#he and isabela just Get each other. love them...

[crows-of-buckets]

Anders: This is Hawke, my boyfriend, and this is Isabela, the- and I am quoting him here- "platonic love of his life"

[gadriezmannsgirl]

fermin seeing his gf interacting with the other players little kids after a match win and getting baby fever

A small blurb for this cute scenario with Fermin getting Baby Fever💖

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Celebrations were amazing and mostly when it was your team doing a celebration, they had won a 5-0 against Athletic Club and were more than excited because it meant good news on that table.

"Y/N, can we go and play?" Aitana, Araujo's babygirl said cutting your conversation with Pedri, Ferran and your boyfriend, Fermín

"Lo siento, Y/N/N. Que le he dicho que estabas ocupada pero es que te adora" (I'm sorry, Y/N/N. I told her you were busy but she adores you) You smile softly at the Uruguayo.

"No worries, you know I love being with her. Venga, Aitana" You gave her your hand "Vamos a jugar" (C'mon, Aitana. Let's play) "Excuse me, guys"

You went ahead and walked a bit further where Lewandowski's daughters were playing as well with Raphinha's wife Natalia and her son, Andreas's wife Katrine and her son along with Frenkie's fiancé, Mikky and her son, Miles. You sat on the grass with Aitana on your lap and played with her and her dolls for a while.

Without your knownledge, Fermín had zoned out from the conversation he was having with Pedri and Ferran to look at you, interacting so well with his mates children. You were laughing, joking and playing with the kids, freely rolling on the grass. Picking the kids up in your arms and swinging them from side to side.

He wanted that with you.

He wanted a half him and a half you running around your future house. He wanted to see you care and love your kid, born from the love you felt for each other. He wanted you with him always. And he wanted to go through all of his life with you by his side as his girl, as his fianceé, as his wife, his best friend, his rock, his everything.

"We get you're in love with your girl but stop looking at her like a freak" Ferrán said jokingly

"I wanna marry her and I wanna have kids with her" Fermín blurted out

"Wow" Pedri said laughing softly "We knew that but everything to its time, you know?"

"No, I mean... I know that but- I can't help but watch her with Aitana and Miles and Laura and... I don't know. I just- see my whole life with her already"

"Let's hope she thinks the same" Ferran said as Pedri hits his head

"She definitely thinks the same, Fer. No worries"

"How'd you know that?"

"Because she looks at you the same way you look at her" Pedri said shrugging and Fermin blushed

"You're in love" Ferran teased

"Shut up, cabrón!" They laughed "I would love to see you whipped for your girl"

"Shark's alone right now" Ferran smiles

"Deja la tontería que los tiburones también se enamoran" (Stop speaking nonsense Sharks also fall in love) Fermín joked

"But maybe you can start by getting a dog" Pedri said and the three of them laughed

"Yeah... We can start with that" He said watching you smile your hands into Miles hands as you walk softly with him and in that moment you turned your head around to watch him already looking at you.

You smile at your boyfriend as he smiled back and mouthed a small "Te quiero", you blushed and sent him a kiss. His heart feeling full of love and happiness.

°°° °°° °°° °°°

Taglist: @gaviymarcsbride @stuckinaf4nfiction @elijahslover @azzpenswrld @http-isabela

[pupkinpumpkin]

Ya know what? Since DA2 is being told to Cassandra by Varric, it is entirely possible that Varric and Hawke did get together, but in order to keep Hawke safe, Varric lied and said they were in a relationship with someone else so Cassandra wouldn't ask him why he doesn't know where they are if they're partners

Bianca (the woman) is a person who had a profound effect on Varric's life and someone he cares a lot about but shes just an ex

Bianca (the crossbow) has been in his life for such a long time that changing her name or getting rid of her is unthinkable

He gets Isabela to write friend-fiction for him so he has a story to tell Cassandra about Hawke's love life

If you romance and save Anders, you can headcanon that Hawke still liberates circles with Anders, so pairing them up with him in a fake relationship is a perfect cover

The way Varric talks about Anders, he's probably jealous that he gets to see Hawke more often

He and Hawke debate if they want to make their relationship public once Hawke comes to the Inquisition but decide against it, mostly because they enjoy sneaking around and teasing each other

I'm not coping for not being able to romance Varric I swear

[jacarandaaaas]

What you hate about each Encanto character and what you love about each Encanto character?

oh this is such a fun ask! a hard question as I love all the madrigals and the fact they’re so flawed makes them more fun to follow!

alma: i love her commitment, how she vowed to protect all these people even sacrificing her own needs to provide for others, how she promised these people a place of refudge and was always there to provide.

dislike: An obvious one here but I dislike how controlling alma can be, how her need for perfection can blind her and lead her to disregarding her own families feelings as well as her own! Her generally dismissing a lot of the problems of her family like telling pepa to control her emotions or not realizing how hurtful her comments are to mirabel.

pepa: i love how emotional she is! when pepa loves she loves with her entire heart she pours her all into every interaction and she wears her heart on her sleeve! she’s so compassionate! pepa truly is an open book and I love her for it!

dislike: i would probably say how she can get irrational very quickly and cause situations to elevate fast! Although I really can’t blame her for this based on the circumstances!

julieta: i always describe julieta as warm and i feel like no other word can capture her comforting nature and gentleness. I just love her warmth and her soothing energy!

dislike: I would say how she tends to coddle mirabel a lot. I know it comes from a place of love but you can see it doesn’t help mirabel and only makes her feel more insecure because julieta doesn’t understand her.

bruno: for bruno I would say I love how selfless he is. It’s a big thing to sacrifice your own sanity like that for someone else and it’s touching how much he truly cares about mirabel to want to protect her like that.

dislike: i would have to say how he’s timid a lot of the time. It’s sad to see him become so resigned and almost accept his fate and stay in the walls possibly forever. He had no fight left in him.

felix: I adore how felix is just the epitome of life of the party! he’s so uplifting and I love how he never gives out to pepa for her emotions. He’s the best at cheering people up and a sunshine in everyone’s lives!

dislike: about felix? that’s hard to say I feel like we don’t see enough of him for me to really base my answer on anything so I’m just gonna say how he told pepa about the vision at dinner😭 dude that was the worst idea!!

agustín: i love how supportive he is! He continuously supports julieta he runs after luisa when she’s upset and he promises mirabel he would hide the vision to protect her! the fact both he and julieta tried to go after her when she ran for the candle too! He also fiercely stands up for mirabel in such an iconic way and he doesn’t back down!

dislike: I would have to say how he can often hammer in the fact he is also unexceptional to try relate to mirabel but it makes the situation worse.

isabela: I love how loyal isa is. She was doing everything for the sake of the family and was willing to sign her entire life away just to keep them happy. Her loyalty knows no limits and I just feel it’s such a defining trait for her.

dislike: probably how smug she can be at times a key example being the apologize scene! it is funny but it’s also infuriating how smug she was making mirabel apologize for something she didn’t even do. Also how she tells mirabel to shut up and her general rude remarks to her!

dolores: for dolores I would say I love how attentive she is! small scene but how she immediately notices alma needs help and goes to offer her support! She notices the small details even without her super hearing! Like how she points out how mariano talks loud even though she hears everyone’s voice his always stuck out to her <3

dislike: probably how she blurts stuff out without thinking it through! like we know she was trying to be helpful when she told the kids mirabel doesn’t have a gift but she didn’t consider how mirabel would feel about that.

luisa: I love how kind luisa is! she was always willing to lend a hand to the people who need her even when they absolutely could deal with a lot of issues themselves! She’s also very sensitive and soft and I love when she allows herself to be vulnerable!

dislike: this might be unexpected but for dislike i would have to say how she kept ignoring mirabel when she wanted to talk. I understand she was stressed and mirabels being irritating but she could atleast look at her, mirabels already ignored a lot already and all she wanted was to talk to her sister about an issue.

camilo: like how mirabel says in the opening song I love how camilo won’t stop until he makes people smile! whether it be through his humor or his compassion I get the impression he would always be there for people. the scene where he comforts pepa is such a key example of this!

dislike: he can be a bit too blunt at times where it’s definitely not called for! he also has a tendency to exaggerate the truth for dramatic effect!

mirabel: have always said this and always will mirabels core trait is her empathy! Her ability to see others perspectives and empathize with them is so important! I always think of the “I need you” scene as a key example of this. She put aside her own feelings and focused on supporting antonio making sure he’s ok! how when she learns of the other madrigals struggles she tries her best to help them or comfort them! empathy is such a strong defining trait for her!

dislike: when it comes to mirabels negative traits I would have to say her stubbornness is the most prominent. the entire scene in isabelas room is proof of this she would have rathered let that house collapse than apologize or even listen to isabelas struggles the fact she was supportive and empathic to everyone’s issues but isas (at first) she was too stubborn to put aside her issues with isa! but also her recklessness and impulsiveness tie into this as well.

antonio: I love everything about him he’s so sweet and caring and I love how he returns the support mirabel gave to him! he always believed in her and was her biggest supporter and best friend! also how offered his plushie to comfort bruno when he was nervous! antonio is just such a caring kid!

dislike: nothing literally nothing how can u dislike this baby?

[jacarandaaaas]

idk if this is controversial but I don’t think mariano was ever in love with isabela. I think he loved her but I don’t think he was IN LOVE with her. I could see them being friends and him just having a lot of admiration for her and being in love with the idea of her. I know he swoons over her in the opening song but I mean so does the whole town? Isabela madrigal up until wecid was a performance, a show the literal embodiment of perfection. I think mariano loved her and respected her just not romantically. Most of their “conversations” are hollow and you kinda get the sense both of them don’t really know what they’re doing but they feel they have to put on a display for their families.

Say something about this ship!

[houpss]

Skz as romantic tropes hyung line ver.

thanks for the idea to my wonderful friends

maknae line¡!

gender neutral reader

Bang Chan.

"Friends to lovers"

Song:Older–Isabela Larosa

You and Chan have been friends for a long time, literally since childhood. You were always proud of him, simply because he does so much and takes on so many responsibilities since he was a child. You were always with Chan when needed. He considered you his ideal younger friend!

When he flew out to train at JYP ENTERTAINMENT, you wanted to fly with him, but there was no way. He promised to write to you! You missed him so much it was beyond words. You corresponded a lot, called each other and you were proud of Chan for his success in producing, singing, dancing and rapping. You're so proud of this guy. You guided Chan down the right path, even when he didn't see the point in it, and you were in Australia and he was in Seoul. You wanted to surprise him and fly to Seoul when Stray kids debuted as a group. Chan shared all the moments with you and you personally knew all the members because Chan showed you to them in your video calls. The times of debut were difficult, Stray Kids were not understood or accepted, but you believed that a great future awaited them.

I think you and chan will start a relationship at the beginning of his debut. Your relationship will begin very carefully and tenderly, perhaps both of you will be afraid of your feelings. This relationship will be strong and sincere, you have known each other all your life! you understand him perfectly, just as he understands you. Your connection is much stronger than it really is.

You will stay in Seoul with Chan, both of you will work on your relationship and rebuild it in a romantic way. Will you become his muse forever? you are his aphrodite.

(The members love you no less than Chan)

Lee Minho.

"Enemies to lovers"

Song:Sex for homework–MSI

You are in high school, and in your class there is a very smart and confident guy named Lee Minho. It's a strange name.

This guy with the weird name is always picking on you, whether it's because you have the wrong clothes or because you're too loud. Last time he slapped you because you dyed your hair too brightly, as if it was a distraction from your studies. You and Minho always had arguments and conflicts, but you didn't deny that he was handsome and sexy. You used to hit on him, to which the guy would just snort and call you names. You had a desire to get him, even though he pissed you off beyond belief. You deliberately followed him around and he asked you to get off. By the way, Minho also felt sympathy for you, a very strong sympathy, but he hid it under a mask of aggression and dislike.

One day, you followed him to the bathroom, he was very annoyed about it, but you didn't care so much. You trapped him in the restroom against the wall, your hands on his waist and your tongue slowly traced a path from his earlobe to the collar of his shirt. You left a hickey on his neck and successfully disappeared and stayed out of his sight for days.

Minho appreciated what was in the restroom, he liked it..Maybe thisAfter this incident you are ashamed of him, God, how shameful! he will take advantage of this and tease you, now he is flirting with you, not you with him. He will be so open with you, he is even romantic. hatred would turn into ardent love?

Your relationship is so chaotic and hot! Minho literally teases you so much and gives you love and hate at the same time.

"Let's go kiss in the toilet, and then we'll paint the walls in the classroom? - "Let's go, my love"

Seo Changbin

"School Love"

Song: Talking To the moon–Bruno Mars

At first, you didn't notice Changbin as much as he noticed you. This continued until high school. As is usually the case:After summer vacation, you returned to school and discovered how handsome Changbin had become, literally everyone noticed. He was getting a lot of attention. This is your last year at school, are you ready to let him go when you first felt the attraction?He was so sweet and talkative and had a protective and understanding vibe about him. You fell in love more and more

Changbin never noticed you, you spoke literally a few times throughout your years of high school. You wanted to get Changbin's attention like so many other girls. No! Changbin is not an arrogant and "cool" guy, he won everyone over with his kindness and simple-mindedness, and he has many friends.You were friends with his friends and wanted to be closer to Changbin.

You tried to talk to him many times, but it never worked. He was unavailable to you, your pipe dream. As the year approached, would you continue to look at him and keep silent about your feelings?

Hwang Hyunjin.

"Second chance"

Song: touch–cigarettes after sex

You and Hyunjin dated during your high school days, Hyunjin was always popular with guys and girls. Your relationship was always the center of attention, something like that would never hide, Hyunjin was so cool and sexy. That's a mistake.

It was stupid to trust a guy like that, but doesn't love forgive everything? Almost at the end of the school year you caught Hyunjin with some girl, they were making out or so it seemed to you.

Hyunjin tried to explain everything to you, he wanted to prove that it wasn't true, he loved you! But you didn't want to listen, you were upset by his actions.

You left Korea and Hyunjin stayed behind, he became a traini.

A few years later, about five years later, you will hear about him as the most popular member of the Stray Kids, as a talented dancer, rapper, singer and VERSACE Ambassador. Your heart stabbed with pain and old memories that were stored under a crust of dust and unforgotten pain resurfaced in your mind. You could never admit to yourself that your affection and love for Hyunjin never went anywhere, but only grew stronger with the separation, it's like he's your addiction. One day you fly to Seoul as a model for fashion week and you meet Hyunjin's eyes. Oh my god, he missed you. He hasn't forgotten you over the years, he's never forgotten you. You're firmly planted in his memory, he even dreamt about you.

It would be silly if you didn't talk and find out about everything. Starting a new relationship and trust is difficult, but in time everything will come back. Hyunjin is more masculine and serious, he'll get his own back. You're his.

[weirdo-from-bonesborough]

Batfam X Encanto AU, with powers decided by their ages (it kinda got away from me at the end)

As the baby of the family, Damian gets Antonio’s animal speaking powers and absolutely is living his best life

Skipping Duke since he has his own powers already, we have Tim as Mirabel and Steph as Camilo. As tempting as it would be to switch them, I think there’s great angst potential in Steph never being sure if Bruce actually values her or just finds her powers useful.

Also angst in Tim being the only one without powers having to work to prove himself and Bruce being terrified as Jason has Luisa’s strength and was still struck down.

Outside of that Jason’s power doesn’t change that much, neither does Dick with Isabela’s powers, just now uses vines to swing around. Cass is a bit weird because she’d have Delores’ power, so now you have a girl who hears everything but can’t understand it. I mean it’d be helpful in the field, but I imagine it would get overstimulating quickly, especially trying to focus on one conversation while she’s just starting to learn English.

Finally we have Alfred, Barbara, and Bruce. I picked a random triplet for each since they’re the oldest, so Alfred gets magic healing cooking, obvs, Babs gets Bruno’s powers to match her Oracle branding (we’re not gonna talk about how this affects the killing joke or how Bruno made prophecies for others but never for himself ok?), and Bruce gets Pepa’s powers.

I mean like in a meta way Gotham was literally made to reflect Bruce's mental state, but what if that was true in universe? What if it's rained everyday since that night in the alley? What if you're trying to fix a city and you can't even fix your own brain? What if you're just making it worse? Worse weather, worse conditions, worse things you're willing to do to get out.

What if you're Batman, with an unreadable face, yet your emotion can be read on a thermometer?

What if you can't feel it in the Watchtower, but the weather warms up when you tell that old Bat a joke? What if the skies clear up when he knows you're flying to him?

What if you're Dick Grayson who can make the sunshine with your smiles? What if you're used to getting rained on when you try to talk?

What if you're Jason Todd, and the rainbow you once made only come out in the reflection on the hailstones he drops every time they mention your name? What if you once wanted nothing but thunder clouds, but now you want lightening to strike at everything but you?

What if you're Tim Drake, holding back a hurricane? Stephanie, reasoning with fog? Alfred, who's given up trying to change him, just grateful when it drizzles instead of snows?

What if you've mastered control as best you could and it's still not enough? What if you're trying to be some sunny playboy when all you want is to be a kid again? Could you keep it from pouring down on everything you love? Could you stop your rain from eroding everyone down?

[encantobrainrot365]

I have an idea for a story I like to call Dos Oruguitas: The Mariposa and the Cameleon

It’s the story of Camilo and Mirabel’s relationship and how it changed over time.

Since they are only six weeks apart, they were born basically twins 🤞and grew up together as the best of friends. Just like Isabela, Dolores and the Triplets.

(Credit to @lintushadow-art )

However, things began to 👀, shift, when Mirabel didn’t get a gift.

I imagine the aftermath of that day was difficult for the both of them.

For Camilo, his best friend was just denied a gift, when he himself just got one. While he tried his best to comfort her, it must have been very hard for him to accept. It’s likely he felt guilty and tried to avoid shifting whenever they played together.

Meanwhile, Mirabel just couldn’t help being jealous or heartbroken. 💔 Her primo, her twin, got a gift, but for some reason she didn’t. For a long time she must have worried that something was seriously wrong with her and nothing anyone said could change that.

Then add the fact that Tio Bruno just up and left days after her ceremony. The family was already worried about Mirabel and the magic, and now they’re dealing with the pain and loss of a family member. A primary caretaker and play mate for the kids has disappeared with no explanation. Just like Mirabel’s door.

This would definitely lead to some abandonment and attachment issues.

There was probably a lot of fighting and anger, blame and accusations thrown about too. They might have even avoided each other for some time due to their own insecurities.

However, they still loved each other and they’re best friends, so of course they made up. But in spite of their closeness, they still drifted apart with time. They grew up and faced a lot of big changes. They started going to school; made new friends; developed their own separate interests; took on more responsibilities in town; welcomed a new family member; and just started spending less and less time together and more time apart.

Ten years later, we’re at the start of the movie, now, they’re still pretty close, but they aren’t best friends anymore. For Mirabel, that title belongs to Antonio, now.

So yes, it would be cool to explore the evolution of their relationship. Before and after the events of the movie as they fall apart, only to reunite again.

[fuckyeahmhawkefenris]

It is unbearably quiet on tumblr lately, and what little talking there is, it's all about the next game. Yeah, we're no longer in 2012, I get it.

I'll just keep entertaining myself however I can.

I've always wanted to talk about one fic I secretly refer to as one of the hidden gems in the fenhawke archives. I have never ever seen anyone bring it up, and in all these years I've never dared to recommend it to anyone... Don't think you can even find it so easily? For good reason tbh...

Thing is, it's a fill for da kink community on livejournal. Anyone remember that place? The safe haven where anyone could anonimously submit the kinkiest most shameless things you could think of - offering prompts, filling them... Those were some desperate times when we were painfully low on content, and it was very hard to find something to read. Finding a story with characterization that suited your vision was near impossible!

I myself was desprate enough to brave through countless pages of imageries I could not stomach, skimming through them just to get the general idea until something captured my attention.

So I found this, and honestly, to this day to me it is one of the best examples of... idk, not just good characterization, but the overall feeling of the fenhawke relationship, why I can't let go of them after 12 years? It's all subjective, of course, but no fanfic ever resonated with me as deeply as this. Also back then mage Hawke was not very popular and most stories featured rogues... I used to be very sad and lonely!

Warning: it's extremely triggery. I wouldn't even recommend reading the first part at all, because it's too difficult and painful to get through. Hell, I couldn't read it! I was looking through the text very VERY briefly to get only the most basic and vague understanding of what was happening, and it was still hard! There is a lot of abuse, rape, slavery things...

To get the idea:

The Alone quest did not get resolved as planned. Danarius managed to win that battle, captured Fenris and returned to Tevinter, gravely injuring Hawke in the process (Fenris thought he was killed). To break the remains of his will, Danarius threatens to erase Fenris's memories of Hawke, and he succumbs and stops resisting altogether. I don't want to recall the details, but it was awful. Go straight to part 17 (it's a flashback) to read a very lovely take on fenhawke first night together. It's super sweet and gentle, though painfully sad in context. Still, beautiful. Well, it gets worse before it gets better! Somewhere in part 19 Fenris's friends come for him (they sailed all the way here on Isabela's new ship) and he's rescued. What follows is an exceptionally touching tender reunion with Hawke. Oh, and then, once all is settled comes the second part - All the King's men, which is much less controversial and fairly easy to read. Fenris copes with his experiences, and Hawke is always there for him. There are some truly fantastic moments as they slowly get close to each other again! Isabela is pretty great here, and Anders... sorta made me warm up to his character? And it's all fairly believable and close to how we see them in the game.

I'm saying all this and linking this fic on the off chance that someone with tastes similar to mine ever needs something like it. I know I am grateful it exists, and still hold it very dear to my heart. Definitely never regretted finding it!

[igetthedisneybox]

In your next gen Encanto au, who gets along with who the best and why?

(Between the cousins, their parents and grandparents or whatever you'd like to do).

Decided to format it where I say their friend group, their "favorite" kid/grandkid/sibling/cousin.

Of course, by "favorite" I mean "person they get along with best/ spend the most time with" but that's long and complicated to say.

No one actually has "favorites" is what I'm trying to say (except for a few of them lol)

Alma: She hangs out with the other elders of the village, including Señora Guzmán. Once Raimi and his side of the family get introduced into the Encanto, she also spends a lot of time with them. Out of her kids, Bruno is the favorite, no question. She spends a lot of time making amends with him. Similarly, her favorite grandkid is now Mirabel. Great-grandkid wise, I'd say her favorite is either Zoe or Mariana.

Julieta: She has a handful of friends in the village, but she seems like the type of person to focus on having a small circle of close friends, rather than a lot. She's close with Augustín's mother, but not so much his father (they have a terse relationship). She claims not to have a favorite child, but like...it's Mirabel, come on. She also claims to not have a favorite grandchild, but she and Fuega bond over cooking.

Pepa: Pepa has a lot of friends from the village, including Félix's brother, Gabriel. Her favorite child is Camilo (he's a mama's boy) and she's...less subtle about it than Julieta is. Her favorite grandchild is easily her "twin" Leta, the first grandbaby, no matter how many heart attacks she gives her.

Bruno: Bruno slowly but surely acquires a small friend group upon his return (mainly with Pepa and Julieta's help). It's only about four or five people (which includes both Amelia and Sofía's crushes' parents), which is just fine by him. He also claims not to have a favorite child, but he empathizes with Sofía a lot.

Augustín: He's kind of a nerd, and so doesn't have many friends outside of the Madrigals. He mainly spends time with Julieta and her friend group. He doesn't have a favorite child, he loves his girls equally, but his favorite grandchild is probably Lidia. He likes her sass, okay?

Félix: He's very popular among the townsfolk, and has more friends than even Pepa. His favorite child is Dolores, but the only two people who know are Pepa and Mariano (because he threatened Mariano with death if he ever hurt his baby girl). His favorite grandchild is José. They have the same personality.

Isabela: She has many friends around the village, including Maria (Fuega's mom) and Lili. Most of them were made either after she dropped her "Señorita Perfecta" persona, or from before she felt pressured to be perfect. Her favorite parent is actually Augustín, and her favorite sibling is probably Mirabel, let's be real. Her favorite cousin is Dolores (I would DIE for their friendship). She actually doesn't have a favorite of her girls, not even a secret one.

Dolores: Poor Dolores doesn't have many friends. It's hard for her to be social with her gift, and she's gained a reputation for being a snitch. She is close with Mariano's sisters and brothers, though. Her favorite parent is Félix, and her favorite sibling is Antonio (Camilo's not offended, as Antonio is also his favorite sibling). Her favorite cousin is Isa. Her favorite kid is Andrés, and she is not subtle about it.

Luisa: She never really had a lot of time for friends pre-Encanto movie, so all of her friends were made post-Encanto. She's kind of socially awkward, like her dad, so she doesn't have a lot of them. Her favorite parent is Augustín (I loved their few interactions in canon) but she refuses to have a favorite sibling. Her favorite cousin is Antonio though. Her favorite child is Zoe, just because she gives her less heart attacks than the twins.

Camilo: He had tons of friends pre-Encanto, but lost quite a few of them when he started using his gift less. He made some more (including his future husband) when the city joined the village, though. His favorite parent is Pepa (Mama's boy Camilo is sacred to me). His favorite sibling is Antonio, and his favorite cousin is Mirabel. Everyone thinks that Camilo's favorite kid would be José or Héctor, but it's actually Hugo.

Mirabel: She has a little friend group, mainly consisting of the older siblings of the Encanto's children and Mariano's family. Her favorite parent is Julieta, favorite sibling is Isabela (now, anyway) and her favorite cousin is obviously Antonio (cue offended Camilo noises). She tries not to have favorites, but she can't help but sympathize with Óscar.

Antonio: He's friends with Little Alejandra, Juancho, Cecilia, and some of the other kids in town. His favorite parent is Félix, but he doesn't have favorite siblings. His favorite cousin is Mirabel.

For the next gen, I already put who they like best from each generation in their profiles, so I just copied those from them. (because I got lazy)

Miranda: She is very popular with the Encanto's kids, as she likes to babysit them. Her favorite parent is Alejandra, just because she knows how much she's sacrificed for her. She doesn't have a favorite sibling, she loves Amelia and Sofia equally. Her favorite cousin is Antonio, over their shared love of animals, and her favorite second cousin is Héctor, because he always sticks to her while they do their chores.

Amelia: She has many, many friends in the village, including her girlfriend, Rosana. She doesn't have a favorite parent, but Miranda is her favorite sister. Her favorite cousin is Camilo, due to their shared love of performing, and her favorite second cousin is Princesa, because they both are more girly.

Sofía: She doesn't have many friends due to her gift, but she hangs out with her crush, Tristán, and his little friend group. Her favorite parent is Bruno, since they're so similar, and her favorite sister is Miranda, since she doesn't think Amelia likes her very much. Her favorite cousin is Dolores, as they like to be quiet together. Her favorite second cousin is Óscar, as they like to bitch to each other all the time.

Princesa: She is very popular in the Encanto, mainly due to her gift, which makes a lot of her 'friends' flaky, at best. Her favorite sister is Mariana, due to her being afraid of Fuega. Her favorite of the grandkid generation is Mirabel, over their shared love of sewing and embrodery, and her favorite cousin is Beatriz, because they like to gossip to each other.

Fuega: She doesn't have many friends, mainly due to her gift. She does hang out with Felicidad and her friends, though. Her favorite sister is Mariana, due to Princesa being afraid of her. Her favorite pf the grandkid generation is Luisa, because she's tough and Fuega isn't afraid to burn her, and her favorite cousin is Andrés, because he helped her and Felicidad get together.

Mariana: She is popular in the Encanto, mainly with the younger kids. She doesn't have a favorite sister, she loves them both equally. Her favorite of the grandkid generation is Mirabel, because they are VERY much alike, and her favorite cousin is Rómulo, because they like to do crazy stunts with their powers together.

Leta: She is popular in the Encanto, in part due to her gift. She doesn't have a favorite sibling, though many would argue that it's Carlos. Her favorite of the grandkid generation is Luisa, because they are VERY much alike, and her favorite cousin is Lidia, because they like to wrestle and be idiots together.

Andrés: He has almost zero friends, due to his shyness. His favorite sibling(s) is the twins, just because they're so cute. His favorite of the grandkid generation is Antonio, due to their shared quietness, and his favorite cousin is Fuega, mainly because they just match well. Firey anger and quiet shyness.

Carlos: As the resident black market dealer, he is very, very, very popular in the Encanto, especially with the younger kids. His favorite sibling is easily Leta, though the twins are a close second. His favorite of the grandkid generation is Camilo, because. Obviously, and his favorite cousin is José, because they're like two peas in a pod, despite the age difference.

Avila: She is mildly popular in the Encanto, despite her odd gift. Her favorite sibling is Carlos, because he gives her free stuff. Her favorite of the grandkid generation is Antonio, because ANIMALS, and her favorite cousin is Héctor, because they like to play futbol together.

Amada: She is pretty popular in the Encanto, along with her twin. Her favorite sibling is Carlos, because he gives her free stuff. Her favorite of the grandkid generation is Isabela, because FLOWERS, and her favorite cousin is Tomás, because they like to watch each other do tricks with their powers.

Tomás: He is pretty popular in the Encanto, along with his twin. His favorite sibling is Zoe, because he and Rómulo are both in agreement that she is their favorite. His favorite of the grandkid generation is Isabela, since he likes all her weird plants, and his favorite cousin is José, because they both like playing mind games (of a different kind, but still)

Rómulo: He is pretty popular in the Encanto, along with his twin. His favorite sibling is Zoe, because he and Tomás are both in agreement that she is their favorite. His favorite of the grandkid generation is Antonio, since he lets Parce and the other big cats race him, and his favorite cousin is Mariana, because they like to do crazy stunts with their powers together.

Zoe: She doesn't have many friends, mainly due to her gift. She doesn't have a favorite between her brothers. Her favorite of the grandkid generation is Isabela, because she loves her bright dresses and plants, and her favorite cousin is Hugo, because of all his buggy friends.

Hugo: He doesn't have many friends, mainly due to autism. He doesn't have a favorite between his brothers (it's Héctor). His favorite of the grandkid generation is Dolores, because they're both quiet, and his favorite cousin is Zoe, because she is adorable.

José: He is unpopular with adults, but popular with the kids. He doesn't actually have a favorite of his brothers. His favorite of the grandkid generation is Isabela, because she kinda sorta encourages his gambling, and his favorite cousin is Carlos, because they're like two peas in a pod, despite the age difference.

Héctor: He is pretty popular in the Encanto, mainly because of his gift. His favorite sibling is Hugo, because he looks up to him. His favorite of the grandkid generation is Antonio, since their gifts are similar, and his favorite cousin is Miranda, because she acts so kind and motherly to him.

Óscar: He has almost zero friends, due to his scary gift. He doesn't have a favorite of his sisters, he loves them both. His favorite of the grandkid generation is Dolores, due to their shared...odd quirks, and his favorite cousin is Sofía, because they like to bitch to each other. He acts more like a protective older brother to Sofía.

Beatriz: She is mildly popular in the Encanto, but her gift stops her from being truly liked. She has no favorite sibling (for real). Her favorite of the grandkid generation is Dolores, because their gifts and the reaction their gifts get are similar, and her favorite cousin is Amelia, because they like to dance and sing together.

Lidia: She is pretty popular in the Encanto, although some of the adults are nervous at her behavior. Her favorite sibling is Óscar, and Beatriz is slightly bitter about it. Her favorite of the grandkid generation is Luisa, because they both act tough, and her favorite cousin is Leta, because they like to wrestle and be idiots together.

[axlerica]

CANARY ISLAND ~ PART 3

PART 2 HERE

Rosy gently placed a hand on Y/N's shoulder, offering comfort and understanding. She spoke softly to Y/N, "You know, Pedri has always been very protective of his family. He loves them deeply, and sometimes that protective instinct can make him react strongly in situations like this."

Y/N nodded, her eyes still filled with tears. "I get that, but why doesn't he trust me?" She sighed, continuing, "I would never do anything to hurt Fer or anyone in his family. I love Fer like he's my own brother. He even told me about his peanut allergy when we used to cook together. I would never forget something like that."

Rosy patted Y/N's back gently, reassuring her, "I know you wouldn't, cariño. But sometimes misunderstandings happen, and people's emotions get the best of them. Let's give Pedri some time to cool down, and then I'll talk to him and try to sort things out."

Rosy went back to the living room, where Pedri, Fer, and Isabela were sitting together. She approached Pedri and asked if she could talk to him alone.

Pedri, still upset, replied, “No, Mami, if you want to talk about her, I don’t want to talk about it.” Fer, concerned, chimed in, “Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh on her? People make mistakes, and she might not have intended any harm.” Pedri defended his stance, saying, “She doesn’t want to admit her fault and tried to blame someone else. How can I not be mad at her? All she needs to do is admit it, and I would forgive her.

Fer, replied, "You should talk to her, bro. It wasn't nice how you treated her. You shouted at her in front of all of us, and she must've felt really embarrassed."

Pedri, feeling angry, didn't listen to Fer's suggestion. He just went to his room and didn't try to talk to Y/N.

—————————————————

When it was getting dark, Y/N went to Pedri's room because she needed to get her clothes and take a shower. As she opened the door, she saw that Pedri was napping. He woke up when she came in, but he didn't want to look at her. So, he grunted and quickly covered his face with a blanket to avoid seeing her.

Y/N noticed Pedri's reaction, and even though it hurt her, she held back her tears. She quietly grabbed her clothes and left his room, heading back to the guest room with a heavy heart.

—————————————————————

The next day, Pedri went out with Isabela to hang out and explore the island without even telling Y/N. Confused and worried, Y/N texted him, asking where he was, but he didn't reply. It seemed like he was giving her the silent treatment.

When Pedri returned home with Isabela, Y/N approached him, feeling the need to have a private conversation. She gently took his hand and asked with concern.

Y/N: "Pedro, why are you treating me like this? You went out with her, and you didn't even let me know where you were. Please, Pedro, what's going on?"

Pedri replied with a simple “I don’t know” and then ignored Y/N, walking away and heading to the living room.

Isabela approached her with a malicious grin.

Isabela: “You poor thing, he doesn’t care about you now. Maybe it’s better for you to leave.”

Y/N wasn’t about to back down and confronted Isabela with a burning question.

Y/N: “It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the one who put the peanut in Fer’s drink, right?”

Isabela laughed dismissively.

Isabela: “You don’t have any proof. Besides, don’t you get it? Pedri won’t trust you. You’re just the ‘girlfriend.’ Don’t you know girlfriends come and go? It’s just a matter of time before he breaks up with you, and then who’s going to be by his side? Me. We’ve known each other for so long, and he trusts me more than you.”

Y/N:“You crazy bitch!! Why are you doing this? You won’t get away with it!”

Isabela, in an attempt to be dramatic, slapped herself and shouted, “OWWW!”

Pedri, hearing the scream, rushed over to them, concerned about what had just happened. Isabela, with her hand on her face, pretended to cry as she spoke to Pedri.

Isabela: (faking tears) "Pedro, your girlfriend slapped me because she wants me to admit that I put peanut in Fer's drink."

She was trying to manipulate the situation and turn it against Y/N.

Y/N: “What? No! I didn’t slap you! Are you crazy? When did I say that? Pedro, you have to trust me. I did not slap her at all. She did it by herself. I would never do something like that.”

Isabela kept on pretending to cry and said, "She told me to admit it. I told her I didn't do it, but she just made me say it. When I said no, she slapped me." She was trying to make it sound like Y/N had done something wrong.

Y/N, feeling frustrated by Isabela’s false story, confronted her.

Y/N: “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you making up that story? Pedro, I swear to God I didn’t slap her at all!”

Pedri, still not convinced by Y/N’s words, shouted in frustration.

Pedri: “God, what is wrong with you, Y/N? Why did you slap my friend? First Fer, now Isabela? You’ve gone too far this time!”

Y/N, shocked and hurt by Pedri’s lack of trust, tried to hold back her tears as she spoke.

Y/N: “Oh God, Pedro, you actually believed her over me? I’m your girlfriend, I would never lie to you or even hurt the people you love. You know that. I told you I did nothing. It wasn’t me, and you didn’t trust me. You blatantly ignored me.”

Pedri: "It's Pedri."

Y/N: "Huh? Wh.. what? What do you mean?”

Pedri : "My name. You can call me Pedri. Only my family and close friends call me Pedro. For you, it's Pedri now."

Y/N: “Are you fucking kidding me right now? Seriously?Why are you doing this to me? After everything we’ve been through, and you still don’t trust me?”

Pedri: “Get out. Just get out. I don’t wanna see your face again. You went too far this time. You hurt my family and my friend. They were right about you. Who are we kidding with this relationship? We don’t even speak the same language. You don’t fit in here. And I don’t think you will. This is not your place. We are not meant to be together. Just get out.”

Y/N, shocked and in tears, choked out her response.

Y/N: "Wow. Ok. If that's how you really feel... then….okay."

She swiftly grabbed her sweater and, walked away from the house.

As soon as Y/N stepped out of the house, she totally broke down. She couldn’t stop crying. Tears streamed down her face as she stood there, feeling lost. She didn’t know where to go. She was not familiar with Canary Island. Her only wish was to return to Barcelona as soon as possible.

She took out her phone, hoping to find a flight back to Barcelona. Unfortunately, there were no available flights for the day. She felt even more stranded and lost in this unfamiliar place. So, she walked around aimlessly, looking very sad, like a lost puppy.

Meanwhile, Fer approached Pedri, deeply concerned.

Fer: “Hermano, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you do that? Are you out of your mind?! Why did you kick her out? This isn’t Barcelona. She doesn’t know this place. What if something happens to her?! Why are you being so harsh to her?!”

He was genuinely concerned for Y/N’s well-being and couldn’t comprehend Pedri’s actions.

Pedri: “Stay out of this, Fer. It’s none of your business. Nothing’s going to happen to her. She’s not a kid, she’s a grown woman. She’ll manage.”

Fer: “Suit yourself, bro. What you did was wrong. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

————————————————

Feeling tired and emotionally drained, Y/N decided to look for an Airbnb or hotel to stay in. She hoped to find a place where she could rest. After some searching, Y/N found a place and decided to check in. As soon as she entered her room, she jumped onto the bed and lay down, and started crying thinking about what Pedri had said to her. Tired from her tears, Y/N then eventually fell asleep.

———————————————————

Pedri sat in his room, he had his hand on his head, deep in thought about his recent actions. Then, there was a knock on the door, and Isabela asked, "Can I come in?"

Pedri agreed, “Uh.. yeah….sure, come in.” He then asked, “How’s your cheek? Are you okay now?”

Isabela: “Oh yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, how about you? Are you okay..?”

Pedri : “I don’t know… I just……”

Pedri seemed lost in his thoughts, and Isabela, seizing an opportunity, held his hand while trying to comfort him.

Isabela: "I told you, Pedro, she's not the one for you. You should've listened to me….”

She gently caressed his cheek as she spoke, trying to influence his feelings.

Pedri looked deeply into Isabela's eyes and began to express his doubts.

Pedri: "But... maybe I was too hard on her... What if Fer was right? What if something bad happens to her? She doesn't know this place..."

However, Isabela, wanting to change the subject, intervened.

Isabela: "Hey, hey, don't think too much..."

She leaned in and kissed him, hoping to distract him from his worries. Pedri became completely distracted, and he and Isabela started making out, and they got lost in the moment. They ended up sleeping together.

———————————————————

The next day, Y/N had to return to Pedri’s house to collect her stuff. She texted Fer, hoping he could help her, as she wished to avoid Pedri after their recent fight.

Y/N: “Hey, Fer. I need to get my stuff from Pedri’s place, but I really don’t want to run into him. Can you help me out?”

Fer, busy at his parents’ restaurant, regretfully replied:

Fer: “I wish I could, Y/N, but I’m swamped at the restaurant right now. Don’t worry, though. I’m pretty sure Pedro has cooled down by now. Just go and grab your things.”

As she entered Pedri’s room to gather her things, she was met with a shocking sight – Pedri and Isabela were together, naked in bed.

As Y/N stood in the doorway, her heart pounding and her breath catching in her throat, she couldn't help but blurt out her shock.

Y/N: "What the fuck?! Pedri?! Isabela?! What... How could you do this to me?! What the fuck Pedri?!"

Pedri and Isabela, caught off guard, quickly separated and scrambled to cover themselves.

Pedri, looking guilty, attempted to explain:

Pedri: "Y/N, I... I can explain.. It was.. I….”

Y/N's voice trembled with a mixture of anger and heartbreak as she confronted Pedri about what she had just witnessed.

Y/N: "What? Pedri?! YOU WHAT?! You don't even know what to say because you fucked her, right? Right after you broke up with me, you went and slept with her? Wow. I can't believe you. You made me look like the crazy one. You told me she was just one of your close friends, but then you went and fucked her. I hate you, Pedri.

Pedri : “I…. I can explain…..”

Y/N : “ Theres nothing to explain. You know… I have been nothing….nothing but supportive of you. I was there taking care of you during your bad days, injuries, and after one big fight, you decided to break up with me and sleep with another girl. I told you I didn't hurt anyone, and you didn't trust me. You did not fucking trust me at all. You shouted at me in front of them. You humiliated me.”

Tears welled up in Y/N's eyes as she continued, her voice breaking:

Y/N: "How could you do this to me? After everything… how could you? You know what? Fuck you,Pedri. I hate you so much...Goodbye."

Pedri's voice, filled with regret and desperation, called out to Y/N as she gathered her belongings and prepared to leave.

Pedri: "Y/N, wait... I..."

But Y/N didn't stop. She picked up her bag and walked out of the house.

PART 4????

[trulycertain]

I did not expect to like Taash nearly as much as I did, though I'm aware "large and gruff" is my favourite character type. I really like the way that matter-of-factness applies to all the aspects of them: I loved them simply telling Bellara when she was down, "I want you to be happy", rather than couching it in platitudes. Also, I tend to have way more patience for prickliness in characters than a lot of fans I know, so my gauge is broken. They admit a lot of the closedoffness is awkwardness, fear and Qunari cultural norms. (Unlike in other series entries, Veilguard's characters mostly tell you their whole deal, which is refreshingly mature but means the whole cast are being disgustingly honest with each other. Taash is the nearest we get to the "Care about things, me, nooo" of Zev, Morrigan, Isabela, sometimes-Dorian or DAA Anders, but that's still less intentional obfuscation than not knowing them as well. Even so, I approve of the fact they're an onion and it takes a bit to peel them.)

Yes, they're abrasive when you first meet them. They've been shipped off to join the Veilguard against their will, they're most likely fresh from a debate with their overbearing, arguably emotionally abusive mother, and you come and interrupt them in the middle of a tricky mission while they try not to get you both killed.

They're shit to Emmrich at first, but they do work on it and try to find common ground with him, and admit their grumpiness came from fear. Also, he did keep asking about their mum with admiration - no wonder that was a sore spot. (An older scholar lecturing them, chastising them for their impulsivity and lack of respect for tradition... I adore Emmrich and think he's unequivocally the kindest guy in the cast, but after Taash's difficult experiences with their mother, it's no wonder they found that horribly familiar.) They get pissed-off with Neve because she's "better at" femininity, but they're ashamed, they admit why and take the olive branch she offers. They worry about getting Harding a good gift. They feed birds and worry about a stranded poet. They may ask about Crow myths, but they clearly respect and admire Lucanis' skills and tell him so. They make their mum dinner and try to level, to share, with her even though they're pissed-off and terrified.

Later in their dialogue, it becomes especially obvious that they're working really hard on being kind - they intend to be, they just misstep as they learn. Shathaan was... distant. The Lords looked after them but couched a lot of it in brusqueness, stabbing and humour. They have no idea what to do with kindness and being told they're just fine as they are (one of my favourite character tropes: see also Alistair, Sera, Isabela, Dorian). They think they're doomed to ruin everything they touch and while they loved the Lords, you get the sense they've never had this many close friends (other than maybe Isabela's mentorship and the poet they bonded with) and they're really glad of it. As said: I like that they love with as much bluntness.

Much like with Krem, I think some of the dialogue in Taash's story was clumsy, but other bits felt very true to friends I've had and my own relationship with femininity, and as said, I was surprised to realise I had grown very fond of them by halfway through. (Well-intentioned awkward social issue inclusion is nothing new for BioWare, and it's never just about terminology - people seem to write off Taash's whole personality without giving them a chance. I don't think they're any harder to like than Morrigan, Sera, Vivienne, Solas, or Davrin, all of whom have fans.) Their excitement about dragons and their awe about Crows are genuine and sweet. Also they make me cackle more than any other companion save maybe Lucanis. That'll buy you a lot of points with me.

[heylavellan]

Hello and happy Friday! ^^ How about ""I don't want explanations. I want…" 💋" for Neve and Bellara?

did i get carried away? yes! i had so much fun writing from bellara's pov. veilguard spoilers, read at your own discretion! @dadrunkwriting

no takesies-backsies

rating: t

words: 1282

notes: bellara follows in varric's friend fiction footsteps and writes her self insert falling in love with neve's character. wingman lucanis

Maybe Bellara went just a bit toooo far. Sometimes that happened. More than sometimes. This whole writing thing had been Neve's suggestion. Well, Neve and Rook's. It was a nice break from interrogating the Nadas Dirthalen made by Anaris the Forgotten One and trying not to think about the fact her brother was serving said Forgotten One. Also that her gods thought it would be fun to try and Blight the world.

There was a lot going on, and sometimes Bellara would rather distract herself. The serials Neve brought her were great, but she always finished them before the next chapter was ready. Then she'd read the week's assigned reading for the book club and get bored, so she'd try one of those large academic tomes Emmrich brought. Which inevitably brought her back to the Nadas Dirthalen and all those thoughts she was trying to avoid.

So she started writing about the Veilguard! It was really fun at first, but she quickly ran into a problem. She caught up to the present day. Which was good, because it meant that she could write about things as they happened. But bad. Really bad, since it meant she was stuck with the original problem. Nothing to do.

One day when Bellara was complaining to Lace, the dwarf shared what she knew about Varric's books. About how Hard in Hightown was based on some of his friends in Kirkwall. Donnen was Donnic, Belladona was Isabela, and Maysie was Merrill. Friend fiction, he'd called it.

It was then that Bellara had the perfect idea. Neve was always saying that the press was giving her a bad rep in Minrathous. So why not write a story about how awesome she was? The Neve Gallus!

Well, clearly the main character couldn't be Neve Gallus exactly. Varric didn't drop his friends straight into the works. No, he gave them new names. So how about Guinevere? It had "neve" in the name, but it wasn't immediately obvious. She could be called 'Gee' for short! Agent Gee? No, that wasn't right.

Neve was a suave detective, so Gee needed to be too. But what was she sleuthing? Maybe... for stolen elven artifacts? No, that wouldn't sell in Tevinter. Which was where Neve needed to fix her image. No, she could be the Bloodhound of Minrathous, stopping blood rituals just in time and tracking down anything lost.

And every hero needed a sidekick. Lucanis seemed like a good option, but he didn't live in Minrathous. He was the Demon of Vyrantium. But maybe she could work with that. Maybe they were instead rival detectives, who shared a sidekick unknowingly. The Shadow of Vyrantium competing with the Bloodhound of Minrathous. Yes!

But who was the sidekick. Maybe they were telling the story. Maybe it was... her? Hmmm, that could work. Lucine, the elven sidekick who could sneak across the city unnoticed. She ran a repair shop in Dock Town and sold second hand and vintage wares.

As Bellara continued to shape the story and write the first chapters, it became quite clear that Lucine was in love with Guinevere. Which was strange. Because Bellara wasn't in love with Neve, right? She knew she liked women, after all she dated Irelin for a while. But Neve?

She continued to write. Gee was developing a crush on the Shadow, who she would later reveal to be Lucine's younger sibling Dellen. They both continued to solve crime in Minrathous and Vyrantium until Lucine got targeted by a scheme. The Shadow and the Bloodhound work together to retrieve Lucine, where they admit begrudging respect for each other. And Lucine confessed her love for Guinevere. And they lived happily ever after.

That felt like a good place to end the book. Rook helped her find a publisher, and it was out in Minrathous. She thought that was the end of that. She'd put her first book out in the world!

But with Neve Gallus, things weren't so. Publishing might have been the step too far. After an excursion to Arlathan with Rook and Lucanis (who politely informed Bellara that her book was very popular among the residents of Treviso), Neve was waiting in Bellara's room, reading through a copy of her book.

To be honest, she'd been shoving down her feelings for Neve in case they weren't returned. Until the crush went away, the book was a good enough outlet. "Guinevere took Lucine's hand and kissed her knuckles, looking reverently at her sidekick," quoted Neve, placing a ribbon in the passage she was on. "I was wondering why so many people were asking me if my full name was Guinevere recently."

Bellara blushed and stammered, "I'm sorry if I put your real name out there, but I wanted the character to be like you but also not you?"

Neve smiled -- a real smile, not the ones she wore when she was patiently putting up with Bellara's rambles. "No. I just think it's sweet what you think of me," she replied, setting the book down on the table. "I hope I have enough stories to fuel your next book."

If it was possible, she flushed an even brighter red. Neve drew closer, and Bellara became immediately aware of the curve of her body, the click of her shoes. The deep cut of her shirt. She gulped. "I think so? I don't know if I'll write another. I mean, you're awesome and deserve to have another written about you, but um. Only if you want me to. I really should have asked," she said, letting her mouth speak whatever words crossed her mind. Mythal'enaste, she hadn't been this flustered since she first met Irelin!

"I'm honoured that you want to write about me. But I think the one thing that's stumped me is who Lucine is. The Shadow, Dellen. That's like Lucanis. There's Guinevere, me. You even had Inge, that was a slick way to get Ingellvar in there. But Lucine?" Neve dissected the book and placed a hand on Bellara's shoulder.

She knew? She had to know, right? There was no way she didn't. She was a detective and had clearly picked up that she'd used last names to inspire first names. Guinevere - Gallus, Dellamorte - Dellen, Inge - Ingellvar. Leaving Lucine - Lutare. Neve had to know. And if she didn't she'd certainly have it confirmed by her facial expressions.

Before she could stammer out an apology or explain it away as just part of the book, Neve started, "Look, I don't need explanations. I need…"

Well, if the nug was out of the bag... Bellara cut her off by standing on her tiptoes to kiss Neve. It wasn't intense really, just a quick peck. Before she embarrassed herself. She already felt like she did, but... Whatever. Also, if she kissed Neve longer she'd want more. And Neve might not want that. "I'm sorry!" Bellara squeaked.

The second part of her apology was cut off by two warm hands grabbing her cheeks and a long kiss on her lips. It began to heat up, as Neve licked and nipped Bellara's lips. A small gasp left her mouth, allowing Neve to slip her tongue into Bellara's mouth.

Someone coughed at the doorway. "I'll just bring your tea later?" Lucanis asked, slowly backing out of Bellara's room. Bellara darted over, grabbing her tea from Lucanis with a smile. She missed the pointed look Lucanis shot Neve over Bellara's thank you hug.

Neve mouthed a thank you to Lucanis, and picked up the book. "I'll be back later, Bell. I'm certain we can come up with more ideas for the next book," she teased.

Elgar'nan, Neve was going to be the death of her.

[jacarandaaaas]

Mirabel Madrigal: A Character Analysis

Today I’m here to discuss all the attributes that make Mirabel Madrigal such a fantastical and magical character despite not having any magic herself. it’s all in her charm! I truly believe that Mirabel is one of the best protagonists! Shes such an endearing, sensitive, and strong character so I’m here to offer her some appreciation.

Right from the beginning of the story, one of the first things we learn about our protagonist is her mantra “make your family proud”. This phrase is Mirabel's driving motivation for the entire film and from what we can assume, her entire life. Mirabel makes it no secret that she is family orientated and she is full of pride for them, wanting to be like them and live up to the madrigal name. She introduces us to her family in a fun song praising each member. To her they are a “perfect constellation”. They are always her number one priority throughout the story as we see how she supports her sisters and encourages them to be themselves. One moment I feel truly highlights her love for her family is at the climax of the movie, whilst she consistently has shown what lengths she's willing to go to for her family this moment stood out the most to me. After her intense argument with alma casita starts to fall apart, at this moment everyone is yelling at mirabel to get out of the collapsing house but mirabel isnt thinking about herself. She's thinking about her family and getting the candle for them. What really stands out to me is Mirabel was willing to sacrifice her own life for her family, an eerie parallel to what Pedro did for them all those years ago.

Something that we learn about Mirabel immediately is that she's a go-getter, she's determined and persistent. What we also come to realize is that sometimes Mirabel doesn't realize when she's being overly persistent to the point of coming off as pushy to others. Both Julieta and Isabela point out that Mirabel has a tendency to “over do it”. We see how she wants to be useful in any way and she's taken up a variety of hobbies to prove this. Mirabel's incredibly creative doing everything from embroidery and sewing to playing the accordion. It's no secret she's talented but she always feels like she needs to do more. Upon overhearing Alma talking about the cracks Mirabel decides in that moment “I will save the miracle”. Instead of rushing in without a plan Mirabel knows Dolores would have intel due to her gift therefore she would know the most about the magic. It's also important to note that Mirabel decides to save the miracle before she even knows anything about the prophecy, she took it upon herself to do that! At breakfast when trying to get information from Dolores Mirabel decides to try complimenting her into it, showing early on how unintentionally pushy she can be. After breakfast she's no better, Mirabel is so determined to get answers that even when Luisa is working, she's pestering her. Mirabel is so overly focused on her mission that she can’t see Luisa gradually becoming more frustrated. “Luisa will you just tell me what it is!”, she’s frustrated that Luisa isn't giving her any information but she also seems hurt that Luisa doesn't trust her enough to tell her. Showing how Mirabel desperately wants a better relationship with her sisters.

Mirabel is so persistent in getting information about the magic that she causes luisa to snap at her. When climbing Bruno's tower Mirabel perseveres, as she forces herself up an unusually long flight of stairs and is exhausted by the end of it. Yet Mirabel persists because “I need to do this, for you for abuela”. She's so determined in fact to find this vision that she almost dies, twice. Mirabel doesn't care about the risks, she's aware of them but it doesn't deter her. She's willing to look at the situation about Bruno from a different angle than everyone else, questioning “what if you didn't understand what he saw?”. Mirabel's entire verse in “we don't talk about bruno” is just her pressing for the truth, she wants the whole story not just one perspective and she's driven to discover it. We've already established by now that Mirabel's persistence can be dangerous and this holds true once again as she chases Bruno through the walls and almost falls into a chasm, in pursuit of answers. Bruno tries to leave but she still pursues him, no way she's leaving without an answer or multiple answers to her many questions, she also cleverly pieces together here that it was actually Bruno who's been patching the cracks all along.

Pushy Mirabel is back in full force when she gets the idea for Bruno to have another vision to which he’s not enthusiastic about and tells her no. But Mirabel’s no quitter and her sole focus in the moment is her mission, to save the miracle. So when Bruno tells her he doesn't do visions anymore, Mirabel casually replies “but ya could!”, another instance of her being too focused on her goal that she doesn't take into consideration how Bruno would feel about this. She has no bad intentions and like with Luisa earlier Mirabel is unaware how she sounds. She tells Bruno “our family needs help and you need to get outta here” and as she realizes how broken the family truly is, she's more determined than ever to help them. Even when bruno tries to give up during the vision Mirabel encourages him to keep going to find another perspective “something we’re not seeing?” she ends up inspiring Bruno with this viewpoint. Before she goes to confront Isabela Mirabel tells Bruno “after I save the miracle I’m bringing you home” showing how that's now become part of her mission. As Isabela reveals a massive secret Mirabel instead keeps pressing for that hug she assumes will solve all their problems, once again she's so focused on her mission she isn't paying attention to Isabela’s revelation. Mirabel's determination and persistence is admirable but it's also a character flaw for her as we see she often takes it too far unintentionally.

One of Mirabel's most noticeable traits is her optimistic outlook. She's full of energy as she dances through the town singing about her family and whilst we know she's insecure, her enthusiasm towards her family and home is completely genuine. Mirabel is a true extrovert as we see how much she loves interacting with her community and wanting to help in any way she can. We see how she's always trying to see the bright side. Mirabel is optimistic and bright but even she has her limits and can't be optimistic all the time, as her song tells us she's truly not fine. However despite all her pain she still chooses to be optimistic, to be loving and to be hopeful.

Arguably the two scenes I believe emphasize her optimistic nature the most are when she helps Bruno through the vision and the final song of the movie. During the vision Bruno is deflated, he doesn't believe in the idea and Mirabel simply offers him some words of encouragement “you can do this”, she's already showing Bruno that she has faith in him, something Bruno isn't used to. When he fails to see anything other than what was shown in his last vision Mirabel begs him to keep trying, she's always looking for a brightside and she ends up finding it. As for the final scene, when returning from the river Casita is still a pile of rubble in front of them, Mirabel however sees this as an opportunity. To rebuild casita with better, stronger foundations and a chance for the family to build stronger foundations too, “look at this home we need a new foundation”. Mirabel really grows into herself as she leads the rebuilding efforts with her persistence and optimism, inspiring the whole family to view things from a different perspective.

An underrated trait for Mirabel is her humor. No seriously she's hilarious! humor is shown continuously to be one of her coping mechanisms along with her optimism. Whilst she is funny Mirabel is also incredibly snarky particularly towards her older sister Isabela, she can come off as slightly judgemental at times, very teenage of her. Her jealousy peeks through during the opening song, but towards the end of it when she runs into Mariano she not so subtly disses Isabela (as Isabela is walking by) “between you and me she's kinda a primadonna”. Unlike the better disguised insults at the beginning mirabel is not even trying to hide her disdain towards isabela this time. This continues directly after the song as she goes back to casita, Isabela gracefully descends on her vines and Mirabel’s expression is hilariously unimpressed. When Isabela notices her she tells her to stop trying so hard, we see Mirabel actually seems upset by that comment but as soon as Isabela looks back at her she masks that sadness as she bites back “actually Isa this is called helping and i'm not in the way you are”. We also see her mock Isabela as previously mentioned, unable to hide her disdain towards her. Mirabel's humor as a coping mechanism is emphasized when she's climbing Bruno's tower, giving us a half assed reprise of “the family madrigal” and of course one of her most iconic lines “BRUNO YOUR ROOM IS THE WORST!!”. Mirabel is also incredibly petty, my favorite example of this is not only her rolling her eyes during Isabela’s solo verse of “we don't talk about bruno” but also how Isabela tells her during that “hey sis I want not a sound out of you” and Mirabel who was silent until this point starts singing immediately out of spite.

She's also slightly judgemental when she first encounters resident wall man Bruno Madrigal. She's weirded out by him and her face does not hide this, “how long have you been back here?” with that concerned tone also didn't help her case. Although in this case who could blame her for that reaction? It's not everyday you find your estranged uncle in the walls of your house. Mirabel is not thrilled when the vision reveals she has to hug Isabela, so much so that she begins ranting about how she hates her and gives us a line nothing short of pure gold. “She's the one with flowers coming outta her-'' Bruno had to remind her to keep it pg! Even when mirabel is meant to apologize to Isa she can’t resist making a snarky comment about her older sister “I’m sorry that your life is soooo great!” this ends up spawning an argument between the two in which Mirabel unceremoniously yells out “some of us have bigger problems YOU SELFISH ENTITLED PRINCESS!” which is quite a humorous moment but also really shows Mirabel’s jealousy towards Isabela. As Isabela admits a very huge secret Mirabel’s reaction is one of complete sarcasm “that is a very serious confession” despite empathy being Mirabel’s strongest trait somehow her hatred for isabela overpowers it.

Mirabel as a person is incredibly selfless, this is both good and bad in her case. Whilst caring about others so much is admirable like how mentioned previously Mirabel can go too far, putting her life on the line multiple times! In one movie! One of the first examples of her selflessness is shown during Antonios gift ceremony. Antonio is incredibly nervous and calls out to her saying “I need you”, it's already a hard night for mirabel in general as people have been reminding her “last gift ceremony was a bummer”. However despite already finding it hard she knows Antonio needs her and she walks him to his door taking a deep breath, pushing through her own traumatic memories to support her favorite cousin. This scene is incredibly admirable to me as it takes a lot of courage to force yourself to relive the worst night of your life for the sake of supporting someone else. Here it's an example of mirabels selflessness being a positive trait and not a dangerous one.

Hey you know what's a great combination with being selfless? Being reckless!! Unfortunately for mirabel we can also add stubborn to the mix. Which makes for an ultra combination of self sacrificing nature and putting her life in danger! Brunos room is a scene that truly highlights these traits, especially recklessness. Mirabel throws herself across a giant chasm using rope from the fencing around her and whilst her resourcefulness is impressive it's still incredibly risky. Which ties into her selflessness! Mirabel has very little regard for her own safety and is willing to die in that vision cave if it means she helps the family. Almost suffocating to death in sand just while trying to get the vision shards. Mirabel also throws herself across a chasm twice, the second time isn't as dangerous but initially it looks very dangerous. Mirabel knows it's dangerous and still recklessly persists. Once again revealing how little regard she has for her own safety.

Arguably the biggest case of Mirabel's selflessness is when she tries to save the candle as the house is crumbling around her. This was also her most reckless act of the whole movie as she ignores everyone yelling at her to save herself, she covers the candle and not her head when the debris is crashing down on her. Really highlighting just how little she cares about what happened to her in that moment, valuing a candle over her own life. As selfless as Mirabel is, there are also times she like anyone else, can be selfish. Mirabel herself is aware of this as she says to herself, “for you, for abuela… maybe a little for me” she sounds almost embarrassed by the fact part of her motivation for saving the miracle is proving herself, even if it's only a tiny part. Other moments she can come off as selfish is when she's pestering Luisa about the magic and being dismissive, as well as when she dismisses Isabelas revelation in favor of getting a miracle saving hug. Whilst technically Mirabel isn't being selfish here as she's doing everything for saving the miracle, to others she seems selfish. Another trait Mirabel has is stubbornness and this is really highlighted when Isabela is around. Possibly Mirabel's most stubborn moment of the entire movie, is when Isabela asks her to apologize. Even though Mirabel knows that doing this will help her save the miracle she can't bring herself to give a sincere apology.

I think something that is less talked about than it should be is Mirabel's guilt and tendency to blame herself. A scene that I feel truly highlights her guilt is when Bruno tells her that he left to protect her. Mirabels responds to this saying “you left to protect me?” and she almost sounds in disbelief at this realization. The look on her face here is also one of deep concern, whilst she appreciates that he would sacrifice so much for it also reinforces a thought that had always been on her mind. That she was the cause of all this, that Bruno left due to her own failure, whilst we know this is untrue I strongly feel Mirabel believes this. After all, Bruno did disappear the same night as her gift ceremony. She feels guilty that Bruno left because of her even if he tells her it was for good reason.

A smaller example of Mirabels tendency to blame herself is when she tells Bruno “I ruined her proposal”, whilst mirabel had part in ruining it she was also trying to prevent disaster and ultimately she played the smallest role in ruining Isas night, yet Mirabel still believes it was entirely her fault. The biggest moment for Mirabel's guilt is right after Casita falls, the candle goes out after Mirabel almost gives her life to save it. Believing it's entirely her fault she runs off when nobody is watching.

Mirabel's rock bottom moment is when she's by the river crying, feeling like she's ruined everything and doesn’t know what to do other than to let out all of her bottled emotions. It's important to note that whilst there’s many points she comes close to crying, this is the only time we actually see her let the tears fall. When Alma discovers her Mirabel's reaction is to apologize, “I'm sorry I didn't wanna hurt us, I just wanted to be something I'm not”, again placing all of the blame on herself when the entire family is at fault for casitas collapse. I find this reaction interesting as during the climax Mirabel blames Alma in her anger but when her attempts to save the miracle fail she believes it’s her and her only to blame. This is also incredibly sad as it just shows how riddled by insecurity Mirabel is.

Throughout this story Mirabel is a person ruled by her insecurities, she lacks self esteem and confidence in general. However she's great at faking it and a prime example of this is the opening song, “the family madrigal”. A fun, upbeat tune but the entire song happens because of Mirabel's insecurity. As the children are asking her questions about her gift Mirabel responds with “I can't just talk about myself” and deflects into talking about her family instead. Her love for her family is entirely genuine but she puts on a facade to hide her own insecurities from everyone else, overcompensating to make up for what she lacks. Hidden in the lyrics of the song are her real feelings of worthlessness and jealousy, this especially shows in lines that refer to her two older sisters. When telling the kids about Isabela she sings “grows a flower the town goes wild'', there's a clear sarcastic tone to her voice. This instantly introduces us to Mirabel's envy of her oldest sister and the strained relationship between the two. Her envy is strongest when she sings “she's the perfect golden child” with such longing, illustrating how she actually seems to admire her sister as well as resent her. When she's describing both sisters she sings “the beauty and the brawn do no wrong” implying that she unlike them does do wrong. As the kids pester her more and more her insecurities only grow stronger and she's desperately trying to avoid the question, “I never meant this to get autobiographical”. She stays true to her word and successfully avoids talking about herself for the entire song. At the end she's so desperate to get out of the situation and hide the fact she has no gift that she sings “my family's amazing and i'm in my family so”, trying to convince herself more than anyone else that she's amazing by association.

There's little instances where her insecurity comes out such as when Osvaldo points out multiple times how un-special she is, he turns away for a brief moment and mirabel's painfully strained smile drops before she slips back into her act effortlessly. She also tries to act like this insecurity doesn’t affect her, a great example is when Alma tells her to step aside and nods in response but her expression is pained. Mirabel is hiding her problems from everyone else, even lying to herself. We see just how deep her insecurities go as Alma only tells her to step aside from the decorations but Mirabel interprets this as to stay away for the whole night, so when the whole family is out in the crowd she hides behind the curtain. When Alma tells Antonio that he got “a gift just as special as you” it forces Mirabel to remember when those very same words were said to her, and her smile fades away, her insecurities coming out. Most obviously, her insecurities are on full display during her solo number, “waiting on a miracle”, if you’re interested in more about that song I have a waiting on a miracle analysis !

The song starts with Mirabel pushing down her feelings as usual telling herself she's fine and she shouldn't be upset because the night isn't about her. In the song Mirabel refers to her pain as “unspoken” and “invisible”, displaying how she's not only been lying to everyone around her feelings but also to herself. When Mirabel tries to explain the cracks, Julieta doesn't seem to believe her and Mirabel believes it's because she “might not be super strong like Luisa or effortlessly perfect like senorita perfecta Isabela”. Whilst she's coming from a place of envy she's also speaking from insecurity here, believing that the only reason she isn't being taken seriously is because of her lack of a gift. When Julieta still doesn't believe her Mirabel appears to be hurt by this refusing to open up to her mother. Until she meets Bruno, Mirabel has actively been repressing all her insecurities and focusing solely on her mission. However when she realizes how similar she and Bruno really are, she's comfortable enough to fully open up about her insecurities for the first time. She admits her greatest fear and gets emotional about it, proving just how repressed those feelings are. When it's revealed in the vision she has to hug Isabela Mirabel starts ranting about how Isa hates her and seems like she has no faith in herself that she's able to do this.

One moment that truly highlights her insecurity is when Alma blames her for everything and she finally admits in front of the family that she feels she will “never be good enough for you”. A sharp contrast to Mirabel's denial at the beginning of the movie. In this moment, Mirabel has the courage to stand up not only for herself but for the entire family. Whilst we seen in previous scenes she can defend herself “I’m not doing anything! It’s Bruno’s vision”, here she fully commits to calling alma out in front of everyone. Whilst it’s painful for Mirabel to do, we see her come to the realization that this conversation is necessary. “He loves this family, I love this family we all LOVE this family!”. After this argument Mirabel is heartbroken and so insecure to the point of running to risk her own life just to prove something, anything to her abuela. Her character arc comes full circle at the ending of “all of you” when she looks at the doorknob and finally acknowledges herself for who she is, no longer a person controlled by her insecurities but one who's willing to challenge them.

Empathy & emotional intelligence are what I believe to be Mirabel's biggest strengths as a character. They’re often traits I see people try to argue make her weak, but I heavily disagree, I believe these traits are what make Mirabel such a resilient character. One of my favorite scenes in the whole movie is one where Mirabel's empathy truly shines, when she finds Antonio under her bed. This scene happening so early in the movie yet being so intimate and gentle instantly made me love Mirabel as a character. Her demeanor in this scene is so warm and loving. She knows Antonio is nervous about turning out like her yet she pushes her own feelings aside to support him, “you're gonna open that door and it's gonna be the coolest ever I know it”. This also showcases another strong trait of Mirabels, her emotional intelligence. She's able to gauge that Antonio is scared and needs comfort and she's willing to offer that to him. Antonio is still doubtful, questioning if it doesn't work and once again Mirabel reassures him, referring to the scenario as “impossible��. It's a very cute scene that sets up Mirabel and Antonios relationship. Mirabel's empathy shines here as there were many moments she could have made this about herself but she chooses not to. Other instances of Mirabel's recurring empathy are when she hugs Luisa offering her comfort ,some of her interactions with Bruno as well as when she empathizes with Isabela during their song. During “what else can I do”, Mirabel is able to admit she was wrong about her sister saying she barely knew her but Isa “changed” her mind, realizing that she finally understands Isabelas perspective.

A key scene for me that demonstrates both Mirabel's empathy and emotional intelligence is the “dos oruguitas” scene. After Alma shares her tragic past with Mirabel, despite Mirabel being upset, her reaction to Alma's story is an empathetic one. She tells her abuela “I can finally see” showcasing how similar to isabela, Mirabel finally sees her grandmother's perspective. Her emotional intelligence shines here as upon realizing the truth behind Alma's actions, she changes the words she spat so venomously during their argument. Stating that they were saved because of Alma and given a miracle because of her, she also tells her abuela that “nothing could ever be broken that we can't fix together” highlighting Mirabel’s growth and emotional maturity over the course of the film. Once again, as mentioned in the scene with Antonio, Mirabel had every opportunity to make this moment about her own suffering but she instead acknowledges Alma's feelings and offers her a chance to rebuild their relationship. Perhaps even the chance for forgiveness in the future.

These traits display for me what makes Mirabel such a well rounded and memorable character. Despite her flaws I adore how mirabel has always had her family's best interest at heart. She learns and grows a lot throughout this story and to me her flaws are what make her more interesting to follow and her flaws dont take away from her many positive traits. She's not a perfect protagonist, she's just a good person trying to help her family any way she can. She’s unapologetically loving and empathetic and willing to do anything for her family. To quote Stephanie Beatriz herself: “ I think one of the greatest things about this story is that she dares herself to go on that journey. I think that is so special because its telling an audience many of them impressionable young people, that by daring yourself to believe in yourself, you could possibly become the hero of your own story.”

[pupkinpumpkin]

Silly little headcanons for what all my DA protags are doing during Veilguard 🩷

- My Elena Cousland is NOT sitting back and watching Ferelden go to shit. She may have put the life of a Grey Warden behind her, but she and Alistair are protecting their country no matter what

- Before Alistair and Elena go on their 'save Ferelden' mission, they're getting the gang back together. Or, at least, as much of the gang as they can get. They're picking Sten up from Par Vollen, grabbing Zevran from wherever he is, and taking Sigrun, Oghren, Velanna, and Nathaniel away from the First Warden's grasp. Anders is busy, but he sends his love. While they're out grabbing their friends, their son Duncan is running Ferelden in their stead while their daughter Faith, a grey warden, is off in Weisshaupt, and then Lavendal

Morrigan and Leliana are busy as advisor and pope, so they mostly just send vital info to each other, but Morrigan does pop up once through an Eluvian to say hi.

Alistair and Elena take turns fighting battles so if anything happens to one of them, Ferelden still has a leader to rule.

- After Inquisition, once Varric becomes Viscount, he officially pardons Hawke from any of the crimes she may or may not have committed, allowing her to return to Kirkwall. They spend many years together, mostly rebuilding Kirkwall and annoying Aveline, with Hawke becoming much more mentally stable after literally everything that happened in DA2.

This makes the blow of Varric dying a lot less heavy and soul crushing, but soul crushing nonetheless. After about two weeks of going ballistic in the Hall of Valor matches out of grief and binge drinking with Isabela, Merrill, and Fenris, she returns to Kirkwall to help Aveline and very very begrudgingly agrees to work with Sebastian. Isabela stays in Rivain, Merrill goes to help the Veil Jumpers, Fenris is doing shit with the Shadow Dragons, Anders is with the Inquisition, and Bethany is with the grey wardens.

She mourns Varric and absolutely wants to kill Solas, but she's learned from DA2, fighting harder for her home instead of wallowing in what she could and couldn't have done to save him.

- Lavellan is obviously working hard to save the South, but it is harder with the Inquisition being disbanded and also having 4 kids and a dog. She, Hawke, and Cousland have all come into contact at one point during Veilguard. Hawke to mourn Varric, and Cousland to prepare and defend against the blight.

Lavellan gathers up old friends and gives them each a mission. Cassandra, Cullen, Blackwall, and Iron Bull all go to recruit people to join their cause, work with Ferelden's armies to set up defenses, make battle plans, and train any recruits

Vivienne, Leliana, and Josephine use their political influence to convince the Avvar, Chasind, Orlesians, etc, to band together

Cole and Anders help set up camps and hospitals to help those in need

Sera and Charter use their contacts, spies, and Red Jennys to find useful information about where the blight might be spreading or learn what towns may need the most help. Dorian is of course busy in Minrathous, but they communicate via message crystal, and whenever she meets up with Iron Bull, she lets him use the message crystal so he and Dorian can talk for a while. Babysitting duty goes to Leliana's guards, who did not sign up for this shit.

At one point, Lavellan and Cullen's youngest daughter Bunny gets kidnapped and ransomed, which isn't great, but after the bloodbath, Bunny is safe and Lavellan and Cullen are back on track. Almost all of Lavellan's friends say she can't redeem Solas and might need to kill him, which makes her job a lot more stressful.

Overall, their year is very busy and very stressful, but I'll be damned if they just stood back and watched their homes fall.

[queenrizzardnthelizardscissored]

finally wrote out what i hated about DATV lore [SPOILERS]

my problem isn't really the lore in particular. like any answer to the question of "who is andraste" or "what the blight is" would be unsatisfying. it's that its there at all and super heavily focused on. like, the thing i loved about Origins is that it's not really about the blight. it's about political turmoil and a traitor whose fear of cooperation ends up dooming the nation, and the origins reinforce this. City elf in particular has a just brutal intro that focuses entirely on the politics and inequality of the society, as well as the community that forms to help support them. The mage origin is equally brutal, with your friend being sentenced to lobotomization for basically no reason, and again your friendship (or perhaps betrayal) despite the fact that every hint of community is cracked down upon. The influence of andrastianism is omnipresent and heavily politicized. Every group but human noble faces persecution in some way, and even the human noble is sort of treated as dead the instant they join the wardens. their role is very narrow and departure from that role is fucked. What you fight in origins is, by and large, not the blight! you fight the dwarvhen nobility who are stuck in political gridlock even as things get worse, trying to reclaim their past glory. you fight the templars who are so blinded by fear and by their duty that they are willing to slaughter men women and children wholesale. you fight the retributive (maybe justified) cruelty of the dailish clan and their rightful fear of outsiders. you fight political corruption and graft and a leader who is willing to sell his OWN PEOPLE into slavery for what he claims is the good of all.

then in 2, you're just some refugee mercenary struggling to stay afloat in a foreign city, surrounding themselves with a support group that's also fucked up, trying to keep the city and their family (new and old) together. Yes, there's the bit about the red lyrium, but even then, meredith doesn't really go insane just because of it. It's because of the turmoil initially sparked by, well, a number of things; the blight, the qunari presence and subsequent invasion, an influx of refugees, and the mage crisis, which is a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts - the mages are performing blood magic out of desperation, so she restricts them more, so they get more desperate, so she restricts them more, and so on, not to mention the influence of religious extremism and fundamentalism. we get to see the radicalization of everyone in your party as the world seems to get more and more dark, as your family/group splinters, but is held together almost by the fact that they have nowhere else to go, that they need support. characters fight, make each other worse. they are also all individuals, all their own people, struggling against each other and against society. the crimes of individuals are both tied to political turmoil and trauma and also uniquely their own. The story is so tragic, and all the tragedy comes from PEOPLE. the insufficient evacuation before the blight, Loghain's abandonment on the field, then isabela's theft of the tome and the qunari fanaticism and fear of punishment that keeps them there, the fear of the unknown and the andrastian zealotry that stokes the flames of both qunari tensions and hatred against mages and the elvhen. We also see that there exist communities, that this hatred is not universal; anders provides free healing in his clinic and it is so beloved that the community bands together to protect him. it's also my favorite game in the series for the above reasons, the helplessness your character feels and the tragedy of their lives in general.

Inquisition starts to lose the plot, but i've always seen corypheus and the evil blight guys not so much as villains in their own right as much as a force that needs to be arrayed against, a la blight in DAO. there's scenes like the winter palace where rascism, classism, and xenophobia are major issues, in a horrific society that burns alienages and treats elvhen only slightly better than slaves. and thennnn they start to kind of go off the rails with weird lore stuff - but even then. even then. we have the tevinter mage driven mad by his son's terminal illness, willing to do anything, but also tinged by the cult of exceptionalism from his homeland, his belief that he is rightfully justified to do anything and everything because he and his people are superior. we have samson (who SHOULD HAVE BEEN CULLEN. Come on. it works so much better if the guy we've built up across 2 prior games as hating mages is the one to do it here) who is motivated not even purely by hatred of mages but by the way the chantry treats their templars, by the way they are thrown aside after and left to rot after they serve the purpose. there's the town councillor who sells her own people into slavery in an effort to keep the town afloat and people alive in the middle of a civil war that threatens their wellbeing. there's the mayor who floods a massive area and murders countless in an attempt to save more lives by preventing the spread of illness. None of these characters are super-gods, nor does all this 'deep lore' matters. what matters is the culture, the mores of the society, the zealotry and belief and disbelief.

what im trying to say i guess is that andrastianism is interesting not because of any objective reality/did the maker actually exist guys??? questions, but because of the cultural effects it has. like leilana thinking she's chosen in DAO, like the templars thinking they're performing a holy duty, like the oppression of other religions, like the multiple exalted marches and the schism between the southern and northern chantries, like the xenophobia in DA2, and, in something that i feel that inquisition underexplores, the sheer and utter fervor that convinces hundrds of thousands of people to join something called 'The Inqusition' under a person they believe is chosen by their god. The same thing is true for the dailish, especially given they've been opressed and fucked over, driven out of their lands. An interesting part about Solas in inquisition for me was his inability to understand cultural change and his fixed idea of what the world is: the valasslin as slave-markings stuff was really interesting to me because of the cultural connotations, how they changed from slave-markings to symbols of a people over time through reclamation and simple loss of knowledge, how they evolved, and then how Solas can only see their initial meaning without understnading that their cultural meanings and connotations have shifted, that they now symbolize freedom from humans and a distinct cultural tradition, an effort to maintain an identity even as the world punishes them for it. And of course there's the dwarven, living in the ruins of their past empire, constantly holding back the tide of the darkspawn thanklessly, while also getting wealthy off of the money provided by the fact they are the sole source of lyrium, and the qunari, with their quasi-fascist, fundamentalist society that is so utterly alien to almost every other character.

But in this game they ignore all that and focus entirely on the objective 'is this statement true' thing. it shouldn't have mattered for the stories in Dragon Age WHO the enavuris are, were they evil or not. It shouldn't have mattered that andraste is mythal. what should have mattered is political tensions, rascism, xenophobia, slavery, trying to build a better world even as hope seems dim. That's what I loved about DA2 - all the bright spots in kirkwall even as the world is fucked, like the literal lantern Anders lights for his free clinic, and in DAO and DAI it's much the same - your character is a bright spot, of sorts, trying to make the world better or acting as a source of hope. An ordinary person dealing with extraordinary things. But these extraordinary things themselves are not usually directly the magic or the blight or corypheus, those things are just the catalyst. They are forces arrayed against a fragile society, toppling the inbuilt power structures and straining value systems to their limits. Telling us that everything was the ancient elves all along is hackneyed and lame, but it's also useless (or it should be.) What does it matter what the elves were or who the maker was or if the golden city is actually what it is? what matters is that people think the maker is real and spirits were made by Him, the elves think the enavuris/creators were gods, the templars think mages and demons are dangerous, etc, etc.

And htis is where DAVs writing really falls apart. Lots of people have talked about this, so im going to keep it short. First and most obviously is rascism is gone from the world, basically. your character is an elf and yet despite the game taking place in the 'all elves are put into slavery' country, no one gives a shit. And then of course is the fact that no one gives a shit about these massive revelations, and are all easily believed, and that the dailish so easily turn on their gods. But beyond all these problems is a bigger one:

WE SHOULDNT HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH GODS.

this was a mistake first made in inquisition, but fucked up more and more in this game. This series has NEVER been about gods, never been about these things, which is for the better; there is SO MUCH FANTASY talking about gods and stuff. Here, though - oh actually this god is now evil and now we're dealing with two blights at once etc etc etc. Worse even than the fact that this ruins the entirety of the lore and the core conceit of dragon age as a deconstruction of fantasy tropes and a more grounded universe is the fact it ruins the power levels and the fact the interesting things of the previous games are gone. In DAO we spent a whole game trying to kill one archdemon, and it takes cooperation from the elvhen and dwarven and the mages and the actual nobility and banns of Ferelden, and then a character either DIES TRYING or is saved by a dubiously moral ritual, and EITHER WAY IS IMMORTALIZED IN HISTORY FOR IT in a massive tomb in weisshaupt. In this game? we kill TWO archdemons in one game and no one BLINKS. We fight elvhen gods, oh, just another day at the office. ALL OF THE SOUTH IS OBLITERATED and almost every character from the previous 3 games is dead? oh. yeah. that's normal dude. no one seems to even give a shit that that happened.

Solas is an interesting character on his own, but they should've made him useful and powerful in a different way. in trespasser, he has spies all over the place, a whole power network, and he's doing so subtly. he makes an effort to save people even as he tears the world apart. now, though? he's on his own and evil and immensely powerful. How does this tie in to any cultural aspects? how is he a personable evil that navigates cultures and societies and religions? he's just one dude out to fuck up/fix the world.

this was too long but i had to get it all out.