#and the dragons of course

[crownomancer]

Temeraire characters as D&D classes (part 1/?)

Because why not?

Laurence: This man is so Paladin coded it’s not even funny. He supports the party, everything comes back to his ideals and moral compass. He’s probably an oathbreaker who eventually finds a stronger purpose to swear himself to.

Granby: Ranger. Favored enemy reflavored as his hyperfixation on all things dragon.

Berkeley: Bard. Loud and lovable, makes friends easy. Is he blunt rather than eloquent? Yes, but you can’t help loving him and that’s the key.

Roland: Big sorcerer energy. Sorcerers use Charisma as their spell casting modifier to “project their will onto the world” and by god, she will.

Harcourt: I think she’s our fighter. Skilled, practical, good under duress, will pour hot coffee on you for being a dick. I also love a fighter with a soft side.

Under cut is a bonus concept sketch of paladin Laurence, the real reason I did this.

[dduane]

A meeting of dragons.

[caemidraws]

New Year Kiss

[arcane-gold]

hello rookanis nation. can i present rel and lucanis’s dynamic. sun and moon trope, one with boundless energy and one who gets 2 hours of sleep a night, guy i pulled by being an idiot, etc. they’re special to me

[demi-pixellated]

✨⚔ The Veilguard 🛡✨

[whitegownsandflowercrowns]

While I still don’t think it was done perfectly, the more I think about it, the more I think Blood & Cheese was done well. With no Maelor, the change to “which one is the boy” makes sense, and even Helaena offering up her necklace, which I really didn’t like at first, makes much more sense now that I think about it. Cheese(?)’s “does she look like a fucking prince to you” line and all their talk of sons makes it clear to Helaena that offering herself up is not going to do any good, and doing so might risk making them angry and just make them kill both children. So then of course she offers up her necklace, they have to be doing this for money and it’s the only thing that might appeal to them. Then, once they make it clear both kids are dying if she doesn’t tell them which one is Jaehaerys, she points to him. They know she’s telling the truth because she looks so guilty and horrified but she has no choice, at this point she can only save Jaehaera. Even her running out makes sense, being unable to watch the fate her son has been doomed to, saving who she can save and wandering around, not even being phased by Alicent and Criston because she’s so guilt-ridden and so traumatized and so stunned and so out of it that all she can do is collapse to the floor and say “they killed the boy.” Not even Jaehaerys’ name, they broke her so thoroughly that she can only speak like them. Okay maybe it was actually done well.

[chalkrub]

smorkin

[chanafehs]

Knights and Spirits

[monstermonger]

I recently bought an art book on Caspar David Friedrich, whose emotional work stuck with me since I first saw it in a museum years ago. Over the course of a few weeks, I read about his life and at the same time did studies/interpretations of many pieces. It was a really enjoyable and fulfilling project; here's a good lot of them together :)

I was happy to see many people enjoyed Friedrich's work+my interpretations while posting them individually. It took way too long, but I FINALLY set up a print shop for some of these + some other pieces for those who expressed interest. Thank you so much!

[kanis-things]

[zaahvi]

all that i am belongs to the pursuit of creation

[tampire]

Mother of Drogon

[allyriadayne]

what killed me about the dinner scene was that jace was really trying to get over his resentment and anger. he defended rhaenyra against ulf's rudeness and took her side and always looked at her after to see if she approved. taking care to not undermine her in front of the dragonseeds. am i doing it right, mother? am it making you proud? but when rhaenyra receives the message she doesn't share it with jace as he expected or called him aside to discuss it, she only called addam to accompany her to harrenhal (!) when jace has been so outspoken about going there. this kills him!!! he turns back to ulf and hugh after addam leaves because rhaenyra just made them the same!!!! jace is just like another dragonseed!!!!

[gojuo]

Remember what they're taking from you

Fire and Blood, p. 398:

Fire and Blood, p. 387:

Fire and Blood, p. 390:

Fire and Blood, p. 401:

Fire and Blood, p. 402:

Fire and Blood, p. 409:

Fire and Blood, p. 424:

Fire and Blood, p. 425:

Fire and Blood, p. 437:

Fire and Blood, p. 473:

Fire and Blood, p. 561:

Dangerous Women, The Princess and the Queen, p. 783:

Fire and Blood, p. 506:

Fire and Blood, p. 381:

Fire and Blood, p. 380:

Fire and Blood, p. 533:

Fire and Blood, p. 541:

Fire and Blood, p. 542:

Fire and Blood, p. 550:

[the-common-cowgirl]

Before Aemond and Laena, Vhagar’s rider was Prince Baelon.

Before Rhaenys, Meleys’ rider was Princess Alyssa.

Before Rook’s Rest, they were ridden side by side for decades by two people madly in love, then by mother and daughter.

Do you think, while Vhagar’s jaws were clamped shut around Meleys’ throat, that either of them wondered how they got there?

[tevinter]

Veilguard fails to realise that for those who believe, faith is stronger than anything, even facts.

Right in the beginning of Veilguard all the Dalish/veil jumpers are so nonchalant and against their gods returning, as if they were convinced offscreen that their whole faith was based on a lie (even though they all still wear vallaslin) and their gods were Evil™. This, again, fails to consider that the vast majority of the Dalish would either not believe or not care because it's their religion, their faith.

Morally ambiguous gods exist in real life religions too and it didn't stop people from believing in them. Divine morality transcends mortal understanding, so their actions are always rightful. This also leads to the concept of a 'god-fearing' person - even the term used (θεοσεβής) can mean both respect and fear. Mortals are humbled by the gods' power and greatness, and willfully submit to their divine authority.

You needn't go further than the goddamn Bible itself to see countless examples of unethical things that God did/supported including legitimization of slavery and punishment (Exodus 21:20-21 “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property." is one unhinged example), cannibalism, many kinds of violence, war, and of course, genocide, one of which was literally the deliberate destruction of nearly all humanity and living creatures on earth. The god of the most widely practiced religion in the world for millenia. Ask a devout Christian if they would stop believing in God just because 'um actually he is bad'.

Mystery is also a great aspect of religion, which also makes it an excellent worldbuilding element for writers. Mystery adds to the immersion because just like the characters, we don’t know everything except the beliefs and unanswered questions. And we're not supposed to, because this is how religion works in real life, where faith is about belief rather than what’s fully understood. It makes the story feel more real and engaging. Professional writers - of a AAA title no less - should know this.

Religion was one of the greatest themes in all previous games, especially Andrastianism and the Elven pantheon. Reducing it all to 'the Evanuris did it' is disappointing to say the least, and even if it was the truth that only the writers knew, they should have kept it that way, or at least some of the mystery. It adds immersion, drama, nuance, it encourages thought and discussion. For all Veilguard failed in the 'show, don't tell' rule, in this case this is too much exposure, and not even done in a good way. ''Religion is fake, so now everyone's atheist or unfazed. Oh, except for one (1) person who is mildly upset'' is not how faith works, especially in a setting so religious as Thedas.