#i love world building and lore

[lizzybeeee]

DATV Spoilers - The Handling of Previous Story/Lore In DATV

Quick PSA: If you’ve read my post on the lore/story threads dropped – it’s not a list of what I expected or even wanted to see addressed/answered in DATV.

It’s pretty much a given that Kieran and the Architect were never going to come back in any meaningful way, I understand that. Questions about what happened to Anora, Anders, Cullen’s clinic etc...never expected to get an answer about them – at all. The line of succession in Ferelden and Orlais? I expected that sometime down the line it would have to be streamlined into one option for both nations, not a problem – there’s so many choices it’s impossible to account for, and I understand that.

This is just a list of plot threads left unanswered that will, most likely, remain unanswered.

There’s no DLC planned – the team is working on Mass Effect 5 now. There’s no conclusion to the fate of the south of Thedas outside of some codex entries and some dialogue. They can patch the Executors cutscene out, maybe - perhaps they could even do the same to anything relating to the south of Thedas. Yes, these areas were not completely destroyed by the Blight – they can rebuild – but it comes across as being so meaningless that I ever cared for these places in the first place. To learn that after ten years of waiting all we cared for get devastated and left in limbo...it’s hard to put into words the bitterness I felt at that realization, and seeing that final cut-scene drove the nail into the coffin of how foolish I felt for even caring in the first place.

A codex entry or letter would have been nice – but my expectations for DATV was solely for a good story that added to the lore and world of Thedas. Instead, it felt entirely reductive – glaringly so when you account for the ‘Executives’ twist.

The world of Thedas has been watered down and its worldbuilding/lore diminished - slavery in Tevinter is non-existent, the Crows being an organization that indoctrinated children is never touched upon, any mystery of ancient Tevinter and the elves is answered (badly!), the Dalish have effectively disappeared and become the Veil Jumpers...it all feels so hollow, so shallow, that I ever cared about these things in the first place.

The issue is that the dev’s gave us only three choices, told us that as the story was contained to the north of Thedas – that our other choices weren’t relevant to the rest of the game with their intent being to not effect anyone's head-canons...before doing so with ‘the blight has devastated most of everywhere you went previously’.

These were story/plot threads that were woven throughout the narrative of the first three games – the things that made me care and become invested in the world of Thedas to begin with. In a game that was set-up to be a direct sequel to Inquisition and Trespasser I hoped that, at least, what was brought up in Inquisition would be mentioned.

Perhaps my list is a little too detailed with plot threads and issues – if anything that can be attributed to the incredible world-building done in the first three games! I love those games, I love the world of Thedas...which is why this game utterly baffles me with its choices.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a good game but not a good Dragon Age game.

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Edit: DATV absolutely has a lot of problems outside of its handling of the lore and story of the previous games. I would not say its a good rpg in any sense, but as a weird 'action-adventure rpg lite' game I did have some fun moments and enjoy myself. Would I recommend it to anyone? Absolutely not.

I heard someone describe it as a 'junk food' game and I very much agree with that statement. I found enjoyment in it, but to do so I usually had to turn off my brain, which is not a compliment towards DATV.

The game released very well optimized (especially considering how most companies are content to release half-baked games and patch them later) and did create some really interesting visual set-pieces like the Battle of Weisshaupt. But those moments I enjoyed were few and far between, and far overwhelmed by the negatives of the game - such as story, lack of conversation/conflict/role-play options, bad character writing etc...

Calling the game 'good' is, perhaps, a stretch, and I totally get that. Calling it 'mediocre with some good parts' may be more accurate.

[piosplayhouse]

Wwx is the only mxtx main protagonist who would not be a my little pony fan. But he does own a 20% cooler shirt

[numbuh424]

shoutout to whatever L and Light had going on in Time Speaks

[eywaseclipse]

Some fun Ikeyni art because she’s an icon.

[lara-cairncross]

hi! i don't know if it has been answered already but what would be the order of the fairies from faster to slower? so obviously we all know Leo is the fastest, and Donnie would probably be the slowest due to the weight of his brace and learning to fly later than everyone, but who would be the slowest between Raph and Mikey??

oooo, this is such a good question!!

you're correct about Leo being the fastest and Donnie being the slowest, definitely. between raph and mikey... I think Mikey would be slower?

Mikey and Raph have very similar wing-to-body proportions, so weight wouldn't be a factor. beyond that it kinda comes down to practice, and since Raph is really the only brother who does any kind of training, he'd probably end up being the fastest! even before Mikey loses his job, he wasn't really doing anything highly-stressful like Raph was, so I can see his speed suffering a little when it comes to, like, long-term flights.

however! while Raph is faster in general, Mikey is definitely a lot better with maneuverability! he spends more time with Leo, after all :) and I think Mikey would also be faster when it comes to acceleration/quick sprint-flights.

tldr: Raph has better stamina and can go really fast for long distances, but Mikey a little faster when it comes to quick bursts of movement and/or maneuverability! he slows down really quickly tho lmao

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - Parentalbond Horror

*grinning* I am baaaaaaaack!! @spotaus get over here :D

So. I had the difficult choice on which drabble i wanted to write so For now I settled on this one because I haven't had the chance to write a drabble with Horror's pov since a while and that is a crime.

First Drabble here Prev Drabble here Next Drabble here

As always we go in unbeta'ed and unedited.

*-----------------*

Horror checks the windows again before turning back to the couch and seeing Nightmare just staring at him.

Horror tils his skull "sleep will be easier if you actually lay down...." And he looks pointedly at the couch.

Nightmare gains that stubborn glint in his sockets again as he huffs "I am fine. Not tired at all." he looks at the pile of bags in the corner of the room wishfully.

Horror has to keep his chuckling inside as he answers "Shame then that it is bedtime for young skeletons." And adult skeletons. Horror glances at the other three. All KO on the other couch, all still dressed in their normal clothes and none of them actually finished their meals.

Horror will have to pack up the leftovers. Make sure nothing goes to waste. But he will let them sleep for now and just make them eat a big breakfast. But all three had been running themselves ragged lately. Especially after the last encounter they had had with the Stars.

It meant they have been making more jumps and teleports and not going out as much to collect things to make it easier for them.

Horror walks over to them and puts one of the blankets in this apartment over them, he doesn't bother to try and pull them away from one another. The four of them always had the habit of sleeping in a pile and that habit only got worse once they started searching for Nightmare and reclaimed him.

Horror checks Ngihtmare's plate and smiles "You finished it all today." No wonder he is grumpier and more active than usual.

Nightmare pulls a face and crosses his arms. Horror walks over and nudges him at his shoudler "Sleep time." and he waits.

Nightmare grumbles more as he pushes the blankets and pillows around. Horror just crosses his arms as he waits. Nightmare huffs but lays his skull down on the pillow and glares at him.

Horror knows he is grinning but he is proud to say he doesn't actually snort or laugh at the grumpy face Nightmare is pulling. instead he moves closer slowly, the first week of watching Nightmare flinch at every movement and sound had been horrible, and puts the blanket over him as well.

Nightmare doesnt complain about it. Most likely becuase he just saw Horror do the same for the other three.

Horror nods and sits by him "Time to sleep." it is his turn to keep watch and he plans on taking ti seriously.

Nightmare huffs but just turns his face further into the pillow. Tiny body starting to relax with the simple comforts.

Horror tries to not be obvious as he keeps an eye on Nightmare.

Horror knows of course what is going on and he is trying to not give in. At least one of them should not give into the adopting.

Horror can admit he had been surprised that Dust was the first one to actually soul adopt Nightmare. Especially after only a week. It had been so fast and the transition between the before and after state had been so smoothly that Horror had honestly thought that Dust had done it on purpose and planned.

It would have made sense. Dust had been the one to find the book first and been the one to actually manage to get Nightmare back to them.

Only for it to become obvious that Dust had no idea what he had just done.

Soul adoption is a rather normal thing for monsters to do. Though in most universes they rarely happened as monsters don't tend to abandon children.

But well, Horror's AU had been one with starvation and a lot of fighting. People lost their lives in multiple ways. That meant quite a few orphans.

Soul adoption happened when an adult monster willingly took the role as caretaker for a younger monster who doesn't have a caretaker. There are a few more factors obviously but Horror doesn't know all of them of the top of his skull, especially not now with that hole in it.

What it comes down to? Nightmare is an orphan and has no one he could go to that could take care of them, and all of them know this. Dust found out first and surprisingly his soul was open enough to the idea to accept Nightmare as... well... his.

There are more hurdles in this situation of course. The fact that they Nightmare they knew was an adult, which is what Horror thinks is tripping up Cross. But Dust had been very quick with accepting that Nightmare is now a child and so immediantly treated him as one.

Killer took a bit longer but quickly fell into step as well. Calling Nightmare tiny boss and going from his right-hand-man to his babysitter, Killer's words not Horror's.

Horror is however a bit surprised that Killer also soul adopted Nightmare. In theory it shouldn't have happened as Nightmare at this time already had Dust as his caretaker and so technically didn't need one anymore.

Seems like Killer's soul didn't agree with that.

Horror can't say a lot about it though, seeing as he can feel it happening with himself as well. And he has no doubt that Cross is very close to giving into his own instincts and feelings concerning this as well.

The whole thing with their last interaction with the Stars is a very big give away. Even if Cross felt very embarresed by his own reaction.

At least Nightmare is no truly convinced that they won't harm him and will help him. Horror is happy they managed to get there and with it having only been a month since they took him with them. Horror can say they did a good job.

Nightmare has falled asleep.

Horror move slowly and silently and puts two fingers to the the side of his small belly and feels.

Horror may not have a lot of magic himself but his AU was left him with a very useful skill. Wiht how little food there was available and how little magic there was there came issues. One of the issues was that after a while the magic monsters had wasn't strong enough anymore to digest the food that the mosnters did manage to eat. meaning that even if the monster ate food they would not get any energy or new magic from it.

Meaing that even if they ate they would continue to starve.

Wiht how difficult it had been for Nightmare at first to eat or even remember to eat Horror had worried something simular may have happened. That being in the goop form had caused his own magic to grow too weak to be able to function fully.

But all Horror feels is the soft and quiet purr of NIghtmare's magic working hard to use the offered food to rebuild the babybones' small reserves.

Horror sighs a sigh or relieve and just watches Nightmare for a moment. Nightmare, having noticed the pressure on him, makes an unhappy sound and his socket flutters open to give him a sour look.

Horror chuckles as he whispers "I apologise." Horror is unsure how clear his answer is as Horror himself is purring like a loud law mower at this point.

Nightmare blinks at him, still looking like the tiniest little grumpy skeleton this multiverse has ever known, before closing his sockets again and turning on his side. surprisingly not away from the touch and light hold.

Horror watches the other. It is strange. They are all different yet Nightmare still has them all completely under his control. Yet it is in a completely different way and Ngihtmare now doesn't even seem to realise it.

Horror leans on the couch and watches their tiny charge just sleep. Horror had managed to keep the need to complete an adoption at bay by reminding himself that Nightmare already had a caretaker- well two and a half now, Horror is sure that all Cross still needs to complete the soul adoption is a tiny nudge. Horror thinks that Cross is jsut thinking too much about it and doubting his own instincts and feelings.

But that still leaves Horror, and what he wants to do. He figured that it would be better to at least keep one of them unbiased in this nature, just in case that Nightmare suddenly turns into an adult again. But the longer this went on the less likely it seemed to Horror.

Not to forget. Horror doesn't even think Nightmare wants to be an adult again. Not now that he is a child but doens't have to vigilent every moment of every day.

Does he technically already have caretakers? Yes. Does Horror still want to count himself as one? Yes.

So. He just picks for himself.

Horror moves slowly and quietly as he picks Nightmare up. Nightmare grumbles in his sleep at being moved but calms when his magic recognises Horror.

Horror gets comfortable on the couch and lays Nightmare on his sternum. He can still feel the tiny soul beat and pulse fast even through two shirts.

Horror pulls the blanket back over Nightmare and waits.

It doesn't take long as Horror can feel the slight pull on his magic and energy. Hardly noticable and Horror doubts that if he wasn't so paranoid about his own levels he would have noticed.

It is something tiny monsters do. To help stabalise and sharp their own magic they try to take tiny bits of their parents, or caretakers in this case, to help guide them. It all happens naturally.

Horror just holds the tiny babybones closer and feesl Ngihtmare's soul slowly start to match Horror's own soulbeat and he feels all the calmer.

Now it is pretty much done. Horror will have to probably deal with this decision one day but for now he is happy. Their tiny babybones is comfortable and everyone is resting. Tomorrow they will have to worry about getting supplies and where they can go and eventually where they will sleep that night.

But right now? Right now he doesn't have to worry about that. and all he ahs to worry about is that their babybones is comfortable and healing.

*-----------------*

First Drabble here Prev Drabble here Next Drabble here

[morgaknight]

Tiefling anatomy HC’s

I CANT BE STOPPED.

-tieflings are born with horns that curve flush to their little baby skulls. They’re initially smaller and kinda squishy to touch.

-they will grow and harden in the coming months after their birth, roughly taking the shape that they will keep for the rest of their lives.

-tieflings shed their horns just once in their lifetime, usually after they’ve lost all their baby teeth and as an early step in puberty for a young tiefling.

-lots of doting parents will keep their tiefling childs “baby horns” like how some parents will keep baby teeth as a keepsake.

-Omg imagine like, a kid losing one, and the other is kinda wiggly just hanging in there.

-they tie some cord around the loose horn and the other end to a door

-all the dumb cliches humans do for loose teeth. (Oh no it’s so cute)

-the adult horns come in much bigger and harder than the baby horns.

-a tiefling tail can betray a lot about how a tiefling is feeling. Depending on how it whips and curves in a conversation can tell you if a tiefling is happy, scared, or angry. It’s called a “tell-tale-tail”. HAH. GEDDIT?

-canonically tiefling will often wrap their tails around their waists or legs when in crowds or around strangers, to avoid them getting stepped on or tugged.

-Tieflings have blood vessels and nerve endings that extend from their fingertips and into their nails, like a cats. 

-Also like cats' nails, they have a “quick”, that if trimmed will bleed and is very painful. 

-This is why all tieflings seem to have elongated nails, even if they are in a position or profession that longer nails would be a hindrance. A tieling can file their nails to be more blunt, but a tiefling would never purposefully trim their nails too short and cut the quick. 

-I imagine there being a big discourse around trimming a young tieflings nails, (probably done by an ignorant non-tiefling parent, or the care givers at orphanages) as it’s considered inhumane… like declawing cats

-there are brands of inner-race discrimination in tiefling communities. Most prominent being how far back the infernal blood can be traced.

-a teifling line that is generations upon generations old (like, their great great great great great grandmother slept with a cambion for example ) is held in higher esteem than a first generation tiefling, because the “taint” is so far removed, and that family has had generations to establish themselves in the tiefling community and culture.

-a first generation tiefling (like, their mother was a cambion, for example) is looked down upon because the “taint” is much more immediate.

-also canonically, a group of 3 or more tieflings is called a “curse” of tieflings (derogatory)

[jellazticious]

New oc reveal and these guys are in shared custody with @beefy-the-stronk

All you need to know so far is that the human on the left got cursed by the fairy on the right so the logical course of action is to become roommates with him

They are also being chased by guards/cops all the time

Character set and story will be tagged under "Cursed to Charm" from this point onward

[karimelthefloof]

Did somebody say "Dandy's World Art Dump"??? No? Oh...

Well ur gettin my AU Designs anyways >:3

Link to the 2nd art dump of this au

[moonpaw]

Fighting DEMONS rn trying not to get invested in one piece to figure out wtf you're posting about!!!!

come here cyber.... we have this thang

‎

[allastoredeer]

I'm going DEEP into some worldbuilding for Pentagram City and all the politics surrounding the Overlords and this is literally how I feel right now

I'm feeling a little deranged ngl HA HA, oh but I'm having so much fun. I'm so excited to get into the inner-working of Pentagram City, the Overlords, Sinners, the Royal Family, and how it all works together in one big society.

[oliolioxenfreewrites]

What is your favorite aspect of the world you have built?

i wanted to make sure everything surrounding the answer to this was exactly how i envisioned before answering, but hands down my favorite thing about novaxiom has to be the magic systems. now i can confidently say they’re both such a chaotic, yet fascinating mess in their own ways.

sonoric sorcery is so raw and complex, but still holds the quality of depth—it’s all about sound and vibration, shaping reality in real time. it’s purely the essence of the aųrolis: loud, unpredictable, still holding its beauty while it teeters on the edge of disaster. screw it up? sonorians are not just risking a spell not working—they’re essentially risking life as they know it as they could end up silencing themselves.

which goes into on the flip side of that—psinorism, which couldn’t be more opposite. it’s subtle, deliberate, and rooted in silence and taciraia’s absence. psinorians don’t care about sound—they work with the void, the stillness, and the spaces left behind. it’s haunting in a way, but also deeply introspective. using it isn’t about noise; it’s about the intent and thought, and that contrast to sonoric sorcery makes it all the more satisfying.

but then there’s the forbidden shit: mortiphonustry. even the name feels cursed. it’s not about creation or destruction—it’s about defiance. it spits in the face of novaxiom’s natural order, ripping apart the Frequencium and twisting it into something grotesque.

the mortals who use it aren’t just breaking the rules; they’re rejecting death itself. and the results? horrifying. fractured souls, broken bodies, and whispers that haunt the edges of novaxiom’s world for eternity.

what i love most, though is how none of them stand alone. they each clash, overlap, and spark conflict with one another at every turn, reflecting everything about the world itself—messy, dysfunctional, but deeply human. magic to them isn’t just power; it’s their identities, cultures, and philosophies. every choice tied to it feels personal, and that’s what makes writing it ssoososo fun 🥰

[scootersscooter]

Idk guys Mighty Med was just such a good show. The characters were incredibly well rounded and had a lot of personality. The show had incredible relationships between the characters, especially when it came to Kaz and Oliver's friendship (and dare I even say the budding romantic relationship between Oliver and Skylar). The world building was great and easily lent itself toward both serious and goofy situations. The plot had lots of twists and turns that never felt like too much. I feel that it's very overlooked, especially when competing with Lab Rats, but I think that Mighty Med does a lot better with less time while managing to have better characterization and character development than Lab Rats could ever dream of having. Go watch Mighty Med guys. Please <3.

[moominvalley-state-of-mind]

What do y’all know about -

Nothing 😃

Hehehehe pretty fanart and cute ships :D

[headfullof-ideas]

I’d like to mention that I’m not just expanding on other regions of the world. On characters and their dynamics with one another in this crazy project of a crossover that I’m doing. I’m also expanding on the dragons themselves. Playing around with the fact that they’re like people, and not all people are good. Some people just really, genuinely suck. But the thing this post is about is to showcase all the dragons who I am adding depth and lore to that we didn’t see in the films. Or the games. Because I am bringing in dragons from the games. So to all the School of Dragons players (RIP, that game was my childhood), here are the dragons from the games that I am bringing into this story (that I can immediately think of, especially since there’s a ten photo limit) (pictures supplied by Rise of Berk)

And then dragons that showed up in the films/shows that I’m adding lore to that wasn’t in the films/shows

It’s going to be so much fun (adding this after doing tags HOLY CRAP I FOUDN THE TAG LIMIT)

[orbital-inclination]

Its obvious Rem knows how to use a sword, but does he know how to use other weapons? Did Molt know how to use a bow before his corruption? How does he protect himself?

Execllent questions!

Besides the sword, Rem is also proficient at wielding a halibut, and would probably know GENERALLY know how to handle other polearms and the reason why will be clear in a minute.

Before his corruption Molt was trained to use a bow. Nowadays though, he uses a pewter staff. I haven’t drawn it yet but it’s been in my head for a while now: I’m envisioning that it looks like a cross between monk Miroku’s shakujō and Wizardmon’s wizard staff/wand thing.

Before the gang got together Rem was Molt’s sparing partner. He initially learned how to use a a simple wooden staff to teach his brother to defend himself and to help him navigate. (Rem preferred teaching his brother himself over allowing the monster who taught him to do it. ((He was feeling protective at the time.))

But Molt found a way to adapt on his own and doesn’t rly use his staff for that purpose anymore.

He usually defaults to using his tentacles to defend himself. He only summons his Pewter staff if the situation is serious/feels genuinely threatened.