#and all this time at skyhold
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“Solas?“
“Yes, Vhenan."
“What are you drawing?“
He still has his eyes on the piece of parchment in front of him, but slows down the repetetive movements of his hand tracing the shapes on paper, as if that might offer him more time to find his answer. "Oh, just some practice. It helps me sort my thoughts," he says with the casual air of somebody trying to evade a question.
“Can I see, then?“
He glances up briefly and notices she has stopped reading her book on the early history of Neromanian magic. She has one elbow propped up on the table and rests her chin on her hand. She is looking at him expectantly, her book clearly forgotten.
He pauses the scratchy movements of his pencil and says rather hesitantly.
"It's not finished."
She leans forward a bit more, trying to catch a glimpse at his paper. He subtly angles it away from her. She might have barely noticed, had she not noted his newfound secrecy regarding his recent drawings. She has become increasingly curious over the past few weeks, and his forced casual demeanor after her question only fills her with more anticipation.
It makes her think of the first time he showed her his artwork. …
The first time she had walked into the rotunda in Skyhold and found Solas high up on the scaffolding with a paint brush in his hands and a concentrated look on his face, she was surprised to learn of his motivation.
"History needs to be documented," he had said when she asked him what he was working on.
After climbing down the scaffolding and taking a step back to admire the process of his work, he continued, "Not by the words of diplomats, but through the eyes of those skilled in artistry. Words will be forgotten, but images? Those will hold significance across time."
She had been moved then. By the bold lines in the fresco and the fierce look in his eyes as he regarded her as he spoke. Like she was someone worthy of admiration. Like he truly saw her. It reminded her of his words before their first kiss.
'You change everything.' He had said.
She didn't really believe him then. She didn't want to be put on a pedestal, far removed from the world and the simple and nomadic lifestyle of her clan that she was accustomed to. She missed roaming mountains and hills, not fighting blighted Templars and navigating treacherous games of power with nobles. That life had seemed like such a long time ago, even though it had barely been a year.
But perhaps she didn't need to suffer though all of this alone. She had her friends. Dorian with his jokes. Varric with his stories. Cassandra with her quiet support and camaderie. Iron Bull helping her with her fighting stances and teaching her new drinking games with Cullen. Even Cole, though he was still figuring out what the word friend even meant. She would help him with that, she had decided then. Friends; they made the aching pull of homesickness more bearable.
But Solas.
Who was he to her? She could call him her friend the supposed. She had the feeling they were becoming closer and yet there was an undeniable distance. Always leaving space for interpretation and mystery while never backing away from any of her questions. So much knowledge he shared, and still she had the feeling she barely knew him at all. He had slowly and unknowingly developed a talent for surprising her with new insights and he did so later again that same evening.
The next hour passed quickly while they were still talking about art and the different depictions of elven lore. He had stared at her intently for a moment, considering her.
"I want to show you something." he had said.
She never passed up an opportunity to learn more so she had indulged him, following him to a plain-looking crate to the side of the room. He removed the protective wards with a wave of his hand. He then uncovered some, by the looks of it, handbound books. He observed them one by one carefully, with a nod of acceptance when he seemingly found what he was looking for and handed her one of the books.
As she opened the first few pages she discovered they were sketchbooks filled with rough outlines in preparation for the next installment of the mural.
Excitedly he pointed to notes in the margin and spoke of where he learned the techniques for collecting and grinding his own pigments. There was a red ocre in the Western Approach that he had recently discovered on one of their missions which was apparently incredibly well suited for his purpose. At her encouragement he had shown her more of of his other drawings too. First of symbolism and color studies, but then more personal ones: of the views of the mountains from Skyhold, running Halla, drying herbs and even of some of the members of the inquisition she recognized.
In turn she told him about how she used to carve wood, especially when winters were rough and her clan was stuck in the same place for long waiting out the biting cold and punishing snow. To keep her fingers from freezing and her mind from wandering to dark places, she had started to carve.
"I haven't had the time since, well you know, this whole mess." she waved the fingers of her marked hand which flashed a sliver of green. Solas had looked thoughtful after her comment, almost like there was a tinge of regret behind his eyes.
The conversation steered in a different direction afterwards, like the seriousness of their predicament weighted more heavily on their shoulders than before. The mysterious books disappeared back into the chest and not long after she had excused herself and called it a night. Somehow she couldn't shake the feeling she had overstepped.
A few days later she returned from a short scouting mission. She climbed the steps to her sleeping quarters, exhausted. She hardly noticed there was an odd-shaped package leaning against her bedroom door until she almost stumbled over it. Her tiredness trading itself for curiosity, she moved to pick it up.
There was no note attached but once she unwrapped the bundle she discovered a beautiful and distinctive elven carving knife and a solid piece of oak wood.
She couldn't help the warm feeling that spread though her body, feeling the comforting weight of the wood and the cool metal of the knife in her hands.
….
She shakes her head as she's brought back to the present. That same rotunda they have since spend so much of their time together. Researching, reading and talking. There had been barely an evening where she didn't end up in the rotunda with Solas. At least when she wasn't away from Skyhold, trying to save the world on missions throughout Thedas.
She looks at Solas from her spot at the table with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
It takes a lot of effort to hide her smile.
Whith an amused tilt to the corner of her lips she says, "You know, Dorian told me he found some sketchbooks laying around, depicting a rather familiar elf. Anything you would know about that?"
Is he… Is he blushing?
"Um, Well you see." he cleares his throat trying to school his expression. "Those were private… And hidden for a reason."
She can't contain a smile. Solas flustered, that's a rare sight.
"You've seen them?" he askes quietly. She notices he has started fumbling with the edges of the paper. She didn't believe his ears could turn a brighter shade of pink.
"Maybe," she says while averting her eyes to the ceiling. She glances back to him out of the corner of her eyes.
Solas looks at her like she has grown an extra pair of ears.
She leans back in her chair and stretches out her legs comfortably under the table. Knowing she has him she doesn't want to push more and decides to spare him some of her teasing. She turns to look at him and softens her expression.
"I rather liked them."
Knowing that is probably not enough to explain why she had looked at his private belongings without permission and seeing the dumbfounded expression on his face slowly making space for embarrassment she decides to tell the whole story.
"I know shouldn't have overstepped, but Dorian said he had something urgent to discuss and before I was even halfway up the stairs he assaulted me with flying books, shouting about discovering my secret admirer. Either I would have stumbled to death or caught them. And, well… Once I started looking I couldn't look away… " she trails off with a slight tinge of shame in her voice.
"You liked them?“
She lookes at him, surprised by the hopefulness in his voice.
A wave of understanding washes over her.
He hid the drawings from her, not because he didn't want her to see them but because he was afraid of her rejection. Even though they had spent the last few months becoming more and more tangled up with each other, stealing fleeting glances and sometimes passionate kisses, they still hadn't really taken a moment to talk about what there was between them.
When she saw the drawings he made of her she had finally understood his interest in her was genuine and went beyond anything resembling a casual dalliance - something she can now confess to have been rather afraid of, because she had developed deeper feelings for him from the moment he started sharing detailed stories dreamt in the fade and his perspective on magic intertwined with life. And then there had been that first kiss… Wel let's just say she's in way too deep to turn back now.
And for all the effort he put into keeping emotional distance between them, he had apparently failed from the moment he had started putting her likeless on paper. For she could see the passion and emotion in the lines, soft shadows and hidden meanings. It made them stand out from all the other drawings she had seen by his hand.
What he couldn't yet put into words, he had found a different way of showing.
"Yes I-" suddenly feeling unsure she pauses for a moment and crosses her arms looking for the right words. "The drawings, they reminded me of who I could be." She takes a deep breath finds her courage and continues. "Someone who people will tell stories about. Not stories about Divine intervention, but of an elven woman's fight for justice. For a kinder world. Somehow I never really managed to see myself that way when I look in the mirror. But those drawings… I guess it's easier to understand who I've become by seeing myself through your eyes. To see the change I'm part of, but most of all to remind myself of where I came from."
She had uncrossed her arms and angled her body towards him over the table. A determined expression rests on her face. He hadn't taken his eyes of her from the moment she started talking.
He looks at her thoughtfully for a moment, considering his reply.
"Very well" he says while some of the tension visibly drains away from his body. She raises her eyebrows in question. "Then it's only time you started showing me your carvings in return. Some good blocks of wood have gone missing. I overheard Blackwall complaining about recently." He shares the accusations with a bemused smile on his lips.
Now it was her turn to blush.
"I was planning on showing you, but first I wanted to practice… " she trailed off her sentence, knowing she doesn't actually have a valid excuse for hiding it from him. And it was not like she hadn't backed him into a corner first.
Feeling relieved he wasn't pulling away at her recent discovery she changes her mind with newfound courage and stands up abruptly while extending her hand in invitation. The purpose of their late night reading session forgotten.
"You're right. And I'm willing to offer you a tour of my recent carving exploits, but only if you can refrain from commenting over the woodchips carpeting the floor." He starts to move as if to get up but she makes him pause as she isn't done yet. "But in turn I will pose for your next drawing." Solas looks at her confused for a moment, as if considering her question.
She pauzes for a moment and adds without hesitation.
"Naked."
"What?"
"That's right."
From a balcony upstairs they could hear some muffled movement followed by a familiar voice echoing down "You know Solas, if you're looking for nude models you only need to ask!"
"Dorian!" they say in unison, horrified.
Solas quickly tucks the sketches under his arm and stands up to grasp her hand, surprising her by pulling her close so fast she has to steady herself with her other hand landing on his chest.
Only a breath away from her ear he says softly so only she can hear.
"It seems like you found yourself a deal, ma Vhenan."
She squeezes his hand in response and when she looks at him there isn't a hint of his previous embarrassment. Instead there is a look of hunger and challenge in his eyes. It's so easy then, to lean over and kiss him, her lips a promise and Dorian's earlier interuption temporarily forgotten. Before she can get lost in the soft press of his lips she pulls back and feels a delighted thrill in the way he slightly chases them as she takes a step back. With a teasing smile on her lips she tugs on his hand bringing him back to reality and encouraging him to follow. As they make their way quietly towards the door she throws a judgemental look over her shoulder towards where she imagines Dorian to be hiding.
She is just able to make out a muffled conversation on the first floor "… These lovesick fools seem to keep forgetting this is a public space, if they don't want an audience they should find a room!"
Not sure if she should be terribly embarrassed or slightly thankful for Dorians intervention she doesn't manage to hide her smile.
"Let's get out of here then." she says as they start to make their way through Skyhold.
He squeezes her hand.
"Gladly."
#solavellan#solavellan hell#solas x female lavellan#solavellen hell#solavellen fanfiction#dragon age inquisition#No one can convince me otherwise that this scene hasnt happened#bioware robbed us from this being a real cutscene in the game#I mean dont you just love the idea of Solas sharing his passion for art and history with lavellan?#and all this time at skyhold#for sure she has run into him a few times covered in paint#and i just love the headcannon that solas ans lavellan forget they have an audiance of Leliana#Dorian and Fiona sharing popcorn and betting on who will make the first move#and you just know the frustration Dorian has felt#seeing the fools in love while they barely make a move at each other aside from fleeting glances#he had to get involved somehow#imagine dorian spending weeks on tearing down the magical wards on that chest#just to findout it filled with portraits of lavellan#LOL#dragon age inquisition fanfic#the dread egg#solas#solasmance#inquisitor lavellan#writing and artwork by me#acrylic ink and finelines on bamboo paper
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The Skyhold frescos painted by Solas, lined up. [source and art credit: Nick Thornborrow]
#dragon age#solas#bioware#video games#the art is so good in this series#the murals and frescos. paintings on the walls. environment/level art and everything#theres so much meaning in the Skyhold rotunda murals#I remember when I played DA:I the first time running to the rotunda after every mission to see if there was a new mural#its gonna be so cool to see new elven murals and other new pieces of art of all types in the new game
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Drew up this Wes with his revamped adventuring gear to give Myre so he could move forward with designing his timeskip look.
#dragon age#dragon age: inquisition#wes lavellan#just get yer jacket n quiver on n lets gooo~#Been feeling like Wes' armor is a lil lacking especially in comparison to his more casual wear (what you'd see him wear around skyhold)#Updating it had been on my to-do list for quite some time now#And the new game reveals finally put the fire under my ass to see it through +plus Myre's Insisting that I assist in his 10yr later look#Wes is my lil' bundle of frustration (affectionately) after all#n Nothing and i mean NOTHING is ever easy when it concerns Wes
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So I only JUST (three weeks ago) started playing my first Dragon Age Game (Inquisition) and my husband is so mad that I'm seeing DA4 spoilers, and it's so funny to me because
Him: You're not supposed to know Solas is the bad guy!! It was supposed to be a complete surprise!
Me:....
Me:....It was???? 😂😂😂
#dragon age#dragon age inquisition#dragon age 4#da4#solas#solas dragon age#bro he literally slapped up his Evil Overlord posters the SECOND we got to Skyhold#NOTHING about this dude says friendly or approachable#Just chilling by himself mumbling about ghosts all the time#He also has Evil Wizard face
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Why is the da community always like “well the game is good if you ignore these side quests, yes the writing is bad, but if you install these 50 mods, and then you make up a back story in your head so the main story makes sense then the games really fun actually ☺️” like guys… I think we deserve more better even…
#we shouldn’t have to do this okay#headcannons should enhance the expirence but not be required#this psa is sponsered by someone saying “it can make sense for the leader of the shadow dragons to be the black divine!!”#“its the northern chantry maybe Viper has more time to run a secret underground resistance movement while also being the pope”#be serious you know it doesnt 🚬#all im saying is we didn’t have to do this in DAO 🤷♀️#me making up shit about Essenya being the first enchanter of the Ostwick circle so I can believe in her as a leader 🥲 but at least they#give inky a sense of power and grandeur once u get to skyhold but rook???#if he disappeared from the game Lucanis Darvin and Neve would be fine without us when i did thier quests I felt i was just hired backup#datv#da posting
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Thinking about how haunted Hawke would be after everything with Anders. Specifically seeing an Inquisition where the mages were welcomed in as equals and knowing how much it would have meant to him to be able to see it. Knowing that without him being the first stone that caused the avalanche there might have never been a world quite like this. Hating what he did, hating that the fight still isn’t over, hating themself most of all for not realizing sooner, for seeing the building blocks of this new world and wondering just for a second if it was worth it.
#the elf talks#dragon age#I have a lot of feelings about anders’ romance where he still dies#and all of them center around ‘I loved him but it wasn’t enough’#and how that would RUIN Hawke#Hawke wondering if Anders had a point as they walk around skyhold#vs Hawke remembering the fire and the screams and the ringing of the explosion that never really went away#just Hawke having a rough time and seeing the ghost of Anders everywhere
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The fact that Lavellan, when meeting with Rook, asked about his relationship with anyone makes me laugh so much. Don't you think that after a 10-year relationship with an abusive, avoidant god, our Lavellan has become obsessed with dramatic love stories?🤣🤣🤣
#Solavellan#datv spoilers#solas dragon age#solas x inquisitor#I think all this time she forced Varrick to write her stories with sad endings so she could cry on the balcony of the skyhold#I think the movie Titanic would be her favorite
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it isn't until she seals the breach that sidri thinks the inquisition has any chance of surviving. prior to that, she makes any and all choices with the understanding that the inquisition is going to be short-lived and, when it inevitably disbands or fails for one of a thousand reasons, try to ensure that the blowback won't be targeted towards the people, groups and places she most cares about. absolutely none of this is ever voiced, but it guides all of her actions.
sidri thinks the inquisition, while needed and undeniable well-intentioned, is absurd (and it is lets be honest) so she acts as if she has a very limited time on an important stage.
when she manages to seal the breach, for the first time sidri suddenly understands that not only does the inquisition have some true power, it's going to continue to grow in power, and she very quickly has to completely reframe her goals and mindset.
#*hc#this doesnt minimize how much she cares early on (she cares deeply all the time about everything to her own detriment) but its more of a#when this all implodes how do i minimize the damage done to xyz#also lbr until skyhold the inquisition is just bananas on paper#so shes not really out of pocket for thinking its going to be a short lived wild experiment
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All I can say is I adore Marissa...and I feel like her hair would be really soft and I would like to pet it :3
#i feel like after they get to skyhold she would just crash in her bed and feel so well rested she could barely recall--#--that they were in the middle of a war with an ancient being who put a whole in the sky#also I know there is no way sera could possibly beat iron bull in a drinking contest#but actually wait you're wrong cause she's the biggest prankster of all time and she probably snuck something in#it was his fault for picking on her because he thought she'd be a lightweight XD#art#my art#marissa trevelyan#inquisitor#dragon age inquisition
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clawing my way out of frosty editor covered in blood and shaking...
but victorious
#well. the custom armor might be a wash (for the time being at least) but the formal wear WORKS (i say not having done wewh yet)#i wasnt even planning on using it for trespasser since the exalted council isnt a ball like wewh#but after how long this has taken i feel like i gotta now#i cant have spent all this time and effort for like. 2 hours of in game pay off#the skyhold outfit should be done soon hopefully!! just need to tweak the textures and uv mapping#sirotras speaks#siromods#but yeah thats. why i havent been on a whole lot the past few days x.x
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I love Lucio and Anders but I do think the two of them are like. Unhealthily codependent on each other. Like all my other romances in da could reasonably live with out one another (Morrigan and Aviae DID spend like a year apart not knowing if they would ever reunite so) but like these two are. Something happens to EITHER of them and the other one is not making it through it. It's like. Definitely bad but somehow they make it work?
#dragon age#oc: lucio hawke#handers#like. they do not like being apart at ALL#hawke going to skyhold is impressive because he managed to pry himself away from anders for that time 💀#it stems from like. anders spending so long knowing (or thinking he knows) that lucio is going to hate them#and lucio never wanting to loose someone close to him again after his mother dies. he cant cling on to carver (carver would never allow it)#so he clings to anders in a very VERY unhealthy way#but it like. works for the two of them ig?#eventually a few years down the line it eases and theyre able to spend time apart without being crushed by the anxiety#but those first few years after kirkwall they dont let each other out of their sight lmao#idk if im explaining this right i need to go to bed but Yeahg#my ocs
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@altuspavus
Saying that Neria was in a good mood couldn't capture the way her heart felt so full now that she had been reunited with Leliana. In person, for an undetermined amount of time. It could almost distract her from not having gotten a hold of Alistair yet. She wasn't a fan of being introduced as 'the Hero of Ferelden' to the few people from the Inquisitor's team who were close to the balcony were they were standing, though 'one of my dearest and oldest friends' was nice. And she hadn't seen Cullen face to face yet - now that was gonna be fun. "I'd have you as our guest of honor tonight, but-" "Nah, not before I talk to your new boss myself." "My new-!" Leliana didn't continue her surprised retort and smiled at Neria's smirk, recognizing that she was being messed with. She had changed, Leliana, had gotten darker, quieter, but this was still a thing for them. "I have to make sure we've got our stories straight so I can help with... whatever... that is," she gestured at the inquisitor who was on the floor below, talking to the people there to rally them up and keep them hopeful, "I'm only here as moral support and to stab demons. Also, possibly, never as a guest of honor of anything, thanks?" Still, as the speech quickly got derailed by the curious crowd and touched the Herald of Andraste subject that she had heard about but wanted nothing to do with, Neria wondered if she was joining a cult. She did chuckle eventually, and her voice had a note of hilarity in it: "I am... so uncomfortable right now," she grinned at Leliana, "I regret so many things." "I know you don't even believe in the Maker, but if anyone asks-" "All hail to the Herald, yes, no problem. Still." She gave herself a push away from the railing, "I am going to need all of the alcohol." Leliana quickly turned to the one introduced as Dorian Pavus, whispering something that Neria guessed to be about accompanying her. To keep her out of trouble, probably. Because company had worked so well as a deterrent, ten years ago. "All the alcohol," she repeated to Dorian.
#//i'm not using icons because I only have her real life fc but also PLEASE IGNORE THE LENGTH obviously you can write 2 lines#I had to set up the place (Skyhold. one of those balconies where we find Vivienne I'm guessing and the Inquisitor is talking right below?)#notice all the trouble I went in to not mention the gender of the inquisitor lol#altuspavus#first time at skyhold#muse: neria#show: dao#neria starter;#neria thread;
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writing dragon age fanfiction is so so so so hard for me because every time i spot another historical inaccuracy that’s like “i don’t care that it’s fantasy they have the same level of technology this is WRONG” i have to have a moment of like. “kaed NO ONE ELSE will EVER care about this. you watch ‘ranking period dramas on corset accuracy both in construction and writing’ videos on youtube for entertainment normal people simply do not give a FUCK about medieval castle layouts!”
and yet this cycle continues, because the dragon age devs so so so so clearly DID research but they did BAD research and it HAUNTS me. like WHYYYYY is there only one courtyard that isn’t even really a courtyard in castle cousland WHY is the “main hall” huge with no furniture while the great hall “dining room” is tiny as fuck and in a horrible to access spot WHY are there no ovens in the kitchens where the FUCK do they bake the breaaaad!! like ok fine cool servants get beds in thedas i’ll bite. that fucks hard, actually! but WHY are there more servant rooms than rooms for visiting nobles do you honestly think anybody in the middle ages fucking had servant rooms???? they slept on the FLOOR in the GREAT HALL! and WHY is there a fucking library and a ‘treasury’ (which what the fuck is THAT there should be a DON-JON in there you locked your valuables in the TOWER at the TOP, not in ONE room centrally located on the first floor with TWO guards!!) like i KNOW it was for level design i KNOW it was but oh my fucking g-d it’s gonna KILL ME to write out creeping through corridors when there WERE NO CORRIDORS! like look at this. look at this.
castle cousland: stupid, awful design, honestly they kinda asked to be coup’ed with their garbage unsurvivable castle that supposedly nobody sieges regularly even though it’s literally a death trap. there is ONE main exit, no way to trap your enemies, and only one official guard post that i can see. fuck awful.
harlech castle in wales: it took 115 years for someone to successfully take this castle, and it’s withstood COUNTLESS sieges, you can go visit it right the hell now if you go to wales (not at all getting into the evilness of the english building castles in wales, that’s not the point i’m trying to make.) see how the outside makes it so that even if your enemies breach the walls, to actually reach anyone important they have to survive the volleys of arrows from the ramparts? and then presumably kill everyone ON the ramparts, or the minute you go to open a door or try to drag someone out, you’re going to get shot full of arrows. that’s after breaching TWO heavy doors (which would require a battering ram both times) which would wake up the entire castle LONG before they got anywhere NEAR the heir to the castle’s wife and child.
and before somebody says “oh well kaed maybe you just don’t know your castle building periods very well” think again. i know my castle building periods. that style above is concentric (harlech castle’s initial construction was finished in 1289 and was one of the first finished castles in england in this style,) which came after the keep and bailey style, which came after the motte-and-bailey style, which came after the burh (which arguably WASN’T a castle but whatever,) etc. there are no fortified castles in english history that look like castle cousland, because it’s fucking indefensible. now, this does lead to the question of “oh, well, what is the timeline for the game, maybe there’s something you missed!” so let’s examine the time period of origins:
at the very, very latest, origins could be based off of the BEGINNING of the british “wars of the roses” (the civil wars between the various members of the house plantagenet) which began in the 1450s— this is personally what /i/ think origins is based off of, for a couple reasons. 1) trevelyan was a real person— g.m. trevelyan was a british historian who wrote about the wars of the roses, and in one instance there’s a quote of his the devs almost verbatim used for the design of the free marches: “the Wars of the Roses were to a large extent a quarrel between Welsh Marcher Lords, who were also great English nobles, closely related to the English throne…” they ixnayed the part about the marcher lords being ferelden nobles, i imagine because it was too complicated, but trevelyan? marcher lords? a close relationship with this country? (i.e. like somewhere that might take in their refugees after a catastrophe?) cmon. 2) because ferelden is fucking huge and the histories are kinda weird, because they aren’t 1 for 1, i’m gonna say that we have to use the norman conquest of england as our unification date. in other contexts i wouldn’t try to argue this, but in this one, i’m saying 1066 is the unification date of the anglo-saxon kingdoms into england. calenhad gives us a hard unification date for ferelden— the first landsmeet was in 5:42 exalted, ergo origins is 388 years later. the wars of the roses started in 1455, 389 years after the norman conquest ended. 3) the wars of the roses happened because of a succession crisis— admittedly, these two succession crises are very, very different, but there are definitely parallels between loghain and henry vi and alistair and edward iv. henry vi was crowned at a young age (loghain largely ruled for maric at various points in his life, starting when he was very young,) and was very ineffectual— he suffered from an unknown mental illness which made him extremely unstable and unable to rule for large periods of time. loghain, on the other hand, ruled when the /theirins/ weren’t stable, so you argue he had the opposite— meanwhile, his policies WEREN’T sustainable, whatever you might think of him. loghain is too shaped by his own experiences to be a truly good leader, and by the time his rule/anora’s rule is threatened by cailan, he’s sacrificed enough of his principles that he’s willing to commit atrocities (notably, margaret of anjou ruled during the worst parts of her husband’s mental instability, which again could apply to loghain OR anora, as they ruled fairly jointly after a certain point.) edward iv was the son of richard of york, who was eligible for the throne at a very young age (18 to alistair’s 19) because his father was dead. he was coaxed and led into battle by his cousin, the earl of warwick (also known as the kingmaker— sound like a protagonist you might know?) that’s about where the similarities end, but that’s largely because alistair is a grey warden— if he weren’t, he’d probably be able to have kids and end the question of succession. but he can’t, which, assuming the devs eventually remember, WILL lead to another civil war. hence why i say this is at the BEGINNING of the wars of the roses.
another option that could be argued but makes much less sense and i have no evidence for is that alistair has similarities to edward ii (second son who only became king because his brother died, married a more powerful woman to consolidate power, not very good at ruling, no offense to alistair,) but that still puts origins at like 1307-1327. in either case, they would have been using concentric castles— and given what time period castle cousland was originally built in, it would have been built as a motte-and-bailey, which would NOT have lasted four hundred years. so the castle had to have been rebuilt, and bryce cousland would have had to update that rebuilt castle, because no one lived in it during the orlesian occupation. so where the hell does this winding, weird multi-level design come from?
i GUESS— and this is SO charitable— they could have designed castle cousland based off of a country house design from the mid 1500s, but none of them look like that, either. they’re exclusively rectangular, for one thing, and one of the huge bragging rights of owning one was that they weren’t fortified— they came into fashion during a period of relative stability under the tudor rule, when it was considered guache and maybe even treasonous to build a fortified castle. ferelden is NOWHERE NEAR a period of stability, if anything at the end of origins they’re entering their greatest period of INstability, given what happens in inquisition, and that no matter who ends up on the throne, there’s no way for them to have children. so there’s NO way this castle is a country house, or inspired by one.
leaving us with the final conclusion that a) the game devs definitely did do research into the time period because i can fairly directly trace a line between the event i think inspired origins and the plot, but they didn’t do enough research to figure out what the everloving fuck the BUILDINGS looked like. so these castles make no fucking sense and can’t possibly be called historically accurate even with the fantasy defense, and b) i care WAAAY too much about this for somebody who isn’t even a medieval historian. my area of expertise is the paleolithic, i have no clue why this bugs me so bad i spent four fucking hours writing this post.
#anyone: so what are you getting up to on spring break? me: uhhhhhhhhhhh *spends four hours writing a bioware calloit post about their#historically inaccurate castles* Normal Things#it took me four hours bc i had to pare it down like 8 times btw. i could have kept going#btw there are image descriptions on the maps#dragon age origins#dragon age#long post#actually i take it back i DO know why it bugs me and it’s because they made this g-dawful design part of the plot on every single occasion#like highever? would never have been sacked if not for this design. redcliffe? whole story is about infiltrating this castle through these#extensive dungeons they never would have fucking built bc there’s no use for them. the palace in denerim (which doesn’t even have a name)#is so so so fucked. we can’t even get into it but i HATE it. denerim is a city small enough that not all the banns arls and teyrns can have#their own estates in the city meaning they would need rooms in the palace dedicated to them. where are those rooms??? if’s tiny as hell. all#they needed to do was to put up some extra wings you can’t go into that’s all they needed. i’m so so so annoyed by this it’s such a pet#peeve of mine. especially since skyhold is SOOOOOO good if’s the pinnacle of dragon age buildings no one else will ever be her#there’s multiple courtyards. there’s a garden. there’s the stables centrally located there are concentric walls there’s that weird palace#thing in the center with the world’s hottest great hall. there’s a FORGE there’s a keep there’s a guest wing there’s a tabern there’s#ANOTHER tower you can build there are sentry posts there’s a gatehouse there’s a bridge no one will ever replace her in my heart i know this#skyhold baby you are so so so sexy and delicious and everything a fantasy castle in a video game should be MWAH
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also im just saying but if the whole game was rewritten and you could just be some random ass cult built around the herald bc of them being able to close the rift i think it'd be a lot funnier
#ama mumbles#dragon age#dragon age inquisition#quick while the chantry collapses in on itself lets all make our own cults!#they cant wipe us all out like last time!#no writ of the divine were going completely heretical in these mountains tonight#this is also completely unable to exist but i think it would be funny#like yeah you get a taste of it in the first arc and you can read the text sort of that way#but once you get skyhold its just treated like ultimately youre accepted into the chantry mold. sad!
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wooow it's my favourite part of the game
#i am obligated to complain every time i get to this bit#but hey i did in your heart shall burn#i worked out some decent gear for fighting mages#the hardest part of the quest was saving lysette and threnn tbh. they die quickly on nightmare#but omg im respeccing every time the general enemy type changes (and sometimes for specific fights)--#and i had all cold damage and fire resistance stuff for the mages. and then the rift fight here has despair demons fml#ive gone and got back all my generic abilities now. ready for anything!#well..not really. one of the mechanical changes i like the LEAST in this game is that you cant change gear during battle#i know it's because you can make pretty much any gear you want so it'd make things too easy probably?#but it's terrible for playing solo because i can just get stuck with a staff that can only deal 1 damage per hit to a resistant enemy#like i carry staves of all elements but i dont know what i cant use until i cant use it yknow#but anyway. time to get to skyhold and then probably go to bed#personal#da#dai#i'll be real: i didnt expect this run to get very far. so. yay!#but now im 25 hours in so if it gets to a point where i cant progress im gonna be VERY disappointed#but i can see myself finishing it. it's not guaranteed by any means but it seems doable rn
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I feel the need to point out (if it wasn't already obvious) that Unwanted absolutely does not take place in whatever version of Thedas Tevinter Nights was set in, because a week to climb to Skyhold is bonkers.
#and also not canon in the games by appearances?#like i swear haven-skyhold takes like a day by foot and a few hours by horse#otherwise how the fuck did the inquisition get there in one day and how did the inquisitor get back to stop corypheus in time#i feel like no one has any set idea of travel times in dragon age not even the devs#i've seen fan calculations but never been convinced by any#i think travel in thedas takes as long as is narratively convenient#codex entries#all of this is absolutely rhetorical btw#i just forgot to make the post unrebloggable earlier#this post was meant to be a tidbit about my fanfiction to prove i was still alive thats all lol#im definitely not positing my own theories on travel in thedas (as stated i think no one truly knows) im just laying out my thoughts on it#if you have different thoughts thats okay :)
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