#considering your hero is more of a mage...

[wp100]

the only title that matters in Fable is 'Chicken Chaser'

[vigilskeep]

It's my birthday & I want all your thoughts/your ultimate dreams for a possible Fereldan chantry secession pls & thank u 💖

the topics at hand are:

orlais’ stranglehold on the sunburst throne. fereldan-orlesian tensions would blow up as soon as any divine attempted to hold authority over the fereldan crown. which with a divine who attempts to restore the circles would happen almost immediately, due to:

ferelden’s support for the mage rebellion. in dragon age origins it has an active, fairly brazen community of apostates across the nation. in dragon age 2 the fereldan crown is sheltering fleeing apostates from kirkwall and, under certain circumstances, attempting to defy the chantry by freeing its circle prior to any rebellion. in dragon age inquisition, the fereldan crown harbours the entire mage rebellion until the alexius debacle. it is the most mage-friendly power in the south and it resisting the restoration of the circles—which would require the orlesian divine to march in new forces to do so—is not hard to believe

broader/more historically, ferelden has a better claim to andraste’s legacy than orlais does. ferelden is the birthplace of andraste and where her ashes returned, whereas orlais is merely the birthplace of the fallible chantry made in her name. you can get a lot of religious mileage out of that and there are probably scholars and clerics who have been thinking about this for ages and would kill to be writing the 1500s style religious pamphlets involved in making it a movement

personally i find a cassandra / leliana split the most logical here. on the one hand, you have a brash, militaristic divine with the title hero of orlais and a more traditional viewpoint, and lacking in the political acumen to make concessions and prevent the secession. on the other, you have an idealistic woman willing to make bold, drastic sacrifices for second chances at history, someone who considers herself fereldan and is sensitive to the mages’ plight, and who is ultimately desperate to believe the maker gave her a grand purpose.

it’s a great loss to sacrifice divine vivienne, who is so interesting, but i just find unconvincing as a rallying point for traditionalists in the event of a schism? because no matter what she does she’ll never not be a mage. idk i could be convinced. however, vivienne would still be absolutely central to the conflict as the grand enchanter of the circle, playing a very dangerous game probably operating as cassandra’s right hand while vying for power with the anti-mage extremists likely flocking to back orlais who naturally see her as an internal threat

eventually an exalted march would be called or some kind of religious war would take place. you can’t declare yourself divine without expecting that kind of backlash. what would really have to happen for ferelden to survive is for somewhere else to also break from the orlesian chantry. your best bet is nevarra and the free marches, who are already often at odds with orlais historically and likely have also long resented getting excommunicated every five seconds whenever they have to defend their borders. one imagines the mortalitasi also prefer leliana’s way of thinking. you wouldn’t get all the free marches at the same time, largely because they’re all cripplingly individual and probably would just pick the other side to the neighbout they most hate. but nevarra is the big deal because orlais’ chronic problem historically is that they can’t afford a war in the north and in the east at the same time, so nevarra always fucks up their fereldan expansions and vice versa

the problem here is that cassandra is a pentaghast. however, she’s a pentaghast who wants nothing to do with nevarra, would absolutely not have given them any rewards or privileges for being family, and whose parents were executed rebels. i think they’d already be mad and could easily cut their losses. (i don’t think nevarra would answer to leliana and the hypothetical chantry of ferelden, to be clear, which i would imagine to be quite localised. i think they’d start doing something independently. idk if they’d declare their own divine or answer to no divine or idk do something nevarran and delightful like say the legitimate divine is whichever one they have buried in the necropolis and she says fuck orlais.)

as a note i think it’s really funny if both cass and leli go by divine victoria, both claiming to stand on the shoulders of the inquisition’s victory. likely nonsense to happen. that or something deeply on the nose like divine victoria and divine liberata or whatever. i’d expect leliana to be labelled the red divine in common terms (against the orlesian white divine and tevinter black divine)

[dailyadventureprompts]

Scragglmop the Destroyer

Once feared throughout the land, a great and terrible dragon grew tired of being endlessly hunted for his hoard and faked his death with the aid of a glory-hungry gnomish bard. Living on for centuries in the guise of a street cat, the dragon is now a hair's breadth from resuming his rampaging ways after the bard's descendants have lost the fortune he gave over to them for safe keeping.

Adventure Hooks:

A series of unexplained fires has wracked the city in recent weeks, which has both the guard and the populace on edge. Rumours swirl blaming arsonists, saboteurs from a rival kingdom, even an illegal duelling society of mages, but none have yet put it together that all of the workshops and businesses were all patronized in one way or another by the famed Candlebright noble family.

Coincidentally, Hignatta Candlebright, young head of that same noble house has sent an invitation to the party to join her at a famed teahouse to discuss a delicate matter involving the retrieval of stolen property. Hignatta has all but taken over the teahouse and its guestrooms since her own family home burned down near the start of the panic, and the party might begin to draw a connection when half way through their meeting the teahouse begins to fill with smoke, panicking patrons, and a booming, sourceless voice that demands "WHERE IS MY GOLD, CANDLEBRIGHT?!"

If you really want to mess with the party, consider introducing them to the fluffy street cat completely independently of the arson plot, making a nuisance of himself in the market while they're trying to shop, or catching mice in their store-room should they have acquired a residence in town. Have them befriend the cat as they might any bad-tempered stray, only to realize after the adventure is half way through that the mice he catches are always somewhat charred. Also imagine the looks on their faces the moment the party's home is broken into by an enemy and their housecat incinnerates a wave of intruders for disturbing his nap.

Background: Everyone knows the story about how the legendary hero Gailen Candlebright saved the realm from the tyrannical dragon Slaggrath, a beast known to devour whole armies and raze kingdoms in search of treasure. It's the ubiquitous tale against which all adventurers are measured against, made all the more ubiquitous thanks to the fact that the deed is memorialized in drinking ballads, children rhymes, and even a few folk operas. Gailen was a troubadour of not insignificant skill before he became a legend, and he had little trouble using that skill and hardwon fame to ensure his deeds would never be forgotten.

As with many tales told by the bards, Gailen left out quite a bit of the truth when concocting his tale: It was a late night in a roadside tavern and the young Candlebright was approached by a sourfaced man with a tangled beard and clothes that might have once been quite fine. Gailen had sung for his supper and then some, his hat was overflowing with tips from a long night's work and a greatful crowd, and the old man wanted to know how it was exactly that the Gnome hadn't yet been robbed; The roads were full of all sorts of rough types who thought that their strength entitled them to others' wealth, bandits yes but worse yet kingsmen, who took what they wanted sure that that they were above any kind punishment.

Seeing that the old man had fallen on rough times, likely having been robbed himself, Gailen spoke from the heart: He'd been robbed a few times yes, but he got by looking like someone that no one would bother to steal from, dressing in his fine clothes only on days he'd perform, and keeping most of his riches in the safe keeping of others, such as the caravan masters he frequently traveled along with.

The old man considered Gailen's words and the two sat up drinking through the night debating the merits of the Troubador's duplicity. Was it not better, asked the old man, to defend what was yours with strength and reputation, That everyone might learn from the failure of those that had trifled with you before?

Gailen looked at the many scars the old man bore and countered that fools never learned their lesson, they just thought themselves better than the last fool who risked it and they'd keep risking it till luck won out or they went to join all the fools that had come before.

It was dawn when the two parted ways, Gailen tottering off to bed thinking he'd given council to a reformed bandit chief, the old man slipping out of the inn and taking to wing thinking he'd concocted a brilliant scheme with the help of his newest, and perhaps first, friend.

i was a week (and one pants-shitting revelation over the old man's true draconic nature) later that the legend of Slaggrath came to an end: Gailen walking into that very same tavern bloodied, burnt, and with the broken off horn of the great wyrm held above his head as a trophy. The news spread like wildfire, the name Candlebright ascended to the shortlist of the realm's great champions, and not a soul questioned when the newly knighted Gailen comissioned the construction of an elaborate series of vaults beneith the castle he'd just been awarded. The bard had everything he wanted, and in return he and his family would hold the dragon's horde in trust, not touching a single copper and adding a little to it each year out of respect for the wyrm's generosity.

Future Adventures:

Even before he charmed his way into unexpected riches, Gailen was an ardent follower of Garl Glittergold, god of ambition, wit, and wariness. Genresavvy bard that he was, he understood that this fabulous windfall wasn't just some gift from his god, it was a test, and that to keep his good fortune going he'd best abide by the exact deal he'd struck in that tavern. Gailen kept Slaggrath's treasure under lock and key all his life and made sure his children did the same despite never telling them where he got it, in accordance with his pact with the dragon . Feeling that the Candlebright family has sat on its laurels for far too long (especially since practical and buisness minded Hignatta has been increasingly questioning why her late grandfather insisted on keeping a giant pile of money in their basement and never spending it), the god has seen fit to shake things up, ensuring that some long lost blueprints for the vault have fallen into the hands of a group of thieves, who broke in and cleared the vault though the very same secret passages Slaggrath used to pop in every decade or so and make sure the count was up to date. The dragon is pissed, convinced Hignatta has reneged on her family's deal.. and all the while the thieves get closer and closer to escaping.

Depending on how the party handles it this situation could break bad in any number of ways: The dragon could give up on being Scragglmop and go on a rampage forcing the party to put him down, they could intercede on Hignatta's behalf and ensure the treasure is returned possibly earning themselves a cushy position as retainers of house Candlebright, perhaps most dangerously they could earn the attention of Garl Glittergold himself and end up being singled out for their own unstable blessing.

In addition to being motivated by the prerequisite desire to get rich, the thieves were hired by an ambitious mage who has long desired to get his hands on Gailen's Horn, the draconic trophy the bard thereafter used as the sigil for his house and hollowed out into a heavy instrument through which he channelled his most showy magic. The mage has designs on the horn as the centrepiece of a ritual drawing on the object's history of power and triumph. Given that the horn is in fact the centrepiece of a giant con it's going to bring some very unaccounted for variables into the mage's ritual which is liable to set off its own chain of problems down the line.

Art

[omg-levian]

back again with some funny (or not) facts about DAtV.

it actually fascinates me how the main line and companions quests, while they are plenty and actually pretty full of interactions (and I'm saying that without any sarcasm) never, you know, affect Rook’s personality.

more than that, almost nothing in the game seems actually affect Rook as an individual, a character that you are supposed to build. because it's never about Rook as a person, it's always about Rook as a player. about you. Rook’s failures are always about other people and never about themselves, and the explanation is simple: those are your failures, and your Rook just doesn’t exist outside being a manifesto of your will and your totally out-game and calculated choices. losing a town to venatory/the blight (no vendors, less quests), losing a companion, missing an important quest, etc, etc.

you can choose the way your Rook reacts to events and quests, but although it seems to affect some of your companions, it never changes your Rook in a deep, character building way.

remember DAII, where one could actually choose how exactly Hawke might be altered by important events? what if they become a blood mage in a desperate attempt not just to survive, but to live and prosper? what if they gave up using this magic after seeing what did it do with their family, with their mother? what if they had not? had they became a better person? or… had they became worse?

the very same for the Grey Warden and for the Inquisitor. the characters didn’t even need to speak about how life's trials changed them, you could see the consequences and how do they change your protagonist and the world around.

but Rook… Rooks seems completely unaffected that way. they are the main hero, and yet they are always so distant from everything they are supposed to love and protect that they reminds me, I don’t know, Dexter Morgan?

even when we have that nice mural with the whole Veilguard in the epilogue… guess who isn’t there?

actually, the ending tells us about almost everyone and everything, but what does it give to Rook except for those little flowers (in case Rook had a romantic partner)? pff.

and the worst ending? the final line addresses directly to you, which can be considered as a nice power move toward the player, but yet again tells us nothing about the main character, because there never was one.

[dragonagecompanions]

hello, this is my first request :) unsure if your still taking requests but I was wondering how the companions (maybe romanced maybe not) would react to finding out the Inquisitor has a dead kid? I think the only way the party would find out is in the fade via the fear demon, and then maybe the advisors find out on their own ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌

idk but I would be truly honored to see you answer this request, and even if not than thank you for reading over it <33

- 🍡

WARNINGS For CHILD LOSS YOI HAVE BEEN WARNED

Cassandra: When the fear demon, gleeful in it’s telling of their leader’s loss, reveals the truth the Seeker is…well, there are no words. Forcibly she is reminded of how they swayed, pale and weeping, when she had said there were no other survivors. Guilt churns low and deep at her own words, a year and more gone now, throwing that fact in their face as accusation. Throwing such a loss in their face and then demanding answers.

Throwing a calling at their feet and demanding leadership, never knowing what a loss they struggled through.

She fights all the harder for them, as if every enemy batted away from them is attempted absolution. Cassandra Pentaghast thought she understood grief in all its facets, but what does the loss of older brother and parents- expected losses if come too soon- stand before the loss of a child? Maker, how do they still breathe through it?

When they are free of the fade, she approaches only to offer apology. If they wish to speak of their loss she will listen, but only then. She has forced enough from them.

Varric: Shit. Just…shit. Here he is, going on for months about how this story is bad for heroes and how the Inquisitor is the main character and blathering on, and never saw it. Never saw the aching grief, because it was never shown. The only example he has, or is at least intimately familiar with, is Leandra Hawk and his own mother.

And as the Inquisitor had never fallen into drink or taken to blaming whoever was closest to them for things outside of anyone’s control there had been no sign for Varric to catch on to. And it makes him feel…almost dirty. Stained with his own intentions, blithely going on while their leader had lost their kid.

He doesn’t bring it up to them, doesn’t know how, but Skyhold’s resident author is absolutely the own who tells Josephine as soon as they tumble out of the fade. That raven missive is a short and brutal telling, far from his normal goings on, and his guilt is manifold in it.

Solas: The Dread Wolf is not so unattached from the world as to not consider the losses suffered at the conclave, but for the most part -when he did turn his mind to them- they were mostly academic. A balance of power, and the loss of so many leaders among both chantry and mages a destabilizing force for his future efforts. Numbers laid cooly on a chart, beads on an abacus. The fortunes of war laid bare.

But more than one parent lost a child in that terrible moment, and siblings mourned. Children bereft, friends torn asunder, lovers left to weep alone for their loves. Listening to the fear demon enumerate the inquisitor’s loss magnifies the enormity of what happened, and though he will undoubtedly be the source of much worse for a moment the Dread Wolf cannot breathe.

It passes, of course, and when they leave the fade the rift mage dies his best not to carry those emotions out with him. This world is not to blame for his actions, for the destruction of his world, but he must restore it and so they must bear the cost. It is not fair to them, and it will be long months until he can be east about his plans.

In the interim, he dares to approach the inquisitor only once about their loss. He is there as a listening ear in the silence of his rotunda if they wish to speak of their sorrow. Or if they wish only a silent companion, he will direct the kindest spirits he can find to guard their dreams and remain at their side as long as he can.

Blackwall: Maker forbid. For a moment Skyhold’s would be warden is swamped by the images of Callier’s children, dead under tiny shrouds beside the ruined carriage at his command. Too many children fall victim to the machinations of their elders and with none to protect them from the fall out, but for all that most of Blackwall’s experience has been from the other side.

Being confronted with the parent who had lost a child, confronted with the knowledge that they had told none of them and had suffered under the burden alone was staggering. Damn it, they had all laid burdens at the Inquisitor’s feet and expected answers, demanded decisions and leadership in a word gone mad— and none had known what they had lost.

He doesn’t know what to say or how to act and instead channels everything into the fight to flee the fade. Rainier would be too much the coward to speak to their leader in the aftermath, but Blackwall- older and hopefully wiser from his own griefs- will offer quiet condolences and whatever aid he can. If they need to speak of it be will listen. And if not there is soft wood and chisel enough to grind out any feelings if that is what they need.

Vivienne: Children had never been in her destiny. As a mage, even one so elevated as to be all but free of the constraints of the circle, motherhood was forbidden to her. Any child of her womb would be sacrificed to the Chantry, given to a family deemed ‘more worthy’ to raise it.

And as a mistress, no matter how deeply the love between them bloomed, Bastian could never have given her such a blessing. He had children— an illegitimate child, and a mage child at that, would have been too great a weapon against him.

And so she had put it out of her mind, never allowed herself to consider or imagine what a son might look like, how a daughter might smile. To think of it would be a loss too great to contemplate—or so she had thought. Met with the active loss and overwhelming grief that their leader must feel, Madame de Fer is suddenly glad not to know how such a burden might rest on her soul.

Could she be so calm a leader as the Inquisitor, while bleeding out inside? Vivienne does not know, and that…well, terrifies her in a way little has. But she is not called iron for nothing, and so when all is calm again she will go the Herald and ask simply and plainly what she might do for them. If the answer is nothing she will abide by it. And if there is something that might in any way assuage their grief then she will ensure they have it.

Dorian: Well, that at least explains the Inquisitor’s uncharacteristically violent outburst, when Halward Pavus had made his way to Ferelden. Upon hearing the possible consequences of the blood magic ritual the Inquisitor had laid into the Magister, flaying with words when they could not use violence. Even the Pavus paterfamilias had seemed shaken by the diatribe, and Dorian had felt championed.

He is not so shallow as to feel betrayed by the knowledge of what terrible grief must have driven such an impassioned defamation of character, but can instead only ache for his friend’s loss. They must have been a wonderful parent, and in a quiet time later will gather his courage to tell them so.

Sera: It doesn’t really register in the moment, so great is her own fear of the Fade and it’s denizens, but later it will simply break the Red Jenny’s heart. Their leader lost a true little one, and still managed to bring themselves to protect the rest of the little people no matter their age.

Like Blackwall she will either offer distraction or uncharacteristic silence in comfort, baked goods an offering that feels too…personal for such a gaping loss. But her admiration for them grows exponentially.

The Iron Bull: Public, corporate grief is rare among the Qun. Not forbidden, exactly, but when everyone is given a role it also implies that every person is inherently replaceable in that role. As Koslun said, the tide rises and falls and things must work forward toward peace.

But the death of a child is different. Whether disease or violence or simple accident, losing an imereki is a tragedy. The Tamassran mourns, the others in their care mourn, and all those in the sphere of the lost one are permitted some little allowance for the loss. Things cannot grind to a halt- this is why parents are separated from children, to ensure the deep emotional bonds that are anathema to the Qun- but there is not simple acceptance without acknowledgement of the loss.

Not even that was given to the Inquisitor. It’s east to see the shock of the others even through his own fear, and the knowledge infuriates Bull enough to get him through the Fade. Their leader lost a child, and no one was there for them. Instead piled on the whole world and its imminent loss on their shoulders. It’s disgraceful.

Later, when Adamant is pacified and they return to Skyhold, he will pull them aside. It will be painful and it will be slow, and whether they need alcohol or pain or even the clinical breakdown that bondage and sex can only give-with their explicit consent- he will help them bleed the pain and begin the grieving process.

Cole: The pain was too big for him to help, the threads caught up in pain and joy and guilt and anger and terrible despair. He didn’t even have the words to describe it to others, and so had kept silent.

If they need him later he will help, but this loss is too big for a spirit unsure of how to act.

Cullen: Maker’s breathe. How could they…why did they not…Damn it, how could he not realize?! He had all but thrust the entire inquisition on a parent who had been robbed the chance to even bury their child, let alone mourn them.

Varric’s report rocks him to the core, and the commander in truth does not know what to do. If the rest of the inner circle has it well in hand he will simply work to make sure their leader has less in their plate. If they wish to discuss it with them, he is there and if not…

He hardly has the words anyway.

Josephine: She weeps over the missive, when it arrives. Their inquisitor has been hiding the worst of loses from them, putting on such a brave face to do so much. Like Cullen she works to make sure they have less to do when they return, but does pull them aside briefly to awkwardly hug them and ask if they want a memorial somewhere private in Skyhold.

Leliana: She knew. She knew from only a few days after, when her spies brought her everything there was on the Herald. And even The Nightingales Heart could ache for such a loss, but Leliana took her queues from the Herald and simply never discussed it. That does not change now— she will follow their lead.

Mod Fereldone

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Hellooo!

Could you write about a farmer who feels unworthy of their partner's love with the sve adventurers, mages and Mr. Qi?

Thank you in advance. I hope u have a great day!🥰

Sure thing! Sorry for late reply, been a little busy with holidays and work. Thank you for your ask, dear anon! 💖 Happy holidays, and have a great day too!

_________________________________________

Isaac

"Who put that idea in your head?" Isaac's face was calm, but his look and voice would have made anyone's blood run cold in their veins. He was angry, for at first he thought that someone else's influence had made his partner think that way. When Farmer told the adventurer that they're beginning to feel unworthy, Isaac was taken aback. Why? "You're a famous adventurer..." So? "A role model for many in Castle Village." So? "I'm just a farmer..." Not just a farmer. A hero of Stardew Valley. His lover. His soulmate. "You can find someone better-" After that, Isaac is sure to shut Farmer up with a kiss and seriously tell them not to dare consider themself unworthy anymore. He chose them because he loves them. Sincerely. And will kill anyone who says a bad word in Farmer's direction or even looks the wrong way.

Lance:

"That's where you're wrong, my soul." The adventurer sensed that something had begun to trouble Farmer lately, and waited for his partner to tell him what was wrong. He expected different answers, but not this one. Lance sits down with Farmer, as they need to have a long and heartfelt talk, so that there are no misunderstandings or miscommunications. Farmer is worthy, more than they can imagine. And before they can love someone, they must love themself. Lance will gently begin to list all their merits, their bravery and heroism, their hard work and kindness. For a pink-haired man, Farmer is a treasure he wouldn't trade for anything. He will gently help his partner with these thoughts: start celebrating Farmer's big and little wins, learn to love themself. Lance will remind them more than once how lucky he is that they met on top of a volcano.

Jadu:

"Oh dear.... that's actually my line, you know..." What? Farmer looked at the slightly slumped Jadu with shock, not understanding what he meant. The young wizard's face read melancholy and sadness. Can't Farmer see what a wonderful, brave and kind person they are? Didn't they realise that it was Jadu's good fortune that Farmer, who was the secret object of the Castle Village wizard's affection, had paid attention to him and asked him out? Yes, he sometimes felt unworthy, for even as a mage he was unremarkable. But simply feeling unloved doesn't mean you're unlovable, and Farmer was proving that he treasured Jadu and their relationship. The two lovers exchange hugs and a plan to deal with these feelings of unworthiness together.

Camilla:

"Wrong." Camilla said it so quickly and sternly that Farmer was even a little taken aback. It was very rare to catch the head witch of Castle Village in any other mood than her usual playful, joking, and light-hearted attitude. But as soon as the 'I am not worthy of you' came out of her lover's mouth, she immediately grew serious. "I don't want to hear those words ever again." She utters it, wrapping her arms around Farmer and pulling them closer, causing her partner to hide their face in her shoulder. Camilla might guess that Farmer's feelings of unworthiness are probably partly her fault, since in courtship the girl was an impregnable fortress and played with them. But she has genuinely fallen in love with them, the determined and beautiful Farmer, and in all seriousness says that they are worthy. Had always been worthy.

Alesia:

"What? How can you... say that about yourself?" Alesia insists that they need to talk privately right away. Did she do something to make them feel unworthy or hurt them in some way? Or has someone else planted a seed of insecurity in their thoughts? Sniper has no way of knowing why her love feels this way. It's heartbreaking to her that Farmer has such low self-esteem. They're enough. They are worthy. Always have been, are, and always will be. All her friends congratulated her and Farmer, and those who dared to open their mouths and say "Alesia is too good for that weirdo" got her fist in the nose. She loves them, and will help them love themself too.

Bonus Mr. Qi:

"Unworthy? Hmm. Huh. Ha ha ha." Oh Qi laughs heartily and apologises to the slightly offended Farmer for such a reaction to their words. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you know what you're talking about." Before Farmer wanted to protest, they and Mr. Qi found themselves in a place that looked like outer space. Screens of all of Farmer's exploits, all of their victories, all of the times they and Qi had been together flew in front of their faces. The mysterious blue man held an orb that was a miniature planet Earth. He announced to them that they were worthy of so much more than they realised, that Qi was willing to stop and start wars for them, that all the riches he was willing to obtain for them. Ready to lay the whole world at Farmer's feet. That's how much he loves them, his hero, his love. And they still think they're not worthy?

[jime777]

For day one, I chose to draw “a missing scene” from the games! Micaiah and Soren supports that would very probably have existed if there were supports in Radiant Dawn <3

Both Micaiah and Soren are my favourite characters from the duology, the fact they have so much in common and it's left unexplored is a little sad. They had so much potential!

During the RD epilogue, we learn that the two of them were supposed to be the rulers of their respective countries, Soren being the crown prince to Daein (and a prince of Goldoa as well) and Micaiah, the future empress of Begnion.

Not only that, but they also descend from two of the legendary heroes that fought Yune during the Great Flood and defeated her; Dheginsea and Altina. And they are the ones that more than 1000 years later join her instead to stop Ashera.

But for different reasons, they end up growing up far from court. Though they both are raised by a woman early in their lives, the treatment they receive differs greatly and doesn't impact them in the same way. The motive for this being they are “one of the Branded”, laguz and beorc blood alike flow through their veins, granting them special powers and marking their body with a “brand”. Plus, Micaiah and Soren´s laguz side come from herons and (black) dragons, the laguz who live the longest amount of time.

Micaiah´s “mother” raised her more or less as anyone would raise a kid, but she led a reclusive life to keep her safe. She explained what her heritage means too, telling Micaiah that she should hide it to be safe.

Soren´s caretaker was disgusted by him and displayed a very abusive behaviour towards him, going so far as to sell him to an old mage who mistook him for a spirit´s charmer. This led to Soren not realising what he truly was until he was 19 years old!

Growing up, both of them had one person, specifically a beorc, that they trust with their secret and their life. I personally think that Micaiah and Sothe´s base conversation is a little of a parallel to Ike and Soren´s A support in Path of Radiance.

Micaiah: Yes, I’m sure of that. Muarim seems very trustworthy. But, what about everyone else? What would they think if they knew all of my abilities came from the mixed blood running through my veins? Blood they consider cursed!

Sothe: Micaiah, stop…

Micaiah: Right now, when they look at me, they have love and affection in their eyes, but would they look at me the same way if they knew? I don’t want to find out, Sothe. I don’t think I could bear the truth.

Sothe and Micaiah base conversation in chapter 8

Soren: It’s a cross between a beorc and a laguz. Such a taboo union violates every teaching of the goddess. And of society. We are untouchables. Abominations. Condemned to a life of hatred and shunning from both races.

Ike: Wait, wait. Hold it a second. Let me make sure that I follow you… You’re part laguz?

Soren: Yeah. This mark on my forehead is the proof. I learned about it while researching ancient books at the Mainal Cathedral. I always thought it was a birthmark. Others thought that it was the mark of a Spirit Charmer.

Ike: What’s a Spirit Charmer?

Soren: Magic comes from interaction with spirits. If you let one into your body, it will give you tremendous power…for a price. That’s why the old sage was so interested in me. He thought I had struck such a deal. But instead, I was just a filthy Branded.

Ike: All right. I understand. So?

Soren: …What do you mean, “so?”

Ike: So, you have laguz blood in your veins. So, you have a mark to prove it. So… What’s the problem?

Soren: What’s the problem…? Don’t you find me repugnant!? I work beside you, eat beside you. I’m nothing! I don’t belong anywhere! Doesn’t that sicken you?

Ike and Soren´s A support in Path of Radiance

Micaiah and Soren have very similar thoughts about what it means to be Branded and how others perceive them, though Soren´s tend to be much darker especially in PoR due to his childhood.

The distinction is that, while Soren has already met two other branded characters (Stefan, and Petrine if you make them fight during chapter 23 of PoR), Micaiah still hasn't met anyone she can relate to.

This is the reason she is so moved after encountering Soren for the first time, and why she is more upset to be forced to fight him than the others.

Soren: …Ah, that explains quite a bit about the stories that surround you.

Micaiah: Who are you? You’re… You’re just like me!

Soren: Yes, they call our kind the Branded. As the years pass, I understand better and better how others see us.

Micaiah: You are so… cold. It’s like you’re cloaked in frost. Is there even blood in your veins?

Soren: There is. Blood very similar to yours, in fact. Blood that teaches us what it means to be rejected and alone.

Micaiah: Your heart is frozen, but I feel a warm core trying to melt through that ice. I see… You have someone you cherish very much. Someone you rely on.

Soren: Do not presume to understand me, you ridiculous girl. You have no idea who I am and what I can do. None at all. Daein has no business in this war. I will defeat you swiftly and send you and your army back to Daein.

Micaiah: I finally meet my own kind, and he is an enemy…… I will not retreat. I won’t let you go any further!

Micaiah and Soren battle dialogue during Part 3 - Chapter 7 of Radiant Dawn

Micaiah is also the first person Soren tells he is Branded out of his own volition after Ike. Having passed 3 years since then, he feels more confident about it. And knowing she is the same as he, he's not scared anymore. In this scene, Micaiah openly uses her power to read his heart too, the power that comes from her mixed blood and that he has as well.

Not many people know this since this conversation is actually impossible (in my experience) to get in game, but they have another dialogue if you make them fight during Part 3 - Chapter 13!

Soren: Our last battle, in the valley. Was that your strategy?

Micaiah: …

Soren: That was impressive. You killed thousands of beorc soldiers with your little ambush. Well done.

Micaiah: I…

Soren: The Maiden of Dawn… What are you? One of the Branded, that’s for sure. But there is something else about you… Power. Yes, I can feel it in you. You possess great power.

Micaiah: Yes, and you would know. There’s something very different about you, too. Your energy feels so…ancient. You and I seem to have so much in common.

Soren: That doesn’t matter in the slightest. The only thing that does matter is that you are a dangerous adversary. You are also in Ike’s path, so it falls to me to remove you. It’s almost a shame. Farewell, Maiden of Dawn.

Micaiah: So, you fight for someone, as well. So very much alike… But I will defeat you. I will protect the ones I love!

Micaiah and Soren battle dialogue during Part 3 - Chapter 13 of Radiant Dawn

This one is even more surprising, Soren is PRAISING someone! Micaiah brings up how much alike they are and actually hints to Soren´s heritage with that “ancient energy” meaning dragon blood. They both are able to feel the other is not only Branded, but that there is something deeper.

This interaction also shows a slightly softer Soren with him regretting having to kill her, be it for how capable she is or the secret they share.

They have one more interaction during the RD Voice Drama that took place in the 2019 FE Expo, but it is more of a funny moment intended to be comedy than actually exploring them. It always takes me out though!

Micaiah: Around this arm, it will grow thicker and stronger.

Ike: Ah, no, please don't touch-

Soren: Wait right there. You don't need to touch his arm to do your fortune-telling.

Micaiah: Eh? You have some deep scratches right here...

Ike: Ah, come to think about it, just now...

Micaiah: Please do not move. I will heal it.

Ike: Eh?

Micaiah: Get healed-

Soren: Step away from Ike.

Micaiah and Ike: Ah?!

Soren: No healing allowed from amateurs. Hmm, that's right. Tell MY fortune.

Micaiah: Oh, um, okay. Then, your hand, please. Huh? You... You are... The same as me!?

Soren: Huh? What are you say-

Sothe: Micaiah!

Soren and Micaiah during the Voice Drama stage (“Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Voice Drama Converging Radiance and Dawn: An Interlude Tale” Eng subbed in YouTube by “Fudgenuggets”)

This is placed somewhere between PoR and RD, just when she is about to read Soren´s future she realises he is Branded as well and is shocked by it, which results in Sothe escaping with her and not developing it further.

During the Tellius CD Drama that takes place in Part 3 - Chapter 7, they appear in the same scene but sadly they do not interact.

Now, going back to what I started with, the way they approach learning about their past and their family is vastly different too.

Micaiah on one hand, as can be seen in the epilogue, seeks a relationship with her little sister, Sanaki, and wishes to have a talk with Sephiran as well during endgame.

Soren on the other hand is hinted to understand that the “random lady” who asked for his name is his mother (Almedha <3, I could talk about her for hours too), but even then he completely ignores it and treats her as he would treat any other person. And then, leaves Tellius with no intention to come back. With how smart he is, he probably connected the dots to when he felt so uncomfortable in Goldoa back in PoR.

“As far as Soren was concerned, his past as the prince of Daein among other things was not really of any interest - because he had forged and travelled his own path.”

Soren´s profile in Tellius II recollection book (Translated by “Kantopia”)

Fits his character a lot, and makes me feel SO proud of how far he has come!

Although Micaiah had the same idea as him, she ends up deciding to stay on Tellius and becomes the new queen of Daein instead.

Ike: You mean the blood of the laguz?

Micaiah: So you knew. Did you find out from the boy who’s always beside you?

Ike: Soren. Yeah. I guess you both know how to recognize people with a similar nature.

Micaiah: Yes. He and I are both Branded.

Ike: …Don’t use that word. You and Soren are both people. Just like me and everyone else.

Micaiah: People. You’re just like Yune. You call both laguz and beorc people.

Ike: Why should I care about the colour of your hair, eyes, and skin? Or your ears, wings, or tail? No matter how long you live or what powers you possess, we’re the same. At the end of the day, we’re all people.

Micaiah: … Sothe talks that way, too. His time with you changed him. Thank you, Ike. I’ve made up my mind.

Ike: About what? I didn’t realise we were doing anything but talking.

Micaiah: I thought I might travel to a far-off place after all of this was over. But I won’t. I’ll go back to Daein. No matter what happens, I’ll have Sothe by my side. I have nothing to fear as long as he’s with me.

Micaiah and Ike base conversation in Endgame - 3

And in this base conversation, she mentions Soren too!

It is definitely a shame that Radiant Dawn was rushed in the end and they did not have enough time to implement all that was planned. The Branded are barely talked about in PoR, and though expanded much more on during RD, I always think there was much more going on with them.

Writing this was something I had always wanted to do and very much enjoyed. Hope it makes people more curious about the similarities between these two!

[mllemaenad]

The issue with reccomending people to the Wardens is that, unless you're already blighted or condemned for a capital crime... your odds of surviving the joining seem to be significantly worse than 50%.

Alistair says that he was the only member of his group to survive, and the joining at Ostagar had, depending on how you count it, either a 50% or a 33.3333333333333% survival rate.

Those are lousy, lousy odds, even if you are from the wrong side of the tracks. And if you're in your early 20s or late teens, you're probably still cutting your life short, and ensuring that you die alone in agonizing pain down in the deep roads.

It's just... really not a good deal for anyone who isn't already literally at risk of imminent death.

It's not really an issue ..? I mean, I'm not having an issue, and neither is Warden-Commander Brosca, since I assume this relates to my post about Seanna cheerfully recruiting everybody. :)

For a start. Eh. Honestly, trying to work out how dangerous the Joining should be is a mug's game. I accept your examples, but I could just as easily counter that in Awakening five of six companions come through it just fine (Six of seven? Are we counting Justice, since Kristoff survived his Joining?).

If you recruit Loghain to the Wardens, he's fine. If you send Bethany or Carver to the Wardens, they are fine. If you send Blackwall to become a proper Warden, he is just fine.

Honestly, how dangerous the Joining is just seems to be related to how interesting you are. The deaths of all possible recruits but the Hero of Ferelden and Alistair occur because it is imperative that there be functionally no Wardens left – so there can be no more youngsters than that for Duncan to protect. The Awakening companions are mostly fine because we need a new party for a new adventure, so we can't just keep killing off candidates for hours.

I realise that's the most Doylist viewpoint possible, but honestly it's just not worth worrying about. Does the Joining carry with it a risk of death? Absolutely! Do I need to consider it so very risky that one should never offer it to anyone? Nah. It has its share of "everybody lives" scenarios too.

But regardless – I said Seanna never met an apostate, runaway slave, casteless dwarf or petty thief she didn't try to recruit. She's not recruiting people whose lives are going well. Even if they're not facing literal death right this second, these are all people whose lives are likely to consist of crushing poverty, imprisonment, torture, captivity, Tranquility, and an appalling lack of personal agency and dignity.

Are the Wardens kind of taking advantage of Thedas's horrific levels of prejudice and inequality? Yep! They're a bit dodgy, as many of the best things in Dragon Age are. Seanna takes her duty seriously and does her best by her recruits ... but she did get her start as the muscle for a Carta crime boss. Her morals don't have to be 100% pure all the time.

On the other hand – the Wardens largely do deliver on the promise of a better life. Yes, there is a duty and there are drawbacks, but they are one of the few genuinely multinational and multicultural organisations in Thedas. You see elves, mages and branded dwarves in positions of respect and authority. These people can marry, travel, own property, raise children if they manage to acquire any – and genuinely live their lives in a way they very likely would not be able to elsewhere.

How many casteless dwarves will expect to live to a ripe old age? Seanna didn't. There were so many ways she could have died young. And even if she somehow made it past forty (which is hardly old), she was terrified of ending up like her mother – or even worse, out starving on the streets.

Instead of that, and because of the Wardens, she is Commander of the Grey and Arlessa of Amaranthine, and she will absolutely keep telling just about any poor, down-on-their-luck bastard she meets that the Wardens have food and a steady pay cheque, and if the Templars or the slave hunters or the Carta come looking for you, you'll have dozens of your brothers and sisters watching your back.

[rainofaugustsith]

These lines right here sum up why I feel FFXIV has much more superior, nuanced writing than the Star Wars franchise.

Star Wars has you believe that one side is right regardless of what they do, and the other side is so evil, rotten to the core in every way that their entire people, planets. culture, language, religion - everything - should be permanently erased if they can't be converted to an entirely different culture, language, and creed (And don't get me started on how they conveniently made the Sith alphabet - again considered terrabad - virtually identical to the Hebrew alphabet). It's a very black and white, dogmatic view that IMHO hearkens back to the evangelical belief that only one point of view gets to go to heaven, and if you don't believe that, resist converting and want to hang onto your identity, you're going to hell. And you're certainly going to hell if you point out anything questionable the other side has done.

What you discover in FFXIV is nuance.

Every single job can be used for good; every single job can be used for evil. The heroes of one story are the villains of another. Every heroic gesture comes with a very real price. Nobody is beyond reproach, and that includes the player character. Actions one person takes for the greater good can lead to devastating damage for others.

The "get back to nature" white mages rule a city-state where xenophobia rules the day and the elementals run a reign of terror. White magic executed without proper training can be fatal.

The black mages who congregate in a hall for the gods of the dead have an alliance among the marginalized tribes that spans all three city-states and saves Eorzea from calamity. Black magic executed without proper training can be fatal.

The Dark Knights dedicate themselves to protecting those who need their help, and teach that one's dark side isn't something to vanquish, but something to hear, acknowledge and make peace with.

The Dragoon story shows that one's archenemy can become one's ally - or consume them.

The fearsome reapers who treat with the dead are actually helping the downtrodden.

The community working hard to keep the peace and move forward in a productive way are ex-pirates.

And so on. Nobody is expected to forgive those who have wronged them. Atonement is seen as something that involves work on the part of the perpetrator, not the participation of the survivors. But atonement is there and in several cases characters do better.

Any thoughts that any group in Eorzea needs to be eliminated are eventually dispelled completely. Marginalization of various groups is something that eventually does need to be answered for, and is presented as a problem, not a necessity. When Eorzea finally marches on their nemesis, the Garlean Empire, it is on an aid mission, not conquest. There are no attempts to convert. Just to help.

Both Garlemald in Endwalker and Ziost in SWTOR deal with the issue of murderous possessed people. In SWTOR, the Republic - remember, our "good guys" - response with Saresh is to send an invading army to increase the hurt. In FFXIV, the Alliance's response is to send an army to help, with Scions striking out into the snow and into the smoldering ruins to rescue anyone they can.

If you asked me if I would live anywhere in a Star Wars universe, it would be an emphatic HELL NO. But FFXIV? I feel like they are at least striving for better, with common ground and peaceful co-existence, and everything is nuanced.

[alpaca-clouds]

I hate the fact that my brain put out a plot idea for a Veilguard longfic. (Obviously centering around Lucanis and Spite.)

Ironically it is based on the kinda conflict within the fandom/meta that results from how "clean" and "heroic" the Crows come across in comparison to past depictions of them. I mean, I said it myself: In Veilguard they feel a lot like Assassin's Creed. Like: "Sure, we are assassins and we kill for a living, but we only kill the really bad people! Pinky swear!" While in older material they were definitely also killing good people and also very much participating in human trafficking (especially of kids that would then get trained to be assassins).

I mean, heck, from Lucanis' stuff in The Wigmaker Job (the short story) we also know that he and Illario were abused by Caterina. He very much rationalized it as "But she only did it so we could survive", but it was still abuse.

However, something we definitely know also from that same short story about Lucanis is, that indeed, he does have somewhat higher moral standards than your average assassin. And we know that he specialized on killing mages.

Now, from what I now understand about the worldbuilding is the following: In most of the cultures outside of Tevinter, mages are not only very much controlled, but also met with a lot of distrust. Making it quite likely that a lot of mages who have a lot of political influence are Tevinter mages, which will probably also mean that most mages he ever got hired to kill were from Tevinter, and he killed probably a percentually higher amount of Venatori than the average Crow. (Correct me, if I am wrong in this regard, DA-nerds. This is how I am starting to understand the world.)

However, if you consider the end of his companion quest... (more under break, because spoilers.)

He becomes First Talon, which means that he will have to deal a lot more with Crow politics and what kind of contracts the Crows at large will take.

Here is the thing: Everyone is the hero of their own story. And given all we know, I have a good feeling of the general narratives that Lucanis lives by. He is the good guy, because he mainly kills the really bad mages, because he protects Treviso, and really, those that end up dead had it coming.

But again, in past stuff we absolutely know that the Crows took down good people, before they were paid for it.

My first reaction to the end of the game was: "Oh, I can make them worse, hehehe."

And I mainly just would like to explore with Lucanis having to deal with the... uhm... business model of a professional groups of assassins being pretty much: "We gonna kill anyone we get paid to kill."

And I generally like the idea of a character having to adjust their personal narratives bit by bit, because it is one of the hardest things for humans to do.

But also... I have a long list of longfics I wanna write - and I would need to do so much research.

[2wolvesinatrenchcoat]

Things I, as a fantasy writer, want to see more of in fantasy stories:

- Natural disasters other than A Big Storm (seriously man, why do we almost never see tsunamis, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, and forest fires in fantasy? Maybe you'll get an avalanche in a cold setting but there's way more natural disasters to play with than just storms.)

- Radiation (think about it, uranium as a spell component and lead as an armor against the Dark Power That Unravels Your Body Over Time, mages who specialize in radioactive magic being mutilated and sickened by their own craft)

- Picky eaters (in a genre often defined by the food, what happens if you aren't much of an eater? You might see a picky eater as a Particularly Spoiled Royal Who Only Eats The Finest Wine And Cheese, but what do you do if you're a peasant who can barely afford a few potatoes, but your kids don't like potatoes and won't eat them? What if you're an adventurer and you're all out of pre-packed rations and the only thing you have to eat is giant bug meat, but that's too revolting to consider?)

- Animal companions that are farm animals (especially when most fantasy is based on agrarian Medieval Europe, it makes way more sense for the Peasant Child Turned Chosen Hero to have a pig or chicken or hound as a companion than a falcon or wolf or lion)

- Disabilities that can't be healed by magic, but can be adapted by it (maybe a wizard can't restore your failing vision, but they can give you enchanted glasses that never get dirty and let you see in the dark. Or maybe your traumatic memories can't be erased with a spell, but an alchemist can make you a potion that prevents nightmares. A mage can't regrow your arm, but they can transfigure your suit of armor into a new one.)

- "Feminine" jobs/crafts that are important to the plot (such as weaving/embroidery being used to create spells, a dressmaker who has to create all the disguises for a group of adventurers sneaking into an enemy castle, a florist/herbalist making powerful potions with the flowers they grow, The Power Of A Mother's Love, and such)

[explodingchantry]

The thing is it really isn't about anders' actions. It isn't. It's genuinely all about framing.

FF7 sees us partake in actual eco-terrorism - they call THEMSELVES eco-terrorists. And we're still seen as the irrevocable hero, and everyone who plays the game understands Cloud & AVALANCHE to be heroes. Complicated, flawed heroes, but heroes anyway. When Shinra collapses the upper city into sector 7, it's as a direct result of AVALANCHE's actions. But you don't see the wider fandom bickering and yelling at each other and hating Cloud or any other AVALANCHE members for the innocent lives lost. It's understood to be Shinra's fault, as they were the ones to destroy an entire sector. But what of potential innocents dying or being injured from the reactor we blow up within the first few minutes of the game? That's definitely our actions causing direct destruction, killing the employees at the facility and the ones we directly fight, the irreparable damage. We don't see people yapping about it because the writing makes it clear that their cause is just and the fandom understands.

What of bg3's Astarion? He was forced to charm these people and bring them to Cazador, yeah, sure - but he could've also chosen to let Cazador kill him or torture him more! The choice here is obvious - that he had to do what he did to survive, and the writing makes it clear as well that he is at no fault for his actions when literally a tortured slave with very limited free will. The game also looks at his rather... Morally corrupt behavior even after escaping Cazador's control via the tadpole with a lens of sympathy and understanding and compassion because our guy is still on the "kill or be killed" grindset and genuinely needs a guiding hand to teach him that he can be free without sacrificing everything - including his humanity - for it. Though the game does allow you to hate him and kill him or turn him into a piece of shit - those are openly considered "bad" endings. There is an obvious right thing to do, here. An obvious side the writing takes.

When Anders, at the time controlled by Justice, almost kills that mage girl in Dissent - it is framed as obviously a bad thing and Anders is immediately horrified. However, some of those around him try to cheer him up, for example Varric who points out the ludonarrative dissonance happening: in which Hawke and their whole party, including Anders, have killed in the hundreds or perhaps thousands and thus Anders ought to relax about the innocent life he almost took. Of course, Varric himself is presented as morally imperfect, but also deeply sympathetic. The player is most likely to side with him on most matters and be influenced by his opinions if only because of his position as your best friend in da2 and general incredible charisma and friendly attitude. This is genuinely good writing of a very sad and nuanced scene. Dissent is pretty good, overall. Unfortunately, it isn't the norm.

The game also goes out of its way to have Varric warn Hawke about Anders being crazy if they romance him, and a humorous/sarcastic Hawke may reply that they like crazy rather than actually defend him. In general, there are very few moments where we can openly support and comfort Anders without any caveats. It goes so far as to having the popular diplomatic options sometimes defending templars rather than supporting Anders, thus placing him, in the narrative, as an 'extremist' the same way Fenris is an extremist in his hatred of mages.

Even if Anders was a terrorist - which he is not - and the chantry boom was an act of terrorism - which it isn't - this wouldn't actually stop another narrative from offering him sympathy. In any other story written by any other writer, Anders would be the obvious victim, and obvious tragic hero. In another story written by any other writer, DAI would have several characters defend him. Even if you wanted to really argue that it makes sense for Varric to hate Anders and complain about him as much as he did (there is some truth to that but I personally remain of the opinion that it did go a bit too far and thus broke character in places), you would expect other characters to speak on him positively. Such as, oh idk, rebel mages or A HAWKE WHO ROMANCED HIM AND SUPPORTED HIM. Or maybe, oh I don't know, a respected and wise elven mage who undertook a difficult revolution in the past. it's these constant remarks about him, the fact that whenever he is mentioned post da2 has been negative, the fact that bioware has parroted the "all mages betray us" stupid fucking 'joke', the fact that the 'crazed' rebel mages attacking you in the hinterlands wear anders' outfit and when you meet anders in da:a he wears tevinter robes and the gift you can give him in da2 is a tevinter amulet thus drawing connections between him and tevinter when all we ever knew of tevinter until extremely recently was "everyone living there is an evil mage slaver". Literally any other writer would have made different choices in their framing that would make people see anders for the tragic hero he is.

Cullen is given 4 entire pages on his history in WoT2. It gives him a dream of becoming a Templar to 'help' and 'protect' people, for which he worked incredibly hard for. It gives him siblings who care for him and support him no matter what, and goes at length to tell you how traumatised and 'unlike himself' Cullen was post dao broken circle. Anders gets 2 pages, which in fairness is more than most. And those two pages are, also in fairness, fairly sympathetic. But we are given nothing of what Anders does post da2, aside from a couple lines in da2 itself. I know that part of it is because there is the possibility of him being killed by Hawke, but potential character death has never stopped bioware from continuing their stories somehow, and with Anders being possessed by Justice giving him an out from certain death (why would Hawke stabbing him with a knife kill him but not a Templar spearing him with their sword in the pre-da2 short story?) there is little excuses. Furthermore, they could pull something similar to what they did with Hawke, with a simple line saying "whether or not Anders lived depends on the person telling the story" etc etc. Honestly I'm not too miffed about the absence of that, I'm not saying I want Anders to have ten pages dedicated to himself in WoT, I just wanted to point out the imbalance between a character obviously loved by Bioware and one obviously disliked.

When I offer the facts of the story to my friends who haven't touched dragon age, and try to remain as objective as possible, and remove the negative framing the game gives - they genuinely struggle to understand how anders would even possibly be hated. They're pretty baffled. And I always have to tell them, it's because of narrative bias. It genuinely, fully, is because of narrative bias.

[rillegas08]

Everyone is assuming that the prophecy in episode 21 refers to Laios because he's currently welding Kensuke, but I'm too familiar with how prophecies work in fiction and mythology to 100% believe that. I think it's equally as likely that the prophecy refers to Chilchuck or Kabru.

Spoilers for *Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi* episode 21 under the cut. I haven't read the manga yet, so this is just regarding the anime.

"With the winged sword in hand, the hero will defeat the mad mage, and thus rise as the country's new king."

We're told that the golden lion, despite being locked away by the Mad Mage, still guides the people of the Golden Country through prophecies like the one from today's episode. So Laios has the winged sword, he's the primary protagonist of the show, and he's being built up as the hero to defeat the Mad Mage. Despite everything going for him, I'm not completely convinced.

In fiction and mythology, prophecies have a tendency to be fulfilled even when the suspected route isn't how. Think about how Oedipus's father, in response to a prophecy that Oedipus would kill him and marry his mother, sent his infant to die in order to avoid the prophecy. Oedipus, of course, didn't die, and grew up not knowing he was a prince, and later in life killed his dad and married his mom without knowing they were his parents.

"Prophecies gonna prophecy", as the Super Carlin Brothers say whenever they put out a video where they speculate what would happen if something from the primary Harry Potter timeline didn't happen.

Assuming Laios is the prophecy fulfillment makes sense, of course, but we can't be certain. Let's discuss what we do know for certain.

THE MAD MAGE WILL BE DEFEATED. There are ways to defeat an enemy without killing them. In D&D you can get the same amount of XP by talking your way out of an encounter as by fighting through it. We shouldn't discount diplomacy as the method of defeat, especially considering...

WITH SWORD IN HAND. All that is required of the hero is to hold the sword. It's pretty clear from the appearance of the lion head on the hilt that Kensuke is the sword of the prophecy, and since it's Laios's sword we naturally assume that he must be the hero of the prophecy. However, it's a common enough trope that the assumed hero drops their weapon and someone else picks it up to be revealed as the hero of the prophecy. We don't even know the hero's gender, although...

RISE AS THE COUNTRY'S NEW KING. This suggests the hero will be male. Even though the female Valkyrie holds the title of king of New Asgard in the MCU, this show hasn't strayed too far from gender norms. So it's likely the hero is male. Even though Falin breaking free of the Mad Mage's influence, Marcille overpowering the Mad Mage's dark magic with her own, or Izutsumi getting the Mad Mage to separate her human and cat souls are all pretty awesome outcomes.

Assuming the hero is among the primary characters and not someone we haven't gotten much charges, we're left with Senshi, Chilchuck, and Kabru.

I think it's safe to say that Senshi won't be the hero. He hasn't shown a desire to lead and while he can definitely hold his own in a fight, we've seen him take a background role in most. He's perfectly content to make food all day, and would thrive as a royal chef.

Chilchuck, despite repeatedly insisting he's not a fighter, is actually quite good. Against the ice golem, he was quick enough to look at every part of the golem to find the core, and accurate and strong enough with a bow to fire an arrow directly at it and embed the arrow in the ice. The show hasn't yet delved too deeply into his backstory, so we have yet to find out if there's a significant reason for his low opinion of his fighting abilities. However, the hero of the prophecy is more than a fighter; he's a leader. Even though Laios and Falin were the leaders of the Touden party, Chilchuck unquestionably shows the best leadership qualities. He avoids danger when he can, he stayed with Laios and Marcille after the party split (I believe partly because he knew leaving Laios and Marcille would end up with them dead and he couldn't live with that), and he's a tactician. He would make a great king.

But of course, he's not the only one; Kabru is equally qualified. While he may not be a great fighter, he's a thinker, and while the conclusions he comes to aren't always correct, he ends up with the correct mentality about it regardless. He was appalled at the use of dark magic to bring Falin back, but understood the desire to go to any length to save a loved one, which makes perfect sense considering his backstory we learned about in this episode. His concern about Laios being corrupted after killing the Mad Mage is reasonable (it's also somewhat unbased), and the fact he's concerned means he's going to be paying attention to and avoiding any corruption if he kills the Mad Mage. He's also got the motivation to prevent a repeat of Utaya, showing a concern for the livelihoods of strangers.

Honestly, I was initially thinking Chilchuck would be the one to defeat the Mad Mage, but having written all that out, it makes more sense narratively (to me, anyway) for Kabru to be the one to take the sword and defeat the Mad Mage.

And since I accidentally added a poll and don't know how to remove it without retyping everything on my phone

[asktheyigamaster]

Hi Mr Kogha, what's your opinion on all four of Hyrules champions? If you weren't mortal enemies, do you think you'd get along with them?

Well this is a very big if isn't in? Would you ask the Rito Champion if he would be more pleasant if he hated flying? Or the Princess if she would be sympathetic to the Yiga if she wasn't a princess? That's an entirely different life you're asking about.

But oh well, I can try.

First and foremost, allow me to astonish you: I'm glad Championd exist. Obviously as individuals, as people they are horrible, but Champions are also pilots of Divine Beasts. And Beasts deserve to have pilots. After 10 000 years alone and immobile, burried underground, they deserve to have someone close to them, someone who allows them to fulfill their purpose as vehicles and move around. The Divine Beasts wouldn't bond with someone they are incompatible with, so they are in good hands.

It would be dishonest to say that I never feel bitter that the Pilots of Divine Beasts are my, I mean Yiga, enemies. The King ordering them dug back out on a whim also feels like an insult. And it is! But the Beasts were always meant to belong to their respective tribes afterall. No gift-back-sies and all that.

It also is annoying how little Champions know or understand about these machines, purely as someone who does. I am sure they haven't even considered the implications of the fact that Ganon managed to bond to, and seamlessly pilot the beasts for 100 years. And that the friendly Daruk had the most trouble bonding with Vah Rudania compared to the rest of them.

But if there were no Champions when Calamity Ganon emerged 100 years ago, the King might have scrambled the excavation efforts. And the vindication of Hyrule's doom, wouldn't have been as delicious without the involvement of the Ancient Sheikah weapons. So that's good.

If we weren't enemies I would be begging to be taken on a ride daily.

Now to the individuals

Daruk

is easily the most capable Champion of the bunch. When it comes to his skill as a warrior, mage, member of a team, everything. Without his cheerfulness their group would've crumbled within weeks. There is a good reason why among all Champions, he is the only one recognized by his own people as a hero. Not a just as a skilled individual, or leader, or royalty, a hero.

And I think in this timeline where I'm not trying to kill his friends around him we would get along swimmingly! To be honest, he feels almost as if, if I showed up at Goron City right now, without a disguise, said "I'm on vacation from villainy, wanna show me the sights?" Daruk would agree without a second thought. Not for being gullible, but because his massive body comes with an appropriately sized heart, AND if I was lying about the vacation he would prefer himself to be the closest Goron to me when something happens.

I should actually try that

Urbosa.

Why did ALL the Champion's had to miraculously return? I would prefer none, but her too feels personal.

The 100 years after the Calamity when she was dead... What a great time to be a Yiga. But no, the greatest party pooper in all the land can't just stay dead.

See, the THE DESERT is a rather difficult place to live in, and Gerudo would be a great help with that, on account of being easy to steal from. If it wasn't for their Chieftain. Stiff and humorless, consistently thwarting Yiga plots is one thing, understandable even. But somehow sucking any fun to be had from the back-and-forths is unforgivable.

She is ridiculously dedicated to normalcy, to keeping things the way they are. Somehow even passionate about it. The way she fights and speaks and calls down lighting, you only see it in people with real fire in their hearts. To me this sound like an impossible contradiction, but there Urbasa is, very unfortunately real.

I had to deal with her longer then anyone around today. Even Champions, including the big frowny herself, don't realize that without Urbosa's one and only soft spot for Princess Zelda, she would long have cut the rest of them down for being annoying, or just diched the group altogether. This is true! You would agree if you tried to crack a joke around her before blondy came about!!

Could I get along with her? Never. Even if I didn't hate all of Hyrule, even if the Yiga were accepted people of the kingdom, if we're in the desert we would not know peace with Urbosa. Maybe with the Gerudo in general, but not her. The only timeline where we don't try to kill each other is the one in which we never cross paths.

Mipha

or as I like to say, The Better Princess. How good for the people of the Zora Domain to still be able to call their leaders kings and princes, despite being subjects of a larger kingdom with its own unrelated monarch. Good for them. There is good reason why after two back to back apocalypses their domain is holding out by far the best.

I don't think I can tell much about the Zora Champion though. She's just too damn quiet, I barely see her. If a proclivity for healing sorcerery is any indication she's probably really nice and caring.

Given the honor of being personally dispatched by Ganon at such a young age... Honestly, 100 years ago I thought Dorephan was going to be the Champion, but I guess you need to fit into a Divine Beast to pilot it.

With Zora longevity, I do think Mipha would understand best of all Champions, what it's like to hold onto a 10 000 year old oath of vengeance. Her brother would even better.

If the rulers of the Zora Domain had some bravery, they would proclaim the lands of now destroyed kingdom of Hyrule their territory, their lake city the new capital, and their throne the new seat of power for all the land. They would rule better then any Hylian, that's for sure. The Yiga would support them.

Afterall, the mission of the Yiga is the destruction of Hyrule kingdom at the hands of Ganon, and the end of the Hyrule royal bloodline. If Zelda stays childless, we don't even need to talk about some kind of timey boogaloo. Mipha has the power to end our status as archenemies right now.

Revali

Speaking of actual children personally slain by our Lord and Destroyer. Yeeesh! What a fascinating lad. The Rito already don't live long and they still somehow managed to pick a fledgling to fly die for them.

The only Champion unrelated to a Sage. I say it without shame, it took centuries for Kohga to be called Master and here is the Rito equivalent throwing the title around after being alive for only 0.2 times that time. And being a Master is special. No chosen-one-ness, no noble blood, nothing compares. It's not a real title or position either, you only become one when people start referring to you as such and noone argues because it obviously fits. A Master is someone of incredible skill, a pride of their people, a leader, a mentor, a backbone of society and an inspiration. Someone everyone can look to for guidance and aid. And you have to be all of that and more, you can't slack on anything, you have to be perfect. All the time, you have to be what your people need at every moment.

And while I personally am not sure Revali would qualify for the same prestige had he been a Yiga. Afterall, a gloomy, mean-spirited attitude such as his is a clear sign of weakness, a concession to the hardships. How are you to inspire others to strife for your greatness if you yourself are a depressive wreck? Noone wants to be unhappy, obviously, why would they want to be you if you aren't having fun? But this is not my decision to make, but that of the Rito people. And they sure are quite unanimous.

I guess achieving something completely unique, never before seen, especially something as critical and useful as being able to fly upwards AS A BIRD PERSON, would condemn anyone to greatness, no matter how badly they take to hormonal flushes. Can you believe he got as close to obscurity as he did? Within two-three Hylian lifetimes he was reduced to a mere legend, his signature skill not considered an impossible fantasy only by, frankly, the most insane of his kind? Scary thought.

Truth be confessed, I keep returning to thinking about modifying our age manipulation technology so that it may slow Rito aging. If they lived longer lives, had a need for sturdier homes and monuments. Had enough time to develop a proper grudge. Would they be allies to the Yiga? Quite probably. Not probably enough to risk this much resources and Sheikah attention though.

[mumms-the-word]

Love Letters

Alistair and Lucy Amell

These letters were written as a collaboration between @callmethebrightness and myself for the lovely @elspethdekarios's birthday. callmethebrightness wrote the AMAZING letter from Alistair (and I'm obsessed with it, she nailed his voice so well) while I wrote Lucy Amell's reply letter <3 This was so much fun to work on and I am in awe of the talent my friends have in this little corner of tumblr. Thank you @elspethdekarios for trusting us with your OC! I hope you have the happiest of birthdays and that you adore these love letters!

Full text under the cut!

Alistair's Letter by @callmethebrightness

To Warden-Commander Lucy Amell, Hero of Ferelden: Lucy, I love you. I know, bad form to start a letter like that; without even a hello and how are you, but it's literally the only thing that comes to mind when I think of you, so I had to write it down first. I love you. There. Now to the rest. We're making strides looking into the Wardens and Corypheus, this "false Calling" he's managed, though it's not the sort of progress I'm particularly excited about. Every time I think I've figured out the worst of it, more bad news rears its ugly head. I'm a bit less skeptical now that we have some proper allies: not only the Champion of Kirkwall, but Inquisitor Sulah Lavellan, who has all her people putting their heads together to do something about all this. We should consider having an army at our disposal for all our problems, it's really marvelously convenient. Skyhold is an amazing place. Not just the fortress itself, where I've gotten into all sorts of places I shouldn't be ("Oh, I haven't seen this door before" -- surprise, it's a dungeon. No, thank you.) but the people and the activity here. It feels like everyone from the servants to the Inquisitor herself is committed to working together. I've met Fereldans, Orlesians, city elves, surface dwarves, ex-Templars, mages, farmers, nobles, Chantry sisters, Dalish spies, qunari, Tevinters...I could go on. If anything might be able to actually unite all of Thedas, the way the Chantry says it does, it's this thing. It's this place. Maker, I wish you could see it. Every time I see something incredible in my travels, I think that, you know. "Lucy would love this, I wish she could see it." And every time I see something horrible I think, "Maker, I wish Lucy was with me." You get the idea, don't you? You, with me, all the time, no matter what. Sometimes you're all I think about. But you knew that already. We're going to figure this thing out, Lucy. I'm going to make sure the Wardens have nothing more to fear from this Elder One, even if I have to fight him myself. And when you return, whether you've found what you're looking for or not, and I see you again -- I'm going to take you in my arms and never let you go. I mean it. That's not an exaggeration. I never want to be apart from you again, Lucy. Nothing is more important to me than that. What else? I love you. I miss you. Leliana is scarier than ever, but in a good way. I've eaten Orlesian cheese and do not care for it. I miss you. I told the Inquisition's ambassador I would include a small note in their missive to the Hero of Ferelden but my letter is now longer than the official one. I hope those creepy ravens of Leliana's can carry a little extra weight. When you see it, write her back and tell her it's creepy; she won't listen to me. There are less terrible birds, Leliana. Maker, I miss you so much I don't want to stop writing to you. Is that odd? Probably. But you wouldn't say odd. "Alistair, you're too sweet." That's what you always say when I'm being a fool, especially a lovestruck fool. Can't say I don't appreciate it, though. I'll write you again soon. There's talk of the fortress at Adamant, a potential siege. All sorts of military talk I do not care for. Whatever happens, you'll hear from me soon. I never can stand to wait long. Yours forever, Alistair

Lucy Amell's Letter (by me)

To Warden Alistair: [In a smaller script] Leliana, don’t be nosy! You’ve got your own letter! My darling, I love you. I don’t care if it’s bad form, just seeing those words at the start of your letter gave me so much joy and comfort that I couldn’t even read the rest of letter at first. I just wanted to linger there on those words and imagine them in your voice. I love you. I love you. I love you. And, Maker’s breath, I miss you, too. As my journey out west bring me farther and farther away from recognizable society, I find myself traveling alone more often than not. There are good people out here, and plenty of interesting distractions, and more than enough danger to keep my mind occupied, but again and again I wish you were at my side. I know taking down the Elder One is important, but these days I wish I had been more selfish and brought you along. But what’s done is done, and it’s good that you’re there, trying to shake some sense into our fellow Wardens. Someone has to.  What you’ve told me about the situation, and what little Inquisitor Lavellan has included in her letter, troubles me. It sounds like Corypheus is more dangerous than we thought…but if the Inquisition has the army and the resources that you say it does, then I trust them to succeed. And I trust you to survive whatever comes your way. We’ve gotten out of worse scrapes, the two of us, haven’t we? Regardless, I’ve asked Inquisitor Lavellan to look after you. I know, I know, you would say I’m fussing over you too much (but I know you love it). But if she’s your ally, then she’s my ally too, and I feel no shame in asking this much of her. I want you in one piece when we meet again, my love. Be good for me. Don’t wander into dungeons that you can’t wander out of. Avoid the Orlesian cheese if you hate it so much. Remind Leliana to eat every now and again. I know her work keeps her busy, and I can only imagine that the death of the Divine has shaken her more than she’s letting on. And take care of yourself, too.  Oh, and I’m not telling Leliana that her birds are creepy. Just be glad she’s not sending missives via nug, or we’d never get letters to one another. I’ll write soon, my darling. I love you. I miss you. Yours always, Lucy [below, in a messier scrawl, as if added to the end of the page in haste] Alistair, I’m glad I didn’t send this letter right away! I’ve got big news. I think I’ve found something, and if I’m right, it means the end of this journey is in sight. I don’t want to say what it is just yet, but…I have a really good feeling about this. This might be the cure we’ve been hoping for.  But if not, I don’t care. If it’s not this, then I’ve got nothing else to investigate out here. If this isn’t our cure, then the silver lining is this—I’m coming home, and nothing is going to stop me. Meet me in Redcliffe when all of this is said and done. Whether I’ve found the cure for our Callings or not, I will be there, in the place we first started to fall in love, at the start of the next summer. And once we are together again, my love, I swear that nothing will ever separate us again. With all my love, Lucy

[diesvitae]

once you're finished the game could you share your elgarook Thoughts? as i fellow villain fucker i also want him but i cant think of a plot that makes sense for rook and him to get together in any way shape or form akdbsj

OH HI!!! In truth now that I'm done with the game I still have to rework some points in my Elgarook timeline. But in case of Nadir and Elgar'nan... (POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT)

1) Their first (solo) meeting is an attempted assassination from my lil Rook, who was probably also kinda drunk, since he attacks with a normal dagger which is... kinda useless against a god. Elgar'nan in game seems pretty chill, offering "mercy" more than once so I doubt he would be pissed at Nadir for trying. 2) Words are exchanged, Nadir is trapped and probably panicking a bit once he understands the situation he got into, he's able to flee, but there is some sort of curiosity between the two: Elgar'nan can easily sense Nadir is a mage (and a powerful one) but my lil Rook never uses magic, especially the offensive one. That's a mystery he's curious about considering it makes no sense to him (one who's obsessed with power) Nadir refuses to use his natural gifts. And this fear to use magic makes him a perfect pawn to be manipulated and guided to become someone like him. Plus it would be a nice little revenge against Solas, to steal Rook away. Nadir, while looking like this cute smug creature, is pretty insecure, he hates using magic due to hurting people by mistake each time he tried to control it. He hates acting like a hero because he can't see himself as a good person, just a cursed one. But around Elgar'nan he doesn't have to pretend to be perfect, to be controlled. Elgar'nan is the enemy, who cares about his opinion after all? And somehow that lack of care becomes a sense of freedom. So for a while they seek each other out, to learn, to test boundaries, it's a little game neither give much importance. Elgar'nan needs a hobby beyond conquering the world and Nadir needs time away from responsibilities.

That being said, despite starting a literal affair with the enemy, my Rook is beyond loyal to the team, and makes it clear he won't divulge anything which could hurt his friends or help the evanuris. Another part of their dynamic is what they gain from each other. Nadir is quite the atheist, he recognizes Elgar'nan can be considered a god, but he doesn't feel the need to worship anything or anyone. Which makes him see Elgar as a person. He's close to him not to gain godly favor, power or whatever. He simply enjoys his company and the parts of Elgar'nan which can be considered... human (wrong word XD) A person who's built empires using only his power would end up with nothing if that power were to disappear. But Nadir? He would stay. So Elgar'nan gains what it feels to get real unconditional love. On the other hand Nadir gets to be free from his fears. He doesn't have to be scared about using magic around the evanuris because he literally can't hurt them, and even if he were to... it's enemies! Technically he would be doing good by hurting them XD Plus Elly is training him! He doesn't have to act like a hero amonst his enemies. He doesn't have to act like a leader since that's a role Elgar'nan won't leave to anyone. There is also the affection which builds over time which is always nice XD (and the fucks are real good too.) In the end I want them to be like two jigsaw puzzle pieces which lock with each other perfectly despite being completely different. (And yes, Nadir is still going to kill him at the end, in a tragic and painful scene.) As for you, it depends what kind of dynamic you want! You can have your rook act as a spy, joining his side to gather his secrets only to fall for him. Or you can have Rook kidnapped only to have Elgar'nan treating them courteously. Honestly it depends on your tastes!