#i just want to look at orsino

[echthr0s]

*contemplating reinstalling DA:I* wait. that's the devil talking

[zforzelma]

A list* of Shakespeare characters for which casting a trans actor is the strongest choice.

Take a look at your complete works of Shakespeare. You can pack so much Gender in those plays. I am of the opinion that casting should be undertaken to highlight the text and make new discoveries.

Really, any Shakespeare role can and should be played by a trans person of any variety, but there are some roles in particular that I think would unfold incredible revelations about the text. I'm leaving out magical characters and fools because that's too obvious.

Lysander - Mids; why don't you want me to marry your daughter? Say it, you coward.

Helena - Mids; This one would be psychologically intense for the actress, so really only attempt if you've got a good therapist. Having a trans woman in this role would be such a gut-punch for so much of the text, I honestly think it would make the audience uncomfortable at some parts. To which I say: GOOD.

I have so many more.

Viola - 12th; Also pretty psychologically intense with all the cross dressing, and the wow-you-look-just-like-your-brother, but her equivocation about gender in her conversations with Orsino would absolutely sing.

Orlando - As You Like It; His older brother won't let him go to college with the other men. Proves himself by winning in a wrestling match. Doesn't recognize his crush when she's cross dressing.

Mercutio - R&J; At this point I feel like everyone knows Mercutio is a nonbinary lesbian or trans masc. Right? Like, we all know that. Jokes aside, I think his difficult relationship with masculinity and honor would be interesting if interpreted by a trans actor.

Hamlet - Hamlet; Obviously. I mean duh. trans masc, trans fem, man, woman, both or neither. Any queer person probably gets Hamlet on a visceral level better than any cis straight person. Who's even casting a cis man as Hamlet in the year of our lord 2023? Yawn.

Laertes - Hamlet; Yeah I don't know what it is. This one is purely vibes based.

Macduff - Macbeth; I actually made Macduff a woman, changed all the pronouns and made him a lesbian when I directed, and I'd probably do that again. But I think Duff could also - or alternately - be trans. I think it would say something interesting about violence of his journey, the scene with future King Malcolm, and the fact that Duff is the one to behead ol' Mack.

What do you guys think? Did I miss an obvious one?

* this is not at all a comprehensive list

[withasideofshakespeare]

Woah no way?? People (completely unprompted /s) want to hear my trans Shakespeare headcanons?? You bet I can do that.

I’ve done this once before:

But I have even more thoughts now!!

In no particular order:

Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Every single pronoun possible. He/she/they/it + all of the neopronouns and xenopronouns that exist currently or will ever exist. Fairy gender is always weird but Puck’s is extra weird.

Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): Fairy gender. Probably he/they/it?

Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream): More fairy gender. She/they/it?

Titania’s fairy attendants (Midsummer): Get a hat and fill it with various pronouns and draw them out at random for the fairies.

Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing): Could go either way, but I really like the idea of transfemme Benedick. Or he/him lesbian Benedick.

Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing): The she/they to end all she/theys

Viola/Cesario (Twelfth Night): Could be trans in literally any direction. I made a post about this too at some point. My suggestion is all of the directions: they/she/he

Sebastian (Twelfth Night): He/him, transmasc. I also made a post about this at some point.

Feste (Twelfth Night): I saw a great she/her Feste last summer.

Orsino (Twelfth Night): Specifically the himbo variety of he/they

Margaret of Anjou (Henry VI trilogy and Richard III): If I ever play Margaret, I will use she/they pronouns.

Catesby (Richard III): Just played Catesby with she/her pronouns and it worked!

Richard II (Richard II): Tell me Richard isn’t the most they/he or he/they guy alive (or… dead).

Hal (1 Henry IV-Henry V): Saw Hal played with she/they pronouns last summer and it was great. Could also see he/they Hal. Very nonbinary vibe overall. I personally believe that going by Hal rather than Henry for two whole plays is their way of pulling the “going by the first letter of what my name used to be instead of picking a name from scratch” nonbinary trick. He probably pretends to be cis after his dad dies and he becomes king—one more element of Hal’s lifelong identity crisis.

Hotspur/Harry Percy Jr. (Richard II & 1 Henry IV): He/they in denial.

Kate Percy (1 & 2 Henry IV): She/they, not in denial. (Also Katespur should be bi4bi)

Ned Poins (1 & 2 Henry IV): Transmasc Ned Poins?? Maybe he doesn’t actually have a sister and Nell is just his deadname. Ned Poins’ failed scheme to flirt with Hal.

Romeo (Romeo & Juliet): he/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Juliet (Romeo & Juliet): she/they (t4t R&J!!!)

Mercutio (Romeo & Juliet): they/he(/it?). Vibes alone. Look at them. Just look.

Nurse (Romeo & Juliet): she/her, transfemme!

Cassius (Julius Caesar): Would love to see a they/them Cassius

Hamlet (Hamlet): he/they. I’ve made multiple posts about this theory and I still love it.

Ophelia (Hamlet): she/they. As she should.

Laertes (Hamlet): she/him and NOT just because Laertes used she/her pronouns the first time I saw this play.

Rosencrantz (Hamlet): he/they/she. Vibes. Sometimes goes by Ros/Rose. Probably genderfluid.

Malcolm (Macbeth): they/he or they/them. Also vibes.

Lady Macbeth (Macbeth): stolen straight from my last post because this is still my HC: she/they; would insult you for “having pronouns in your bio” and then turn around and punch you in the face for using their pronouns incorrectly.

Angus (Macbeth): she/her, transfemme. (t4t Ross/Angus. I will die on this hill… Dunsinane Hill.)

Ross (Macbeth): he/him, transmasc

Caithness (Macbeth): she/they lesbian

Mark Antony (Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra): I would not bat an eye at he/they Mark Antony

Edmund (King Lear): they/he, nonbinary, sexiest man (/gn) alive.

Edgar (King Lear): he/him. Transmasc Edgar is slowly becoming canon To Me.

Cordelia (King Lear): she/her, transfemme.

Goneril (King Lear): she/they. I would let them kill me.

Coriolanus (Coriolanus): transmasc OR transfemme Coriolanus is!!!! The butterfly/metamorphosis motif! Name changes during canon! Discomfort with scars/body! Lack of autonomy granted by society! This is THE transgender play. (Other than Twelfth Night)

Imogen (Cymbeline): Tell me she doesn’t want to be a she/they so bad.

Florizel (The Winter’s Tale): he/they(/she?). Literally just a vibe. I have a pet rock named Florizel.

Perdita (The Winter’s Tale): she/they. I also have a pet rock named Perdita.

Ariel (The Tempest): Similar to Puck, probably they/she/he? Even my conservative English prof consistently rotates between she/her and he/him for Ariel (possibly not intentionally? I’m not convinced he knows what her canon pronouns are.)

Ferdinand (The Tempest): she/they. PLEASE give me transfemme Ferdinand. PLEASE let Miranda realize she’s a lesbian during canon.

Miranda (The Tempest): she/they. Ariel taught them about the existence of she/they pronouns and she immediately started using them.

So in other words… every Shakespeare character should be trans, actually.

[jules-loves-lukecastellan]

hey🫶🏻

i’m jules. i’m a 15 yr old girl from ny who loves writing and the coquette aesthetic <3

who i write/will write for:

🎀luke castellan (percy jackson and the olympians)

🧸duke orsino (she’s the man)

🎀cole walter (my life with the walter boys)

🧸issac garcia (my life with the walter boys)

🎀jeremiah fisher (the summer i turned pretty)

🧸percy jackson (percy jackson and the olympians)

🎀clarisse la rue (percy jackson and the olympians)

🧸conrad fisher (the summer i turned pretty)

🎀charlie bushnell (actor)

🧸walker scobell (actor) (NOTHING NSFW)

🎀timothee chalamet (actor)

🧸dylan hoffman (actor) (NOTHING NSFW)

౨ৎ i’m also open to write for more characters <3 just pm me with the character u want ౨ৎ

౨ৎ i also write some characters only during their season. like for instance i only write jeremiah and conrad fisher in the summer🫶🏻 ౨ৎ

a lil more about me🎀

🫶🏻favorite color? pink!!

🧸grade? 11th grade

🫶🏻what device i write on? macbook

🧸favorite music artist? taylor swift, tate mcrae, lana del rey, laufey, sza, madison beer, chappell roan

🫶🏻birthday? august 13

🧸favorite subject? tied with english (obvs) and history

🫶🏻favorite tv show(s)? gilmore girls, pjo, friends, greys anatomy, pretty little liars, never have i ever, outer banks, tsitp, and mlwtwb <3

🧸favorite movies? clueless, she’s the man, 13 going on 30, the eras tour (lol), anyone but you, mamma mia, whitney houston “i wanna dance with somebody”, confessions of a teenage drama queen, the devil wears prada, 10 things i hate about you, etc etc

are u ready? ok get in the car. ur chaperone will take u to ur destination.

love ya!

-jules🎀

[daitranscripts]

Varric Conversation: Investigate

I Have Questions About Hawke

Varric Masterpost

PC: I’ve read your Tales of the Champion, and I have a few questions.

Varric: That’s a pretty common reaction. Go ahead.

1 - Dialogue options:

Investigate (Anders alive): What happened to Anders? [2]

Investigate: Orsino’s fate made no sense. [3] -Varric slightly disapproves

Investigate (Arishock killed): You made up the Arishok fight. [4]

Investigate (Arishock lived): What happened to the Arishok? [5]

Investigate: Where are Hawke’s friends? [6]

General: Never mind. [7]

2 - Investigate: What happened to Anders? PC: What happened to the mage who destroyed the Chantry? The book never said.

Varric (Hawke sided mages): He fled Kirkwall with the mages from the Circle. Stayed with them a while. But he had to move on. Somehow, a lot of mages blamed him for making them live a fugitives. Varric (Hawke sided templars): Hawke made him stay to help put out the fire he caused. But he eventually moved on. Nobody else wanted him in Kirkwall.

Varric: I don’t know where he is now, and I don’t want to know. [back to 1]

3 - Investigate: Orsino’s fate made no sense. PC: In the book, you say that First Enchanter Orsino turned himself into a giant monster made of corpses. How? Why? Varric: Do I look like an expert on magical weirdness to you? I can’t tell you how. As for the “why,” all I can say is he was desperate. [back to 1]

4 - Investigate: You made up the Arishok fight. PC: There’s no way Hawke really could have killed the Arishok. It would have started a war with the Qunari. Varric: Apparently, the Arishok didn’t get permission before he attacked Kirkwall, and the Qun didn’t want another Exalted March. When they finally sent a ship to haul the wrecked dreadnought away, they just said, “We will never speak of this again.” As far as I can tell, that’s the Qun’s version of an apology. [back to 1]

5 - Investigate: What happened to the Arishok? PC: Your book doesn’t say what happened after the Arishok left Kirkwall. Varric: He kind of… lost the Tome of Koslun again. Along with the thief. As I understand it, he returned to Par Vollen to find the Qunari equivalent of a court-martial waiting for him. There’s a new guy named Arishok now, and asking about the old one is a nightmare of logic and grammar. [back to 1]

6 - Investigate: Where are Hawke’s friends? PC: Where are the rest of Hawke’s associates?

If Merrill is alive and stayed with Hawke: Varric: Merrill decided to look after the elves left homeless by the fighting. She’s done a pretty good job of keeping them away from the mages and templars so far. I guess she had plenty of practice avoiding stupid human battles with her old Dalish clan.

If Fenris is alive and stayed with Hawke Varric: Fenris has kept himself busy, hunting down the Tevinter slavers who came south to prey on the refugees. I’m not sure exactly where he is at the moment. You can usually follow the trail of corpses, though.

If Isabella stayed with Hawke Varric: Isabella went back to the raiders. She’s calling herself an admiral now. I don’t know if she’s actually in charge or just has a really big hat. Might be the same thing, honestly.

If Sebastian was recruited: Varric: Sebastian went back to Starkhaven. I’m sure he’s boring all sorts of people there.

If Hawke was not a mage and Bethany survived the Deep Roads: Varric: Last I knew, Hawke’s little sister Bethany was doing something Wardeny near the Anderfels border.

If Hawke was not a mage and Bethany did not go to the Deep Roads: Varric: Hawke’s little sister is in the Free Marches, helping some of the other survivors from the Kirkwall Circle.

If Hawke was a mage and Carver survived the Deep Roads: Varric: Hawke’s little brother was off on some Warden business near the Anderfels border last I knew.

If Hawke was a mage and Carver did not go to the Deep Roads: Varric: Hawke’s little brother Carver is still in the Free Marches, helping the Kirkwall guard keep order.

Varric: Aveline is still guard-captain. I’m pretty sure Kirkwall would fall right into the sea if she quit her job. [back to 1]

7 - General: Never mind. PC: Carry on.

[littlelostmabari]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

I spent my whole weekend writing One of the Good Ones and planning out some one shots. Then I got tired and didn't post the WIP snippets

"One of the Good Ones"

(DA2/DAI : Cullen x OC : in progress) Check out the story on AO3! (Rating: M)

This chapter is going to be a little messed up, sorry in advance. You'll want to mind the tags when it's posted.

The chamber where phylacteries were made lay just outside the wards of the vault — wards that only a select few Templars and the First Enchanter knew how to deactivate. It was one of the most heavily guarded areas in the Circle, a thought that only crossed his mind as he realized he was letting a wanted apostate get close enough to the vault to see its secrets. Flashes of a soft smile, a head of wavy blonde hair worn down across her shoulders because he told her once that it looked nice that way. A melody of a laugh at a passing joke. Then a wail as sword met flesh and iron and stone and the last time he let a mage this close to him, this close to a phylactery vault she and Jowan had used blood magic to — He cursed under his breath and stopped Orsino and Antsa before they could round the corner. It took some convincing, and some promises that she would get everything back in just a few minutes, but he relieved Antsa of both her ragdoll and the pocket around her waist before he fell back and allowed Orsino to lead the child towards the chambers. This needed to be over. He needed the Witch out of the Circle. He needed his afternoon ration of lyrium. He needed everything to go back to normal.

Currently Unnamed Starfield Smutty One-shot

(Starfield : Sam x f!Reader) (Rating: E / 18+)

It's date night in Neon.

A pair of eyes, watching. You could always sense his gaze, as if he had called your name loud enough to cut through the music. He was there, at your two o’clock, in the shade of a small booth. A glance confirmed. One hand swirled a whiskey, neat, while the other stretched lazily over the back of the booth, his legs crossed and steady against the vibrations of the music. The brim of his cowboy hat was pulled low, which was good. Meeting his eyes at a time like this inevitably turned you into a puddle — because you knew what you'd find there.  A deep, all-consuming hunger. And you were, as always, the prey. The whiskey glass raises to his lips with a smirk and a nod. The game begins. 

[wanderinghedgehog]

I finally finished that poem I started awhile back.

The Productions of the Gurstein-Mills Theater

I nearly killed him for the role of Romeo back in ‘07.

He got it anyway.

I couldn’t think of a way to stab him discreetly.

We did a table read

And I kept mindlessly aiming the sharp end of my pencil at the veins in his wrist.

Onstage,

I thought too much about the sword strapped against my hip

And almost fucked up my lines four times.

I actually threatened him over the role of Orestes in ‘09.

The company said there’d be no legal action

If I stayed out of that year’s season.

It was a damn shame.

I really liked the Greek plays.

I was Edgar the next year.

He was Edmund.

For once, I was the legitimate one.

My cousin saw that production and asked who played the bastard.

During the last show,

I managed to land a hit on his forehead with the hilt of my sword.

He missed his next cue.

He left the theater in 2015.

Said he had to spend time with his mom in Oregon.

This was just fine by me.

Fantasizing about killing him had gotten a little repetitive.

I’d stopped trying to get at him

And just started staring menacingly

And hoping he got the gist of it.

I was never any less angry,

Just tired.

During the winter of 2017,

We pulled together a production of Macbeth.

I still couldn’t land a leading role.

They gave me Banquo.

The reviews were shit.

I looked out into the audience one night.

There were the two usual critics in their blazers and chunky necklaces,

The little kids who were probably too young for this play,

And him.

Back from Oregon, I guess.

He rejoined the company for the 2018 season.

Before the cast list was revealed,

He emailed me something that looked heartfelt and wordy.

I read the first and last paragraphs.

It was something about growing as a person and moving forward.

This was the sort of bullshit I missed.

He’d still be Hamlet,

I’d be Claudius or something,

And he’d talk like we’re on the exact same page.

I was Richard III in 2019.

I asked him if he wished he’d gotten this role.

He said Richard suits me and that he wouldn’t stand in my way.

I poked and prodded him for awhile.

I asked all the worst questions.

“What do you think of your role?”

“Isn’t there one you’d rather have?”

“Didn’t you audition with a Richard III monologue a while ago?”

He got bored, gave me a pat on the back, and walked away.

I started to wonder if I’d read the cast list wrong.

We had Twelfth Night lined up for 2020.

We didn’t even know our parts when the theater temporarily shut down.

Obviously, I’d been eyeing the Duke Orsino’s lines,

But that was more out of obligation

Than a love for the character.

Maybe I’d have gotten lucky just this time.

Honestly, there wasn’t much else I wanted from that play,

Just a main role.

I suppose I was satisfied for awhile with no one getting a main role.

In 2022, we brought everyone back for Coriolanus.

I was Aufidius, of course.

Who the titular character went to was a surprise to fucking nobody.

At that point, there wasn’t anything else to say.

Rehearsals started.

I nearly dozed off backstage a few times.

Nobody was ever really happy with Act 4 scene 5.

I couldn’t help but wonder what he thought of me

Standing stage right of him,

Rambling about how I dreamed of meeting him in battle

And how I “waked half dead with nothing.”

To me, it felt like ‘07

And- god!- I didn’t want to be 24 again.

Romeo and Juliet is back for round two in 2023.

He isn’t Romeo.

Neither am I.

They’re trying out some new kid this year.

We both agree they could’ve chosen better.

[bleeding-star-heart]

A non-comphrensive list of rewrite ideas for DA:2's ending

So, I've talked about DA:2's ending, and while how it just manages to make sense from an in-universe perspective, it absolutely doesn't from a writer's. And part of me suspects that the reason for that is because DA:2 was a very rushed product. One that, in my opinion, could have benefited from a little more time in the metaphorical oven. Here is a list of things I would do differently regarding the ending. This is more of a brainstorm than anything; not all of these ideas are going to go together.

First and simplest: get rid of the Chantry explosion altogether. It's a waste of animation. It requires the audience to buy the absurd notion that a man who CHOOSES to provide free medical care to the homeless-and it was expressly HIS idea to do so-would just shrug off the deaths of multiple civilians.

A better idea would be to focus Act 3 on Meredith Stannard. As a tyrannical military leader with extreme views and NO respect for civil authority, she is the PERFECT antagonist.

Perhaps Meredith feels that Elthina is an obstacle to her gaining power. Maybe she believes that Elthina's "moderate" views equate to being under the control of blood mages. Maybe she's decided that would be a very convenient narrative to spin.

Either way, it is time for Elthina to go. So, step one, she kidnaps Anders. As an apostate, he can serve both as hit man AND fall guy.

Except in this scenario, Anders does not actually want to assassinate Elthina. Mainly because he believes that doing so will only make mages look bad. (We are ignoring what Justice feels).

Now, owing to player agency, what goes down can vary. The player should have the choice of whether or not to rescue Anders, and, if they choose to rescue him, dialogue options should given them a number of choices on HOW, exactly, they wish to intervene.

But the gist of the situation is: thanks to Anders's refusal, Meredith ends up killing the Grand Cleric herself.

This ends up creating commentary on how reactionaries, ironically, end up attacking the very systems that privilege them, if they believe it helps them maintain that privilege.

But if we MUST keep the Chantry explosion for some reason, then under no circumstances should Anders be responsible.

We could tie it to the previous idea and, thanks to a certain combination of player choices, have Meredith be responsible.

Or the Chantry explosion is simply an accident. Maybe it is the result of an attempt to STOP Meredith; a tragic consequence of the fighting.

But again, I am not a fan of the explosion. So, going back to an ending WITHOUT the explosion, perhaps we switch tactics and make ELTHINA the Act 3 antagonist.

Not very orthodox, no. But there is a growing, very popular alternative interpretation of Elthina as a calculating, manipulative politician.

One that could serve to make her an excellent twist villain. Perhaps Elthina grows tired of Meredith's antics. Maybe Meredith is too much of an embarrassment, makes Elthina look weak to the other Chantry leaders.

So Elthina decides it's time to kill Meredith. After which Meredith is replaced with a more compliant knight-commander, one who will not stir the pot so much. Thus, restoring the status quo.

But the problem is, Mother Petrice, like a cockroach, has managed to survive the incident with the Qunari. And she can't leave well enough alone.

So SHE decides to kidnap Anders, and frame him for Meredith's murder. Only problem is, Mother Petrice's frame-up is so laughable it ends up exonerating Anders to anyone with two brain cells.

Thus, the players are forced to choose between three factions: Mother Petrice's faction of fanatical templars (who obviously lack the necessary brain cells), Orsino and Elthina's "moderate" faction, or a third faction, one belonging to Anders and the mage rights' activists.

These are just my ideas. Feel free to chime in with your own. So long as they don't involve Anders blowing up the chantry.

[deusexlachina]

Wannabe Warden Part 19: The personal is political (and therefore top secret Grey Warden missions)

In which people won't stop trying to kill my family for more than an hour at a time.

The political is personal, because Kirkwall is a very small city. Well. It's not. It's massive and very crowded. But you keep bumping into the same few people, so I've learned by now that the best way to discover city-threatening problems is to casually do errands for friends and family.

I pay a social visit to Uncle Gamlen, and look for problems to solve by reading his mail, which I'm pretty sure is a crime, but I'm immune to crime because my family friend is a corrupt cop. An anonymous note from someone who claims to know Gamlen gives him cryptic clues to finding the Gem of Keroshek. What's the Gem of Keroshek? It makes you lucky. Not like critical hits lucky or anything like that. It just very slightly increases your income and minutely increases your chance to hit things.

Ironically, Gamlen spent the family fortune chasing this gem. Somehow. I'm thinking something like he invested all our cash in "Kerocoin." This currency I just made up gives you a stake in the ownership of the Gem of Keroshek. Not like, you have the gem. But. Hypothetically. Anyway, he spent the family fortune chasing the gem because he really wanted it for reasons he never specifies, and now he doesn't want it because he spent all his money chasing it. Say what you like about Uncle Gamlen, he certainly doesn't fall prey to the Gambler's Fallacy. Even though he does literally gamble. And lose all our money. But his logic is airtight.

What does this have to do with keeping Kirkwall safe? Quite a bit. It turns out the Gem of Keroshek does have a power - it makes people want it to irrational extremes, just like the red lyrium. Well. I assume it must, because dozens and dozens of people throw themselves at me trying to get it even though I don't even have it.

This is one of the largest human armies I have ever faced, all lining up to fight the woman who single-handedly killed the Arishok, and also killed his army, though that one wasn't single-handed, it was with my companions. Who are also here. They're fighting the doom squad. All for a gem whose effect is to slightly improve accuracy and coin drops. I've sold more than a dozen more powerful magical artifacts.

Honestly, I'd just walk away from all this, except the search for the gem has endangered my cousin Charade, who I didn't mention before because I just met her. Charade sought it out because her father neglected his wife in favour of the Macguffin, which is the tragic subtext of Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail. Except that was over the cup of Jesus which could grant immortality, whereas this makes you more accurate and rich to a degree you wouldn't even notice if it didn't say so on the label. Unfortunately for Charade, Gamlen doesn't want the magical trinket. He only cares about...uh...his family?

I explain to my dear cousin where she might have gone awry with this plan, which not only didn't involve talking to Gamlen but also entailed actively obscuring her own identity as his daughter, who he didn't know he had, which paints a grim picture of the state of sexual education in the Free Marches.

With this crisis averted and a hole in my family mended, I can rest easy knowing my family is safe for literal minutes before another crisis threatens Kirkwall and my family again. Orsino, the First Enchanter of Kirkwall, wants to deal with a problem among the mages without alerting the lobotomy-happy templars. What's the problem? Uh. There's. Meetings.

Not considering the possibility that his mages might be having secret meetings to resist Meredith, like he is doing right now, Orsino sends the most famous woman in Kirkwall to spy on the meeting, but somehow I'm recognized and they fight me to the death, cryptically saying they know I'm working for Orsino. Are these mages his enemies? Even curiouser, this is a mix of mages and templars, despite them having been bitter enemies.

It turns out that mage-sympathizer Ser Thrask has organized a resistance of mages and templars working together to take down Knight Commander Meredith. A stunning display of peace and solidarity. When they're not trying to murder me.

I would just leave this extremely stupid situation before more good-intentioned people basically run into my axe, but I have to dig deeper, because they kidnapped Bethany!

...from the Grey Wardens?

Ser Thrask is there, and explains they needed leverage against me, correctly guessing that I care more about my accidental Grey Warden sister than anyone else. What I'm stuck on is why they couldn't have picked an easier hostage, like...anybody? Fenris and Merrill live alone. Bethany not only has gravity powers but travels with the Wardens, who wouldn't interfere with their plans (since they're Politics) except if they threatened the order, e.g. by kidnapping a Grey Warden, especially one who is like a daughter to the terrifying unkillable moustachioed menace that is Warden Stroud.

On that note, how did they even pull this off? Bethany explains that "last thing she remembers, she was in her quarters." Her...Grey Warden quarters? Like, she was in a Grey Warden base? How did they get in and out of there? How did they steal a whole lady from the Grey Wardens? And, if they have such illicit skills, why didn't they cut out a lot of unnecessary and frankly stupid steps to their plan and just steal Meredith? She can't have been any harder to attack than the Grey Wardens, especially not Secret Grey Warden Aveline Hawke. What are they afraid of, an army of templars? They are an army of templars!

Thrask tries to explain: they all thought I was their enemy, because they oppose Meredith and I publicly opposed Meredith. Hang on, that doesn't make sense. Well, they know I'm working for Orsino, and he's their enemy, because he...was also publicly opposing Meredith? Even Thrask himself is confused, wondering why I'd side with Meredith even though they know I'm working for Orsino, her enemy. This is your brain on lyrium and/or blood magic.

After a wildly unnecessary fight, Cullen comes just out of time to arrest the conspirators so the mages can be executed and the templars can have their pay docked. I tell him not to make the situation worse by unnecessary executions, especially not Alain, who saved my sister.

While his fellow templars are exhibiting templar sexual dimorphism, Cullen, who is working for the evil Meredith and will be until she later snaps and tries to kill apparently everyone, sneers at Alain for a convenient last-minute change of heart.

[gameguy20100]

Since you're a Dragon Age fan, remember how in DA2, the Chantry covered up the Templars' abuses because "it made their faith look bad?" And remember how Orsino covered up the existence of a mage serial killer, because "it made the mages' cause look bad?" People like that nasty Astarion fan anon you got are similar to that; they conceal and cover up bad behavior "if it would make people we admire look bad".

Yeah. That's very true.

I was pro mage but I wanted to slap Orsino for that. I eventually ended up just agreeing with whatever Anders said because he was the only one doing anything about it.

What is this obsession with cruel and terrible people getting sob stories these days? I'm really sick of it.

[maintitle]

I’m a big fan of the dialogue option in Inquisition where you talk about Orsino with Varric.

Inquisitor:  “In the book, you say that First Enchanter Orsino turned himself into a giant monster made of corpses.  How?  Why?”

Varric:  “Do I look like an expert on magical weirdness to you?”

VARRIC SLIGHTLY DISAPROVES.

Now, this could be read in a few ways by Varric himself, but I don’t see it like that at all.  It’s always felt like the writers tilting their head toward the camera and staring directly into the lens.  At the time people were entirely confused by Orsino’s actions, forcing a confrontation with the guy you’re siding with for what can be amounted to as no reason.  

Now, granted, there is in fact an in-game letter that can be found during your chase after your Mother that infer’s Orsino is dabbling in more than he lets on.  

My dear friend, I have obtained the books you requested. I'll leave them at our usual hiding spot. Please collect them as soon as possible. I would hate to see them in the wrong hands! Your last letter was fascinating! You have proven me wrong, once again, by doing the impossible. I shouldn't have doubted your resolve, and I hope you will keep me apprised of further progress. Your friend and colleague, O

This is a Codex found just before the confrontation with Quinton in Act 2, one that’s overshadowed by the horror Hawke goes through in that quest.  I, personally, feel like it was an afterthought put into the game in order to explain why the seemingly straight arrow First Enchanter is suddenly using necromancy to make a person meat shield.

The biggest thing that makes me think this is the Inquisition writing team acknowledging this, however, is Mark Darrah’s wrap-up video on his memories and the lessons he learned leading the project.  

Mark Darrah:  “We’ve talked about the level reuse, which I think is probably one of the weakest things in Dragon Age 2.  The thing that actually makes me feel the most regret for Dragon Age 2 is the way that the endings go.  So, I guess spoilers... but you get to the end of Dragon Age 2, and you have to deal with the mages and the Templars, there’s the whole question of the mages and the Templars.  But regardless of the choice that you make there, you end up fighting both Orsino and Meredith and the mages end up going all crazy regardless.  You’ve made a different choice, you’ve come down on this decision in a very different way... and yet the game has you play through basically the same content, in a slightly different order, but it’s basically the same content.  I think that’s a mistake... I mean, I’m pretty sure that was my decision, but I think that’s a mistake because it undercut the mage/templar question quite a bit.”

Mark Darrah:  “Now the reason why it is that way in Dragon Age II is that the games under incredibly tight constraints.  Orsino isn’t worthy of being an end boss all on his own, so the decision is that you gotta fight Meredith no matter what.  Okay.  So... that’s actually, I think, defensible, you could say.  Meredith has been corrupted by red lyrium, you gotta fight her no matter what.  You can still make the choice.  I think the place where Dragon Age 2 crosses the line is that we also make you fight Orsino no matter what, and I think that’s the mistake.  And the reason we do that is, it’s content, we want players to consume as much of our content as we can, because it feels like waste if we have content that isn’t seen by a player.  And I think that is a mistake, and I think that’s a lesson that maybe video game studios are just waking up to now, that actually it’s NOT waste, content that isn’t consumed by the player ISN’T a problem, that actually you should WANT that.”

Now, that summarization to me covers a lot of DA2, and I’m glad he’s had that reflection, even as the man that pulled the trigger.  DA2 deserves a bit of grace considering they had to take an idea for an Origins DLC and make it a full game because EA demanded it, and I’ve certainly been far more forgiving of the game as time has passed.  But that’s STILL a decision that drives me bonkers.

Now, that leaves us back at where we began.  It’s a FASCINATING moment with the writers, when we get that disapproval at the question.  It almost feels defensive.  Had they learned the lesson Mark Darrah later learned at that point, or where they still a bit upset by how badly that fight was received by folks who sided with the mages?  I’m really not sure, but I love it just because it has such sass attached to it.  It’s a moment in Inquisition where Varric once again becomes the voice of the writers, telling the plot of their previous game in a really defensive manner.  It’s a unique little moment that stands out so much to me.

[mercerislandbooks]

Book Notes: Twelfth Knight

Football and tabletop games. Shakespeare and MMORPG’s. Fandom, feminism and the perils of falling in love. Alexene Farol Fallmuth's new YA, Twelfth Knight, has all this and more in its pages.

Viola (Vi) Reyes would like it if she lived in a world where no one questioned her abilities in ConQuest, a tabletop game, or in the MMORPG Twelfth Knight simply because she’s female. Since that isn’t the case, and Vi spends enough of her time fighting to be taken seriously in real life, she’s crafted a male alter-ego, Cesario, for Twelfth Knight, so she can simply play the game.

Jack (Duke) Orsino is ready to have the senior year of his dreams, leading his high school football team to state championships. But when an injury sidelines him indefinitely at the beginning of the season, Jack’s friend introduces him to the diverting world of Twelfth Knight. In the online game, Jack has a body that isn’t restricted by injury, and he quickly becomes engrossed by the challenges and quests. Before long, Jack encounters Cesario in the game, and the two team up to take on the most epic quest in Twelfth Knight-- the quest for Camelot.

Jack has no idea that Cesario is really his classmate, Vi Reyes, the thorn in his side, perfectionist Vice President to his laid-back Student Body President. Viola, on the other hand, is very aware of DukeOrsino12’s actual identity, but has no intention of outing her real gender in Twelfth Knight. As the two grow closer, both on and off-line, Vi is increasingly aware what coming clean could cost her.

Alexene Farol Fallmuth also writes under the name Olivie Blake in the adult fantasy space. She’s taken on Shakespeare before, with One for my Enemy, as well as crafting the Atlas Six trilogy and several other fantastic novels. The broad strokes of Twelfth Night (twins, false identities with gender swapping, misunderstandings galore) undergird this contemporary YA retelling, while bringing in sharp commentary on toxic masculinity and female inclusion in places like tabletop game communities, online gaming communities, and fandom.

Fallmuth is unvarnished in her portrayal of how Vi struggles to belong in places she’s passionate about but aren’t inherently welcoming to her and the anger that burdens her as she continues to fight. It was hard to read in the beginning. I wondered what shape Viola’s character arc would take because all the reasons she is so angry were justifiable. I didn’t want her to stop being angry. But I did want her to stop feeling so alone. You can see her tender heart, when people show up for her, when they see beyond the barbed exterior and trust her with vulnerable things. She might have a sharp tongue, but she is also wants to be accepted for who she is, prickliness and all, and she’s afraid that no one ever will.

Meanwhile Jack is trying to figure out who he is if he can’t play football. What will the future look like for him? He’s torn between the expectations of his father and the concerns of his mother, all while having completely new avenues open up before him when his injury forces him into trying new things. In this season of graduates heading out into their next chapters, this advice from Viola to Jack about the future from the middle of the book feels especially poignant:

"Personally, I don’t think there’s only one outcome for life,” I add, and when he says nothing, I continue, “I mean, I don’t think there’s a predestined fate or anything. You’re not born to play football. There’s a version of your life where you do other things. Infinite versions. And when you make a choice, you cast off one possible outcome, but then, I don’t know—ten more pop up in its place. And you just keep going like that, choosing a path and watching new paths branch off in front of you. Even if the old ones disappear behind you, it doesn’t have to be sad…" (pp 161-162)

Not a bad worldview for any age.

We’ve got a few special editions of Twelfth Knight on hand with gorgeous, illustrated endpapers and an enamel pin for giveaway with purchase. If you’re an audiobook reader, I highly recommend Twelfth Knight on audio. Twelfth Knight would easily fit Young Adult square for your Summer Book Bingo, but also Friendship or BIPOC Romance!

-- Lori

[fallenangelontheceiling]

“I didn’t know She’s The Man was based on Shakespeare to start with. I just thought it was a daft American film about football. Funny, though. I must’ve watched it a dozen times. Channing Tatum was in it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see a film with shirtless Channing Tatum?

So maybe it wasn’t actually about football, for me.

I only figured it out when we did Twelfth Night in sixth form. It was an all boys’ school, so some of us had to do the girl roles. I got Viola, the lead. Thought that was tidy. Only at the end I had to kiss the boy playing Orsino. Rhys Owen, his name was. Looked a bit like Channing Tatum, even. At first we treated it like a joke, like “ha-ha, can you believe we’ve got to do this for the play, it’s clean off but maybe we’d better get in the practice anyway”. So we started rehearsing. In the wings, in the lighting box, in the costume cupboard. It was method acting. That’s what we kept telling ourselves. The closing night of the show, when I kissed Rhys Owen onstage in front of the whole school for the last time, that was the happiest and the saddest moment of my life up till then.

After that he avoided me. “It was just acting,” is what he said when I cornered him about it. “That’s all it was.” And I left it alone, because I was scared too. I was scared of what it meant if it wasn’t acting. If it was real.

It’s funny that we’re doing this now. You a journalist, and me telling you all this. I fantasised about it sometimes, you know, telling everyone. I had nightmares about it. Could’ve gone on not saying anything after the world ended, but then I figured, if I might die any moment, I want to die having lived as a whole person. So I told Isaac, and he helped me tell the others. No time to come out like the apocalypse, you know? Really makes people rethink their priorities. But you know that.

Hang on, you mean you never –

Oh, right. Because you were on your own.

But you’re not on your own any more. You know that, yeah?”

- Colin Hughes to Trent in that AU where they’re a Shakespeare troupe in the post-apocalypse

[barbex]

Barbex, hello! I hope you're having a wonderful Friday :) I'd love to read something Fenris-y based on these lyrics "And there's a thunder in our hearts, baby / there's so much hate for the ones we love / tell me, we both matter, don't we?" (from Running Up that Hill by Kate Bush) Have fun!

Oh my goodness, I've been staring at this amazing prompt forever, feeling entirely inadequate to capture the poetic tone of this song. I tried, I'm sorry, I'm just not a poet. For @dadrunkwriting, another pre-fenders fic. Fenris, chantry boom, Anders lives.

Thank you for this beautiful prompt, I hope you like the fill.

---

Something falls on his face, gentle, like a snowflake. Fenris wipes at it, and looks at the dark grey smear on his fingers. Ash. Ash is falling on his face.

The first time ash fell on his face, he looked at the corpses of the Fog Warriors, people who helped him. He killed them, all of them, at the behest of his master. Danarius threw a fireball into the camp, burning the meagre belongings of the Fog Warriors. Ash fell on his face and it felt like it wanted to burn into his skin. He ran then. He ran away from the ashes and the unfazed expression on his master's face. 

The second time ash fell on his face, he coaxed a fire back to life. Somewhere in the mountains, a group of slavers had the unfortunate luck of running into him. The newly freed slaves stared at the corpses and at him, and the bravest one stepped forward and extended his hand. He didn't know what that meant. Nobody had ever tried to shake his hand.

The third time he felt ash on his skin, it fell from a pipe, hanging from the corner of a man's mouth he paid for his loyalty. When the ash fell on his arm, burning him, he didn't flinch, impressing Anso and his men. He hired Hawke, that's how they met, and his life changed again.

He was tired back then. Tired of running over hills, of sleeping on the forest floor or in abandoned sheds. Tired of looking over his shoulder, tired of seeing a master everywhere. He took over the mansion, waiting for Danarius instead of running from him. He should have been lonely, but Hawke and her friends didn't let him, accepted him, cared for him. His heart thundering in his chest whenever he met them, wild, free people, three of them mages, and they all tried to do good. It took him years to accept that.

The fourth time ashes flew in his face, the wind had picked them up from a dead campfire. The mage, Anders, had kicked the cold logs, muttering angrily about the escaped mages he tried to save but had to kill anyway because their fear overwhelmed them, having them give in to demons. He had said something back then, as he wiped the ash away, about mages being unable to live freely because they were too dangerous. He expected Anders to confront him, argue with him like he always did, like he secretly enjoyed it. What a rush to argue with a mage, to challenge a mage's opinion. But this time, Anders didn't argue, just looked at Fenris. A broken man without hope. "We don't even matter," he had said.

The fifth time he had to duck away from ashes flying his way was in the garden behind the mansion, where he burned the corpses and broken furniture from the mansion. Danarius was dead. Hawke and Anders stood with him, conjuring fire from their hands to burn everything. Two mages by his side, and he was still free. He looked at Anders then, really looked at him. How the fire reflected on his straw-coloured hair, how determined he looked when he threw books about bloodmagic onto the burning pile. How he held his gaze. His heart thundered so loud.

The ashes falling on his face now come from the chantry. In an instant it burned up in two red columns of fire, nothing but ashes left to fall back down on the city. Fenris stares at his hand, at the smudged streaks of ash on his palm. How had it come to this? How had he not seen?

"You fool! You doomed us all." Orsino glares at Anders, his hands clenching around his staff.

Anders looks at him with such hopeless apathy. "We were already doomed." And then he stares ahead, like he's not even hearing the discussion around him. Meredith yelling, Orsino pleading, Sebastian grieving. Hawke looking at her friends, asking for help with an impossible decision. 

"You could have told me," Hawke says.

"You condone this?" Sebastian stares at her in disbelief. "The death of an innocent woman of faith?"

"Elthina was hardly an innocent woman in this clusterfuck," Hawke snaps at him. She turns back to Anders, still waiting for his answer. 

But he doesn't look at her, he looks at Fenris when he whispers, "You could have tried to stop me." With a blink, he looks at Hawke. "Or worse, you might have wanted to help. I couldn't allow that." He sits down on a wooden box, calmly, as if nothing concerns him.

Kneeling in front of him, Hawke speaks quietly. "What if everyone is against us now?"

"Was anybody ever with us?" Anders asks bitterly. "Where we ever more than an inconvenience hidden away? Now they all know, now we can stop pretending the Circles are a solution."

"You started a massacre to prove a point?"

"I'm not proving a point, I'm changing a world! And if I have to die for it, then I'll die. At least Justice will be free, then." 

Hawke stands up, stepping behind Anders, a knife glinting in her hand. 

Fenris moves. He doesn't think; he doesn't know why, but he steps forward, stilling Hawke's hand. She looks at him and nods, looking relieved. Turning to the others, she raises her voice. "We have to protect the mages. To the Gallows, who's with me?"

Fenris doesn't hear the debate between their friends. He takes Anders' arm and pulls him to a stand and holds him there. Never has he been this close to the mage.

Anders stares at him. "Why are you letting me live? You, of all people?"

"Come," Fenris says, avoiding to answer the question. "Fight for your people."

At the boat, Anders turns to him. "You should leave. You hate mages, this isn't your fight."

Fenris holds his gaze. "I don't know if it is hate that I feel." 

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does." Fenris steps in front of Anders. "What you did will change everything."

"What is it to you?"

Searching for the right words, Fenris pulls Anders onto the boat. The massive tower of the Gallows rises through the fog as they get closer. Ash still rains down, even out here. 

Anders studies him like a puzzle. "Why are you here with me? Why?"

"Because it matters." A pitiful expression for the turmoil he is trying to put into words. "You matter and I... I want that too."

"Fenris, we both could die over there."

"And if we do not die, will you fight with me?"

"For your people? For slaves?"

Fenris searches for Anders' eyes. "Yes, for slaves. Will you... help me?"

"Yes," Anders says without hesitation. "I will fight all of Tevinter if you ask me to."

A relieved sigh fights its way out of Fenris' chest. "Then, do not die." 

Anders slides his hand under Fenris', mindful of his gauntlets. "I ask you the same."

The boat pulls ashore, gravel crunching under the bow. They jump out, quiet, but determined. Fenris steps closer to him, and wipes a piece of ash from Anders' cheek. "Maybe we both matter."

"Yes, maybe." Anders nods, and a glowing white barrier stretches out over both of them. 

They will not die today, they both will make sure of that.

[beththeb01]

You said yourself I can talk shit to you about Dragon Age

I told you you didn't understand the dread that was coming

You know how Inquisiton is basically tells you you will lose your personhood? You will be more than just a person and simultaneously less than a person. You are a symbol. You lead people, you don't walk among the people.

Bur the Inquisitor isn't the first hero you play when it happens.

The Warden. Yes, we get it, because of the fact you can have any first name you want, everyone refers to you as the Warden. It's a game mechanics that plays into the whole idea of "you are more than a person and less than a person". Warden is just some random person who got very shit luck (betrayal of all sorts, deadly curiosity, abuse from humans, name of) and got into the ranks of the Grey Wardens because otherwise they'd likely die. And when they get to become a Warden? Boom, betrayal, dsrkspawn, Blight. Another Grey Warden who at the beginning clings to you because he doesn't want to be alone and fears the burden of leadership. As much as I love Alistair, it is kinda fucked he places the burden of saving Ferelden from the Blight via utilizing the treaties on his junior, on a noobie. So he is Warden Alistair. But you are The Warden. The funniest part, you can tell NPCs to call you by your name. And they just won't. Because game mechanics. And because who gives a shit about your name when you are the Warden? You are the leader. People look at you for guidance, for help, for salvation, not for fucking interpersonal relationships.

It gets worse if you are The Hero of Ferelden and still live. People rarely mention anything about the Hero unless it aligns with their agenda. Anders will mention that HoF is a mage, because it serves him. If HoF is a mage, it only proves his point that mages should be free. They are a symbol. A living symbol. And they are alone.

Hawke is even more interesting. Because the progression is different. Hawke the oldest sibling comes first, and by god does your own mother struggle with recognizing your personhood. Hawke the mercenary or Hawke the smuggler. Hawke the Deep Roads explorer. Finally, Hawke the Champion. People close to Hawke recognize their personhood (unless...Anders has a moment when it kinds slips his mind...), but not the others. Ironically, Arishok will recognize your personhood if he respects you enough. Not that it will improve anything for you tho. In fact, it might be making it worse. The Qun is a symbol. The Qunndoesnr recognize personhood. Arishok needs to kill you. You are a symbol, but not of the Qun. You are a person, but not of the Qun.

Even if you side with Orsino, he won't recognize you as a person. He needs you on his side for protection, and if the symbol of Kirkwall is on the side of the Circle, then Kirkwallers will be on the side of the Circle. Varric, in all his best intentions, immortalizes Hawke as a symbol. Either for mage freedom or for Templar oppression. But a symbol nonetheless. And all those people who remember Hawke as a person? Scattered to the winds. Hawke is alone.

Solas breaks the forth wall with that "you too know the burden of a title that all but replaces your name". Yeah, you as a Dragon Age player will recognize it. You fucking will. You've been here twice before.

Solas is also a symbol, he is also a leader. And Solas is alone.

I'm pretty sure when we meet the Inquisitor in the Veilguard, they will also be alone. They will be in a similar position as Solas in. There are people around them, people they lead (one way or another). But those people rarely recognize their personhood. They are symbol. They are a symbol. They are alone.

Yes! And I meant it!

It's a good theme! I hope they keep playing with it

The Warden really did suffer more than Jesus.

And it's not just isolating. Everywhere you go people need something from you. Help, to thank you, to share their story, their trauma. Buddy I just want to get dinner.

[zundely]

One thing that annoys me to no end about how Aveline's involvement and inaction im "Prime suspect" questline pans out is that they basically took the worst of both worlds.

Like you could want Aveline's inaction to be part of her development and a character flaw- which is very consisten with how she usually prioritizes the guards safety and overall image over literally anything else including their duty to protect the people. Like the investigation wasn't going anywhere and it made the guard look bad so she is dropping it because to her the smallest chance that Emeric is in fact right and people are in danger isn't worth the damage to the guard in case he is wrong. This is also good foreshadowing for when this worst trait of Aveline results in Qunari invasion. The only thing that makes me doubt this was the intention is that Aveline never gets the "Oh shit, I am not meant to protect the guard- I am meant to make sure the guard protects everyone else" moment, which was dierly needed if that's what they were going for. It was direly needed in Aveline's case in general because considering all the characters get their "Questioning beliefs" moments... Aveline's questioned beliefs are the most vague.

So lets imagine this is not what they were going for for a moment which honestly I find plausible considering the game tends to frame Aveline as mostly reasonable and how the talk afterwards goes if you do point out it was her fault. Lets imagine that Aveline wasn't supposed to be the one to blame here, the game just needed a reason for why Hawke got mixed up with the investigation- I still to this day do not get why they didn't use the perfect reason we later learned they had.

The investigation was constantly being poisoned by Orsino. Since we learn in the end that Orsino was aware of Quentins existance but keeping it under wraps to not justify Meredith's methods, he could also do what he can to make sure he was untraceable. And obviously he wouldn't know exactly what Quentin was involved with, he wouldn't believe the rumors that were cirrculating- they make every other apostate sound like a bloodthirsty killer after all.

Aveline would notice something is off and official ways of investigating are being stopped in their tracks. So she goes to Hawke with "listen this may be nothing but I feel someone really doesn't want us to find out anything in this case, and I have a bad feeling."

This way you kill two birds with one stone- you absolve Aveline of all the responsibility for what happens and you give a hint Quentin had some powerful friends.

Now I know this would put Orsino in a worse light were in the game he just turns the blind eye, but at least to me it doesn't make him necessarily a bad person? Just a man under immense amount of pressure who is very aware of how one bad thing a out one mage puts all of them in danger. I think this would also potentially make his relationship with Hawke absolutely heartbreaking especially if Hawke supports the mages. Like how do you tell the one most powerfull ally you have that you are indirectly responsible for the worst thing that happened to them.

While I personally think having Aveline be responsible for what happened and take some time to think on it would be better for the story and for her character growth I think the second option also had a good narrative potential- but instead they sort of took both of those but not really. Aveline's inaction hurts the one she swore to protect... but not really. Orsino knew about Quentin and is therefore to some extent responsible for what happened... but not really. Hawke's mother is dead and we didn't even get a churro out of it.