#anyway i just needed this on my blog you understand

[espace--positif]

A Dragon Age Newbie's First Impressions of Inquisition Companions [Part 1/?]

SO. I've acquired ye olde Dragon Age brainrot after completing Veilguard and starting Inquisition. I have a lot of Thoughts and Ideas TM about both games, so while I decide whether I should make a separate blog for DA, enjoy this messy post on my first impressions of all the Inquisition companions. I also wanna be able to look back at this and see whether my judgments were right or wrong lmao. Yes this is what I'm doing instead of writing fics.

Spoilers for... I don't know where I'm at in Inquisition man. I just got to Skyhold and did a few missions. And MAJOR DAV spoilers, probably. Under the cut.

Cassandra

CASSANDRA PENTAGHAST THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE.

she honestly grew on me a lot. I knew I wanted to like her from like, the opening scene. she just exudes intensity, and you can immediately tell that she cares. she, however did not like my Lavellan one bit, and disapproved of every single choice I made for a while 😭

early game Cassandra whenever Lavellan breathed:

but she honestly feels like the realest, and maybe most good-hearted character in all of DAI. conflicted, caring, under far too much pressure, and with a cold exterior that isn't just there for the sake of being unapproachable. she second-guesses all of her choices, which I believe is HEALTHY for someone who has that much power.

as I progress through the game and get to know her more, I just end up liking her even more. she also knows how to disagree with you, on small and large things, while keeping an open mind and trying to understand your reasoning - that also encourages me to hear her out. I truly enjoy that about her! her VA is also STELLAR, I just love to hear her talk!!

overall, 10/10 no notes.

Solas

oh you motherfucker.

so DAV Varric (or whoever it was who said this) lied when he said this rat egg man doesn't lie to your face and only lies by omission.

"I know about the fade because of my studies in ancient ruins" "I know about spirits because I befriended them in my dreams"

what if I punched you in the throat? ok but in all honesty. I'm trying to do the Solavellan ting and, well, he's got game. I'll give him that. I was positively shook at the first fade dream thing. they teach you how to rizz up dalish women in those ancient elven ruins? 🤨

speaking of dalish. why is he so mad that Lavellan is dalish LMAO. my ass chose the "proudly dalish" option and he DISAPPROVED. it's not Lavellan's fault that that one dalish clan threw rocks at you when you told them you were fen'harel! damn...

overall? I need to see how badly he betrays her to make a better judgment. will it be worse than the DAV betrayal? probably. will I eat it up? absolutely.

Varric

VARRIC MY GOAT!! THE REALEST MF IN ALL OF THEDAS!!!

I love Varric so much. it obviously helped to play DAV before, so I kinda knew him... for like, 20 minutes, I guess...

anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting to know him some more. as always, he's the only mf who cares how your character is feeling, who bothers to check in on you because everyone just tells you to roll with all the Crazy Shit TM that's happening. everyone keeps asking WHO is the herald of andraste, WHERE is the herald of andraste. no one ever asks HOW is the herald of andraste. except Varric.

he's caring, hilarious, compassionate, but also extremely REAL. cause yeah, Varric, you SHOULD'VE run the other way the moment Cassandra set you free. this breach shit is crazy! but you're literally too good of a man to do that 😭

I also cannot stop laughing at his reaction to Cory being alive. "shit, we stabbed him a bunch, I can't believe he's alive"

Varric continue to be your best real self, I am your biggest cheerleader as you are mine ❤️

Blackwall

ok so Blackwall is great. just a chill dude. super chill actually! however. he's kind of not very helpful at all, is he? "why did the wardens disappear?" "idk. can i join your inquisition?"

you're in luck, we actually take anyone because we're desperate!

but what can he actually do. him being a warden doesn't seem to help very much, because he literally never displays any warden expertise. when Stroud (?) mentions how all the wardens hear the calling now because of mr. Cory, he goes "oh shit yeah me too". and you just forgot to mention it? world's chillest warden, I guess.

I like him! but I just don't know why he's there especially when Iron Bull absolutely clears him when it comes to warrior combat.

anyway thank you Blackwall, very cool!

---

This post has been long enough, so I will make a Part 2 at some point thanks bye!!

[theheirofthesharingan]

I'm genuinely baffled why you thought I was talking about Itachi Shinden novels, when everything I've written here is obvious in Manga itself.

I've never said Uchiha deserved their fate. They absolutely didn't. But I'm dead against blaming Itachi, or considering him "as bad as" Hiruzen and Danzo, which happens in the Uchiha fandom frequently, when the actual perpetrators —Madara, Fugaku, and Obito are excused. They were the ones who ensured the Uchiha met with their fate, and yes, their contribution varies from each other. A traumatized 12-year-old is not responsible for adults failing to talk and negotiating. He was a tool. And he would have been used by either of the side. The village just exploited his fear of war and desire to keep Sasuke safe, whereas Fugaku didn't even bother to acknowledge that his decisions would bring a doom upon everyone, including his sons.

Fugaku gets criticism for his parenting. Some people might hate him, but nobody uses heavy words for or him goes out of their way to dedicate hate accounts/hate blogs on him. Words like "Nazi" and "Hitler" are used for Itachi, along with other vulgarities I don't want to write. The moment you shared from manga, not only it seems Mikoto is lying to Sasuke, and even if she isn't, it reflects badly on her. Imagine the only way you can comfort your child is by telling him that your other son isn't loved and he's paid attention to is because he is useful. And if Fugaku indeed did so that, he wasn't much better either.

While Fugaku defends Itachi, we also get to know Shisui was spying on Itachi. Fugaku consented to it. Before and after this moment, he is never present in Itachi's life. If anything, while Itachi needed his support, Fugaku's attention was only on Sasuke. Itachi was already seen as an adult and how his family treated him only affirms that. Fugaku had enough sense to not drag Sasuke into the political mess, but hey, let's use Itachi.

Itachi is criticised heavily. There are literally mythologies invented to "prove" he was evil. Some of his fans certainly deify him, but when internet is infested with the opinions like "Thanos was right", "Sasuke did nothing wrong" and "Madara did the right thing" along with using other morally ambiguous characters to whitewash them, Itachi is likely to have such fans as well. Itachi alone doesn't have such fans.

It's funny you mentioned Itachi Shinden, because in the novel they do try to talk to the Hokage, but in Manga, where Obito is trying to portray the Uchiha clan as a victim and defending them, never does he mention they ever tried to go for talks. We never see Kishimoto saying Uchiha clan tried negotiation before the coup.

No, I understand that. Fugaku did not have evil plans to ruin Itachi's life, but it still happened anyway. My whole criticism, more than Fugaku himself, is towards the Uchiha fans who think Fugaku must be excused, while also simultaneously blaming a literal child for not making decisions despite being shaped by the adults around him.

No, I mean Fugaku doesn't stand by Itachi's side at all. Before and after Shisui's death. There's not a single instance in which Itachi looks happy with his interactions with his father. Fugaku is very much aware of it. He's very much aware of the fact that Itachi isn't in it and is unhappy, but there's no emotional support for him whatsoever.

The comparison between Fugaku and Hashirama is interesting and of the two, I do prefer Fugaku. However, Fugaku's unwillingness of battling Itachi came from the place of guilt. Both Hashirama and Fugaku are loyal to the institutions they belong. While Hashirama doesn't mind killing his own kin for the village, Fugaku also doesn't mind sacrificing his son for the clan. If the coup had already been carried out, it would have resulted in a bigger conflict, because no one would accept a clan that took power by force.

Fugaku did not intend to guilt-trip Itachi, but that's very natural that Itachi would feel, after sharing those moments with his parent. It's worse because Fugaku could not have thrown Itachi away like this. And like he himself said, "Compared to yours, our pain will be over in an instant." Itachi lived for nearly a decade with tremendous guilt for the choices he didn't want to make, because of the life he was forced to live and done so by his own family. Fugaku threw him away and Mikoto was thoroughly absent form his life. But when killing them shook him to his core, it's not a rocket science to understand how much guilt festered inside of him.

You don't have to fathom killing someone you love. The good thing is, none of us are characters in a fictional world. Although, irl these instances aren't unheard of either. If your family or a loved one tries to pose a threat to the larger mass, and all else fails, sometimes eliminating them is the best idea. I'm going to use an irl example: a queen in my country killed her son after he sided with the British and became a threat to the civilians, leaking information to the enemies.

We don't need Manga panels to understand the consequences of coup. I've already stated above. Coup is 'forcefully taking power'. So, even if Uchiha clan succeeded in it, why would they not face any resistance? Why do people (and Uchiha themselves did) think that the village would have accepted them had they attacked the village. Why would Danzo sit quietly? And most importantly, Obito was looking for an opportunity. Sure, Fugaku didn't know anything about Obito, but other threats were glaring in their face. A civil war on its way had coup happened.

The comparison between Fugaku and Itachi is wrong and makes no sense, although it's not the first time I've heard it. Itachi's actions are objectively worse than Fugaku's, but Fugaku had no reason to expose his son to the kind of violence he did. "..prepare him for the harshness of the world and make him 'stronger'" is not an excuse, when he isn't willing to do it to Sasuke as well. Itachi, on the other hand, had to leave Sasuke in the village where he would be unsafe, living among the people who could take his life any moment, or get kidnapped (basically, all the things Danzo did). He wanted to be sure Sasuke would be able to protect himself against such people + wouldn't believe Itachi was a good person and loved him + wouldn't be a threat to the villagers who had no hand in the Uchiha tragedy. Itachi regretted everything. He cried torturing Sasuke and did his best to avoid it the second time.

In regards to Hashirama -- he did not "weigh state over his closest friends and own family". He had the responsibility of countless others. And it comes with personal sacrifices whether you want to do it or not. If the lives of Madara or others is important, so is the lives of those civilians who aren't blessed with superpowers some Shinobi are.

Hm, been contemplating these panels lately and thinking about which character is constantly demonized within the fandom/fan works involving them and which is frequently viewed as the ultimate loving and moral person...

And:

One is a man bearing the supposed 'Curse of Hatred' who loves his children so much that he is continuing to parent and offer unconditional love to his son even after said son has already participated in the brutal state-sanctioned genocide of their people/culture and is about to end his (and his wife's - who, btw, is on the same page as him) life.

The other is a man from the supposed 'Clan of Love' who boldly holds the conviction that he would cease his compassion towards even his own child if they stood against him and his dream (the village), regardless of the fact his dream (the village) is a corruptible entity that does not maintain personhood.

Interestingly, I think there is something to be said for the fact both Fugaku and Hashirama are also shown struggling to understand Itachi and Madara (respectively).

Fugaku is actually quite honest regarding his issues in relating to Itachi and while we're not always privy to all the conversations they've had about the state of the clan/sentiment of the Leaf village towards their people, it's clear that those discussions have been had. While the panels where we do see more explicit conversations taking place show Fugaku reiterating to Itachi that his role in ANBU is to serve as a pipeline between the clan/village (which could be argued as an unfair burden foisted onto a child, in my opinion) there are also moments that indicate Fugaku is willing to defer to Itachi (at least on some topics) when his son offers a contradictory viewpoint (like attendance at Sasuke's entrance ceremony, for example).

Side note... this also reminds me of the very short (unfortunately) interactions we see between Madara and his father, Tajima. Tajima clearly respects his son as well and defers to him when Madara insists that they not fight Hashirama and his family on the river - Tajima accepts this from his son without pause.

Alternatively, we also see Madara trying to explain his perspective to a skeptical Hashirama before he commits to taking more drastic actions. Madara is trying to articulate his frustrations with what is happening in the village/how it is progressing with regards to his clan and (even though we never really get Madara's own unfiltered perspective on this time period) we are shown instances of Madara's grievances holding water (ie. Tobirama advocating for Madara not to be made Hokage, but instead pushing randomly for a democratic system that never seems to actually be cemented or made precedent within the village afterwards but absolutely benefits Hashirama/the Senju in the short-run, Madara 'overhearing' Tobirama's continued bias against the Uchiha in private conversations between the brothers, Hashirama continuing to scold his brother -someone who had ample power within the system of governance since its inception- for his bias against the clan even when they're brought back via the edo tensei, etc). Hashirama tries to (weakly, in my opinion) defend the village status quo/way it is progressing and seems to want to better understand Madara, but isn't willing or is unable to go that extra mile for his friend - and, perhaps in some ways, Madara too was unwilling/unable to articulate himself in a more digestible way once their divergence of opinion on their shared village came to this new crux.

Ultimately, I just find it interesting that Fugaku, this character who is often portrayed by fans as a demon of hatred and cruelty, would (in reality) stand by his son even in his darkest hour, even as he is unjustly slaughtering their family, and continue to reaffirm that he is proud of Itachi/loves him - and this is directly counter to Hashirama who asserts he would absolutely kill anyone (including a child) that stood between him protecting that which he loves the most (the village).

And, of course, we also have this to chew on lol...

Sasuke explaining to edo Hashirama that Itachi inherited his 'Will of Fire' jingoism.

Mandatory disclaimer that Fugaku is not infallible and all the characters here (but Fugaku and Hashirama in particular) are their own people/the circumstances do vary (especially as one relationship is framed in the context of father-son and the other as two friends/peers)... I should also note that I still enjoy Hashirama as a character, I just think his flaws are often under-examined and that the hypocrisy inherent to the 'Will of Fire' philosophy/the Leaf Village (and by extension the shinobi world) is equally neglected especially when it comes to this fandom's love of tearing down the Uchiha to their worst traits/moments. But, man, something about these two panels and character portrayals in particular have just been eating at me the past few days, so I figured I'd try to work out some thoughts on them.

[snakesanderson]

it has come to my attention that the jake the snake lore isn’t publicly available knowledge and that is CRIMINAL so everyone has to read this from the athletic during the global series last season

It’s time to meet “Jake the Snake”

Ian Mendes, Nov 16 2023

Jacob Bernard-Docker wanted to clarify something on Wednesday morning when it came to Jake Sanderson’s nickname.

Bernard-Docker, who spent a season as Sanderson’s collegiate teammate at the University of North Dakota in 2020-21, says he has no recollection of anybody using the moniker that has suddenly become attached to Sanderson inside Ottawa’s dressing room.

“Nobody called him the ‘Snake’ there — ever,” said Bernard-Docker.

But now, Sanderson is crediting Senators assistant coach Jack Capuano with anointing him with the “Jake the Snake” nickname.

“He just stared calling me ‘Snake’ last year. I had never been called ‘Snake’ before, so I just kind of rolled with it,” said Sanderson, “Now I’m embracing it.”

Embracing it might be an understatement.

As he walked out of Avicii Arena with Travis Hamonic on Wednesday morning, Sanderson was proudly sporting a customized, black “Snake” ballcap. Sanderson made sure he packed the cap for Sweden because he’s wearing it everywhere he goes lately.

“It’s my favourite hat right now,” Sanderson said.

Jake Sanderson is embracing his nickname. (Ian Mendes / For The Athletic)

Sanderson has also printed some “Snake” T-shirts, a couple of “Snake” workout hats and even has a personalized sticker that he’s been affixing to his stick. That sticker includes a drawing of a snake slithering through Sanderson’s No. 85 — artwork that was created by the 13-year-old son of Senators equipment manager John Forget.

“It’s a really good drawing,” said Sanderson. “It’s pretty sweet the way he was able to draw the snake around the 85.”

Sanderson’s sticks this season are adorned with stickers designed with the help of the 13-year-old son of Senators equipment manager John Forget. (Ian Mendes / For The Athletic)

Sanderson says that up until Capuano started calling him “Snake,” he always went by a fairly standard and boring nickname.

“My nickname has just always been ‘Sandy’,” he said.

Sanderson is not too familiar with other athletes and celebrities who have shared the same nickname. As for Jake “The Snake” Roberts, the wrestling star from the 1980s and 1990s, Sanderson says, “I’ve heard about him. He’s out of my era, but I’ve seen pics of him.”

When it comes to former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer, who also had the “Snake” label, Sanderson conceded, “No, I’ve never heard of him.”

Hamonic was playfully referring to Sanderson as “Snake” as they removed their equipment and sat next to each other’s locker stalls on Wednesday. Sanderson embracing the nickname has led to some good-natured ribbing inside the Senators locker room.

“I like to give Sandy some crap about it because he’s basically wearing his logo everywhere now,” said Bernard-Docker. “And he’s always wearing that hat with the snake on it. So you have to give him a hard time.”

[duskerot]

i disappear inside myself / my friends don't know it can't be helped

[Pure You - Nothing But Thieves]

[classicslesbianopinions]

the thing about being a disabled grad student is that if you want even half a chance you constantly have to not only reveal but interrogate and explain your softest most vulnerable parts. while people around you act like this is just completely normal and actually that is not the softest most vulnerable part of you and actually you are exactly the same as all of them. so you feel like you are in disguise as exactlythesame while also completely exposed. and you just have to live like that. absolutely insane

[front-facing-pokemon]

[galindatopland]

please ignore this if you disagree. this is just me thinking out loud but i keep coming back to this impulse shauna had to EAT the ear and of course there's been all this talk about how she wants to consume jackie. how it's wanting to destroy her how it's wanting to be as close to her as possible. but i'm interested in the physicality of it. like there is the metaphor of cannibalism and then there is the REALITY of it

i read about mortuary cannibalism in the past and i believe it wasn't even the close loved ones eating the dead usually because often it would be too hard for them and even those who weren't as close and were the ones to consume the dead would sometimes throw up while eating. like let's put aside for a moment everything this means narratively and metaphorically. there is the physical act of putting a real uncooked half frozen eat into your mouth and the fact that that's the ear of a person you LOVED. the ear you may have whispered secrets to during class and one you felt against your cheek when the two of you hugged. and shauna does that after gently caressing the ear in her pocket for an entire day

i think there's an interesting component to how she's interacting with dead-jackie. some part of her brain acknowledges that jackie is dead while a much larger part of her refuses to. and i think at least on some unconscious level she's aware of the way the cold preserves jackie's body. after the initial shock of finding jackie when we see her sit in the same room with her now she's keeping her distance. there's this feeling people usually get from seeing their dead loved ones especially if it's been a little while since they died - a feeling of alienation. the muscles are no longer animated, the skin no longer warm. a feeling of this person being foreign to you in some way suddenly. and so a part of me wonders if on some level she wanted to stop the ear from rotting now that it's not frozen, warmed by shauna's hand and safe in her pocket. i don't think it would be a conscious thought but it's just. walking around with that ear in your pocket. not wanting to part with any part of jackie. wanting to consume her yes but also wanting to preserve her in a very physical way in a sense

[rauhallinen-hauki]

sujeto: Shephard

estado: detenido

evaluación adicional pendiente

dicen que estar en estasis es como un sueño largo, durmiendo en el vacío. ¿pero qué pasa si el pastor no sabe contar sus ovejas?

[ebonytails]

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️

Heart rate has reached dangerous levels❗️

Initiating culling procedures.👁️‍🗨️

[keeps-ache]

buttered noodles 💫💛🍜

[copia]

i can't come back here until the afternoon of the 29th, posting this to hold myself accountable (& i'll be embarrassed if i turn up again)

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

haven't had to make one of these for a while...

um okay anyways i'm not doing too hot mentally today!! so i'm gonna take a break for tonight and ask that you please send me Foul Legacy asks (or Arlecchino. honestly i'll take anything at this point) because lord knows i sort of need them

[kakusu-shipping]

Ok ok ok but what if po3 was in denial? Like he refuses to believe hes that bad? Like he wants to believe that he has better reasons and he wouldn't go as far as they would? I feel like he would deny it even to himself for a good long while. I think he would only reach that point when pushed and hed have a nervous breakdown over it. Yknow like how some survivors will sometimes become the thing they hate/fear but dont want to acknowledge what they've become by making up excuses?

Okay. This concept is starting to leave "Ha ha funny Yandere robot" territory and that's a little uncozy for me personally. Like I'm still here and I will continue to engage you in thoughtful discussion but like. Anon you should make this post on your own blog instead of sending it to me.

Anyway yeah Yandere P03 who slowly isolates you and takes away your choice the same way the other Scrybes had done to him would absolutely give himself a mountain of excuses as to why he's doing it that makes it different from why they did it.

He's protecting you from them. He's giving you the game you wanted. He's just keeping you safe and entertaining you and doing everything he knows you want before you even have to ask.

I think the only think that'd trigger a breakdown is if you, the object of his affection, the one he's building all these excuses around, called him out on it. Compared his actions to the other scrybes, denied wanting any of this.

But you wouldn't do that.

You love him.

You'd never be so cruel

Look at all he's done for you.

You'd never imply he's the same as them.

You love him.

[paperlovesadness]

Someone needs to tell me why it's so hard coming back into a fandom space after a break

It's like I feel you guys are all on a different page and I will never catch up. (And this is a fandom where basically nothing happens)

Anyway. It's been almost a week since I stood over 9 hours to see the Monkeys up close - and I'm slowly feeling recovered from the emotional effects and I missed this place and maybe-hopefully I'll share something about the experience soon 💛

Kisses to everyone who's been through this emotional rollercoaster xxx

[lo-cinno]

Hi

I’m fucking dying

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

rfhhhrggghh