments in these. We’re up to 42 moments. Molly’s stories were sad :( Cool that beings exist that only kids can see. Not a fan of some of the things Luccio and Carlos say. I loved Butters first mission. I liked the monster story. I love what Marcone says about Harry. I love that Gary calls Harry. Overall I liked it.

Even Hand

My favorite story. I love the look into Marcone. I do wonder how John Marcone not being John’s Name will play out. Could this name be used against him or used in oaths? Does ‘John Marcone’ hold more weight than his given name now? Who knows his given name? Why did he change it? This does bring interesting ideas with his alliance with Mab and Vadderung. Him being a marine is interesting. Did Marcone serve a full time in the marine? Did he get honorably discharged? Dishonored? What was his rank? I liked how sarcastic Marcone is. He really is a good foil to Harry. I like the 2 Bi Marcone moments. I love that Harry has left such an impression on Marcone with the flimsy doors and the elaborate death trap. I like how Marcone saved both Justine and the kid. I love the Hendricks and Gard moment.

Onto Peace Talk

[atiredsalmon]

30 Days to DA - My Origin

We have only 30 more days until Dragon Age Veilguard and I want to do something to celebrate and work my way back into the fandom! It’s been a good 6 years since I was involved and while there’s been other challenge lists before, I thought that to start off the countdown would be to introduce myself again on the new DA blog!

You can call me Shan! I’m a mage supporter Anders apologist, pro-purple hawke, and I can never ever make Alistair King after reading The Stolen Throne but I also always leave him in the Fade. My favorite ship is asexual Warden with Zevran which, when I start re-working my oc’s very soon you’ll see a ton of!

I am not an OG Dragon Age fan but Origins was my first game! I first picked it in in 2010/11 when Blockbusters was shutting down the one in my town was selling games for literal pennies and my dad had bought a whole bunch of games - all of the call of duty’s that were out at the time, halo, infinite undiscovery which would become my favorite game of all time, and dragon age origins. My dad liked to pretend that he was a gamer but he was actually really bad at it and when he got tired of losing or figuring out mechanics I would play the games!

He really hated origins for some reason so I made it a point to play it all the way through till annoy him. And I ended up really enjoying it! Although I didn’t actually really fall in love with the series until dragon age 2. Which I didn’t even know there were other games that had come out until 2015. I was busy with university and couldn’t take the Xbox with me so when I found out awakening and da2 existed I played all summer long. I was taken ever since literally every word out of my mouth from 2014-2018 was dragon age.

When trespasser came out I worked so hard to buy a ps4. thank goodness I have the salary now, nearly 14 years later that I bought a ps5 a few years ago without blinking so I’m ready for Veilguard!!

[faeryfrogs]

Fellow audiophiles, the Dragon Age: Selections from the Original Game Soundtrack (4XLP vinyl) box set presale has begun at SPACELAB9.

This is estimated to ship from the publisher in November. Disc color variant preorders open at the Bioware Gear Store on Wednesday, June 21st.

Track listing under the cut.

DISC 1 SIDE A [DRAGON AGE ORIGINS]

1. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS (2:49) 2. ELVES AT THE MERCY OF MAN (1:21) 3. RUINS OF OSTAGAR (1:18) 4. THE COMMON DWARF (1:24) 5. THE PARTY CAMP (0:44) 6. THE DALISH (1:18) 7. DARKSPAWN IN THE WILDS (1:13) 8. HUMAN NOBILITY (1:21) 9. URN OF SACRED ASHES (1:01) 10. JOIN THE GREY WARDENS (1:53) 11. BATTLE THE DARKSPAWN HORDES (1:05) 12. MAGES IN THEIR CHANTRY (2:01) 13. LELIANNA'S SONG (2:33)

DISC 1 SIDE B [DRAGON AGE ORIGINS]

1. THE CHANTRY'S HUBRIS (3:16) 2. THE NATURE OF THE BEAST (1:30) 3. TAVERN BRAWL (1:15) 4. THE DALISH ELVES ENCAMPMENT (1:18) 5. FERELDEN AT WAR (2:57) 6. KING EDRIN (1:32) 7. CHALLENGE AN ARCH DEMON (3:12) 8. THE CORONATION (1:03) 9. I AM THE ONE (HIGH FANTASY VERSION) (4:02)

DISC 2 SIDE A [DRAGON AGE II]

1. DRAGON AGE II MAIN THEME (2:03) 2. HAWKE FAMILY THEME (2:00) 3. QUNARI ON THE RISE (2:04) 4. LOVE SCENE (1:39) 5. VISCOUNT (1:29) 6. TAVERN MUSIC (2:11) 7. KIRKWALL ARRIVAL (5:13) 8. ROGUE HEART (3:12)

DISC 2 SIDE B [DRAGON AGE II]

1. JOURNEY TO DEEP FEAR (2:55) 2. MAGE PRIDE (4:03) 3. KIRKWALL TOWN ACT 2 EXPLORATION (2:05) 4. DARK DAWN (3:22) 5. FENRIS THEME (2:30) 6. NIGHT ATTACK AND VICTORY (1:56) 7. DESTINY OF LOVE (3:25)

DISC 3 SIDE A [DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION]

1. DRAGON AGE INQUISITION THEME (2:52) 2. THE WRATH OF HEAVEN (5:25) 3. ESCAPE FROM THE FADE (1:14) 4. CALLING THE INQUISITION (1:59) 5. IN HUSHED WHISPERS (4:49) 6. THE WESTERN APPROACH (2:07) 7. JOURNEY TO SKYHOLD (1:48)

DISC 3 SIDE B [DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION]

1. THE DAWN WILL COME (1:58) 2. ORLAIS THEME (2:44) 3. THE SCAR (0:56) 4. SIEGE OF ADAMANT (1:14) 5. WICKED EYES AND WICKED HEARTS (3:35) 6. THEDAS LOVE THEME (1:59) 7. CHAMPIONS OF THE JUST (3:55) 8. SACRIFICE (1:01) 9. RETURN TO SKYHOLD (2:13) 10. EPILOGUE (1:10)

DISC 4 SIDE A (BONUS DLC TRACKS)

1. I AM THE ONE (DARK FANTASY VERSION) [DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS] (4:10) 2. MAIN THEME [DAI DESCENT DLC] (2:58) 3. AFTERMATH [DAI DESCENT DLC] (1:29) 4. DARK SOLAS THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:01) 5. QUNARI ATMOSPHERE [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (2:41) 6. LOST ELF THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:58) 7. D'READ KODA (1:08) [HIDDEN TRACK]

DISC 4 SIDE B (DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION - THE BARD SONGS)

1. ENCHANTERS (3:23) 2. GREY WARDEN (2:12) 3. I AM THE ONE (1:58) 4. ONCE WE WERE (2:10) 5. RISE (1:26) 6. SERA (1:45) 7. FALL OF THE MAGISTER (3:01) 8. SCOUT LACE HARDING (2:08) 9. THE SLIGHTEST ONES (2:28)

[ghostwise]

2022 Writing Summary 🖊️🗒️✨

This year was an interesting one for writing and I am so excited bc I tackled a few different projects in 2022!

- I worked on for suffering is such a part pretty much daily from December, finally finishing it in April with a total of 51,575 words!

- In April, feeling pretty burnt out on writing, I did some fluffy AU pieces (huapangos de arlathvhen) as well as aloe, elfroot, and the flood (which will probably be rewritten, but remains as an attempt to write a DAO-era Crestwood fic).

- In May I busied myself writing original fiction and firing off some submissions to literary magazines. I am still working on a way to bring original fiction to an audience, but for now I just don’t feel very comfortable sharing it here. Stay tuned, though!

- In June I got into Wayfarer and challenged myself to develop a character by writing 30 micro fics. This got me writing pretty consistently, and I collected all those pieces in lovesong of the buzzard.

- Closed the year with a fic I wrote for the Wayfarer Exchange, there’s a flame that burns out at sea, and also planning for Quinta de Talpa and other original projects.

I’m looking forward to what 2023 will bring. 💖

January

Zevran tried to picture Hamal’s face without any of the vallaslin, but found that he couldn’t. The blood writing was such an important part of his Warden. He knew that Hamal was fiercely proud of them. Now he knew why.

He smiled at Mathuin, feeling that they must have shared the story both for Cammen’s benefit as well as for his.

February

Every time he made a mistake it was like this: Somewhere in the deepest parts of his id existed a small thought that Hamal might not want him once he realized that he was broken in a way that was permanent; not transient like the Blight, not as easily defeated as an Archdemon. Sometimes the thought was loud. Right now, however, he was able to confront the thought, because the fact was, Hamal had married him.

March

“And how are you?”

Zevran raised a brow and looked at him.

“Zevran. In the past few days you fought a sylvan, fractured a bone, hiked through the forest, fell through a ceiling, got a concussion—and that’s just the stuff I know about. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

April

Loneliness was a sharp barb that worked its way under his skin. He’d never felt it so keenly; it was agony, it eclipsed everything, every thought, every feeling, every past, present, or future, even his name.

May

Everyone here is so busy. His cousins now have titles and jobs and families. Even Petra is married and has children now.

Fortunately he doesn’t have time to dwell on it. The ocean peeks over the rise of a verdant hill and suddenly they’re there. Arlathvhen.

June

“What if I do not wish to go back?” Hamal asked. “What if I ask you to leave?”

“Then I suppose it’s just a question of what I should tell the others.” Zevran looked away with a shrug. “But it’ll have to be good; both to ensure that no one comes looking for you, and to clear me of any suspicion.”

Hamal let out a hint of a laugh at that—short, bitter, but a laugh all the same. The sound surprised him as much as it did Zevran.

July

Perhaps because of his desert childhood, it delights him at first. Rain is transformative, a sign of good things to come: the cacti flowering, the buried animals emerging from the dry earth.

(He once believed them to be resurrected; believed the whole world was a dead thing coming alive.)

But the rain in Rona is different. There is no transformation, no resurrection here.

August

Alassar steel cuts through the darkness, flashing as Refugio cuts his vocal chords. Just as quickly, Yuribia clamps a hand over the other one’s mouth and smothers her wings around him tightly, muffling his scream as she snaps his neck.

She and Refugio stand there for a moment, breathing heavily in the dark.

September

It’s a bad pain day. It swoops upon him like a vulture and pecks his back apart vertebrae by vertebrae.

Refugio slouches in his seat, each bump and pebble on the road sending painful little shockwaves through his back. He’s known Yuribia long enough that he doesn’t bother hiding it. She’s known him long enough that she doesn’t bother commenting.

October

Kit’s long hair hangs like a curtain, her legs draped over the backrest of the couch she currently occupies. Anyone else might look absurd lounging in such a manner, but she pulls it off; she just has an air of grace about her, on and off the stage.

Refugio smiles appreciatively, his eyes trailing from her pretty curls to the script in her hands.

November

The Amell mansion is big enough to house a haunting.

Renata has always suspected that she ought to have one of those, which is to say, the absence of one had been thus far conspicuous in her life; a thought in the back of her head all these many years, from Lothering to Kirkwall. Late at night in her family’s little farmhouse she’d think of it, paranoid of some specter that never was there. She just never had the time or the space for it.

December

“I imagine he wants what any man wants: His life, with a shred of hope, and a regular fuck. So he slit your throat! We are Crows! If we killed everyone who made an attempt on our life, we’d hunt ourselves to extinction.”

[littlerune]

day four of the 30 day dragon age art challenge // brush with death

[wyvernscales]

Worldstate: The Maker’s (un)Chosen

This is my canon worldstate. There is little that binds this worldstate together other than characters coming from underprivileged backgrounds and saving the world.

Basic Overview Symbols

Dragon Age Origins:

Cerberus

Cerberus codex tag

What is Cerberus?

Why “Cerberus?”

Family dinner with the Theirin-Mac Tirs

Archmage of Cerberus: Warden-Commander Elias

Class: Mage | Arcane Warrior/Spirit Healer/Keeper Favorite Weapon: Sylvan’s Mercy/Spell Weaver Orientation: bisexual, cis man isfj: the defender Alignment: Neutral Good Romance: n/a Birth Year: 9:10 (Blight 20, Mage Rebellion 27, Inquisition 30, Veilguard 42) Title(s): Cerberus, Arl of Amaranthine (former), Commander of the Grey (former), Archmage, Veteran of the Fifth Blight

Short bio

Behind the name

Vallaslin

Codex entry

Brielle’s message

Letter from Elias to Brielle

Commander of Cerberus: Paragon Feja Anika Astyth Valda Angyalka Aeducan

Class: SnS Warrior Champion/Berserker Favorite Weapon: Orientation: lesbian, cis woman entj: the commander Alignment: Neutral Evil Romance: Anora Mac Tir Birth Year: 9:05 (Blight 25, Mage Rebellion 32, Inquisition 35, Veilguard 47)

Codex entry

Hair and hair routine

Shadow of Cerberus: Paragon Talani Brosca

Class: 2H Rogue | Assassin/Legionnaire Scout/Shadow Favorite Weapon: Dead Thaig Shanker and The Rose’s Thorn Orientation: pansexual, genderqueer (she/they) istj: the logistician Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Romance: Zevran + Sigrun Birth Year: 9:03 (Blight 27, Mage Rebellion 34, Inquisition 37, Veilguard 49) Titles(s): Cerberus, Paragon, Darkwolf, Veteran of the Fifth Blight, Warden, Champion of the Proving, Slayer of Urthemiel

Codex Entry

Brosca Follows

Naming the Mabari

Talani and Feja

Recruitment

Leaving Orzammar

Return to Orzammar

Learning to read

The Mabari

Family/social setting pre-origin

On becoming Paragon

Dragon Age 2:

Champion Cian Ronan Hawke

Class: 2H Rogue | Shadow/Assassin Favorite Weapon: Orientation: gay cis man infp: the idealist Alignment: Lawful Good Romance: Anders Personality: Diplomatic Birth Year:9:06 (Blight 24, Mage Rebellion 31, Inquisition 34, Veilguard 46)

Fate in Here Lies the Abyss

Rogue Hawke and Loghain

Biggest Strength/Weakness

Dragon Age Inquisition:

Inquisitor Mi’Var “Brielle” Atheraniel Mahariel of Clan Lavellan

2H warrior | specialization: Champion Favorite Weapon: Chromatic Greatsword Orientation: Lesbian, genderqueer (she/they) esfp: the entertainer Alignment: Chaotic Good Romance: Sera Birth Year: 9:18 (Blight 12, Mage Rebellion 19, Inquisition 22, Veilguard 34)

Canon choices

On her name

Faceclaim

Vallaslin

What does she like most about herself?

Opinions on the Circle, the Wardens and sexuality

30 Day Challenge

The nightmare’s taunts

Brielle’s message

Letter from Elias to Brielle

Advisor Elara Assanniel Sabrae of Clan Lavellan

Follower of the Vir Atish'an Favorite Weapon: n/a Orientation: Bisexual, cis woman intp: the logician Alignment: True Neutral Romance: Solas Birth Year: 9:07 (Blight 23, Mage Rebellion 30, Inquisition 33, Veilguard 45)

Short Bio

Behind the name

Her Daughter is Watching

Vallaslin

Faceclaim

What’s on her chatelaine

Elara and Merrill

Dragon Age The Veilguard

Rook Ghilana Aldwir (Elariel Sabrae of Clan Lavellan)

Mage | specialization: Evoker Favorite Weapon: Orientation: myers brigg Alignment: Roamnce: Birth Year: 9:28 (Blight 02, Mage Rebellion 09, Inquisition 12, Veilguard 24)

Musings on 9:52 Dragon

Considering making her a rook

(tag)

[runnersnz]

“I'm not sure where to start really. I'm in my 60s and can't run like I used to. As a youngster I actually used to hate sport but in my teens I was a keen tramper and covered most of Fiordland. I got sponsored to go to Outward Bound twice which gave me an incentive to look for further adventures. I also went on to get a Diploma in Sport & Recreation. Not that I ever used it.

I started my running at a low key level but over time got to running marathons. My PB was 2hr 56 and for a half 1hr 19. Running was on a high in the 80’s and we had good turnouts for the 10km Thursday runs in Invercargill. At the time I used to run for St Paul's Harriers, of which my grandfather was a club founder. There is a cross country event, the McIndoe Casket, named after him. I took an interest in triathlons too and did a half Ironman. At one stage I went and ran down the 70km Marlborough Sounds. There was also a local run over the Wilmont Pass, being around 13km. I always got 2nd unfortunately.

In the 80’s mountain biking was a new sport too, although there were only 2 types of bikes available at the time. A mountain bike club was formed in Invercargill with an annual event in Borland down at Mt Burns. I competed in the Gutbuster twice over the Nevis. We once biked from Deep Cove to Borland too. At the time I was a hut warden on the Humpridge and out at Milford. Rosco, a local chap, used to have a mountain bike race from the Homer Tunnel down to Milford, about 16km with 16min being the best. I could only manage 30min. Tramping was still my main interest and over time I climbed Mt Egmont 6 times, did Nelson Lake, Marlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman, Arthur's Pass, Cobb Dam at Takaka, Dusky Sounds, and the southern end of Stewart Island - the mud there can be up to your knees! In between tramping seasons I used to do DOC volunteer projects at Skippers, as well as Stewart Island, Pig and Pigeon Island at Glenorchy, Ranfurly and at the Catlins. There was the Fox Glacier clean up, and I used to help Forest and Bird out, often planting trees and taking pinus radiata out at mid dome. I used to compete in the odd winter duathlon too. I hadn't been overseas, so then I went to Queensland to work on a cattle ranch, as well as Fiji, Niue and Samoa. All of this kept me pretty fit.

Then in 1988 the Kepler came on. They thought it was 67km, and it only cost $65 to enter. Entries had to be posted in and it was first in, first to get accepted. At the time running 67km was unheard of so you felt like an early pioneer. The first race had 150 entries. The alpine section was cold with 20 knot winds. There was a time limit of 13 hrs for the race, but at the back of Luxmore there was no track. Beyond there you just had to run on tussock. They gave us Moro bars and jelly beans and Russell Prince won it that year. During the race I heard a runner got picked up by boat near the Iris Burn river and got taken down to rejoin just before Moturau Hut.

At one stage, on the 10th Kepler (1998) several runners didn't gain entry and felt left out, so they ran it unofficially. There were some very fit people back then and one Murray Thomas did the 5 day Southern Traverse and then ran the Kepler 24hrs later.

For the 20th Anniversary event some 30 to 40 of us first timers ran from the bridge to the dam. At the time I was employed at NZAS (New Zealand's Aluminium Smelter) at Tiwai Point in Bluff, and the race organisers asked me who to approach to sponsor the Kepler Challenge. From there, NZAS got involved and for several years all those from Tiwai, we got articles in the Tiwai Pointer (newsletter).

I remember too in 2002 the weather was particularly bad with blizzard conditions. We went down to the Kepler start at 6am but were told to come back later. For the first time the race was changed and you had to run up to Luxmore, then to the Iris Burn, and back to the dam.

The spirit of the Kepler still prevails, but those first timers, they’re like our war veterans, and some are no longer around. My two mates who ran with me have both passed away. Murray Thomas who has run 21 times is still here. I saw his 84 year old mum on the 5km parkrun. I used to run home from work with him. 

We’re all getting older and I tell you, the body doesn’t work like it used to. I still do swimming, go to the gym and pilates and do the 5km walks. There are so many memories to look back on though, and good people I knew. It was all an adventure at the time, one I’ll treasure.”Neil Coaley (Invercargill/Fiordland) – Portraits of Runners + their stories @RunnersNZ

[pikmin-applebloom-art]

Repostober Day 15-Jam Warden Kiwi

[ID:

A dark skinned black girl with a kiwi-themed school uniform-esque outfit is posing with a peace sign in front of a kiwi background. She has a shield in her right hand and her left hand is in a peace sign. She has glasses and the outfit consists of a puff sleeve blouse, a necktie, fingerless gloves, a suspender skirt, a kiwi themed beret, tights, and brown fringed loafers.

She has lime green hair with a natural texture and she is winking. Next to her is a bunny/penguin hybrid with eyelashes and bows on her ears.

End of ID.]

Prompt 3 of a 30 day magical girl challenge that's unfinished.

She's a member of the Jam Wardens, a team of five girls with a fruit theme. She's the Smart One of the group. The other four are Jam Warden Strawberry, Jam Warden Grape, Jam Warden Raspberry, and Jam Warden Apple.

She uses her shield to reflect projectiles. I chose a shield since kiwi slices are round and also shields are RARELY used as weapons in the media.

Her civilian name is Krisella Perkins

[wonderingnorthwards]

22nd April 2023 - Though shall pass

Happy birthday to my younger brother Paulo, 25 years old!! Sorry I can’t call today, but a feature in this will have to do. No doubt you will be celebrating big in Portugal.

Trail notes describe this section as “the most demanding on this track. It is a fair-weather route, suitable for experienced individuals or parties with experienced leadership. Strong fitness and agility is a prerequisite for all. These criteria aside, Waiau Pass is a Te Araroa highlight. Allow a full day for the journey.”

Arriving to the hut in rain last night, and with the forecast indicating a 50mm+ deluge overnight, continuing well through the morning, I had expected a hut zero day. Weather gods had other ideas as I woke up to clear(ish) sky peaking through the window. With the trail notes in mind, and 1,300m of climbing ahead, I managed to get going from Waiau hut around 8:30. Crossing a makeshift signpost indicating kilometre 1,000 an hour in to the morning felt quite an accomplishment, let myself enjoy that moment. Even before climbing started, the scenery was surreal. Vast mountains towering above the valley, the river rushing back down to face me, grand waterfalls up in the mountains, and then much closer as the climbing began. The actual climb over the pass of ~900m gradually increased in gradient and took about 4km. The last 1km was a rather aggressive 400m of elevation including legitimate rock climbing, requiring the use of all four limbs to clamber myself up the pass. Glad I was heading north and up

that section, wouldn’t have been a fun task to climb down. The views continued to get better and better with a nice flat section just 200m from the pass providing a great spot for lunch. This view hands down beats the Colliers B&G view and that’s a high bar. I think it was just the shear magnitude of everything in sight. The photos are ok, but being there in person, endorphins rushing through my blood had me feeling pretty proud of myself. Crossing the Pass, Lake Constance came into view, an impressive sight however slightly diminished by low clouds on this side. The descent was just as steep as the climb, but rather than rock face, it was scree allowing me to run/scramble down a large part. Semi damaging my shoes, but having a good time while doing it. Making it down far easier and faster than the ascent, it was then down and around the protected and beautiful Lake Constance. Getting to Blue Lake hut around 4pm, there were two other hikers, who turned out to be mountaineer extraordinaires Dave and Axel who’d arrived 20 minutes before me. After getting set up at the hut and chatting to Vicky the warden, (first hut warden all trip) I made my way down the 5 minutes to explore Blue Lake, namesake of the hut. While impressive from afar upon descent, up close it was incredible. To get an appreciation for how clear the water is, it’s officially the clearest natural found water in the world, and I’m not exaggerating. 40m is considered “excellent visibility”, Blue Lake has 70-80m visibility. Pure water has a hypothetical visibility of 83m. The evening stayed warm enough for dinner on the table outside with Dave, Axel and Vicky as we shared stories, hot chocolate and whisky for hours until we were gazing upon the stars. A truly great day on the Te Araroa. Overcoming great challenges, amazing scenery, witnessing the surreal essence of nature and sharing stories of adventures with others is what makes this journey so special. Feeling very grateful today. Incredible day all around.

Wrap up:

Journey: Waiau Hut - Waiau Pass - Blue Lake Hut

Distance: 23km, 35k steps

Elevation: 1,235m, 251 flights climbed.

Highlights: The whole day. 10/10. Grateful

Official KM: 1,012

[moghraidhtrinity]

I posted 1,279 times in 2022

6 posts created (0%)

1,273 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@glomofnit

@figmentof

@transfenris-truther

@captain-flint

@lostsoulincssea

I tagged 839 of my posts in 2022

Only 34% of my posts had no tags

#ofmd - 224 posts

#our flag means death - 176 posts

#dragon age - 173 posts

#da2 - 128 posts

#matrix - 118 posts

#the matrix - 107 posts

#neo - 103 posts

#trinity - 101 posts

#neotrin - 98 posts

#fenris - 91 posts

Longest Tag: 126 characters

#it's so adjustable and has so many little compartments and things come in and out and up and down to maximize space it's great

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Chapter 2 of my Matrix fic is now up!

Tiffany has been having strange dreams for as long as she can remember. Every morning she wakes, and she can never remember the face or the name of the man in her dreams.

And now she can't stop thinking about Thomas Anderson.

Tiffany's phone never rang that day at Simulatte, and her coffee with Thomas was never interrupted. What will it take for her to realize that her dreams are more than they would seem?

A Trinity wakes up first Resurrections AU

2 notes - Posted January 21, 2022

#4

On the hunt for some new RP partners! Especially in the Dragon Age, Our Flag Means Death, and Schitt's Creek fandoms! I'm 30, with about 8 years of RP experience.

For Dragon Age, I'm looking for someone to rp Fenhawke (with a Male Mage Hawke - I prefer writing Hawke but I can do either. My Hawke is blue/purple) or Alistair/Warden (more open to whatever for that one!)

For Our Flag Means Death, looking for someone to rp Ed/Stede (I can write either). I have a few ideas but I'm open to whatever!

For Schitt's Creek, I'd love to rp David with someone's Patrick. I have a few ideas for that as well, but am also dying to hear your ideas too!

A long shot I know, but I'd also love to do some Thor/Jane from the MCU if anyone is interested in that! I have a fair bit of experience RPing both of them.

I mostly rp on Discord, so please send me a DM here if you're interested and we can chat, or go ahead and just dm me right on Discord. ftloshakespeare#6394

18+ Only, please!

6 notes - Posted July 22, 2022

#3

I assume you also love Outlander?? Wouldn't it be hilarious if Jamie/Claire took the red pill and somehow ended in the future?? Omg how funny would that be?

Oh man yeah that would be SO GOOD!!

Claire goes through the stones and ends up in the future, takes the red pill, then has to go back in to find Jamie.

Though, he predates the matrix existing. But there's something there 👀👀

8 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

#2

So I really wanna watch Heartstopper, but no one I know IRL has seen it yet, and I have a lot of pretty severe triggers around bullying, so High School shows tend to be a challenge for me. Can anyone in the Heartstopper fandom let me know about any content warnings for bullying? I'd really appreciate 💜

10 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Soulmate Coffee Shop AU but it's canon.

Can you believe? We truly are living in the best timeline. Your fandom could NEVER!

This is everything I've wanted for 18 years, everything we've ALL wanted 😭 Lana is a gift!

143 notes - Posted January 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[laqualassiel]

Day Two. Write a detailed description of your Warden’s appearance.

What is the one thing your warden hates about their appearance?

For a long time, Marian hated the fern-like scars on her face and chest. The new scars were obvious and difficult to hide. Everyone stared at them, which made Marian uncomfortable and irritable. She hated the scarring, not because of the story behind them, but because no one ever understood when she tried to explain it to them. People made assumptions about her scars, then had the gall to be offended when Marian told them those assumptions were wrong.

What do they like about their appearance?

Marian loved her long hair. She and Alim had a bet on who could go longest without cutting their hair. Marian had many fond memories of that bet, from the intricate hairstyles Alim and Marian learned and Irving’s fondly exasperated mandate that they keep their hair from interfering with their studies (no one wanted a repeat of the fire blast accident; burnt hair smelled awful) or cut it to a manageable length. Being forced to cut her hair during the Blight pained Marian, no matter how necessary it was.

How is your Warden viewed by others physically – are they beautiful/handsome? Are they average? Hideous?

Before the extensive scars on her face, Marian was the recipient of a number of crushes in Kinloch Hold. While not gorgeous like Queen Moira was reputed to be, Marian was considered by many a pretty woman.

After Marian’s face was scarred, very few people were able to look past the eye catching marks. Most would still agree that Marian was a pretty woman, but all too often Marian heard remarks that her face had been marred by her scars. Many found Marian’s scars unsettling.

What kind of clothes do they like to wear when they’re not fighting?

Marian’s tastes in clothing changed drastically after she was Conscripted by Duncan. In the Circle, Marian’s preferred mage robes were comfortable for reading various tomes and discussing magical theory. Outside Kinloch Hold, Marian found them less than desirable. Marian came to prefer sturdier fabrics that held up to the general wear of long distance travel, in varying shades of brown that did not show stains as easily. Her soft soled shoes were traded for sturdy boots and her robes for shirts and trousers allowing a greater range of motion. Marian preferred long sleeves and high collars when possible.

Do they wear any jewelry?

While in the Circle, Marian only wore her Enchanter’s ring, marking her as a full mage of Kinloch Hold. After Joining the Wardens, Marian returned the ring to Wynne, as Marian felt she no longer had a right to wear it. Marian wore a small pendant filled with the blood from the Joining, in honor of Daveth and Ser Jory. After Zevran’s proposal, Marian had her ear pierced so she could wear the gold earring.

Are they fashionable or practical?

There were little options for fashion in the Circle. The robes given to the mages served to designate rank. Unlike the Orlesian Circles, Knight-Commander Greagoir did not permit ‘superfluous decoration,’ so choice of apparel was limited. The only outlets for personal expression in one’s appearance was through hairstyle and tattoos, the latter which was heavily discouraged. Marian often spent her free time with Alim, pulling and twisting each other’s hair into various, elaborate hairstyles. Marian developed a skill for styling various lengths and textures of hair to compliment the wearer’s face and outfit.

During the Blight, this became one of the ways for Marian to relax. Styling her companions’ hair gave her a sense of normality and reminded her of simpler times.

What does their armour/robes like?

Marian traded her red Enchanter robes for sturdy knee high boots, breeches, and tunics on the journey to Ostagar. As mage robes - stitched with protective enchantments by dextrous Tranquil - were an extremely rare and expensive commodity outside the Circles, Marian settled for vambraces and a leather jerkin. The Warden cache in Denerim was a gift from the Maker, as Marian was able to find mage armor - lightweight but sturdy enough to protect from most attacks. The silver and blue armor also looked much more professional than what Marian cobbled together before.

[For reference, see the mage warden armor from Dragon Age 2.]

Have they any noticeable scars?

The only scar noticeable at first glance was the scars on Marian’s face. Other scars gained in battle were scattered across Marian’s body, as before Wynne joined the party Morrigan and Marian were the only healers - and neither of them would call healing their specialty.

Go into as much detail as possible in your description.

Marian had a fair skinned heart-shaped face, softly pointed chin, and high cheek bones. Later, her skin tanned and she gained a brush of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her eyes were large and dark blue, set below arched brows. Her nose was small and straight, above full lips. Marian’s waist length black hair was at first pulled back from her face, left to tumble down her back or woven into styles of various complexity. After leaving the Tower, she braided it tightly until she cut it to a chin length bob with sweeping bangs to the right. Marian was short and petite, with small feet and delicate hands. Were it not for the unusual and eye catching red fern like scar spanning the right side of her face, Marian would be a rather unassuming young woman.

[irenegade]

30 DAY VIDEO GAME CHALLENGE

Day 9 - Favorite Universe or Lore → Dragon Age Series