#anders is protagonist material

[justcallmecappy]

Exploring the missed potential of Anders' character

Anders was an interesting character with a backstory and a set of characteristics that would have been amazing if explored further, but I believe his character's potential was tragically squandered by bad narrative choices and poor writing.

Here's a list of how I think his narrative potential hadn't been fully explored:

His name really isn't "Anders" -- it was a name given to him when he arrived at the circle at age 12 and was so traumatized he refused to speak, not even to say his name. BioWare has never revealed Anders' birth name. We also know that he has Anderfels heritage on his father's side, who migrated to Ferelden as a boy. It could have been revealed, through his birth name, that he has some connection to an Anderfels-related plotline: he could be related to the First Warden, or his family could have prominence or influence in the Grey Wardens of Weisshaupt.

Anders is a mage, a Grey Warden, and a host to a Spirit of Justice. This combination of spirit healing (already a rare branch of magic), Blight magic, and a connection to a Spirit of the Fade has never occurred before in known canon. Anders being connected to the mages, the Circle, the Grey Wardens, the darkspawn, and Fade Spirits means that there is a whole world of possibilities to explore with that combination, so many things you could do with his character.

Leveraging off Anders' connection with Justice, a potential key to finding the cure for the Calling could have involved possession by a Fade Spirit. (We already know Fade Spirits are essential to curing Tranquility -- perhaps there's more we could do with that.)

Anders could potentially be a companion to both the Hero of Ferelden and the Champion of Kirkwall, depending on your World State. If your HoF didn't die during the Archdemon battle and continued to Amaranthine, Anders (together with Justice) is the only NPC companion who has traveled with both the HoF and Hawke, and is also a potential love interest to Hawke. (Zevran and Isabela also are NPCs acquainted with both the HoF and Hawke, but only Anders has been a party companion for both.)

Anders could potentially be the only known Grey Warden to have met both the Architect and Corypheus.

Anders could have potentially have battled demons in the Fade three times: his Harrrowing, the Blackmarsh sequence in DA Awakening, and the "Night Terrors" Feynriel rescue mission in DA2. Considering these experiences, plus the fact he has his own in-built Spirit GPS in the form of Justice to help him navigate the Fade, Anders has the highest potential to be the one to rescue Hawke/Stroud/Loghain/Alistair from the Fade (if left there in DAI and has the potential to be rescued).

Anders may have political connections to the throne of Ferelden, if Alistair was made King, and was present at and endorsed Anders' conscription into the Wardens.

If your Warden was Mahariel, Anders would have a common connection with Merrill. If your Warden was Amell, Anders could have an extra connection to Hawke, having known their relative. A Warden Amell or Surana could also have an added layer of their relationship with Anders, having grown up in the same Circle together. (Anders just has a lot of connections to famous people and an extensive network that would have made everyone on LinkedIn jealous, is what I'm sayin 😆)

Anders being a prominent figure in the mage rebellion could also have been explored further -- especially in relations to Fiona, who was coincidentally another mage advocating for mage freedom and with a connection to the Grey Wardens and Alistair.

I just think it's tragic that Anders had so much potential -- arguably one of the characters with the most potential in the overall plot -- and yet BioWare squandered all that potential to push their brand of "grey morality".

The narrative and writing could have framed Anders as a heroic character -- it would have been so easy, the chances were right there -- which would have opened up the chance to explore the potential of his character further in subsequent works, but instead in DAI, BioWare doubled down on slandering his character to drive the point home that he was a villain, and closing off further exploration of his character post DA2.

[moliathh]

This had been irking me so i have to say it. I know Hellsing is a horror media with a LOT of flashy action scene, however, it is unjust to see it as solely gore and fights. I've seen complaints about how adding a "romance" in will reduce the quality of the story as an "action horror". (specifically speaking is between Alucard and Integra because of course in the end of the day this is just ship war, not a serious discussion whatsoever) I would argue that Hellsing is never ONLY about the actions. Yall might have already noticed how Alucard is too OP, and it was not even because he got any tricks up his sleeves. He is simply invincible, his mechanism is just that hes a "deus ex machina". He did NAWT need to start out with zero and levelling up like your common action anime protagonist. It's not a first time a central character is overpowered in an unreasonable way. A way you could interpret this trope is that it was not about battles, not the physcial one, but the development in their characteristic, their thoughts and emotions and ideology all that stuffs. A classic example is Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (TGK), where all of their (physical) battles are nonsense and did not mean anything in terms of combat, they dont even fight each other, even the climax (the decapitation of TGK) was dismissed into a looney tunes moment. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT WAS NEVER ABOUT THE BATTLE NOR PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT, it was the internal struggle and maturing in character. THAT is what's happening in Hellsing IF yall look pass the very flashy facade of gore scenes Hirano put up. READ BETWEEN THE LINES, because he's not gonna hand it out to you on a plate. If you want to see how each character developed you have to look closely at their reactions and dialogues, not how they fight.

SO, imo, it's reducing the quality and message of Hellsing to interpret it solely as an action horror media, not the other way around. AND MIND YOU, romance subplot and action horror can coexist. For what does the character fight? A higher ideal? Power? Fun? Love? All that is noteworthy to think about when you engage in a media display many fight scenes. DONT YOU WANNA KNOW WHY THEY FIGHT THAT HARD ???? and in this case it is VERY obvious that Alucard is motivated by Integra. LIKE it cant be more obvious

And I'm so tired of seeing "Alucard only listen to Integra because of the seal and shes a Hellsing". Bestie, he literally ripped Richard's hand off, we dont even know the extent of the seal, like how far? or can it REALLY control Alucard? Besides, if you have read The Dawn you would see what a damn lazy ass Alucard was, Arthur sent him on a mission and he didn't even bother to walk on his own and just sleep safe and sound in his coffin until he felt like waking up??? Compare that to his enthusiasm to beg Integra on four just for her order and even purposefully tick her off by asking about her enthusiasm for war, oh and did we collectively forget this

(This is the Dark Horse eng scan if i remember correctly? i might be mistaken idk)

Sure it could just be a mere parallel, "The woman he personally desired" might only means Mina Harker and not directly Integra herself, I see. But, why bother choosing this parallel, and RIGHT after this panel he went STRAIGHT to Integra to ask for her order.

You know how enthusiastic he is with a fight and everything was already laid before him, worthy enemies and all. Yet he would not act without her words? I did not see him needing permission before ripping Richard's hand off... Also the seal did NAWT ask him to do all this

There are more of his sickening and excessive display of obedience but i don't have time to pull the panels out yet, but we all know its there since Alucard's submissive attitude and Integra's bossy demeanour is one of their most appealing traits, I know, because it is literally one of the BIGGEST selling points and running joke of the fandom, funnyyyy how people always love to call Alucard a sub and use words such as "freaky" and "slutty" to call him as if he didn't reserved this treatment for ONLY Integra. Sure Integra is a demanding boss to even her enemies, and it works like wonder everytime, because she's Integra, she mastered Alucard, others are just piece of cake to her. But that's not the same case with Alucard. Major literally said "She is the only authority Alucard recognizes". And have Alucard extended the phrase "My master" and all the begging and insinuating jokes to anyone else? It's so convenient isnt it, to just take one specific trait of Alucard's personality and make it his entire character without considering to WHO he directed those innuendos to.

Oh and I haven't walk us to the final chapter yet, like the seal did NAWWWWWTTT asked him to call her "Countess" (or Count, depending on the translators) and literally he could accept his death becoming a paradox? Wasn't Alucard had been craving an end for a long while now? Why the need to return just because Integra asked him to??? Be serious for a moment here

Also a personal interpretation of mine that could be a stretch or just pure delulu is that, in the manga AND the anime adaptation, the last word Alucard said after goodbye is "Integra" (In both Japanese and English dub, the word order is exactly the same), not "Master" or "Integra HELLSING". The same goes when he addressed how he can kill without remorse but the decision is in her hand, he also said "I am a monster, now regarding you, Integra". To me that is an indicator for how he CARED for her not just because she's a Hellsing or his master but she's Integra, from the first of their meeting it was very clear, that Alucard wounded A HELLSING to protect Integra.

So... even non-romantically, you cannot deny that Alucard voluntarily worked for Integra. They DO care about each other a lot, even platonically, their bond is almost like soulmates with how well they trust and understand each other. I just don't like it when people keep side-stepping the depth of their relationship just because you don't like to ship them romantically. These are the canon informations you can't just seriously unironically say that there was nothing there.

And oh don't even get me started on the "But he is a vampire, the enemy of her family and he hates Hellsing because of Abraham something something stockholm syndrome something she's ace coded she's lesbian coded she swore to be a virgin until death she wouldnt throw it away for the enemy of her family etcera etcera" you're saying it as if ace people aren't allowed to date or have sex and you're saying it as if Alucard isn't canonically genderfluid. Why always view the ship as solely heteronormative while they were never conventional to begin with. And MIND YOU, i thought everyone love the enemies to lovers trope?? they were BARELY stockholm syndrome at all did we forget about the Bird of Hermes analogy as a metaphor for loyalty voluntarily given.

If you care so much about "monsters and humans are forbidden" and "they are not canon" maybe treat every ship with the same attitude since MOST of hellsing most popular ships fit into that exact two sentences above, maybe except Pip x Seras is canon, but they're also human x monster, so what now???? Just hate on a ship all you like, I hate ships too and I hate them because I don't like them, that's all, no need to do extra mental gymnastic to prove the ship is "wrong" or their shippers are "wrong".

[vigilskeep]

I've been going through your Keir Hawke tag because the character absolutely fascinates me and I keep seeing glimpses of Varric and Anders' friendship in that world state (especially something you mentioned about the book originally going to be about Anders) and it's making me feral

What do you think Varric and Anders' relationship is like? What does Varric think about Keir refusing to kill Anders and running off with him?

the thing about varric and keir is that even if they manage to get along in their way, their relationship is basically one of necessity. keir never trusted him in act 1, and varric vastly preferred bethany’s gentleness to keir’s whole uh attitude, but after the deep roads expedition they for various reasons both feel a level of guilt and obligation that sticks them together. you might say they’re more like family than friends, in the sense that with family you don’t have a choice. whereas varric and anders are actually friends, they get along, they joke together. varric finds anders hard to deal with in the later acts but they’re still at the hanged man together, varric is still trying to reach out in his way during banters, anders is trying to leave his possessions to him, etc. and that’s not like with varric and keir where something specific and insane happened to lock them together. he genuinely just likes anders

and varric is creatively interested in anders from the beginning; he’s talking about writing “an epic poem about a hopelessly romantic apostate” in literally the first banter they have. (why did he say hopelessly romantic. why did he say that.) i don’t think it occurs to him that keir even might be material for the protagonist of anything until... maybe the arishok duel, by which time iirc he’s already publishing his serial inspired by, like, aveline and donnic of all people. before that, keir is pretty obvious rags-to-riches plot inspiration but tbh i think varric thought that part was a bit cliché and that even if he did want it, he’d swap out the actual character for someone more likeable, lmao. god knows how or if he was thinking of writing the love interest in the anders-focused version of the book

i don’t think it would have occurred to varric that keir would spare anders and run off into the sunset with him. varric has a very surface-level read on keir, he kind of just sees the red hawke front. i think it’s umm... how do i put this. i think it’s integral to the severity of varric’s reaction to anders in dai that it doesn’t make sense in his head that he himself was more angry than keir, and that he was closer to agreeing with sebastian, the guy who went on to attack kirkwall. i think a lot of people including himself act “out-of-character” in that moment from varric’s perspective, and he finds that very distressing. the rewrite of the book that suddenly centres keir is also him rewriting his memories until everything “fits”. he never liked anders that much, it was hawke, hawke was always really the protagonist and varric has always been on his side, incidentally varric also totally always hated sebastian and is nothing like him, also anders’ actions are 100% sudden and crazy and varric’s anger over them is 100% normal impersonal and justified, etc etc. (to be clear i’m not saying this affects everything we see in da2 and that anders is Maligned in it or whatever. varric’s narrative in da2 is not the same as the book. a very significant amount of the truth slips back in when he has to talk so long, and talk for his life. anders’ sympathetic qualities and their friendship, for example, i can’t imagine that comes up a lot that’s in a book that canonically doesn’t even mention what happened to anders after the explosion.)

varric does not feel particularly normal about any part of the life anders and keir are currently living and he does not like to think about it. he had to rewrite the book into a tragedy to make sense of everything, which conflicts upsettingly with the reality that those two are... honestly simply not tragic. obviously they went through hell. but the mage rebellion is achieved. anders and keir are both visibly better in body and mind for being out of kirkwall. they do get married! it was varric’s home (a city keir hated) that got destroyed (by anders). and varric’s the one left on his own. and the one audibly kind of miserable and guilty and homesick and generally Doing Bad during a lot of inquisition. i think he finds that comparison very hard to even think about. it’s easier to see and analyse tragedy in other people like an impartial observer, than reckon with the fact that it was actually you it happened to and the people you miss and blame and feel bad for in equal measure are kind of just... doing fine? (without you. better the moment they left your city behind.)

(note: i am never arguing “the book was meant to be about anders” as a general headcanon, i just know it to be true in my worldstate)

[mourn-and-watch]

merrill dragon age isn't The Character in terms of being the guy with the juiciest backstory details or protagonist material but she is The Person. The Heart. she was working on one of the most important researches of elven history and no one believed in her. not her keeper, her teacher and mother figure. nor her clan, the only family she's ever had. nor hawke's friends, the only people who were surrounding her for six years. the only person who can actually place their faith in her is hawke but if they don't she won't mind. she is used to it, being on her own. and, despite everything, she believes in people. she knows it matters. better than anyone.

she has never heard a nice word from fenris, but she still tries to cheer him up from time to time. she has never heard a nice word from anders either and she still feels for him. varric annoys her when he tries to distract her from the eluvian, but she appreciates it because she knows he means well. aveline refers to her work as senseless and potentially dangerous for the city, but she is still happy for her when she falls in love.

if hawke sides with mages in the last straw merrill is the first to support them. "I believe in you, hawke", she says, when everyone else is consumed by doubt. and then she's the only one who openly suggests sparing anders. so he can put things right.

she knows the feeling. when you're on your own and everyone thinks you're beyond salvation, undeserving of compassion or understanding. and this is the best she can offer for people she cares about: her unconditional faith, her sympathy, a second chance. the things she was desparately looking for and never had. she believes in people because she knows: there's no one else to believe in them

[rookinthecrownest]

Discussion about romances + expectations under the cut (I'd put it as like..mildly critical, but also coming from a place of understanding?). As usual, will tag as such so you don't have to engage/read on if you don't wish to. I always invite open discussion, just keep it respectful (as I will endeavour to do so myself).

This is going to be a bit of a ramble, so I apologize if my thoughts are not clearly laid out like they should be.

I think I've found the reason why I (and maybe others), feel that the romances in Veilguard feel a bit... idk, hollow, at times (not BAD!!! just feeling like there could be MORE). And that's because of the trap of expectations. I may also be speaking completely for myself here.

Anyway, let's rewind to 2014.

Be me, 10 years ago. You're not really a gamer, but indulge in action RPG's casually.

See a commercial for this hot new game coming out called Dragon Age: Inquisition. Be intrigued by the character designs, but know nothing about the world. Come to find out it's part of a trilogy. So naturally, you buy the first two games and play through them before playing the third.

Be amazed, and completely hooked on the characters, the lore, the world, the darker elements and themes. It becomes your favourite game series of all time.

But you had no idea that you could romance any of the companions going into the experience. And man, does it fundamentally rewire your brain chemistry to fall in love with cRPG and get ridiculously attached to your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor.

So, you romance Alistair first because he's funny as hell, and has a really interesting story/character arc. Then you romance Zevran, and love that too - he's charming and suave and awkward and funny. Then you go onto DA2 and romance Fenris and Anders, and each of those romances pack their own emotional gut punches. Then it's finally time for DAI, and predictably, you go for Solas (a veritable slow burn that spans TWO games), Cullen, and partially (I never finished those playthroughs lol) Blackwall and Dorian.

I had no idea you could romance companions going into these games. It was a pleasant surprise! It always felt like an important part of the story, while not overshadowing the main plot. There was enough material in the codexes, the cutscenes, and party banter to make each romance feel complete and whole and awesome and nuanced.

And then, like some of you I suspect, I read an article that touted Veilguard as "The Most Romantic Bioware Game Yet", and I thought - "Wow, if they're saying this then the romances must be something else", given the quality of the previous romances you've experienced in these games!

But you get to the game - and while you're having fun, it definitely leans more into the ARPG style where romances feel a bit more pushed to the side in order to tell a certain story than the traditional Bioware/Larian RPG experience you've come to love.

Which is fine! Again, once I stopped thinking of Veilguard as a classic Bioware CRPG, and more like GOW/The Witcher, I found I was able to appreciate it a lot more for what it is. Things have to Happen A Certain Way for the narrative to work, and that's not a bad thing. DA2 was similar - it was a harrowing, personal tragedy about the Hawke family and their struggle to survive in Kirkwall.

Just like DA2, there are aspects of Veilguard that make me glad things happened the way they did. I'm not mad that Rook has so much dialogue without a ton of player input and you can't 'be evil' - because the game doesn't make sense if you can. At its core, Veilguard's narrative is centered around Regret, after all - you can't have an evil protagonist running around because Solas' Regret prison would never work (evil people don't generally tend to regret their actions...)!

Now, if you're expecting a long-winded, fully researched academic breakdown of every romance I'm sorry but that ain't happening tonight lol. This is not based in any fact, this is all opinion.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but sometimes it feels like the romances in this game (and I say this with the biggest grain of salt as I've only done Emmrich and Lucanis' - and am going through Neve's now), are just missing....something, to take them from good to great.

I loved Emmrich's romance. I thought it was very well done. I think a lot of people would agree it's one of the stronger ones in the game - doubly so if you play as a Mourn Watch Rook (you get a TON of MW specific lines going this route, it's great). His side romance with Strife if you don't get together is very cute, I enjoyed it. But as superbly well done as it was, somehow, I wouldn't even put it in my top 4 Bioware romances.

With Lucanis' romance - whatever my hangups may be about how it was handled, certain parts of his romance were done excellently (even better than some of the previous Bioware romances, I'd say). You can read more about my thoughts on his romance here which is why I'm not going into detail about it. Unlike Emmrich's, I would put it in my top 4 because I fell in love with the character that much (both in the game but really, I've loved him since Tevinter Nights), and I've grown very attached to my first Rook and him as a pairing. I've seen others share a similar sentiment on here (and I hate to say it but I agree) - sometimes it feels like I fell in love with Rookanis despite the way it was handled, not because of it. I can't say that for many other romances. While it's been fun to think up a lot of HC/write fics/make art about those abandoned concept sketches and parts where I felt the game could have showed us more of their dynamic, I can't help but feel like his (and other) romances would have immensely benefited from even 1 or 2 extra small scenes to flesh it out a bit more if they weren't going to let us freely talk to our companions.

The issue with the romances might also have something to do with the pacing of the game itself. I think Act 2 is where the pacing goes a bit awry, before picking back up in Act 3 (which is great, I love it).

Sometimes I also felt that there was a little too much reliance on codex entries and party banter to tell the story of the romance rather than showing it explicitly through cutscenes. I think that's what makes the romances feel a bit truncated at times, compared to the previous entries? Some of the romance-specific party banter was so good, it probably deserved its own cutscene. But it's also highly dependent on the party you have, and it's easy to miss/not trigger. I remember absolutely living for the cutscenes in the first three entries and I can't explain why I feel like, subjectively speaking, Veilguard just has less romance content (this may not be objective reality - I haven't compared the amount of romance specific content head to head with other games).

I also couldn't tell you why I feel DA2 doesn't suffer the same problems as DATV in terms of romance interaction - because you can't freely talk to your companions in that game either. Yet somehow, it always felt like I was getting enough of them to not notice that. I do miss being able to chat my LI's ear off and ask them questions about their life/their views/etc. like I could in DAO and DAI. I think it's a shame we can't because the companions in DATV are SO interesting. I want to ask them all a billion questions about their lives/stories/etc even if they're not my love interest. The party banter in this game is immaculate but being able to talk to them individually about this stuff would've been SO nice. I feel that I've missed out on SO MUCH of these characters just because I didn't have two of them in my party at the same time!

Anyway, I need to wrap this up.

In closing, perhaps, if I hadn't read that article about how it was going to be Bioware's most romantic game ... maybe I wouldn't feel this way? I think it sent my expectations through the stratosphere, and that's no one's fault but my own. Not Bioware, not EA, mine.

I know that this game's development cycle was a unique sort of hell that the other games didn't suffer. To go from Joplin -> Morrison -> Veilguard. To have so many of the original staff leave the team when Joplin got scrapped. To have to pivot from Live Service and then back to single person RPG. More lay-offs. It's a miracle this game got made. I'm happy I can sit around thinking about it. And I hope its successful enough that we get DA5 so we can all sit around dissecting that in 5-10 yrs time.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the Veilguard romances for what they are. I'm enjoying them more I play and discover additional banter/codex/etc that I missed the first time around. Like any Bioware romance, there are spots where they hit their stride, and spots where they falter a bit. When they hit their stride they knock it out of the fucking park. But when they falter, you can really feel it. Romance is hard to write! And you'll never fully please everyone.

But a small part of me wishes I'd gone in blind, and checked my own expectations a bit.

Maybe you agree, maybe you don't. Tell me about it. What was your experience with the romances? Did you also read that article and get your expectations up?

I hope this makes sense.

Kind regards good fandom folks,

Keep the discussion respectful. And please don't use this post as an excuse to just blatantly hate on the game.

-Rookie

[anneapocalypse]

22 and 25 for dragon age? 👀🔥🔥

🔥 Choose Violence Ask Meme 🔥

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

I said politics before, so I will point to another related thing I love that I think gets neglected and that's the lives of ordinary people. I wrote about this a bit in my post on why The Hinterlands are Good Actually and a big reason I think they're good is the insights they offer into the lives of commoners and how those lives have been disrupted.

This is of course directly related to politics. 😉 I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if you want to understand politics, fantasy or real world, one thing that's crucial to understand is the most people are primarily concerned with the material wellbeing of themselves and their immediate loved ones. If you understand this, you will understand why common people are doing what they are doing and what actions will sway public opinion. Pointing out that people are upset about having their houses burned down and their crops destroyed is not vilifying the mages for rebelling against very legitimate injustices. But it needs to be acknowledged that the Fereldan farmer is probably most concerned about her crops at this particular moment, and if you, the protagonist, would like to sway her opinion about the mage rebellion, you might want to do something to help her family survive the winter first. Welcome to politics. What the nobility are doing matters, but what the common people are dealing with also very much matters.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Basically every "this companion character doesn't grow or change!" complaint coming from someone who did not exhaust their dialogue tree and never took them anywhere. Yeah, you are gonna get a pretty shallow view of a character if you don't interact with them, boss, Idk what to tell you. I'm sorry if people are mad that character development happens in party banter but that has been a Feature of this series since the first and it's probably not going anywhere.

Moreover, 99% of the time when I hear this complaint, the character actually does grow and does change, they just a) don't do it in the specific way someone wanted, and b) the player character didn't get the opportunity to personally browbeat them into changing and then be praised for how right and correct they were the whole time.

Fenris and Sera are both really good examples of this (and both characters that I love). Fenris absolutely does change by the end of DA2. His journey is in recognizing the ways in which he misdirects his anger and lashes out at the wrong people (often apologizing when he does so!) and most critically achieving a level of safety that will allow him to begin to lower his hyper-vigilance (which can only be accomplished with Danarius's death). But because he doesn't get all the way to reversing his opinion on mages and become besties with Anders, people will insist that he doesn't have growth. Sera's journey is, like most companions, messy and incomplete, but she also has one and particularly by Trespasser has become a lot less knee-jerk in her reactions to elfy things and begun to acknowledge how much she's really been hurting herself. But because she doesn't fully embrace elven culture and incorporate it into her identity, for some fans it'll never be enough.

[catesartworks]

Isekai Maid Asks Pt. 4

Hello!

I have some asks below the cut that I got in my inbox I've gotten over the following months. Sorry it took so long!

Thank you so much for reading! Glad you like it :DD

Emilie most likely sees Claire as her own person, rather than an extension of Phoebe or King Dimitri (Claire's parents). Claire was born as a replacement for her elder brother, who was assassinated, and wasn't very close to her siblings or parents.

I think Emilie just saw a lonely child who needed someone.

Deliliah and Saoirse were lovers, definitely. Way before Saoirse became Caravaggio's mistress, Saoirse was dedicated to Delilah. Their relationship will be explored in season 3.

King Dimitri abolished the monarchy by purges. The aristocracy had tried to assassinate him because of his volatile personality and short temper. They wanted to replace him with a distant cousin. So he found a select, small group of nobles who would do his bidding, and started with killing any relatives that could pose a succession risk to him. Then, he killed all nobles (plus their families) who participated, or he thought participated in planning his assassination. He confiscated their properties and wealth afterwards.

In a way, yes. It was about Phoebe and Clara working through their own grief. Phoebe and Clara were co-protagonists.

If Clara survived and lived into older age, I think that Bridgette would still exist, but she wouldn't be "aware" like Clara is. She also would probably have a different name and life events that aren't influenced by it. Thing is, Bridgette is a bit of a glitch, and can theoretically have a second body on "standby." If Clara somehow was alive when she shouldn't be, she could even pass "herself" on the street! But most of the time, Bridgette's just born again and birthed normally. So she gets a hard reset and has to experience life all over again.

Pepper's daughter, Lily married into the Limpette aristocracy to get revenge for her mother. She had loads of blackmail material by the time she was older, and she was able to get compensation for her mother's wrongful death. Currently, Lily's descendants are quite rich, but fragmented due to some being loyal to Teffrah, and the others, the Kolt/Limpette aristocracy.

There are a bunch of other countries surrounding the three main ones. There's multiple continents as well. But I don't want the scale to get too big, so if I introduce new countries they probably won't have the same attention as Limpette and Teffrah. But I will have them mentioned in season 3.

Thank you so much! Yeah, I wish I had some of those stones too, hearing sensitivity can huuurt. ( T 0 T )

Thank you!

As for the "you were the whole character all along" trope I don't think I will use it since my story is really complicated/confusing sometimes, and I'm not entirely sure I could pull it off! ( T w T )

I tend to drop the really bad ones, but Iris: Lady and Her Smartphone was one of the first Otome Isekai I read, and while I still have a ton of love for it because of nostalgia, I also know that it uses some pretty terrible tropes that have come to haunt the genre.

The whole fossil fuels thing was just ughhhhh! They had a renewable resource, the magic stones and they just...pollute their world like we do because of Iris.

I finished it until the end, though....so...haha

It depends on the genre, or the setting. I think the main characters (Bridgette, Marina, and Shellie) would really thrive in a futuristic setting.

And I did make a jokey image "what if the maids were in a horror action survival webtoon?" where Lord Anders exploded because of a demon apocalypse, and the only people who could survive were maids.

I didn't finish it, tho

Thank you!

Yeah, I noticed that. I think as long as the maid is being compensated, it's fine but so much of the time I'm just thinking "you guys need to hire more people." Especially in "Divorcee's Dessert Cafe".

Neither would have any time on their hands for the level of product their making, not to mention the main character is always running off with the princes so many times I'm just wondering how she even manages a store.

But it's a fantasy a lot of stories have, not just in manhwa so it's nothing new. People fantasize a lot about opening bakeries, even though the reality is waking up at four every day and dealing with terrible customers.

Thanks for reading Isekai Maid! I really appreciate it. ( ^ w ^ )

[open-hearth-rpg]

Open Hearth Video Roundup - October 20, 2023

Welcome to the weekly Open Hearth Gaming video roundup!

These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the games we play every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play in games like these, join our Playabl community and click on the "Calendar" tab to sign up for upcoming games. To browse our entire library of session videos, please visit our YouTube Playlists page.

Open Hearth Gaming Calendar

Delta Green: Impossible Landscapes (Session 10 of 12) Shane runs for Blake Ryan, Brandon Brylawski, Mark (he/they), and Puckett The agents, badly hurt and fleeing the recent ambush, hope to find comfort and safety at the Dorchester House. But the hospital has secrets and dangers of its own.

The Mecha Hack: Ares Station Q (Session 1) Anya Reyes runs for Bryan, Steven S., and Travis Allison Today in Roleo Time, another game in English, we play The Mecha Hack! a game about pilots trapped in the middle of a war in an unknown planetary system. The Pilots have been stationed for a few months at Ares Outpost Q, the farthest outpost on the planet protecting a series of Transparent Aluminum mines, material used by the Collective to create much of the galactic infrastructure. But they are not alone, Kaiju lurk everywhere.

The Mecha Hack: Ares Station Q (Session 2) Anya Reyes runs for Bryan, Steven S., and Travis Allison The Pilots are sent to deal with a Kaiju nest nearby to Station Q. During the attack several of the eggs hatch and start to fight back, costing blood, oil and steel to the pilots. Meanwhile a mysterious sound announces something is about about to show up over the heads of the Pilots.

Star Trek: Fate of the Quadrant (Session 5) Alun R. runs for Lowell Francis, Paul Rivers, and Will H Personal Log - Stardate 48301.6 - Lieutenant Keenec Reporting: We've been at Gamma 7 for nearly a week for re-supply prior to embarking on our patrol of the Delera Sector. I've spent the time recalibrating the micro-settlement circuits in the food replicators, which seem fine to me. I've also had a chance to work with the team studying a recently recovered Dilithium-Herbert-Matrix that resembles the Horta contacted by the USS Enterprise and could be a new sentient species. Unfortunately, I got a little over-excited and the team asked me to leave. There's a 'difficult' local commander, a group of Bajoran religious dissidents, and a memorial service for the loss of the USS Intrepid over a century before. Then...territorial Tzenkethi; a deeply disturbing subspace signal; and eight (currently quiescent) threats...

Free from the Shadow: Samurai Fantasy (Session 2) Lowell Francis runs for Cale P, Elle, Mike Minutillo, and Sherri We see the clans enact some of their first moves, working to establish influence and gather resources to cover their shortfalls. Then the four protagonists join together, for many different reasons, to find out information about the vanishings plaguing the borderlands and locate a missing shugenja for the Azalea Crow clan.

Girl By Moonlight: Divine Engines (Session 2) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack The alarm sounds as a new Leviathan approaches the Last Bastion. Our heroes scramble, the first test for this new configuration. Will the new pilot survive? Will Tav reveal that he is not person they knew? How will Manon handle battling a divinely necro-tized version of her lost homeworld?

Star Wars Saturday

Solar Blades and Cosmic Spells (Session 2) Rich Rogers runs for Anders, Ethan Harvey, Sherri, and Steven Watkins The raiders are defeated, but a greater threat is uncovered.

Off-Calendar Highlights

Heroes of the Hearth: Fresh Faces (Session 2 of 2) Madelancholy runs for Paul D. and Rob Fletcher The townsfolk hear from their loved ones and of their failures in the distant battle, and secrets are revealed as the threat nears. We close out characters in this two-shot's conclusion.

Hearts of Camelot: Once and Forever (Session 4) Madelancholy runs for Chris Greenbriar, David Miessler-Kubanek, and Rod Santos Sir Bertilak offers the terms of the favor in return for his hospitality, and Ydelles makes an incredible counteroffer. Sir Elio and Sir Granit react with surprise and dismay at their friend's acceptance of changed fate. The characters continue their knightly path in their own ways in this next episode of David Adrian Randall's hack of Hearts of Wulin, Arthurian-style!

[byneddiedingo]

Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth in The Lady From Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1947)

Cast: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloan, Glenn Anders, Ted de Corsia, Erskine Sanford, Gus Schilling, Carl Frank, Louis Merrill, Evelyn Ellis, Harry Shannon. Screenplay: Orson Welles, based on a novel by Sherwood King. Cinematography: Charles Lawton Jr., Rudolph Maté, Joseph Walker. Art direction: Sturges Carne, Stephen Goosson. Film editing: Viola Lawrence. Music: Heinz Roemheld. 

Like most of Orson Welles's Hollywood work, The Lady From Shanghai is the product of clashing wills: Welles's and the studio's -- in this case, Columbia under its infamous boss Harry Cohn. And as usual, the clash shows, sometimes in Welles's brilliance, such as the celebrated shootout in a hall of mirrors at the film's end, and sometimes in his indifference to the material: Is there any real excuse for the farcical courtroom scene that so violates any sense of consistency in the film's tone? Welles miscast himself as the protagonist, Michael O'Hara, a two-fisted Irish seaman, complete with an accent that he must have picked up in his youthful days in the Dublin theater. His soon-to-be ex-wife, Rita Hayworth, was forced upon him by Cohn, whom he angered by having her cut her hair and dye it blond. Her Elsa Bannister is the epitome of the treacherous film noir femme fatale, but it's hard to say whether the screenplay -- mostly by Welles -- or Hayworth's limited acting ability prevents the character from coming into focus. The real casting coup of the film is Everett Sloane as as Elsa's crippled husband, Arthur, and Glenn Anders as his partner, George Grisby. I use the word "partner" intentionally, because the film dodges around the Production Code in its hints that Bannister and Grisby are more than just law-firm partners, evoking the stereotypical catty and mutually destructive gay couple. Welles insisted on filming on location, which means we get some fascinating glimpses of late-1940s Acapulco and San Francisco, shot by Charles Lawton Jr. and the uncredited Rudolph Maté and Joseph Walker. In short, the movie is a mess, but sometimes a glorious mess.

[thehungrycity]

WIP Storybible: Day 13

From @the-wip-project

Yes, I am picking this up again! I only have two days left to go, so why not?

Theme, message:

What is the theme of your story? 

My Sara Hawke universe is ultimately about making the choice to pursue freedom, but it takes different forms for the three protagonists.

Since Bethany and Carver was born, Sara's life has been about preserving the family. She carries that with her, despite attempts by Bethany to see that she doesn't need to take on this role. Her entire arc is dominated by her need to attempt to control external circumstances in order to secure her family's future, not acknowledging the agency that her family members possess to change their own situation or her own inability to materially effect the external circumstances. It is only in the last half of the last act of the story that she finally, finally makes a choice that leaves that behind. Which also finally acknowledges the agency that Bethany has been demonstrating all along.

Fenris's life has been obviously been dominated by a lack of freedom. But not by an inability to choose - we learn from the banter that he considered but rejected suicide. It is a limited form of choice, but it is a form of choice. So in many respects he is much further along on his journey than Sara, because he recognises the ability to choose. However, even despite this, he finds that he keeps falling into old patterns - rage at his Master and his apprentice, hatred of mages, and the desperate desire for a secure relationship. His character arc has him confronting these emotional responses, trying to work out how much of it is trauma and needs to be let go, and how much of it is stable ground for building a future on. Isabela and Aveline both give advice that suggests his relationship with Hawke is a crutch that is limiting his freedom. In the end, he comes to accept that he cannot and does not want to control all of his choices, but that what he has chosen is leading him to freedom.

Anders' life has also been constrained, by the Circle, then by the Wardens, and now by his fugitive status. He also makes a rather significant choice, which we all know about. His arc is about how he gets there. If I do it right, there will be lots of little moments all the way through the story that add up to his ultimate decision that it is worth sacrificing his freedom, his future, and those of the innocent bystanders, for what he sees as the greater good for all mages. And that is a devastating choice. His choice is made in despair, but it is not illogical. I want to trace the route of that logic over the course of the story.

[princessshikky]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

@squirrelwithatophat tagged me, and I'm just going to pretend I'm fashionably late to the party or something.

As far as I understand, you just name 10 of your favorite characters from 10 fandoms? Is that it? Also, I'm not going to rank them, it's not a "top 10", they're all my favorites.

Chi Xiaochi, "Don't pick up boyfriends from the trash bin"

One of the best protagonists ever, and here's why: he's extremely ruthless, calculating and manipulative, cruel and vindictive... but he's not a villain protagonists, he actually has a solid moral compass and a strict code of ethics. He's never needlessly cruel, and while he may initially come off as a jerk because of his cynicism and a devil-may-care attitude, Chi Xiaochi is actually a very kind and caring person. But when he's dealing with his "targets", who are awful, horrible, no-good scum-of-the-earth, CXC is absolutely the scheming bastard. And it's glorious. Also extremely rare in a protagonist, which makes CXC stand out.

Oh, and he's very proactive, which can't hurt. Love me a proactive protagonist.

2. Wen Ning, "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation"

A sweet, gentle zombie whose superpower is turning into a roaring berserker when he feels like it. Also he's extremely loyal, nice to people, and he once made a grown-up man cry just by talking.

3. Anders, "Dragon Age 2"

Anders is my favourite Bioware character, period. He's the person who spent years being brainwashed by a corrupt theocracy, defied them at every turn, risked his life to provide free medical care to refugees, then went out of his way to try and start a revolution against said corrupt theocracy. And it was awesome. Honestly, the chantry boom on its own would've been enough to make me love Anders even if he were a homicidal maniac, but he's also very caring, brave and devoted person. And gorgeous. And passionate. And is the real hero of "DA2", because while Hawke just runs around and does crime, Anders is there peacefully (and not-so-peacefully) protesting against the people who would execute him for his mere existence.

4. Luffy, "One Piece"

Again: love me a proactive protagonist who does stuff and moves the plot instead of waiting for stuff to happen to him. And Luffy's awesome.

5. Sir Lancelot of the Arthurian Legend

I love almost every iteration of sir Lancelot (let's just all pretend "The mists of Avalon" don't exist, ok?). He's perfect. Nothing else to say.

6. Ned Stark, "A Song of Ice and Fire"

Ned is a fundamentally good person, which makes him an awful politician and costs him in the long run... but you know what else that makes him? A perfect husband/father material.

7. Iskander, "Fate/Zero"

A charisma that literally moved armies. The only person to weaponise the power of friendship. Also Iskander is surprisingly smart, and a lot of his seemingly stupid and rash decisions are well thought-out, once you stop to think about them.

8. John Gaius, "The Locked Tomb"

The Evil Overlord done right. Like, he's extremely obviously evil, he's literally a necromancer waging war against humanity, and yet I can totally believe people are standing in line to join his army. Hell, I'd stand in line to join his army! John Gaius is what you get when someone reads "200 things I'd do if I became an evil overlord" and says "Hey, that sounds perfectly reasonable, I'm doing that".

9. Alexander Tiedermann, "Dark"

Perhaps one of the healthiest, sanest, nicest characters in the whole show. I also love how he's initially presented as a cold, uncaring mogul only to be later shown as a loyal and caring husband and father and a decent human being overall. Considering how most of the cast are awful people, Alexander was a breath of fresh air every time he was on screen.

10. Hob Gadling, "The Sandman"

I just like his story arc. The immortal human who never gives up on humanity, who never loses hope, who loves this life and this world, whose endless optimism and perseverance impresses even the beings who stand above gods. Neat.

[justcallmecappy]

The Andersmance as a narrative of hope

One thing I've noticed while in the Dragon Age fandom is the prevalent interpretation of the Anders romance as a tragedy, or a romance that's inherently tragic. Anders acts behind Hawke's back, destroys the Kirkwall Chantry no matter what choices the player makes, the player sees this as a huge betrayal, and — despite having romanced Anders, and/or being mage-sympathetic — they decide to execute or banish Anders as punishment for his 'crime'. Tears are shed; it's all dramatic and tragic and angsty.

While I sometimes appreciate tragedies, I would like to posit a different perspective: The romance with Anders is a story of hope; a story of standing up to insurmountable odds and overcoming them. The romance with Anders can be approached as one with a happier ending, where Hawke and Anders are the heroes.

Before I elaborate, a disclaimer: These are my own opinions. I understand some players prefer the Andersmance as a tragic romance, and to each player their own. I am not here to dictate the choices you should make in-game or how you approach your playthroughs, merely to present a different perspective to one I've seen very often.

Also, this post is critical of the rivalmance with Anders — more on that later.

The Andersmance as a narrative of hope relies on two perspectives:

Firstly, the Chantry is an authoritarian institution who are the antagonistic force that the heroes need to oppose and take down. There is plenty of meta that explores and supports this.

Secondly, Anders is a heroic character:

He is a healer who set up a clinic providing free healthcare for the marginalized and downtrodden people of Kirkwall who otherwise have gone overlooked by their own Chantry.

He let a Spirit of Justice into his body, simply to help Justice continue to exist in the physical world when he would have otherwise disappeared into the Fade.

He regularly risks his safety and security by helping mages escape abuse in the Gallows and have a chance at freedom via the Mage Underground.

These are all acts of someone who is kind and compassionate, and, yes, heroic.

He is not a villain who needs to be stopped. He is the hero of the story who needs help and support as he challenges systematic oppression. He's Katniss Everdeen standing up to the Capitol; he's Luke Skywalker opposing the Galactic Empire.

Hawke is that supportive pillar, that safe harbor, that source of unconditional love for Anders in his times of struggle. "The one bright light in Kirkwall" who stands by Anders' side as they face insurmountable odds together.

In World States where Leliana becomes Divine Victoria, this means Hawke and Anders' struggles were not in vain. Through their actions, they sparked a series of events that culminated in the abolition of the Circles.

Anders' prophetic speech about how, "Ten years, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no Templars to tear them apart" carries so much more weight, because loving Hawke gave him hope for a better future that Anders actually gets to witness in his lifetime.

Do you know how powerful such a love story is?

Their love literally changed the world for the better.

They loved each other, that love gave them courage, and now future generations of mages are free to find a love as strong and precious as the one Hawke and Anders share.

Of course, the condition of this is that Hawke loves and supports Anders wholeheartedly, meaning that this obviously takes the Friendship route for the romance. The rivalmance where Hawke downplays Anders' struggles, breaks Anders' spirit, undermines Anders' confidence, and tries to convince Anders that his cause is needless has no part in this narrative of hope; in fact, I would go so far to say that Hawke is the villain in that version of the story.

Personally, stories of hope have always strongly resonated with me. I gravitate towards stories where our protagonists are presented with challenging obstacles (whether they be internal, external, or both), and things may seem bleak at first, but they bravely carry on, and by the end of the story the characters have made themselves better people, and/or made the world a better place.

Anders and Hawke had many chances to turn away and ignore the plight of mages and just get their own happy ending, but they didn't — they carried on, because they were the heroes, and they knew all mages deserved to be free as they were.

[thedigital-witnesses]

"Among champions of greater sexual freedom and tolerance few were more prominent than Magnus Hirschfeld, a Prussian-born physician whose interest in alternative medical treatments and viewpoints extended to publishing (albeit pseudonymously) a tract defending same-sex love in 1896. The next year, at thirty-one years of age, he cofounded the Scientific Humanitarian Committee. Its motto was “Through science to justice,” its agenda advocacy for greater understanding of sexual minorities and, specifically, to overturn Paragraph 175, which criminalized male homosexual acts as well as other perceived sexual aberrations.

In 1919, Hirschfeld opened the Institute for Sexual Research, which offered public education and counseling. That same year saw the release of Different from the Others (Anders als die Andern), a commercial narrative feature he cowrote and appeared in and that made an impassioned, very direct plea for 175’s repeal. It was the first movie to portray homosexual characters beyond the usual innuendo and ridicule.

Thought entirely lost for many decades, then recovered just in fragmentary form, Different remains a less-than-complete artifact. The Outfest UCLA Legacy Project’s new restoration, incorporating materials from numerous sources, is the most comprehensive version available in at least eighty years. But even it is missing whole characters, subplots, and scenes, including a set piece (glimpsed only in a surviving still) in which the protagonist imagines Da Vinci, Tchaikovsky, Ludwig II, Oscar Wilde, and other historical figures who suffered for their sexual orientation. Intertitles fill in many gaps left by footage unlikely ever to be found—the Nazis made a point of destroying all the prints they could lay their hands on after they came into power in 1933."

FROM: Essay by Dennis Harvey. Read more here: https://silentfilm.org/different-from-the-others/

Watch the film here:

[autisticcole]

Intro

Hello I am Kitty, he/they/voi, 22+, white, queer, neurodivergent (Autistic, etc)

Howdy! This is a side blog to @kitty-does-stuff for Dragon Age where I will be posting a variety of things, mainly writing (fic & meta) & art for the fandom! Be warned this blog is not spoiler free! When DAV comes out I will tag that game's spoilers as #DAV Spoilers but I am not doing that for pre-release material nor games & outside media that has came out before now.

Tags/Links

My Main ☆ Ko-Fi ☆ Ao3 ☆ My Meta ☆ My Fic ☆ My Art ☆ Of Jade & Catnip Tag

What Is “Of Jade & Catnip/OJ&C”?

It is a world state, specifically me & @wickedapostate 's canon world state which we write for, RP in & otherwise look through the lenses of when it comes to Dragon Age.

Our protagonists go like this:

Darrian Tabris, my city elf Zevren-mancer rogue, more details in OC section below 

Garrett Hawke, @wickedapostate's Hawke & one of the Hawkes of Of Jade & Catnip, check zir's page for more info.

Marian Hawke, purple mage Anders-mancer, she is Garrett's twin & a Hawke experiencing some of the stuff Garrett won't (like rewritten Rival paths), more details in OC section below

Zinnia Lavellan, @wickedapostate's Inky & main Inquisitor of Of Jade & Catnip, check zir's page for more info.

Yared ???, my Rook who is obviously a WIP but will be a Rook for Of Jade & Catnip & I plan to be a elven crow romancing Davrin.

Nazari, @wickedapostate's rook & the 2ndry rook, check zir's page for more info.

Though important note, the potential protagonists do still exist within the world, they are just off doing other stuff.

OCs

Wardens/HoF/Potential Wardens

Darrian Tabris, The Hero Of Ferelden

He is the Hero of Ferelden for me & @wickedapostate's main worldstate Of Jade & Catnip

A city elf archer (crossbow) rogue with (lore) specializations in Assassin, Duelist & Shadow.

Trans man, he/him, gay

He is a Zevran-mancer who did also have feelings for Alistair but never fessed up.

He chose most of the good outcomes, especially for those in lesser power like elves & mages but towards foes was merciless.

He softened both Alistair & Leliana & in turn they softened him a bit.

He made Alistair king, he didn't trust Anora, he wanted Alistair safe and… While he loved Alistair he also wanted him to know what it felt like to be thrown in a leadership role he didn't want.

He survived DAO by having Alistair perform the Dark Ritual.

The above two things are his own biggest personal regrets.

He is traveling the world with his love Zevran, hoping to one-day return to his friends with a cure to the calling in hand.

He has a child with Zevran, her name is Adaia Tabris II, she has a puppy mabari named “Woofsbane” and I am still working out details but she is roughly 10ish by DAV

Solona Amell, The Escaped Mage

A human mage who as a warden would have (in lore) specializatied in Arcane Warrior & Battlemage, as well as her true main specialization which is non-canon but a expansion on Ice magic.

Cis Woman, she/her, Bi

Amell as the warden would have tried to stay loyal to Chantry but ultimately does care deeply for others, still a lack of social skills meant a lot of blood like the werewolves, she would have been a Alistair-mancer but would lose him the Landsmeet when she couldn't bare to take Anora's father from her like how Amell had lost her own parents, ultimately she would have given up her life to defeat the Archdemon, leaving her friends & once-lover haunted by her short life.

But that is not the main world state, Amell is only a potential warden.

Within Of Jade & Catnip Duncan never came to The Circle, Amell was taken down into the dungeons to await judgment, everyone thought when the circle went to shit she died down there, there was enough blood for it.

But no, as templars died above Amell noticed the enchantments of her cell weaken, to the point she was able to use some of her magic, in a panic fueled state she was able to freeze the bars & break out, then slipped out and swimmed across the lake, she doesn't remember how she made it across the lake.

After this she disguised herself as a fleeing commoner & escaped to Kirkwall as a refugee, for awhile she just worked odd jobs until eventually she got a letter that pointed her to a interesting employer, the letter led her to The Black Emporium.

During the events of DA2 & DAI Amell works as someone who tracks down & brings back items for The Black Emporium to sell, meaning she's gotten to see much more of the world.

Between Trespasser & Veilguard Amell & Cullen have rencountered each other & at first things were tense as they highlighted the many flaws they had both yet to deal with (Amell's emotional walls & attempts to act “perfect”, Cullen not yet confronting the anti-mage stuff of the Chantry & that he partook in)

As they both self-improve by dealing with the other they form a earnest bound & eventually get together, Amell happy to have some security & a family of her own.

Fey Mahariel, The Guardian of the Forest

A Dalish Elven two-handed warrior, specialization not picked yet

Non-binary woman, she/they/he, Lesbian 

As a warden she would be a Morrigan-mancer

I haven't figured too much out about her, main worldstate or warden, she's a remake of a old PC of mine, so this has room to grow

As a warden she is tbh one of the least morally gray, she is a pretty kind person & leads with that & she has some natural leadership skills

Within the main world state Fey alone without Duncan wandered deeper & deeper into the forest looking for her clan, as she started to weaken & thought for sure she would die, the guardian of the forest aka the sprint responsible for the werewolves found her, and seeing the kind heart did the only thing she could to prevent Fey dying, which was turning her into a werewolf

Due to Fey's extreme level of willpower she kept her personality & intelligence, she stayed away while The Warden dealt with the werewolves & oddly she wasn't turned back to normal, that would have just killed her, but instead gained the ablity to transform between their wolf & elf forms.

I do think Fey did look for his clan & did eventually find out what became of her friend, but after that I have yet to decide their fate

Lucien Cousland, The Prideful Heir

A noble human, sword & shield warrior specialized in Reaver, Spirit Warrior & probably other stuff too

Cis Man, he/him, Bi

This is my stinky, no good, war criminal, chantry-boy, abusive cunt of a warden! Aka I made him for the Evil!Of Jade & Catnip worldstate & he works as an antagonistic force within the normal Of Jade & Catnip as well.

Something important to know is that Lucien was possessed at a young age by a spirit of wisdom (eventually becoming a demon of pride) that stayed around the Chantry inside his family's castle & was made up of primarily the wisdom of Chantry teachings, which for Lucien always give into Pride

As the Warden Lucien at the start is just an extremist Chantry-boy, he doesn't do things to be cruel but does do things like siding with the templars at the Tower, he is though within the realm of like Leliana thinking she can make him better & being with him. This changes disaticaly at the Temple Of Scard Ashes, Lucien is actually very interested in what the disciplines of Andraste have to say on the matter & ultimately sides with them & kills Leliana in the process, at this point he becomes fully self-serving, so while on the surface he would still say he is doing as Andraste would, but even he knows that isn't true, he just wants power, ultimately leading to him marrying Anora & becoming King

Within Of Jade & Catnip he reached that completely selfish thing a lot faster, pruly because he lost his dog named Buddy, who went on to be Darrian's Barkspawn, yeah uh Lucien is not really stable in the same way a rapid dog is.

It was by only the fact that he was poocessed that he was able to escape the massacre of the rest of the Couslands, he did try to head for Ostagar to warn his brother, but hearing the news of what became of the army he assumed that his brother had died & that it was highly likely if his survival became known a price would be put on his head, so he headed for Orles despite his distate for the country. 

This is around the time he & Wisdom really lost it, it being their collective morals as they killed & stole to survive & internalized how it was okay, because they… Well they convinced themselves that they mattered in some sort of faith-based way, and as they studied along the road Lucien started to piece together a new belief system, one cemented when he had to fight a dragon along the border between Ferelden & Orles

The idea was this, that he was meant to spread the Chant across the world, make the few non-believers left have to accept it, and the way to do it was to harness the power of dragons, so he became a reaver & he planned out a idea, to have a mage child & see if there was a way to combine blood magic & reaver abilities, use dragon blood as power for spells & the body, & have that person at Lucien's beck & call as he figured a child would have to be

This is when Winona enters the picture which is better explained below

Since then Lucien has been traveling all of Thedas looking for sources of power & ways to get training for Nell, his son who he kidnapped from the boy's mother & renamed after his own lost mother.

Funfact, Lucien is very loosely based off my very first Warden who was a human rogue, not evil but did name his dog “Buddy” & I wanted to explore a deconstruction of DA's habit of making human noble characters who are morally pure & otherwise the framework the games dialog is based on.

Winona Amell, The Orlesian

Warden-Commander (Might also play her as a Rook depending on the background of human mage gray wardens)

A human mage specialized in Blood Magic, & probably other things, she's meant to be a very scary foe in combat.

Cis Woman, she/her, demi-Aroace (Bi)

Tbh Winona is a more recent OC that I came up with by combining three implied characters, Solana Amell's sblings, the Orlesian Warden-Commander & the mother of Nell Cousland, a oc of mine & Lucien's son

Winona is a apostate mage, during the time of the blight she escaped a tower within Orles & started making her way to Ferelden to try to find Solana, in world states where the HoF dies (like Solona) this is the point where she is conscripted by the Grey Wardens & quickly starts moving up ranks due to her magical skill.

But within main Of Jade & Catnip she instead met Lucien Cousland, a fleeing Ferelden noble, who laid on the charm & bounded with her as he said like her he had lost his family & was deeply alone like her, they ended up together & Lucien got her pregnant.

Shortly after that Lucien disappeared, she had no idea where he went & had to rely on the kindness of a small town to survive during her pregnancy, unfortunately it gets worse.

When she finally gave birth she had a little baby boy, & she treasured him, as both the only other Amell she had gotten to hold in years & as a reminder of a man she thought understood her, unfortunately he had tricked her.

A few months after the birth Winona woke up in horror one night to find a empty crib & a open window, asking around town she to her horror was told a man matching Lucien's description had been seen with her baby boy.

Winona did try to go after him but was found out as a apostate but “luckily” was recruited for the Grey Wardens & has been rising in the ranks.

I do intend on Winona eventually finding her son, Nell around the time of DAV, as well as reuniting with her surviving siblings. Also getting bloody revenge on Lucien & being the death of him

Hawke & Hawke Family

Marian Hawke, Twin B

Marian is a purple mage, specialized in Blood Magic & IDK 🤷‍♂️ 

Non-binary, she/they, Pan

She is a Anders-Mancer

Marian is one of Hawke, within OJ&C there is sometimes two protagonists, they're there to show off stuff that would be missed with one protagonist, like rivalry/friendships, the other Hawke is Marian's twin brother Garrett Hawke, who belongs to @wickedapostate

Marian is very pro-mage & has a hard time getting along with lawful or anti-mage folk, so had (rewritten) rivalries with people like Fenris, Aveline & Sebastian.

Marian has a permanent injury to their leg which they got saving Craver from dying during the prolog

For most of the game Marian is trying to urge Garrett away from responsibility politics to mixed results.

After the Chantry blow-up Marian side agree with Anders but elected to spend time away, mainly because she was worried she would encourage him to do more things that would piss off The Chantry, during this time she stayed with Isabela

Within OJ&C we have the choice of who to leave in the fade be between the two Hawkes since otherwise it'd be Strode, the one left behind was Garrett who had to ask Inquisitor Zinnia to knock Marian out so she won't stop him.

After this & the mages being freed Marian sets to work in Kirkwall making fucking sure The Gallows would never be used for evil again, and joined the College of Magi

The College in Kirkwall acts as a school as well as living space & collective hall, Marian is one of the teachers & heads of it.

More details are to be explored in a fic about Robin Hawke but the important things are: Marian becomes possessed, Marian & Anders reunite & get back together, Marian adopts two students, Robin & Arthur

I have her on my rp blog & thusly she has a character bio! Here is a link

Robin Hawke, Dreamer Daughter 

A human mage, she is a dreamer! & in the worldstate where she is a rook she would be with the Veil Jumpers

Cis Woman, she/her, ???

She is intended to be the blue Hawke out of the OJ&C Hawkes

Robin was a orphan Apostate who was wandering the world before mages were freed, afterwards she went to Kirkwall hoping to be mentored by the Mage icon of Hawke

She is going to be the protagonist of a series of mid-length fics that cover the time between Trespasser & DAV and expand the world in reflection to the worldstate, specifically Robin will be getting schooled at the magi college of Kirkwall & going on adventures around Thedas with Arthur & one other friend

Given the fanfic thing I am not going to share more since I want it to naturally come up, just one important thing to know is that Robin is adopted alongside Arthur by Marian.

Arthur Hawke, Bloody Son

I may be handing him to @wickedapostate at some point for the stake of RP'ing & so he can have one of Marian's kids, if this happens go pester Jay about him!

…I honestly don't know his gender or orientation details, he/him

Arthur was a young imprisoned blood mage who was released shortly after Leliana was made Divine & was sent to the Kirkwall College as his mother had died in imprisonment

He is meant to be a red Hawke option

He is intended to be a supporting character in the fic series that is about Robin, during the events of it he is adopted alongside her by Marian

Inquisitors

Hemlock Adaar, The Haphazard Inquisitor 

She is a Vashoth Dual-Dagger Rogue, specialization not picked yet

Woman (haven't thought much about it) she/her, Lesbian

She is a Sera-mancer

Hemlock is not someone that ever aspired to be a leader, within the main canon of Of Jade & Catnip she luckily was stationed in Heaven during the conclave & worked for the Inquisition as one of the many mercenaries that joined & later went back to the mercenary lifestyle after the group was disbanded.

As an Inquisitor she is… Not the best for the job, but does try to help where she can, she conspiracts the Templars, messily manages to get Briala shadow control, keeps the gray wardens around. 

In general her leadership is highly influenced by Sera & Blackwall, always trying to protect the little guys but not understanding what is going on nessaily

I haven't figured out many details of what she's like as the Inquisitor 

Willow “Will” Lavellan, The Ruthless Inquisitor 

He is a elven anchor rogue,  specialization not picked yet

Trans Man, he/him, gay

He is a Adoribull-mancer, poly rights! 

He is Zinnia Lavellan's cousin, in main Of Jade & Catnip canon he simply stayed with the Clan instead of going to the Conclave & helped protect them during the war table quests.

As a Inquisitor Willow is rather ruthless towards his enemies & anything that could be a threat, he does side with the mages & have them join willingly, but as for most quests & judgements he can get cold, this is in large part due a mix of the large amount weighing on him & how he is worried humans will undermine him if they don't respect him, or fear him & he knows which one humans are more likely as a whole to feel about him.

Unfortunately as a Inquisitor he has a purely Watsonian view during Demands Of The Qun which causes him to be more scared of losing the aid of & possibly invoking the wrath of The Qunari, alongside the unknown of how many would die in the boat, now from a Doylist pov we understand how bad a plan this was since you don't have to deal with fallout nor get much help & the lives of the Qunari on that boat are not really brought up, but the Chargers are & ultimately for Inquisitor Willow he & Dorian lose The Iron Bull to this choice.

Here is the good news, Willow isn't the Inquisitor & instead Zinnia is within Of Jade & Catnip, The Iron Bull & his Chargers are okay! Also Dorian but there was no doubt about that.

As for what Willow is doing, he is a skilled hunter of the clan, and he is specifically outside of hunting animals the one the clan goes to if there is (a) human(s) that need to be fought off or otherwise dealt with

Willow was raised by his aunt & uncle alongside Zinnia & Aster due to the deaths of his parents, they were hunters and unfortunately were killed one day by humans after their & a human hunting parties ran into each other & got into a fight. This is also why Willow is a hunter, and why he has put his faith in the god of vengeance.

within Of Jade & Catnip if he has not met Dorian or Bull… Yet.

Era’Alen, The Child Inquisitor 

She is a non-canon city elf anchor rogue, specialization not picked yet

She very obviously doesn't romance anyone within the Inquisition, she met them all at 13.

She was a elven “servant ” (slave) working at the Conclave with her parents for a noble family, I currently do not know what became of her within the main Of Jade & Catnip worldstate, so the rest of the below only talks about her as a Inquisitor.

When Era’Alen was found she was not suspected in the same way, there was some question to if she was actually a child or if she was a demon in disguise but as it became clear she was a flesh & blood child suspicion died quickly.

Due to her being again, a child there was not as much expectation for her to defend herself but Era’Alen raised to the challenge & started to learn different ways of fighting as soon as she was able, settling on archery as she could stay safe in the backline but could still impact the fight.

As for her choices, she was at first easily swayed by whatever the people around her thought was best, which led to good things like the Chargers being saved but also bad things like Cullen's addiction getting worse, overtime she became more confident making choices alone & tended towards slow but steady progress to help the oppressed.

Given the above is it much surprise that she is closest with Vivienne? Vivienne saw this young girl from a disadvantaged background trying to play politics & decided to take the girl under her wing, Era’Alen deeply appreciated the guidance & help, and eventually returned that kindness by making Vivienne the Divine.

As for the Inquisition she keeps it together & with the purpose of defeating Solas no matter the cost.

Rooks

Yared ???, The Hopeful Revolutionary 

He is right now planned to be a elven duel dagger rogue Crow who will be romancing Davrin

Trans Man, he/him, ???

Much of his backstory is up in the air until I find out what the game intends, my main idea is that he is originally from Orles, his family was one of the many that died in the fires Celene ordered, and Yared was luckily(?) Found by a crow who had taken a job in Orles

Yared is a romantic optimist who earnestly believes with kindness he & others might be able to make a better world & that is the perspective he is coming from.

He is going to be one of two Rooks for Of Jade & Catnip alongside @wickedapostate 's Nazari, the two are besties.

He is inspired by the Hadestown version of Orpheus & due to this is a musician, even though I doubt there will be a way to reflect that in-game (if Bard had been a specialization option or faction I would have picked it)

Neve-mancer (Name & everything WIP), The Femmes Fatale

I just know I want to play a Femme Fatale Lord of Fortune to romance Neve since Neve is a detective, that's all I really have right now

Credits

My co-writer for the Of Jade & Catnip worldstate is @wickedapostate

Used piccrews: Thedas Elf Maker, ElenaA's Windswept Oc Maker, Tiefling Maker

[theart2rock]

Code Orange kündigen The Above für September an

Die zweifach Grammy-nominierte Band Code Orange hat heute ihr neues Studioalbum "The Above" angekündigt, das am 29. September 2023 über Blue Grape Music veröffentlicht werden soll - immer kompromisslos in ihrer kreativen Vision. Es ist das erste neue Studioalbum seit dem von der Kritik hochgelobten Album Underneath" aus dem Jahr 2020 und wurde von Jami Morgan und Eric Shade" Balderose selbst produziert und von Steve Albini produziert. Die Band veröffentlicht außerdem den brandneuen Track "Take Shape" und das dazugehörige offizielle Video. Der Song enthält den unverwechselbaren Gastgesang von Billy Corgan von den Smashing Pumpkins und ist eine Reminiszenz an die Zeit, als Musikvideos noch von größter Bedeutung waren, und verbindet Nostalgie mit einem modernen Twist. Inspiriert von einer Ära, in der der Film seine höchste Qualität erreichte, die aber allmählich dem digitalen Zeitalter weicht, macht "Take Shape" da weiter, wo "Grooming My Replacement" aufgehört hat. Der Protagonist, gespielt von Morgan, entkommt seinen Gefangenen und landet in einer technikfarbenen, an die Truman Show erinnernden Inszenierung der Realität. Unglaubliche Filmaufnahmen führen das Video durch eine Reihe von Kulissen und Bühnen, die in einer von Vanilla Sky inspirierten Dachszene enden. Das Video wurde von Max Moore (Vein.FM, Knocked Loose, Coheed and Cambria, etc.) und Jami Morgan gedreht, was Morgans Regiedebüt darstellt. Morgan sagt über den Prozess: "Ich habe etwa anderthalb Jahre lang an dem Konzept für dieses und andere Videos gearbeitet, die noch kommen werden. Ich bin so dankbar, dass ich von Max Moore und unserem Kameramann Eric Robbins lernen durfte. Sie haben mir erlaubt, jede Minute dieses Prozesses mitzuerleben, von der Einstellung über das Scouting bis hin zur endgültigen Farbgebung. Es war eine Offenbarung, so tief in die Materie einzutauchen, und ich habe auf diesem Weg eine neue Liebe gefunden. Ich könnte nicht stolzer auf das Ergebnis sein". The Above" ist das bisher schwerste Album der sechsköpfigen Band aus Pittsburgh und ein gigantischer klanglicher Sprung voller Wendungen, wie ihn nur Code Orange vollbringen können. In den 14 Tracks mischt die Band Heavy Music, Grunge, Trip-Hop, Hip-Hop und mehr zu einem nahtlosen Ganzen. Morgan führt aus: "Wir wollten, dass das Album einen mit Melodie, Aggression und Freude überspült, aber es war genauso wichtig, dass man, je genauer man hinschaut, umso mehr belohnt wird. Es sollte sich anfühlen, als sei es in der 'analogen' Welt verwurzelt, aber mit Fäden der digitalen Realität, die alles zusammenhalten. Wir wollten, dass der Sound und sogar der Aufnahmeprozess selbst diese Vorgabe widerspiegeln, also haben wir Steve Albini von Electrical Audio engagiert, um die realistischste und unverfälschteste Version der Band zu erhalten, und haben uns sogar zum ersten Mal in unserer Karriere alle zusammen in einem Raum aufgenommen. Tracklist: 1. Never Far Apart 2. Theatre of Cruelty 3. Take Shape (feat. Billy Corgan) 4. The Mask of Sanity Slips 5. Mirror 6. A Drone Opting Out of the Hive 7. I Fly 8. Splinter the Soul 9. The Game 10. Grooming My Replacement 11. Snapshot 12. Circle Through 13. But a Dream… 14. The Above Weblinks: codeorangetoth.com www.facebook.com/codeorangetoth Lesen Sie den ganzen Artikel

[beansprouts]

some tidbits about Oliver Hawke

(in honor of finishing my second run-through of DA2 yesterday)

character theme is Pieces of the People We Love by The Rapture: Oli, even more than my other DA protagonists, is defined and shaped by his people and how he protects them. He loves every single one of his companions in some kind of way.

This makes him a delightful foil to Varric: both are centrist determined-to-see-the-good-in-everyone types, but whereas Varric is an observant commentator who prefers to tut wittily on the sidelines, Oliver is a caretaker who inserts himself into conflict to try to diplomacy his way out of everything. The blue Hawke narrative can be seen as an ultimate deconstruction of this sort of selfless hero who believes compromise is always possible. Dragon Age 2 is a tragedy in every sense.

Oliver is definitively an archer. He started hunting wild fowl on his farm in Lothering with his dog Dane when he was a boy. His aversion to conflict and determination to see everything peacefully manifests in his preference for ranged weaponry, and every time the game ended a cutscene with him wielding a dagger (since he is technically a rogue), I was thrust out of immersion, lol.

After the events of Dragon Age 2, he sets up an Archery Guild in Kirkwall. He, Sebastian, and Charade meet up to discuss tactics and fletch arrows in friendly company, and Varric uses it as a sort of tax shelter. The activities of the guild cement a reputation for the bow as folklore’s weapon of choice for heroes in the Free Marches.

In my second playthrough I’ve adopted the fanon practice of shaping Hawke’s experience over the long time stretches of the narrative: so Oliver flees Lothering with short hair and some stubble, grows some sideburns over the course of his first few years, starts wearing red paint on his face after besting Corypheus, and finally grows a full beard after becoming the Champion of Kirkwall.

While in the Vimmark Mountains, he broke his nose and spent the entire confrontation with Corypheus with his face covered in his own blood. This was painful and kind of embarassing, darkly ironic considering how much Hawke’s blood represents power in Legacy. So after this experience, he dabs red face paint on his face as a reminder.

Hawke is good at talking compromises out of people (most obvious in the blue-hawke-only ability to get Orsino and Meredith to stop fighting at the beginning of Act 3) and he has great diplomacy skills. But his charisma does not at all extend to his personal life. Love alone is not enough-- sometimes being a big-hearted awkward bisexual with a tendency for polyamory can only cause more heartbreak in the long run. I may or may not have projected this onto him from myself, rather too much for my own comfort

He and Fenris fell deeply for each other. They are two awkward men with big hearts who would lay down their lives in a heartbeat to protect the other. Thank you Kirkw(all) mod for letting Oliver fall in love with others too while he patiently waited for Fenris to be ready for romance between acts 2 and 3.

Merrill is in love with Oliver, and they slept together once (rivalmanced), but he wouldn’t say he loved her because he was too conflicted about her blood magic, which caused her to run off, leaving them both broken-hearted.

Oliver and Anders have a lot of unresolved sexual tension. It didn’t manifest in-game (even with a rivalry, all of Anders’s romance is extremely high commitment) but I headcanon that they have made out a few times while drunk.

Among others, I also headcanon Oliver hooking up with Isabela’s friend Martin the smuggler and the templar recruit Margitte. Ultimately, though, he is a romantic at heart, and finds more fulfilment from long-term romantic commitments than short-term sexual encounters.

Canonically, Hawke keeps a journal, which Varric reads for material when immortalizing him through his biography. Oliver Hawke has also gotten in the habit of keeping death notebooks: all of the information he can find on the people he has had to kill, as a form of recompense to them but also as a reminder that their lives have meaning and he should never resort to violence unless absolutely necessary. The practice started with an ongoing diary he keeps addressed to Carver, whose death he still blames himself for. If Oliver wasn’t already thoroughly broken by the end of the game, having to write Anders’s death notebook would have cracked his heart like a walnut.