#heck even the desert was closed 😭

[persnickety-doodles]

Horseshoe Bend | Page, AZ

[imhereformr]

Rivusa and “you look pretty when you smile” or “I could spend 1000 lifetimes staring into your eyes) + DANCE pls hehe (it’s giving end of season 2 party ngl😭 I always wished they had a conversation to define their relationship/ some dialogue during their dance to give a good resolution to their arc throughout the season but oh well)

How about s3 Eraklyon ball instead?

The band chose a slow song. Couples, decked out in elaborate dress that made Riven feel out of place, took to the dance floor hand in hand. He watched them twirl around. Their bright, loving smiles grated at his heart. He hated how happy they seemed; he hated that he wasn’t one of them.  

His eyes pushed past the dancers. On the other side of the Eraklyon’s grand ballroom sat three girls; two of them talking animatedly, the third looking as dejected as he felt. Musa watched the dancers, not seeming to care about whatever Aisha and Flora were discussing. She looked so sad it made him hate himself.  

They’d had another fight that morning. That was all they seemed to do. Fights would be followed with make up sex, and then they’d move on as if the fight had never even happened. He was tired of doing the same dance over and over, but anytime he tried to talk about it, the words died in his throat and Musa shut down. He always thought the hard part would be getting the girl, but keeping her was proving to be even harder.  

Riven stood up, moving through the crowd with surprising ease. Musa looked up at him sadly, uncertainly, when he reached her. Beside her, Aisha glared daggers at him while Flora offered him an apologetic smile. No doubt both of them had heard them yelling at each other – the five of them, including Helia, were sharing a guest suite. Heck, he wouldn’t be surprised if the whole palace or, even then, the whole capital city had heard them. Musa was loud in most things she did, and that included arguments. And Riven, fucking moron that he was, matched her volume and intensity.  

“Can we...” he started, motioning his head towards the hall. Aisha started to spit out some undoubtedly vicious and hateful words, but Musa motioned her quiet.  

The musical fairy stood and led him out without a word. She stopped in a deserted hallway a few minutes later. He had no idea where they were – all of the hallways in the palace looked the same: beige with gaudy burgundy drapery. They were far enough that the sounds of the party were just a background noise.  

She turned to face him. Any words he wanted to say, unsurprisingly, failed him when he looked at her. Riven had never been good at knowing how people were feeling and often found himself misreading their facial expressions, so he’d made a point of memorizing Musa. He knew the faces she made when she thought something was stupid or shocking; he knew the way she laughed when she was uncomfortable and when she was genuinely enjoying herself; the way her eyes flashed and nostrils flared when she was angry; and the way her face relaxed when she was content and at peace. Right now, what he knew about her told him that she was trying very hard not to fall apart. Her arms wrapped around her body, fingers clenching at the delicate red fabric of her dress causing bunching that he was pretty sure would leave wrinkles in the material.  

He’d fucked up so badly. He didn’t even remember what had started the stupid fight just that it had led to him saying some pretty fucked up things to her; angry, spiteful words that she’d thrown back with just as much ferocity. They’d probably have kept slinging insults at each other – Gods knew they were both competitive enough to not want to be the first to back down – but Flora had stepped in. By stepped in he meant that Flora had used the potted plants in their suite to literally pull them apart and cover their mouths until they’d agreed to stop. When Flora had let them go, Musa had wordlessly turned towards their shared room and closed the door. Riven had had to ask Flora to get his suit.  

They stood in the hallway wordlessly. He should apologise – he needed to apologise – but the words kept getting stuck. Did she regret what she’d said as much as he did? Were the words getting caught in her throat too? Their eyes met and Riven swore his heart stopped. She looked like she was seconds from melting down into tears and, as bad as he was with emotions in general, he became sixty million times worse when tears came into the equation.  

Before she could cry or he could react, Musa launched herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she buried her face in his chest and began to cry. All he could think to do was wrap his arms around her and even that felt awkward. He waited silently until her tears subsided. Her grip on his waist didn’t loosen though.  

“I’m sorry” she whispered into his chest. Riven had barely heard the words, but he didn’t care. A grand apology wasn’t needed. He was sorrier than she could ever imagine; that she even apologised was more than he needed to hear. Riven bent his head down and rested his cheek against the crown of her head. He turned his face to place a kiss, and then returned to resting his cheek. They stood like that, holding each other in silence as the party picked up across the palace.  

Musa pulled away a few minutes later and took a seat against the wall. Riven joined her on the floor, where Musa entwined her hand with his. He kept their hands in his lap, running his thumb over hers. He loved the way her hand fit with his – like it was made to be there. The song changed three times before Riven broke the silence. 

“We need to talk about this when we get back to Magix.” He surprised himself with the maturity he was demonstrating at that moment because talking about it sounded like a goddamn nightmare. Any other time he would tell people to send him back to the Cloud Tower dungeons with Darcy’s fucking illusions before he willingly talked about his feelings. But this was Musa. And this was risking losing her. After all he’d had to overcome to even admit to having feelings for her, he wasn’t going to let her go because of one difficult conversation.  

“I know.” She squeezed his hand, nearly cutting off his circulation. “Do you think we’re gonna end up breaking up?” 

He lifted his eyes in surprise. Musa was staring at their hands in his lap, worry etching her beautiful face. He hated that she even had to worry about that. There was no doubt in his mind that if they were ever to break up, it would be her call. “I hope not” he replied honestly.  

A couple passed through the far-right hall, laughing loudly in their drunken stupor. Riven realised that, in the moment, he’d forgotten where they were and that they were supposed to be at a joyous event – Eraklyon's Millenium Celebration.  

Riven stood, offering Musa his hand. She took it, letting him help her to her feet. Musa started back to the party but Riven kept her hand in his and stopped her. “Dance with me?” he asked, pausing so she could hear the slow, romantic song that the band was playing.  

The smile that spread across her features was so radiant it could fuel a major city. She wrapped her arms around his neck, foolishly letting him take the lead as they swayed to the music. He couldn’t help but smile like an idiot when he looked at her. He knew they weren’t in the best place, but she hadn’t given up on him yet and that was enough to keep him hopeful despite his generally pessimistic outlook.  

When the music ended, they kept dancing. He was much happier here, just the two of them in their own world where they could pretend nothing was wrong. Musa laughed when she realised he wasn’t stopping with the music – a real, genuine joyful laugh.  

“You’re so beautiful when you smile” he told her before he could think the words through properly. Gods he sounded like fucking Helia, but apparently Musa loved it because she smiled even more. Even when they headed back to the party, she kept that gorgeous smile on her face. Through twelve more songs and six boring speeches; Musa kept smiling until disaster struck but Riven chose to ignore that part.  

[paintingformike]

ok but its so funny that mlevens say we’re “reaching” for every point we make when they’re the ones that have to go through insane mental gymnastics trying to come up with a narrative for some of the most unexplainable scenes/writing choices in the entire show unless seen through a byler lens.

like...the final scene? the simplest explanation is that they’re establishing a pattern of couples. any other interpretation people have to go through hoops just to make it make sense, like trying to justify why the duffers feel the need to “foreshadow” or emphasize the age groups in the show...

the triple take in the desert? the easiest way to explain it is that mike was flustered after being caught looking at will. no need to go through mental gymnastics just to rule out the romantic implications in it and how he was apparently startled cause he was “caught thinking about el” in that moment? 😭

the airport scene? literally no reason for mike to be that awkward about hugging with his best friend of 10 years unless he’s desperately trying to repress feelings, he can hug other people just fine, even someone he hasn’t seen for a year and wasn’t exactly in the best terms with throughout season 3...distance and time doesnt begin to explain that away!

the final mleven kissing scene in season 3? the cold, hard facts were that he looked confused after the kiss, his eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes were literally emotionless throughout the 7 something seconds el was kissing him. trying to pass it off as initial “shock” when he had several seconds to kiss her back and he didnt show any signs of happiness even after they kissed is just POOR REASONING AND DENIAL!!

the official script saying that mike and will were having an intimate moment? sure, you could say that friends can be intimate too and keep convincing yourself that it just means they’re close...but how do you explain their intimate moment being “shattered”? i wouldn’t look so startled and caught like a deer in headlights after being interrupted out of staring at my best friend if i didn’t harbor any feelings beyond platonic for them and there’s nothing suspicious with what we were doing...also, lets face it. interrupted moments have only ever been used for romantic relationships in stranger things let alone any form of media in general, its not even speculation, its just facts.

will being in the background of every mleven scene except their fight and them shifting the focus on his emotions instead of mike and el’s? it’s a common technique used in love triangles when they want you to sympathize and root for the second love interest. constantly having will lurking in the background removes any and all intimacy in their scenes and paints them in a negative light, and if they really just wanted to portray unrequited love then they wouldn’t have him literally be in the MIDDLE of their shots, it just ruins what is supposed to be a “romantic” moment for them 😭

anyways what im trying to say is...you’re not reading too much into things and you’re just being gaslighted into thinking you are. if byler wasn’t supposed to be endgame then there wouldn’t be THIS MUCH suspicious and questionable writing choices in the first place, i can assure you that the unrequited love storyline for byler would’ve been way easier for the writers if their relationship didn’t get strained, will could still harbor feelings for mike with mike not acting weird and simply being oblivious to will’s feelings, and it would’ve still gone smoothly throughout the show. but they actively chose to write it this way and made mike’s actions suspicious so that people would question him in the first place, it would’ve been easier if they just never made him act weird and behaved like a regular best friend, heck, they didn’t even need to put this much drama and tension in their relationship. and their romance plot isn’t as hidden and buried deep into subtext as people make it out to be (it’s present in BOTH subtext and text), the fundamentals of it are just basic storytelling.

[felassan]

Some thoughts on this stuff, and bits that were notable to me -

Rivain occupies a peninsula and is surrounded by ocean that offers ample fish and coastal weather to its inhabitants

Supposition + headcanon: Rivaini food is heavily based on and around seafood.

the people value material goods over currency

Makes sense considering we know that although they possess a currency-based economy, Rivainis place no real value on the accumulation of individual wealth and instead promote the idea of community welfare. 

Llomerryn, known as a home for bandits, raiders and merchants with goods that could never be sold in conventional shops.

You can see why The “Bard”’s (probably fake) story in TN included an auction located here.

Despite his gentle nature,

Anders 😭 

The explosion in Kirkwall is noted to have killed innocent bystanders along with numerous clerics. Starkhaven isn’t just opulent and one of the wealthiest city-states in the FM, it’s the most opulent. In the Anderfels, treason is seen as a lesser crime than backsliding into debauchery, due to the pious nature of the populace. The Qunari attack on Kirkwall is framed as an attempted coup, with the Arishok having decided he must cleanse the city after witnessing so much of its debauchery (hmm). Varric is described as a charmer, fixer, storyteller, spymaster, information broker and occasional con-artist - isn’t he a man of many talents! Dumar’s head and crown are noted to have been “bowled down his own throne room steps”, lol. Elthina is explicitly said to have supported Meredith.

Ferelden is geographically diverse. There’s an area of desert in the Free Marches. Some Inquisitors presided over the death of the most powerful woman in Thedas (Celene). Even Mr Warrior “my honor this, chevalier that” Gaspard engages in Orlesian political manipulation and subterfuge. Dorothea and her becoming close to Leliana is said to be what inspired Leliana to devote herself to the faith. Dorothea is described as having been a progressive Divine. Leliana is described as an intelligent woman with many faces. Val Royeaux is the busiest port in Thedas. After the Long Walk, the influx of elves to the Dales was “massive”. 

However, the weather-worn elven stone relics remain in its forests, ever watching

I like that this was highlighted, considering the big Fen’Harel (and other Evanuris) statue[s] in the EP in DAI. He is indeed still around, ever watching.

He joins Hawke in a war against either the mages or the templars - it doesn’t matter which, so long as he’s with Hawke 

Varric 😭

primeval Brecilian Forest

This description reminds me of preserved ancient relic forests in Europe.

Stalwart and shrewd, she takes her husband’s place as ruler of Ferelden, a role she is more than capable of filling.

heck yeah Anora

Dalish elves call the Korcari Wilds home: we know this from Stolen Throne but it is good to see this written somewhere considering the Dalish boon in DAO of giving them land to settle in the Hinterlands north of the Korcari Wilds including Ostagar was retconned. Morrigan is noted to seek out power to escape her mother’s influence, as she greatly fears her mother. I like how all the Warden’s party members seem to be remembered by Thedosians now as “heroes of the Fifth Blight”.

The reality of the city is far less pious: brothels line the dirty streets while the population is often left to take the law into their own hands - if they weren’t the ones already committing the crime, that is.

Sera is such a Denerim girl. ♡ Along with the noted divide between the elite and the commoners in the city, and the event of the Battle of Denerim, you can see where some of her values and traits come from.

Thedosian scholars contest the following things - the exact date of Andraste’s birth, whether elven stories of their previous immortality are a myth or not, and whether or not humans really did come to Thedas from somewhere else (and if so, where they came from and why they left).

The following are some of the titled/remembered wars and battles in Thedosian history. I bet they’re the kind of thing in-universe historians and military strategists study, and are all on the history curriculum at places like the University of Orlais. Small things like this help the world feel alive.

the First Qunari War

the First Battle of Kirkwall

the Mage-Templar War

the holy war of the Exalted March of the Dales

the War of the Lions

the Qunari War

the Battle of West Hill

the Battle of River Dane

the Battle of Denerim

the Battle of Ostagar

Transcriptions of the info given in the “World Lore” area of the Keep:

(this is old stuff, not new, and is mostly posted for my reference. some bits weren’t worth including)

Keep reading