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meanbossart · 4 months ago

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Hey! I was thinking of trying to write something for you about DU Drow but after a trying to gather stuff about him via your page I’m struggling to get something substantial for his personality- like I get it mostly (I think?) but it’s hard to put into words (which makes it easier for me) so if it’s not too much to ask; how would you explain DU Drows personality and maybe some of his values? - if you don’t mind! I love your art BTW!

Man, this is a tough ask and I MADE the guy. The fic is definitely the best place to see his personality in action, but it is also 20 chapters long so far - and I'm a fairly reasonable man.

Before I get to any descriptions, there's two important things to note: A) Overwhelmingly, his looks do not match his demeanor. and B) DU drow is extremely hedonistic in practice. He might claim to have certain beliefs or standards but hardly ever practices them.

Anyways, I present to you: The guy, more-or-less summarized to the best of my abilities.

BEHAVIOR: Purposefully standoffish. He wants to be noticed, but he does not want to be bothered. He's a little bit stiff with his body language and mostly makes use of head/neck gestures to assert his sentences and signal his level of interest. On that note, me makes it extremely obvious for the socially-versed individual to tell what he thinks of them - he hardly ever tries to hide if he's disinterested, annoyed, or having a laugh at your expense. He expresses emotion through his face a normal amount, but his default look is eerily bland, and subtle emotions might go unnoticed because of his eye-color and thin brows.

As it is with most people, the more uncomfortable he is with a situation the more stiff and inexpressive he becomes, and vice versa.

SPEECH: DU drow is very much well spoken, and simultaneously very blunt. He abides by most conversational formalities (definitely more formal than you would assume him to be) and basic etiquette. He will greet you and he will say please and thank you even if clearly not meaning it or feeling like you're unworthy of the gesture. Sometimes, he does it just to be patronizing.

With all of that in mind, he has a tendency to use violent turns of phrase and analogies to express himself, this applies to both negative and positive feelings. That being said he's aware of social norma and knows full well when things are or aren't appropriate, even if sometimes he chooses to ignore that and be weird anyway - usually with the purpose of intimidation.

He is the most earnest and sincere with very close friends (quite literally only Astarion and Shadowheart) and rather curt with everyone else unless you catch him in a particularly good mood. He's a little chummier with dwarves and duergar (he finds them amusing and fun to hang out with) and reserves a slight bit more tenderness and kindness for children and mothers, especially if they're elves. He's also fond of animals. He is dismissive of gnomes, goblins, bugbears, half/full orcs and hobgoblins. He despises githyanki and drow. He treats humans fairly respectfully but thinks they are a far lesser race than pretty much all others.

He has a very dark/offensive sense of humor and a tendency to make well crafted, but cruel jokes or quips about sensitive topics. This goes for everybody, including people he's on good terms with.

VALUES: Here's where things get tricky. DU drow is both a hypocrite and a unreliable narrator of his own story, not to mention deeply unfamiliar with his own inner-workings and feelings. Politically, he would be the guy who doesn't vote, doesn't want to pay taxes and dreams of living off the grid, who thinks everybody should pull themselves up by the bootstraps and that it's a dog-eats-dog world. He hates systems of government, authority figures, hierarchical structures and archaic customs. He believes it would a chaotic but functional world if people governed themselves.

In practice, he doesn't stand for anything and gladly overlooks injustices and things that don't align with his supposed values as long as they favor him, or just don't get in his way, and easily makes exceptions for things on a whim. He's indifferent to slavery; unless it's Astarion's. - He thinks humans are a worthless pet-race, except for his dearest and nearest friend, the half-elf Shadowheart. He thinks Half-orcs are intellectually inferior, but he will gladly be chummy with them if they amuse him and make for good-company during a night-out.

INNER WORLD AND INTIMACY: DU drow is extremely unfamiliar with his own emotions and very often comes up empty when he has to justify or explain anything that is based on feeling, while simultaneously operating on impulse and instinct for the vast majority of the time. He is subject to fear, resentment, and insecurity as much as anyone else, but carries a deep shame in acknowledging his own vulnerability at all. He is very intense when it comes to love, however, and shows no reluctance in expressing it through his words and actions towards the people he cares about. He does care for the levels of comfort of those dearest to him though, and doesn't bombard them with it unless the moment is right, or if overwhelmed into doing so. The same applies to physical affection - he's extremely comfortable with it, but cares deeply for respecting the boundaries of his loved ones. When it comes to strangers, he only touches them outside of combat if there is some kind of power-game at play.

A couple of other things that might be of note:

-He likes creature comforts, but is also fine with going without them and won't ever complain about having to live, sleep, or survive in less-than-ideal circumstances as long as he feels in control of the situation. -He can be enticed by valuables and gold because they make the immediate future easier, but he doesn't seek a life of vast riches. -He is not an alcoholic but probably has a binge-drinking problem. -While he is fond and respectful of animals, he has no issues killing them if the situation calls for it. -He pretty much always believes himself to be the most impressive person in the room. -He is not a vain man, but very much likes the way that he looks and to have it be acknowledged by his partner. -He believes faith, religion, and gods to be a waste of time.

#ask #du drow lore

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michaels-reality · 7 months ago

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Diversity talk around Dungeon meshi makes me feel insane because all that was done is drawing normal looking white people. I can count the people of color on one hand and most of them are ambiguously brown, and on the other hand I can count the fat characters and most of them are specific fantasy races.

Ryoko Kui has a remarkable art style and everyone is drawn with love and I really admire it, but I feel like it shouldn't be the pinnacle of diversity for some of you. Falin isn't fat, she's just a big normal looking lady. Laios also isn't fat, he just has a regular looking muscular build without the dehydration six pack. The fat characters we do see are dwarves and orcs, which seem to make it look like the only way you can be fat is to a specific fantasy race. That may sound like a reach and may actually be a reach, but it is a little sus to me </3.

Characters like leed, namari, and senshi mean a lot to me but I wish we saw more fat humans or elves or etc. I know Ryoko Kui does explore more body types for different races in the art books but I'm a little disappointed it wasn't in the actual manga.

Not to mention the lack of black people 😭 Like I'm usually not expecting to see black people in anime and manga, I know that I can't always be asking all that from this kind of stuff, but seeing Kui actually draw black people in some of her studies in the art books and not seeing them present in the manga made me a little sad 😭. Like the brown characters we do have are KiKi, KaKa, Thistle, Kabru, and Cithis (plus a few extras that show up for like 2 seconds). Most of them are ambiguous, talking about the elves. Like we have brown elves but also we have pitch black elves, that makes me think they are only brown cus they are dark elves.

People like to argue like "Oh but it's fantasy and these are fantasy races so what do you expect?" but I think there is something to be said how it's always white people in these fantasy settings and brown and black people taking a backseat. I love dungeon meshi, I really do, but it is in no way revolutionary, it is just the standard.

IN MY OPINION ANYWAYS!

#blah blah ramblings #dunmeshi #also when i say people of color im not talking about characters from the eastern region #they are people of color but it is the norm for a japanese author of a japanese manga to write characters based of their japanese culture #so that doesnt really apply here </3 #i really love how ryoko kui adds elements of japanese culture all through out the story and characters though #its really good

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markrosewater · 1 month ago

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There’s an old article I’m hoping to read. Do you know if there’s any way to access ‘Metadwarfosis’ by Matt Cavota?

Metadwarfosis

Posted in Feature on November 23, 2005

By Matt Cavotta

Matt has worn many wizard hats in the 18 years he has worked on Magic—art-mage, logomancer, lightning bard, and (of course) Planeswalker.

### The Metadwarfosis

Ale-sodden Sing-alongs. There should be no explanation necessary here. One thing that is not cool is the cheesy stereotypical drunken dwarf crooning in a crude Irish-esque accent. If we “axe” this, we are swiftly on the road to cooler dwarves.

All Axes, All the Time. What's the deal with dwarves and axes? Why would a race that lives under rock ever develop an affinity for a tree-cutting weapon? Why would a weapon that must be swung wide to be effective be favored by a race that dwells in the tight confines of hewn tunnels? Why, scrapping all actual logic, would a race of any kind always reach for the same sort of weapon no matter what foe they engage? It's called shortsighted Gimli-filching. Sure, he likes his axe, but do ALL dwarves have to copy him. Rumpor Bristlebeard uses a short spear (gasp!), because he can easily skewer foes invading his home tunnel. Our dwarves are cooler already.

These Dwarves are Made for Diggin'. Why would a race that burrows underground have little natural tools for doing so. Other than the fact that they're short, dwarves have no adaptations to their own environment. OK, they can see in the dark too, but their squinty little eyes don't look anything like the eyes of an underground dweller. Our new dwarves will have larger, more light-absorbing eyeballs. Also, why don't dwarves have any natural digging capability? They're basically just short, fat humans. Let's give them slightly longer arms for reaching, and big strong hands with thick sharp fingernails for digging (in case a pick or shovel is not handy.)

Up the Obsession! Let's amp up the red in these folks. Bump up their love of precious metals to all-out obsession. They could be like little twisted underdweller crows, each out to one-up the other with a bigger pile o' loot.

To Beard or Not to Beard. That is the question. I say “not to beard.” A race that defines itself and bases its pride upon its facial hair seems really trite and thin. “Don't mess with the beard!” “Are you insulting my beard?!” “All great heroes have beards!” “Beards, beards, beards!” That sounds really lame to me. It's especially lame because other races have beards too. Let's make it so our dwarves are proud of their reckless abandon in battle and of the number of foes they have pinned to the end of their [insert sword, spear, dagger, or any other weapon that is not an axe.] Oh, and of their pile o' loot too!

Cry Anarchy! Our dwarves will also be more essentially red. They will not help each other out all the time and “stick together through thick and thin.” Leave that stuff for sappy humans. Our guys are bloodthirsty little warmongers. They are a twisted by their fiery obsession, each out to spill more blood than the next guy. Now we're seeing red!

These Dwarves are Made for Diggin' v.2. I am also confused about why dwarves are so thick and heavy. It's probably just to make them the obvious opposite of thin and graceful elves. Rubbish. They live in tunnels, they should be adapted to that life. Instead of being so broad, our dwarves will be a little more wiry. Strong and hearty, but wiry. This makes it easier for them to navigate the budding mine shafts and tunnels that they burrow out. In addition to actually being short, they naturally walk with a bit of a hunch- nobody likes to hit his head all the time. These dwarves are already more believable. This is

By Clangeddin, we've created a goblin! Could this be why all the small red ground creatures of recent memory are goblins? I doubt it, but it is good for a little chuckle and a brief moment of contemplation on how dwarves and goblins represent what is red about red weenie creatures.

If I had my way, we probably would see dwarves in Magic, but they'd mostly be white, and there would be time and attention paid to reframing them as a race of sometimes bald-faced folk who sometimes might not live underground and often use weapons other than axes and who speak their own nothing-like-irish language. They would be a proud people, spiritual and devoted, wise and ancient. My dwarves would have cool cultural characteristics other than their stature, hairyness, and level of inebriation.

[The survey originally included in this article has been removed.]

Until that happens I, for one, am not all that sad that old-school dwarves have been off the scene for a while. I'd rather have them in the deep of their mines, combing their beards and sharpening their axes- waiting, waiting to see the light and emerge as something less slave to the ways of old folklore and new Hollywood mythology. I will happily wait for a true Magic dwarf.

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notmeowse · 4 days ago

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Curious to know why you wanted the veil to come down? I personally would’ve liked the option because it sets the world to how it was meant to be, BUT came to the understanding (idk if understanding is the right word but that’s what I’m using here lol) that because it would bunk up everything for everyone in the world currently, it was kinder/safer for everyone currently alive to leave it in place. After all it’s all anyone has known and not knowing the result of tearing it down was too big a risk. To let people keep living their lives instead of essentially turning back the clock was the safer option which is why I’m actually not super upset about not having “tear it down” as an option. It would’ve been nice to have it. In fact that’s probably the route I would’ve taken had it been available, but I can understand why the team and Rook don’t see it that way.

I think if we look at it from a developer standpoint it does look like them wanting to keep the status quo, but if you look at it from an in-world standpoint of “the world as it is now had been in place for thousands of years and it’s all anyone knows. It’s too risky/scary to tear it down just because you (Solas) can’t move on from your regrets that led to its creation in the first place” makes sense to me. Like a “you made your bed, it’s time to finally lie in it” kind of way. If they do make a DA5 (doubtful since it seemed like this game was meant to tie up or throw out loose ends) maybe it will be about finding ways to tear it down that wouldn’t idk…risk also messing up the world people currently reside in

Also question, because I mighta missed it, but if the veil is torn down completely would that not release the blight in its entirety? I thought that was also why they couldn’t take it down. I know Solas said he “had a plan” but was that a plan to not let the blight out if he took the veil down? I think that because that was my understanding of the blight that’s also why I wasn’t as pressed about not getting a tear down option, but now I just can’t seem to remember if that was the case with the blight or not

Hello and thank you for this ask! I so appreciate you leaving this for me so I can iron out my thoughts, because in many ways, the ending really did not go the way I thought it would. Spoilers/novel-length response under the cut!

After all, it was foreshadowed multiple times in the previous games. The biggest foreshadowing was Sandal's prophecy back in DA2, which was clearly the first draft of the events of this game:

One day the magic will come back - all of it. Everyone will be just like they were.

The "everyone" in this scenario could very well have meant the dwarves, but it also could have meant everyone. Elves, spirits, dwarves, everyone that lost something from the Veil going up. That was supposed to be what was coming. Every tear in the veil, every claim that it was weakening or failing in any way, served as (I thought) foreshadowing to it coming down.

And the series gives us very valid reasons for it to do so.

The main reason the Veil should have come down, for me, was to save the spirits. They're essentially trapped in the Fade, pressing against the Veil and constantly twisting themselves into the wrong shapes to be able to get to the waking world because they do not understand why they aren't part of it. Yes, it is kinder and safer for everyone in the waking world to not disrupt it by letting the world bring itself back together -- but what about the spirits? The ending, in its current state, disregards them completely. As if we haven't spent the last 3 games building them up as people. Not just that, but as the other people (besides elves) that Solas wronged by throwing up the Veil.

The games have had multiple instances of (for lack of a better word) humanizing spirits for us, by giving us characters like Justice and Cole, the All New, Faded For Her spirit, and now the demon Spite. They're naturally drawn to the waking world, to people, to strong emotion. The Veil acts as a barrier for them to truly experience the world, and when forced through it, they tend to become demons. But we are very much meant to see those characters as people, and Solas's entire argument in Inquisition was that they suffered from the Veil, too -- and no one else alive in Thedas seemed to care. Now that he's gone, that's actually the case.

In Trespasser, he was originally tearing down the veil for the spirits, not just the elves, and ended up killing Mythal to be able to have the power to do so. Veilguard wants to pretend it was for her, all along, despite the fact that he quite literally snuffed out one of the last shreds of her existence in the previous game in the name of helping the spirits and the elvhen.

But of course, we learn that the Veil doesn't just contain the Evanuris in this game, right? It also contains the rest of the blight! And shortly after we reach this revelation (depending on when you watched all of the memories) we discover that the very first Tranquil beings in Thedas were the titans (sundered from their spirit + achievement for the memory is quite literally called Tranquility), and that the blight comes from their madness. It is essentially the titans' nightmares!

Now, when we learned that in-game, I absolutely thought the next course of action would be to help them. Not just because it would stop the blight in its tracks and remove one reason for the Veil being up, but it would also snatch away the main weapon of the Evanuris, AND ALSO heal them for the sake of the dwarves. To help them reclaim that part of themselves long-since sundered. Veilguard actually gives us no explanation as to why we DON'T do this. Reversing the damage is briefly considered by Emmrich as a possibility, and never brought up again -- why didn't the team immediately pivot to that, given Harding's presence and connection to the stone? She alone (being the only dwarf currently in Thedas who had that connection) could have led us right to the remaining titans, and we could have used the dagger (the same one used to sunder their spirits in the first place) to heal them, much like the Inquisitor used the anchor to heal.

I had thought this was foreshadowed heavily in Inquisition, given that Solas learns (and is deeply intrigued by) the Inquisitor using the anchor not to rip open the Veil, but to heal it instead -- there's even a codex entry on it in this game. We also learned in Inquisition (Nope, actually DA: Asunder) that Tranquility can be reversed, but very little is done with that revelation in that game's plot -- surely it was meant to set up reversal of the titans' Tranquility in this game? For us to go fix it? Apparently not.

Regardless, that solution (helping the titans) would also have rendered the Evanuris blight-less, defanging them and taking away their favorite toy thus truly evening out the playing field and making the final fight of the game far more believable. Like, in its current state, my little Antivan Crow Rogue Rook kills Elgar'nan. The first of the firstborn. The oldest and strongest of the evanuris. At full power. Something Solas could not do. And Rook did it without even a single power boost -- and yes, I do think that Rook should have taken on the essence of Mythal, leading to Solas having an oh my god there's two of them moment. But that's not really my point in this absolute essay I'm writing you (I'm so sorry if it's more than what you bargained for lol)

My POINT! Is that we finished out Trespasser with Solas treasuring the possibility of being wrong about his plans. We are led to believe that the Inquisitor (or, you know, the protagonist of the next game) is going to find an alternative route, or a reason for him to leave the Veil up -- something that would prove him wrong. Ultimately, my point is that the revelations about the titans should have been that reason. Fixing them, rejoining them with their spirits and curing their tranquility, should have been the alternative that Rook/the Inquisitor presented him. And frankly, that should have been his fucking atonement. None of this bullshit at the end of the game with him binding himself to the Veil, he's quite literally reinforcing the band-aid he slapped over the world instead of getting to the root of the problem. Which is the titans. He should have helped them. He alone probably knows fucking how, since he broke them in the first place. It doesn't make any sense that he didn't... consider that avenue in the first place?

So by the end of the game, it's like oh, great! The Veil is now reinforced so the spirits will continue to suffer. And there's also a very real possibility that the one dwarf in Thedas with stone sense just died, jeopardizing any chances the dwarves had of reconnecting with or helping the titans. So now the titans will continue to suffer too! Yay! All of this buildup was completely pointless!

Given that they're doing a hard reboot of the series (the south was destroyed anyway, any future games likely won't take place there and Thedas as we know it pretty much went through an apocalypse/had way more death than the original ritual would have created), it would have made perfect fucking sense to boardwipe the world and change everything in it by BRINGING DOWN THE VEIL. It would quite literally have accomplished the exact same thing the superblight did, but with added benefits of spirits being free to roam about the cabin, and we could potentially have gotten the freaking titans back. Holy hell. The worst part is that they're still alive. Like, they're more scattered and disparate, clearly, but we're just leaving them in the past? Oh my god, they're still alive! What are we doing! Why aren't we helping them, why aren't we giving the dwarves back their dreams and their magic! Are we seriously supposed to accept that these are just the way things are now, despite the fact that we have a dwarven success story in the party with us? The new postergirl for dwarves getting their magic and their dreams back with very little negative side effects?

Like, the game doesn't do anything to try to convince us it would be a bad thing to save the titans, doesn't do anything to suggest that we should leave this any of this stuff (which, apparently now includes the Dalish, because Arlathan was given to the Veil Jumpers) in the past. It also doesn't put up a great argument for keeping the Veil up, either -- Rook repeatedly says Solas will drown the world in demons, and he doesn't correct them simply because he doesn't respect them -- but we, the players, know that would not be the case. He would have quite literally reunited the world with itself, on multiple levels.

I'm sorry. I'm so irritated about it all, if that wasn't clear by the novel. Thank you again for asking, it was good to get this out. Veil should have come down.

#dav spoilers #veilguard spoilers #dragon age: the veilguard #dragon age #dragon age the veilguard #dav #datv #bioware critical #dragon age critical #asks

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edges-of-night · 1 year ago

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I just found your post and im in loove with your writing so o wanted to know if i could ask this.

What would the characters react if a Modern!reader has a scar or something from her childhood ( of theyre wild child like me) and would they though someone hurted her?

Kudos from Brasiil

Thank you, I’m glad you like the blog! Enjoy your post!

This one doesn’t have that huge bunch of gifs I’ve been using before – let me know what you like better, if you have a preference.

･ﾟ✧ Aragorn.

Aragorn would treat your scars with great respect and never ask any questions about them, knowing they could potentially hurt you. It is no great deal for him though; he doesn’t think less of you for having scars!

･ﾟ✧ Arwen.

Arwen would have a silent fascination for your scars, as Elvish healing powers make it impossible for Elves to develop scars. She’d let her fingers ghost over them if you let her but never speak of them, unless you want to.

･ﾟ✧ Boromir.

Boromir bonds over your shared scars. He’d tell you battle stories for every one of his. In turn, you could tell him yours. He’d find it charming to hear you’d been a wild child like he!

･ﾟ✧ Elrond.

Elrond does not talk about your scars or even look at them, until you would initiate a conversation about them. He just accepts you have them, possibly thinking of the wounds they once were and how he would’ve treated them.

･ﾟ✧ Éomer.

Éomer would worship your scars, no matter how you got them – through work, fun, or battle. I like to imagine scars carry a deep meaning in Rohirrim culture. Éomer would go on and on about how Human they make you, as opposed to an Elf with healing powers. He would be sensitive if someone had hurt you, causing the scar.

･ﾟ✧ Éowyn.

Just like her brother, Éowyn would show great respect and admiration for your scars. But unlike him, she wouldn’t push the topic, knowing that you could have potentially emotional memories to them. If someone had caused you a scar by hurting you, she’d curse that person.

･ﾟ✧ Faramir.

Faramir is the kind of person to place deliberate kisses on your scars. He knows how insecure they can make one feel about their body, and he will have none of it with you – you’re gorgeous just the way you are ♡

･ﾟ✧ Frodo.

Frodo has a very casual attitude toward scars. He accepts that you have them and doesn’t pull the attention onto them. He would probably ask you about them, after a long night you’ve had at the Green Dragon, but he’d always stay respectful and considerate – he’s a gentleman after all!

･ﾟ✧ Galadriel.

I imagine Galadriel having an almost morbid curiosity about scars and their place in the Human system of healing and mortality. She’d ask if she can take a closer look at them, talking about them, and even has clothing or headwear made for you that shows them off.

･ﾟ✧ Gandalf.

Gandalf would casually ask you where you got your scars from, as an attempt to normalise conversation about them. If you signal him that you would rather not talk about it, he’d let it be, but otherwise, you could have a deep conversation about them with him. Should you wish to have it removed, he would cook up a spell that could do that.

･ﾟ✧ Gimli.

Dwarves think highly of scars, as they symbolise both brashness and hard work. Gimli is no different. Should you ever feel insecure about your scars, he’d happily show you his and assure you that there is nothing shameful about them, with a big grin!

･ﾟ✧ Haldir.

Haldir avoids even glancing at your scars. He is both polite enough to not stare and troubled about the implications – Humans cannot heal the way Elves do. He could lose you to a wound that wouldn’t even be an issue to an Elf, and he cannot stand that thought. He also wracks his brains about someone having hurt you, as opposed to simply asking about it.

･ﾟ✧ Legolas.

Legolas would take the issue of your scars very lightly. That also means he could potentially bring up hurtful memories, since the concept is so new to him. However, if you told him that, he’d immediately apologise and distance himself from the subject.

･ﾟ✧ Merry.

Merry thinks your scars are super cool! He’d be the first in line to say things like, “They make you look adventurous!” Depending on how sensitive you are about them, he’d tone it down, of course. Still, he’d rather have you with them than without.

･ﾟ✧ Pippin.

Pippin probably has a bunch of scars himself, being both clumsy and a troublemaker. He’d ask you about your scars in a way that turns into a ‘ping pong’ game, with you taking turns with the stories you want to share with the other.

･ﾟ✧ Sam.

Sam has a big scar himself that he is rather insecure about. Bonding with you helps him accept that part of his body – though he would still blush how he got it, having defended Rosie Cotton from some ruffian at the Green Dragon.

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pinacoladamatata · 5 months ago

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I am once again thinking about Solas and how his potential arc this game could go regarding the Veil being up or down and I'm gnawing at the bars of my enclosure [spoilers obviously] I don't like being intelligent/thoughtful on here I prefer to be stupid but here we go

In [yet another] article that came out, idk? today? Mark Darrah says the story "allows us to, hopefully, give a good conclusion to all the varied attitudes toward Solas that are going to be coming from people who love Solas, who agree with Solas, who hate Solas, people who want to kick Solas off of a building – I think that we give you the opportunity to bring that to a close, but then tell a greater story about The Veilguard and about the world as a whole."

and I don't know what to fucking think about this? They obviously know people's opinions are varied and I think it should be obvious that this is not a case where 'one ending fits all'

Because like, he is such a tragic character and I know there's gonna be an option to kill him, calm down, before you start in my inbox with "I WANT TO KILL HIM" like, you will be able to, that's kind of...almost a certainty. Especially for low approval Inquisitor/swore to stop him at all costs. Because if he Won't agree to stop trying to tear down the veil and causing mass destruction, (even after dealing with Elgarnan and Ghilly) then you'll have to kill him. Even trapping him forever isn't really an option because he created the fucking veil, man's crafty, he'd eventually find a way out. Like, If he will not and cannot see reason, then you, the protagonist, will have to end him.

It's the OTHER option that has me spinning because, you could, maybe, potentially, hopefully, talk him out of it. And if you did that, either as a romanced or friendly Inquisitor, or apparenty? Rook? based on this new info that Solas and Rook are going to have a lot of interaction, then he doesn't NEED to die. If he stops wanting to tear down the veil, he could potentially just disappear and do whatever he wants, like nerd out over magic.

And honestly, having him die on both paths is such a slap in the face for "your choices matter" because like clearly they do not if that happens; like what was the point of making me choose at the end of trespasser? If the only difference is 'stop Solas at all costs' leads to a boss fight where you kill him and 'redeem Solas' leads to ? him dying anyway somehow? Like I'm sorry but that is lazy and boring. His redemption should not end in death, he should have to live and deal with the consequences, because that could be so much more interesting.

[because I'll be real, I don't think they're going to let us have the option to tear down the veil/side with him AND have the option to keep the veil up. I think it will be one or the other no matter your choices; Simply because there is too much of a massive difference between world states of 'killed Solas to prevent him taking down the veil Thedas remains status quo' VS 'let Solas take down the veil, Thedas is now fundamentally different in an almost inconceivable way'. Like the setting for any future games depend on this; you would have to create 2 very different games. There has to be some uniformness to the world state, like; the veil remains, but it's thinned or whatever and the people of Thedas are living life more or less as usual if they ever want to make DA5. Would be wild of them do go the route of no matter what you do the veil comes down anyway. Which would be annoying if you swore to stop Solas at all costs and he just... succeeds anyway, even if he dies? Of course, there is Sandals prophecy, which I think is about the events of DA4. And devs have said in the past they had 'something' planned since Origins. "One day the magic will come back - all of it. Everyone will be just like they were" - The veil coming down and everyone gaining magic? Not just elves but humans, dwarves and qunari too? "The shadows will part and the skies will open wide" - Talking about the veil coming down?? Do shadows represent the abyss? "When he rises, everyone will see" - I'm actually convinced this is about Elgar'nan, or, something even worse; like the 'thing' that Mythal locked away, that the "evanuris in their greed could unleash" that "would destroy us all". So I think the end of DA:TV will be either the veil stays in place no matter what, or the veil comes down no matter what, which is, idk, interesting? Because again, they can't have both- that just gets too messy for the setting for the next game. They could have the veil come down no matter what, but, you would need to have a "better option" as Varric and Solas put it. Which, let's say for narrative purposes, this option exists and we tell it to Solas and he goes "Okay let's do that instead" and it results in a world state where the veil is 'down' but not in a catastrophic mega-calamity way. Even then though, some players are just not going to pick that and also if the veil comes down; what the fuck are we guarding it for???? I think it might come down temporarily. Maybe we have to make a new one? a better one? we have our fade tamagotchi fen'harel who happens to be the only fucker who knows how to make a veil too. Could this 'better veil' alleviate some of the problems Solas had with the old one? If there was like a set door way that allowed people and spirits to pass safely? One that didn't cause so much discord between spirits/people? Is our Veilguard a Fade TSA? I can dream. But who knows. Either way, I think we're only getting one endgame worldstate regarding the veil.

So; OK, back to Solas and how the fuck that could end. Harking back to that Varric/Solas conversation about the old man living alone. Solas is clearly speaking as though he is the old man, and he can't fathom just living a quiet life when there are literal world ending gods waiting for a weak moment to bust free. He Will not, Cannot stand by and do nothing while he knows his prison is failing. He HAS to at least deal with the 2 evanuris before tearing down the veil bc he doesn't want them to cause harm. He didn't want that before (hence locking them away) and he doesn't want it now, even for modern day Thedas (hence him helping Rook). He's got such a fucking heart under all that armor. He cares about people, he demonstrates it again and again. But my god what if, he finally *sees* that the veil may not have been a mistake, it doesn't need to be torn down, (maybe it has to be remade, better?or just altered?) and then us the protag, no longer has to kill him to stop him from tearing it down?

Like, I am very partial to the "what if love changes everything" trope especially for such a tragic character. Bc he's got death flags left and right; "I walk the dinanshiral" "there is only death on this journey" "this does not end in my downfall" his "dying alone" fear tombstone, and he's lonely he's miserable he's afraid. I'm so worried they'll kill him off anyway bc 'he was always doomed' trope and it would be easier to write, but motherfuck it would just, be SO so satisfying if, instead, there was a path where he wasn't doomed; whether it's bc of Rook or the Inquisitor or a combo of both. I feel like what if, either platonic or romantic; if there was just at least one path where love changes everything.

ofc this is massive amounts of copium and I don't expect bioware to give me anything so cool as "the veil starts to come down anyway and you, Rook, have to rebuild it with Solas' and the Inquisitor's help and at the end you can either kill him or convince him that this world is worth living in"

but hey, i can dream ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#dragon age #dragon age spoilers #da4 spoilers #da4 speculation #solas #like dont open unless you want a fuck ton of my ramblings on what could happen #when will i shut up about this??? probably not even after the game is out #and depending on what happens in the story i will either be elated or really fucking disappointed

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simpforsolas · 22 days ago

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on spirit cole

When I first played DAI, I made Cole more human. It felt better to me. Making him human makes him more relatable and allows him to change and grow in ways that feel good to players. But my most recent replay, it's amazing how much my opinion changed.

My fundamental issue with a lot of human Cole arguments is this idea that making Cole human makes him "real." It's an extremely human-centric viewpoint (and by human I just mean intelligent mortal beings - this includes qunari, elves, and dwarves). It's this idea that in order to be "real," in order to be something valuable, you have to fit into a specific mold that's palatable and understandable by people. But in reality, spirit Cole is just as real and as valid as human Cole. Sure, he's different. Sure, he can't live a mortal life and experience typical mortal relationships. But he's still REAL. Spirits are beautiful and wonderful beings just as they are, and they shouldn't have to change into something more human to start to be seen as valuable. It simply takes embracing a different perspective to see the inherent beauty in them.

Consider this line of dialogue you get in the spirit Cole route:

"You found out, but you didn't change." The context of this line is that Cole is talking about Rhys, the mage who befriended Cole but then abandoned him when he realized what Cole truly was: a spirit. Cole has intimate experience with friends leaving him when they find out his true nature, so imagine how meaningful it is to him when the inquisitor doesn't do that. They learn he's a spirit and continue to treat him the same. Nothing changes in their relationship. Then he goes on to say, "You didn't make me change. You let me be this, be more." And that, my friends, is the core of why I love the spirit Cole route so so much. You meet this being who is different and odd, who frightens people just by being himself and wants nothing more than to help. And instead of treating him differently or encouraging him to change into something that you personally might relate to better, you accept him as he is. You don't make him change. If you listen to Cole, he seems so incredibly happy about it, too. He's happy to remain a spirit, as long as he can continue helping people and maintain the relationships he built.

And yes, Spirit Cole also does retain feelings and emotions. He expresses joy when Corypheus was unable to bind him, he expresses sadness when Solas leaves. As we learn from Solas's quest, you can certainly have friendships with spirits. It's just a different kind of relationship, and that's the entire point: Different is okay. I think that this speaks to me on a deep, personal level because of past relationships where I was made to feel like there was something wrong with the authentic, true me. Like I was broken. I felt that in order to be accepted, I had to minimize parts of myself and pretend to be someone I wasn't. So to see Cole be so wholly accepted just as he is and to not be encouraged to change was extremely cathartic for me, and I believe that's the entire point of Spirit Cole. Unapologetic acceptance for someone as they are.

There is the argument to be made that Cole wanted to be more human. After all, he took on the original Cole's identity and tricked himself into believing he was human (if you read Asunder you will know this). But I would argue that Cole never explicitly wanted to be human. He accidentally stumbled into taking on Cole's identity because his compassion and empathy was so strong and he identified so deeply with his pain, that he became him. If you talk to Cole, though, he never expresses a preference one way or the other.

Now, don't take this to mean that I don't think the human Cole route isn't lovely in its own way. There's something beautiful about self-determination and not feeling bound to stick as one thing just because you were born one way or raised to believe that you had to be one way. But all that said, I personally resonate more with spirit Cole and will be a spirit Cole truther forever.

#dragon age #dragon age meta #cole dragon age #cole #dragon age inquisition #dai

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alpaca-clouds · 5 months ago

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High Fantasy Conundrums: The Diversity Paradox

I have some thoughts on High Fantasy and the way it currently is shifting in terms of the mainstream depictions. Meaning: No, this is not about books that much. It is more about the big franchises. The stuff with money behind it. Because those have stuff in common right now. I am talking about Dungeons & Dragons, The Witcher, Dragon Age, The Rings of Power and other more budget heavy fantasy.

Many words have been written, said, and screamed into the void of the internet about how these days you will usually see diversity in those. Most notably people that are not white.

And the self-proclaimed "conservatives" (who are actually white supremacists) will cry about how those are "medieval European worlds" and that hence there should not be Black or Asian people run around in them. Ignoring, of course, how there were Black and Asian people running around in medieval Europe.

And there will be leftists, that will defend any decision in this regard, on pure principle.

I will count myself among the second kind no doubt. I think it is good and important to see non-white characters in those big franchises. And frankly, I couldn't give less of a fuck whether or not whatever writer originally wrote a book that stuff was based on did imagine the world to be inhabited by people who did not have cheese-skin. I really don't.

Especially as the entire "realism" and "historically accurate" argument falls apart rather quickly if you consider one very important fact: There were no elves in medieval Europe. There were no dragons in medieval Europe. And there sure as hell was no actual magic in medieval Europe. So... Yeah, somehow I actually do think that Black and Asian characters inhabiting those fantasy worlds is less of an issue, when it comes to stuff being "historically accurate".

And yet...

There is something about this, that still very much irks me. Especially when it comes to some recent franchise stuff, like most of what Wizards of the Coasts did in regards of Dungeons & Dragons 5e in terms of lore - and something I am starting to expect from Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

And that is the lack of any actually non-white cultures within the world - and the lack of worldbuilding in this regard.

See... High Fantasy has generally speaking one big struggle in regards of the worldbuilding. A struggle that can be found in high fantasy world after high fantasy world: For the most part, the cultural worldbuilding is often lacking. While humans are often allowed to have a couple of different cultures, everyone else is usually treated like this: "This is dwarven culture", "this is elven culture", and "this is halfling culture". There is no variation in it. The dwarves in the high north have still the same culture, as the dwarves living in the south of the continent. And while humans do have a bit more in terms of different cultures, it usually also goes in broad strokes. Like: "This is the horse culture, this is the very noble culture, and this is the peasant culture". Am I saying I am blaming Tolkien? Yeah, maybe a bit.

This is one of the reasons I fell so in love with Dungeon Meshi. Because Dungeon Meshi literally is the first time I have seen that someone actually came up with differences between different elven and half-foot cultures and stuff. And I love it.

But Kui is the one writer I can think of, that really did that.

So... Let me talk about DnD, because I know my DnD Lore and I can tell you a bit of why this is bothering me here.

See: Dungeons & Dragons has this whole ass world in the Forgotten Realms as the main setting: Toril. Toril has a variety of continents. Just as you can see:

Now, originally half of those continents did not exist, I might add. Most of them were added during 2e and 3e. Especailly 3e and 3.5e did some worldbuilding in regards of those other continents. Even though, yes, if we are honest those continents are very much: Fantasy Asia, Fantasy North America, Fantasy Middle America, Fantasy Africa, Fantasy Arabia, and Fantasy Australia (about which, I might note, we know next to nothing).

But while 3e and 4e did make some use of those other settings, 5e did something else. 5e very much reverted back to focusing on Faerûn and the Sword Coast once more. But because by the time 5e released it was 2014 in the real world, they knew they could not make Faerûn this super white world. So Faerûn became diverse. There are Black and Asian and Brown people living there now. But... culturally it stay in the "generic fantasy Europe" sphere.

And that is my issue: The lack of different cultures.

I will talk a bit more about the issues with the High Fantasy "Medieval Europe" culture tomorrow, but today let me say this: Even these days, when non-white characters will be included into those fantasy worlds, they still will only be allowed to exist within a supposedly white cultural context. They are not allowed to have a non-white culture.

While this makes some sense in prescribed worlds - so worlds based on books that never had any intent on depicting anything but their "white" pseudo-European culture (like Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time with their respective Amazon Prime adaptions), this is less the truth for worlds that are designed around whatever they represent today.

Wizards of the Coast absolutely could put some effort into creating those other continents as good, lived in settings - and allow folks from those other continents who live in Faerûn to bring parts of their own culture with them. They could pay some PoC to actually do that worldbuilding Own Voice style. You know?

And the same is true with Bioware and Dragon Age. While I am by far not as familiar with the worldbuilding of DA, as I am with the worldbuilding of DnD, I am under the impression that there is not a lot going on in terms of non-white cultures from other continents. There are non-white people hanging around in the main plot and what not, but it does not seem as if there is a lot going on in terms of them having cultures of origin. Correct me if I am wrong. Some of those cultures seem to have names, but that is where the worldbuilding ends.

And that... You know, that is an issue. Because diversity, especially ethical diversity, is not just about the skin color. It is about culture. And somehow the culture aspect of it gets ignored a lot. Doesn't it?

#high fantasy #worldbuilding #fantasy worldbuilding #dungeons & dragons #dnd #dnd lore #dragon age #dragon age the veilguard #lord of the rings #the witcher #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #the wheel of time #the rings of power #diversity #representation #medieval europe #cultural diversity

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superb-fox · 1 year ago

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I wanna talk about how Sousou no Frieren treats heroes and demons, because in my opinion it's masterfully done.

We really only learn about one hero, Himmel. Sure there's the Hero of the South but what do we really know about him besides he had future sight and he died? I'll focus on Himmel. I think what sets Himmel apart is how he acts, in typical hero stories they're portrayed as kind, strong, willing to do what's right, all that nice stuff and while I do think those are good traits for a hero, Himmel is shown differently. We almost never see him fight, every time we see him it is in relation to an action he took that influenced people for the better. He takes on countless detours and quests because he can't turn down people in need, every where he goes he's doing good, when people talk about him they never talk about how strong he was or how cool he was it's always about how his act(s) of kindness changed their lives. They're happier, better people because he came through their town. He changes everywhere he goes for the better because of who he is and how he acts. He quite literally changed the world not because he killed the demon king, but because everywhere he went he improved people's lives, and those people because they are better change more people's lives and it spreads and spreads and spreads until the world is better. From random towns people to our main characters, everyone is better because of him. Look at Frieren for example, a complete stoic who before Himmel just was living her life in the woods doing whatever. But after? She takes on an apprentice, travels from place to place continuing the good Himmel did, she learned so much kindness from him in the relatively short time they spent together. Pre-hero party Frieren would have gone to a town, blended into the background, and moved on. But now? She's taking on quests, helping people, and making lives brighter. Why? In her own words it's what Himmel would have done. Fern owes her life to Himmel despite never meeting him because Heiter took her in because that's what Himmel would have done. Frieren looks after her after Heiter's passing because that's what Himmel would have done. Think of all the good she's doing traveling with Frieren just because of that! It ripples outward forever because of a great hero's influence. In other words, he's not a hero because of his great feats or his power, it's because of who he was and that's how you write a truly great hero.

Now let's talk about demons. People with third grade reading comprehension have made the comparison to real life peoples. That the text is saying that demons being just an irredeemable evil race is racist and compare it to how in real life people do that to justify genocide, but this cannot be further from the truth. Demons in this world are an offshoot of humans like elves and dwarves are. They're similar enough to look like humans, speak like humans, their magic is something special to them but similar enough that with study humans can use it just as well. However demons are truly the farthest thing from humanity you could be. The best way to describe them is how when you see two animals that look so similar but they're in entirely different evolutionary families. How a rabbit and a hare look similar but are so SO very different. Demons are closer to animals in that they do what they can to survive. They trick, they deceive, they hunt. These are not evil things, this is nature. A lion is not evil for hunting in packs to eat one antelope, a bird is not evil for walking a certain way to imitate rain and attract a worm. However when it's applied to something that looks and acts so incredibly human it can be seen that way. The lion ganging up on someone is not a fair fight, the bird is lying to and tricking the worm, these are absurd statements. Demons are a divergent evolution of humanity that cannot comprehend the traits that make us human but will use them to hunt us. They do not understand malice or bonds or guilt or love, they are solitary beings that understand power and magic. They biologically cannot understand it, them learning these emotions is like if a cat suddenly sprouted tentacles, it just can't happen. But because they lack the very traits that make us human while looking so human, they appear evil to us. How could something so human-like act so inhuman? Perform such evil acts without a seconds thought? But they're not evil, they can't even understand evil. Them using maternal love to have someone drop their guard and become easy prey is such a basic thing like waking up in the morning they cannot comprehend why people think it's bad. The problem isn't that one is evil and one is good, it's that evolution set these two species on such polar opposite courses that they truly can never understand each other. Yet they're still so close that there's always that feeling of that things could be worked out, that these two peoples can co-exist, but it is just biologically impossible. And that's tragic, that's heart breaking, for one species to exist peacefully the other must die. These beings so close to us yet so far must die. There's no way around it, no negotiating, no compromise, evolution and nature have played this sick dance to pit these two brothers against each other and it absolutely should hurt your soul, but it must happen.

#sousou no frieren #frieren: beyond journey's end #frieren at the funeral #frieren the slayer

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thechekhov · 11 months ago

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Dungeon Meshi Quick Reacts: CH.22

It's time to maybe hit the first plot milestone? While wearing some silly costumes, of course!

Maybe it's just been a while but I AM a little bit confused. They were down in the dungeon and then they were about 4 floors deep and went DEEPER and now there's... an island? That belonged to the dwarves, elves and humans? (Humans being different from tall-men? Or... is this another translation thing?) But if it's that deep, how did it belong to anyone before the dungeon was discovered?? I need history books up in here.

Huh, interesting. Is this a permanent gate? Or one that only opens when the spell is cast from the other side?

Absolutely intrigued with these Vex/Vax knockoffs. What is their deal? They haven't said that much, but their facial expressions intrigue me.

Hmmm.. I suppose in terms of economics, the dungeon must seem like a goldmine indeed. And if you can exploit whatever you can get from it...... Though in the end, is it a sustainable source of resources? Especially given how many people die there.

I reiterate: would love a history book that gives a more detailed explanation of how the sociopolitical map of the region is laid out, and how the discovery of the dungeon played into whatever conflicts they had.

Ah yes, a classic. That one spell with no karmic repercussions, I'm sure.

This gnome complained about how the Dungeon makes people too much money, but it turns out that his REAL issue is that it's the money that this dungeon-era CEO is concerned about. He wants to go HARDER on the evil power control scheme. He's disappointed with the lack of commitment to the villainy!

Or..... is this some sort of 4D chess play to get adventurers more resources...? What is his end goal here?

Maybe it's just the paranoia, but even this interaction feels weird. This woman clearly acts kind, and does all the right things, but what are HER motivations? Does she actually like Namari?

Don't mind the escorts...........

Hold up, is she looking for Falin?!! Falin got eaten by the Dragon, no??

Fuckin hell that's a bit. Dark. But understandable I guess.

1/13th huh...... So for an average 70kg human, that would be approximately 5kg of meat... so about a turkey size? oof.

NEW FEAR/DND IDEA UNLOCKED HOLY SHIT.

They say they're 20, but they didn't really react to Namari warning them about the dungeon. And they didn't really say specifically that they needed to get resurrected, just that they have Mr. Tance (Tansu?) if need be. Makes me wonder if they're some sort of weird Revenant or Homonculi.

She's too good for this world.... too pure.

#dungeon meshi #chekhov reads dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi quick reacts #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi liveblog

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fantasy-anatomy-analyst · 1 month ago

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Uniquely recognizable

a post on making fantasy people species that stand out but still feel enough like their mainstream counterparts that your audience won't get confused.

Like me, a lot of you want to use the standard fantasy people in your projects. gnomes, orcs, elves, goblins, dwarves, etc. But you don't want to use the same old typical designs you see in every fantasy roleplay game, movie, show, book, video game, whatever. Those designs have become iconic and ingrained in the common understanding of what those fantasy people are supposed to look like.

But it gets tedious, doesn't it? Sometimes it feels like the only difference between elves in different media is the size of their ears. Sometimes it feels like every fantasy people group is designed to be as close to human as possible and then their fantasy traits are just an afterthought. You're tired of it! You want to do something new!

But where is the line between a unique looking elf and a personally unique fantasy people that need their own name? How far can you alter the standard orc before it stops being an orc? And what are gnomes, anyway?

in this post, I'll be showing off a few of my own fantasy folks and talking about the balance between a recognizable design and a unique design. Including one of my own folks that began as something typical and gradually became something else, until I had to come up with a new name to avoid confusion.

first up: Goblins! what are goblins? if you asked a handful of random people, what traits would they consider the most typical of a goblin?

small, usually green, big ears, lanky limbs? frequently a large nose, sharp teeth, and yellow eyes? those are all common traits for goblins in media across the genre. here are a few sketches of easily recognizable goblins: (including one of my favorites, the goblin design of @pocketss)

(image description: three sketches of goblins. The only one directly labeled is the pocketss goblin, which is very small, has a round head and thin pointy nose, and large leaf shaped ears. it is wearing a little coat. the other two goblins are more typical of fantasy roleplay and video games, having large noses, crooked ears, and short bodies with long arms. one of them is wearing a mechanic outfit with overalls and goggles. the other is wearing a hooded rogue outfit. end description.)

these are all different from each other, but they're similar enough that you could glance at any of them and say "oh that looks like a goblin!" You've probably even seen similar goblin art from other tumblr artists, or your favorite fantasy media.

so now let's look at how I draw goblins:

(image description: a frog-like goblin standing in a cheeky pose, leaning on an invisible surface of some kind. They're nude, but have no external sexual traits. Their belly is a pale yellow while the rest of their body is light green with darker green stripes. They have a round face, yellow frog-like eyes, a small nose, long whiskers, and big bat-like ears. next to them on either side are lists of traits that are common for goblins in fantasy media, contrasted against the more unique traits of this goblin design. end description)

this is one of my fantasy people that I consider the most recognizable. They've got a lot of standard goblin traits! green skin, yellow eyes, sharp teeth, big ears, lanky limbs, and they're rather small. On the other hand, they also have several traits that make them stand out from the common depictions of goblins.

They're amphibious, they have whiskers and a frog-like vocal sac in their throat. their skin comes in different colored patterns like real life frogs. and they're also hermaphrodites in the scientific sense. my goblins don't have set biological sexes from birth. they change between laying eggs and producing sperm based on various environmental factors.

But I think it would be hard for anyone to take a glance at this design and not recognize it as a type of goblin. it strikes a pretty good ideal between the typical and the unique, in my personal and somewhat biased opinion.

Moving on from this, let's look at my depiction of gnomes. They're kind of on thin ice with that title, I don't think they're as easily recognizable. But at the same time, I'm not sure I can come up with an alternate and more fitting title. Gnomes are weird. I see them depicted in only a limited handful of ways in mainstream fantasy, and far more varied ways from independent artists. Gnomes come from a mythology where their name could have referred to several small fae things, or been easily exchanged with other small fae things and similar creatures. The most common depiction of them is probably the garden gnome, which has little in common with how gnomes are depicted as a playable race in roleplay games. but here are three ways I usually see them depicted:

(image description: three sketches of gnomes. the first gnome is labeled "dwarf lite" and resembles a short humanoid with a sturdy body, pointy ears, and a short thick beard. they are wearing a pointed cap and a durable work outfit with gloves and boots. the second gnome is labeled "mousey" and resembles a small humanoid with a hairy face, larger semi round ears, and a long skinny tail. they also appear to have small claws on their fingers and toes. they're wearing a collared shirt, vest, and simple pants. the third gnome is labeled "elf hobbit" and resembles a short humanoid with pointy ears and long hair, wearing a cloaked adventure outfit. end description.)

common gnomish traits include a larger nose, pointy ears, some form of facial hair, and a short torso with somewhat longer arms. The most common versions in mainstream media are the "dwarf lite" and "elf hobbit" versions, like no one can quite decide if gnomes should primarily be tinkerers or spell casters, and which role they're depicted with determines whether their design is more dwarf-like or elf-like. But the mousey with a tail gnomes are more common from independent artists. It reminds me of some illustrations of the Borrowers, and I do wonder if the artists had them in mind.

here's my gnome design:

(image description: a gnomish woman sitting casually and looking upwards with a smile. she has a pig-like snout and ears, as well as four-digit hooved hands and feet, and a stiff short tail. she is wearing a wrapped head scarf over her hair, an off-the-shoulder shirt, and long pants with a climbing belt. on either side of her, there are trait lists comparing the expected gnomish traits with my own different gnomish traits. end description.)

My gnomes do match the concept of being small, agile, magic using folks with a prominent nose. But mine are also not as small as typical depictions of gnomes, and I've gone the porcine route to connect them with my orcs rather than leaning into the typical dwarf lite or elf hobbit depictions. I would not expect every new viewer to see this design and say "oh, obviously that's a gnome." because the pig-like traits are very atypical for depictions of gnomes. But at the same time, they have enough in common, and gnomes are varied enough in other media, that it doesn't take too long to adjust the audience view so they accept this as a gnome. at least I hope it doesn't lol.

and finally let's look at a fantasy people design where I got too into my unique ideas and had to rename them because they just lost the most recognizable traits of the original thing.

I will admit that in middle school I was a Twilight fan and I thought the vampires in that series had a lot in common with elves, so I decided I also wanted elf vampires. Cringe, I know. But the elf-vampires kinda got away from that origin as I built up my world and characters, and I just couldn't keep calling them vampires! I had to think of a new title. But I also didn't want to work too hard at that new title, so I just took some letters out of "strigoi" and I'm going to say it shares in-story linguistic origins with the word "drow", so both of these groups were named after an old elvish term for "those who live below/ in the dirt/ at the roots". Stroi and Drow almost sound kinda similar. Close enough to claim linguistic drift, at least! So they are vampires no more, and I am quite happy with how they fit into my worldbuilding.

for comparison, here are a few typical vampire designs:

(image description: three bust portrait sketches of different vampires. First is an undead human, looking like a common human man wearing a coat, but his eyes are red and he looks very tired. second is a nosferatu, who is bald with crooked pointy ears, a sunken face, and big sharp teeth and clawed fingers. he's wearing a dark robe. third is the fantasy dracula, looking more similar to an elf with sharp teeth and red eyes, but his features are more angular and he has more facial hair than the typical elf design. he is wearing a fancy cloak. end description.)

and here's the elf-cousin stroi that just stopped being a vampire a very long time ago:

(image description: an elf-like man with curly red hair and a long tail. He is standing on his toes. His outfit consists of a simple pair of pants, a shirt with a broad neckline, and a slouchy square cardigan. on either side of him, there is a list of common vampire traits and a list of stroi traits. end description.)

vampires are typically some form of supernatural immortal being, usually undead, often having fangs and venom and special weaknesses. They usually have magical powers like shapeshifting and entrancement. They pretty much always survive on a diet of blood and nothing else and they're generally nocturnal.

when I created the stroi as vampires at the start, I designed them as blood drinking elves who came from a cursed bloodline, all descended from some revived dead warriors. In concept, this is a pretty cool idea! but as I got more and more into speculative evolution and fleshed out my world and characters and all my story ideas, I ended up changing a lot of details for these folks and eventually they just no longer resembled vampires! I don't think a single person would look at this design and think "that's a vampire". no, they're more likely thinking "that's a funny looking elf", and they're right.

my stroi are living creatures in a perfectly normal way, though they have long lifespans. Unlike the elves, they live on the ground and are primarily carnivorous, so they do have sharper teeth and they do consume blood as a result of consuming raw or less cooked meat. They are not strictly nocturnal or diurnal, taking their own shifts to be awake at different times of day, taking oddly timed naps as all carnivores do. They can use magic, like anyone in my setting, but they have no powers unique to them, and certainly no special weaknesses. They don't even have venom, unless you count normal mouth bacteria. So you see, they just don't share enough traits with vampires to justify the title. People see the word "vampire", and it gives them some very particular expectations that my stroi simply cannot fulfill. Their lore has changed too much.

and sometimes this is necessary for the creative process. coming up with a new title for your fantasy people when you realize they no longer fit their origin can be very difficult! but it's so much worse to keep clinging to that origin and trying desperately to maintain the traits that people expect to see even though it doesn't work for your project anymore. I couldn't even stick with my idea that the stroi could still be vampiric if they were brood parasites for the elves. it's another cool idea, but it doesn't fit what I'm writing at all.

Learning to let go of your old ideas and move forward with the new ones is an important skill. Maybe you really really wanted to have elves in your story, but you leaned so hard into some new traits, got invested in all of that, and months or years down the road you look back and realize your elves aren't so elf like anymore! you wanted them to be wolf-like, but you got so excited for your wolf-elves that you ended up with something else entirely. it happens! and it's okay to let go of the elves and move forward with your awesome wolf people. maybe you just have to go do some research on wolf people in mythology now and figure out if there are any other non-werewolf creatures you can take the name of and use as further inspiration to flesh out your wolf people. or maybe you'll have to come up with a whole new title from scratch.

the most important thing to remember is that you should be enjoying your creative process! whatever that ends up looking like.

#fantasy anatomy #goblins #gnomes #vampires #elves #my designs #redesigning fantasy #uniquely recognizable

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animatorweirdo · 20 days ago

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World of the Tainted

You wake up to a world where Morgoth had tainted the elves into something worse. You decide to journey toward the east where you might be safe. However, you end up getting hunted by your former lover and his brothers. Will you escape and survive? Or will you be caught and possibly suffer a fate worse than death?

Fearie AU

(Author note: I was inspired by my friend's @lamemaster 's latest fics. This is an AU version of my The Heart of Autumn. Bonus points if you recognize who the two birds are. )

Warnings: dark things, violence, getting hunted, getting bitten and wounded, mentions of possible rabies, angst, and reader not having a great time.

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When you broke free from the ice and walked out of that cave, you immediately knew something was off. The land around you seemed normal at first glance, but something in the back of your mind was telling you that something was not right. Your suspicion became more evident when you decided to try to find a settlement and you walked through the woods.

The trees and the wildlife around you seemed more wild than usual. All kinds of plants grew around the roots in good health which was unusual since Morgoth’s influence in the north did not usually allow such abundance. Then there were the animals. They did not seem afraid of you when they saw you. They just stood there and watched as you walked past them. It was enough to send creeps through your spine. You had once read a survival book on how to avoid supernaturals and one rule told you that if you ever felt like you were being watched then you needed to leave the area, so you walked out of those woods faster than ever because it felt like you were being watched by everything.

You then came across an abandoned human town. By the worn-down woods and the structures that had suffered from the exposure of elements, you could conclude the town had been abandoned for longer than a decade. It was strange as there were no signs of fighting so nothing raided the town which meant the original residents left by their own will. Now one question remains--- what made them leave?

You scavenged whatever useful items you could get and continued your journey toward the west. More questions arose when you found more abandoned human settlements and the world around you became more unnerving. During nights, you hear strange sounds and notice shadows moving in the darkness. You didn’t dare to set up a fire and used one of the old camping techniques you learned from Camilla’s family, which was finding a sturdy and tall enough tree to sleep and stay safe from whatever lurked in the darkness.

When you found your way to what seemed to be an elven port city, you were left unsettled as it was abandoned too— there was not a soul in sight. It left you with questions you couldn’t answer. What happened? Where was everyone?

You stayed in the city for a day, using the abandoned fishing equipment to catch some fish to feed yourself. With luck, you managed to find some maps and other useful gear. You decided to try your luck with the nearest dwarf city. If even the dwarves had abandoned their underground homes, then there wasn’t a single soul left in Beleriand.

Following the map, you traveled to the mountain where the dwarven city was located, and to your relief, it was not abandoned like all the other places. The dwarves seemed surprised to see you but did not deny entry. They allowed you to stay and told you everything that had happened over the past decades.

Morgoth had been defeated and forced into hiding. However, before his defeat, he did something that caused the magic of the world to become untamed, tainting the elves. The taint turned them into something so sinister that even Morgoth became terrified of them, going into forever hiding. Their once bright nature turned them more prone to evil and their beauty combined with the world around them. They hunted down the orcs to extinction and even humans were not safe from them. The humans fled to the east, even far away to Rhun where the tainted elves did not follow them. Some of the untainted elves tried to escape the taint by sailing west, and not a single thing was heard of them since. The dwarves refused to leave their mountain homes. The tainted elves lacked interest in the dwarves thus they were relatively safe from their twisted nature. Some dwarves decided to continue dealing with these elves as they shared a love for gold and jewels, while some were forced to fight them.

Their description made you think of the faeries, or faes for short, one of the most dangerous types of fairies in your world. Now that you have thought about your experience so far, the state of the world and the woods made more sense to you.

The dwarves shared they hadn’t seen a human for many years and marveled how you managed to survive without being ensnared by the tainted elves. You were most likely lucky because you would have fallen into a trap now that you knew the elves had become something like the faeries.

Most of the elves who dwelled near the shores had fled to the west or whatever islands they could find, so their fates were uncertain. The Sindar had become one with their woods, so they mostly stayed in their forest. However, the Noldor were most affected by the taint becoming twisted rulers of the north, filled with lust for blood and other things unimaginable. The Feanorians had become hunters who hunted down anyone who dared to cross their lands.

You did not want to imagine your Maglor as a bloodthirsty hunter, but since the world had changed, you decided to believe what the dwarves said. It only made you more worried about what became of Camilla. There was a chance that she fled when things began to go wrong. But what if they did something to her before she could do so?

The dwarves said you should leave Beleriand, go to the east, and reunite with your kin in Rhun. Since you were a human, Beleriand was now the most dangerous place for you. You considered their words and decided that it was for the best. The faeries of your world adapted to your world’s society, but their tricky nature still made them dangerous as they sometimes twisted the rules and found loopholes to do what they wanted. If the elves became anything like them, you did not want to take any chances.

You stayed with the dwarves for a few days, reading everything they had on the now-tainted elves and learning all the necessary tricks you needed to avoid them. It had been forever since you did such research but it was better to be ready than sorry. The dwarves provided you with some supplies and items in case you encountered tainted elves. They showed you safe routes you could use and you managed to plan out your path. They gave you a pony and once you were set, you bid them farewell and a thank you for their hospitality. They wished you good luck and hoped Aule would look out for your safety. You will need it because if you got caught, then there was a high chance you would suffer a fate worse than death.

You were nervous but kept up a calm head as you started your journey.

You first came to pass the great woods of Doriath. The place looked more ominous than last time, so you could only wonder what it was like in Menegroth. You thought about Luthien and her family. You hoped they were safe even though it had been years. If things weren't so serious, you would have entertained the idea of visiting them, but since it was not safe for you, you left the idea.

You heard voices coming from the woods and realized it must have been elves singing. You knew the elves’s singing could cause you to follow them or get enchanted and one way to prevent that is to sing a catchy tone to distract them. So, you started singing one catchy travel song you knew. The singing stopped. It was a good sign but just to be sure, you continued singing until you passed the woods.

You came across a small lake and saw what seemed to be a white long-tailed duck and a cooper’s hawk. An odd pair, but not just as odd as the hawk being in a color of purple and pink. They observed you with keen caution and you looked at them back. They must be some kind of faes, so you kept caution as you rode past them. Oddly enough, there was something familiar about them.

The ride went smoothly despite the oddities. You then continued toward Ossiriand. Due to the feanorians’ influence over the north, you decided not to risk using the road across the blue mountains because it would force you to go to their lands. However, you did need to be cautious since Ossiriand was known to be home to some elf groups.

All seemed well, but your luck seemed to have run out as one coming night, you heard the dreadful sound of a hunting horn. The dwarves warned you about the feanorians playing their horn as it was a sign that they were nearby and on a hunt. However, hearing the horn made even the wendigo feel weary which was not a good sign.

There would be no way to outrun them if they caught track of you, and having met Celegorm, you did all you could to hide your tracks. You released the pony, taking her gear and wishing her good luck. You felt relieved that you didn’t decide to set up a fire and once all tracks were hidden and the pony was gone, you hid yourself and all your items beneath a small cave that had running water. One way to hide any scents and sounds was to be near running water. You then listened when you heard horses coming to your former campsite.

You heard them talk in their language. You flinched as the Quenya came out of their lips like whispers and hisses like a snake. You recognized the voices of Celegorm, Curufin, and Caranthir as they looked through your camp. You counted them through the sound of the hooves and voices. One, three, four, five, and six. You counted six riders. Where was the seventh? Which brother was missing?

Celegorm found tracks of your pony and you could nearly feel the thrill of a hunt in his voice. It was enough to send shivers down your spine. You didn’t get along with him before since he was a bit of an asshole, but now he sounded like a psychotic killer. You did not want to imagine what he would do if he knew you were there.

They decided to go after your pony’s tracks. You sensed through the earth as the thundering hooves galloped away and you counted that all six of them left. You quietly released a breath of relief and prayed for your pony’s sake.

You waited till the morning before continuing your journey on foot. If Maglor and his brothers were anything like the faeries of your world, then daytime should provide you some safety and time to travel. Faeries usually allowed their twisted nature to flourish when it was dark.

Walking through the land was tiring, but you forced yourself to continue. You stopped for a moment to take a drink from your bottle. It allowed you to notice the purple hawk and the white long-tailed duck from Doriath sitting on a tree, observing you. They were together and seeing them there made you feel odd.

However, since their appearance did not alert the feanorians on you, you concluded they were not there to rat you out. You continued your walk after your break.

After an hour or two, you tried to find your way to one of Ossiriands great rivers, but for some reason, you were walking in circles. The day was also hot as hell and you soon realized that most of your water was gone. You settled beside a river, concluding it was clean and attempting to fill your bottle with it. But then, the white long-tailed duck showed up, quacking and flapping its wings at you.

“What do you want?” You asked, confused as it was stopping you from taking the water.

You then heard what seemed to be soft humming. You looked around as there was no one yet the voice seemed to be trying to lure you to the water. You soon realized why the duck stopped you and quietly stepped back into the woods. Despite your heart being compelled to return and follow the voice, you ran as fast as you could away from the river.

One of the positive perks of being cursed with a supernatural spirit was that it made you immune to other supernatural beings. Something like a siren lurked in those waters and that duck just saved you.

When you noticed you came back to another circle, you took out a normal compass and the arrow was spinning like a crazy. It made your blood run cold. The good news is, you now knew why you were going around circles. It was because you were inside a magical fae trap that made you unable to leave.

You then heard the horn again. They were on to you. You were being hunted.

You took out another compass, a special compass given by the dwarves. They had discovered that the fae traps were never perfect, thus there was a hole the person could escape through and the compass showed the way to the hole. You felt relieved when you got a direction and started running.

Unfortunately, the feanorians weren’t the only ones hunting you. They had hunting hounds. Their dogs snuffed you out and came after you. You were forced to use drastic maneuvers to evade them as they charged at you. Unfortunately, one of the mutts managed to plunge its teeth into your leg, tearing through your flesh. You cried in pain but used a dagger to stab the hound, forcing it to let you go.

However, the hounds surrounded you, ready to tear you apart. In pain and crippling anxiety, wendigo took control. You struck one of the hounds with your strength before growling and charging at one of the hounds, tackling it down and plunging your teeth into its hide.

The sudden display of savagery scared the hounds away. You snapped back to reality after killing the dog and tasting its blood in your mouth. You panicked. You apologized to the dog and continued running away.

With your wound, you were forced to stop. You became desperate as you lost the compass when you got bitten by the hounds. It was too big of a risk to go back for it. You then saw the duck and hawk again, waiting for you. They let out sounds, indicating you to follow them. You decided to trust them and they led you to a hiding place, where you managed to address your wound properly.

The hound got you hard. Adding the medical herbs felt awful but the pain subsided after you managed to tie it with bandages. You fell sick and dreaded what would become of you. You were in some real shit hole and possibly got rabies.

The purple hawk suddenly landed beside your head, looking down on you with its pink eyes. It felt ominous as it then laid its wing over your eyes.

“Sleep,” You heard a familiar voice but fell into a painless slumber.

You then woke up in the morning, feeling something strange in your mouth. You pulled out a strange leaf with weird spots in it. It left your mouth dry but you didn’t feel sick anymore. You tried to figure out what happened last night and only one person came to mind about who that voice belonged to.

Your thoughts vanished when you saw a giant leaf with clean water in it. You grabbed it and drank the water, quenching your thirst and feeling refreshed.

You looked around for the strange birds. You were now certain that they were helping you, even though you didn’t know why. Perhaps they were good faes as that was not impossible. Maybe not all elves turned evil.

You found the duck, who quacked and patted its feet. The hawk stood on a tree expectantly. You didn’t know what it wanted but it looked like they wanted you to follow them again. Without your compass, you were going in blind so you decided to trust them and follow them as they led you somewhere.

The birds led you to a forest. You hid yourself when you saw horses and elves, dancing around, singing. They looked nothing like their former selves as some had features of animals and some had features like they were part of nature itself. They looked like the fae though more unnerving. The duck quacked and flew in another direction. You were confused as to why they would lead you right to your pursuers but decided to trust them as they didn’t alert the elves of your presence.

The duck and hawk stood on the trees as you were watching the horses. The horses nearly looked ordinary except that some of them also looked different. You saw a few with extra eyes, some in other colors and some even looked like birds. You guessed they were changed too as some of the horses were from Valinor. You tried to guess what the birds wanted you to do because you did not want to risk trying to steal one of the horses. Elves shared deep bonds with their equine companions, so the horses were loyal, they would definitely either kill you or alert the elves of your presence.

You bickered with the birds as you couldn’t risk stealing. The pair then looked away from the horses and you followed their gaze. Away from the horses, stood a black horse, without a saddle and eating grass alone. You narrowed your eyes as the horse looked familiar and sneaked closer to have a better look. When you recognized the horse, you finally realized why the birds led you there. They led you to your salvation as the lone black stallion was your own horse, Goliath.

“Goliath…” You uttered in disbelief.

The giant picked up its head and looked toward you. There was some gray in his snout and coat, most likely due to his age. You noticed feathers on his coat and figured he had been morphed like a raven. However, he still looked young and healthy like the last time you saw him. It was your sweet giant Goliath.

Goliath looked at you with caution but when you showed your face and called him again by his name. His tail whisked and he whined as he nearly galloped to you, allowing you to embrace him and nearly cry with joy. He still remembered you.

It also seemed he had remained loyal to you even after your supposed death since he bore no saddle or didn’t stand with the other horses.

You patted him and gave him sugary treats he liked. You realized the birds had reunited you with your equine best friend and possibly given you your salvation. There was a high chance Goliath knew how to get out of the trap.

You asked him if he was willing to help you escape. You did not need to guess if he agreed because he then laid down, allowing you to climb on his back. You had no hesitation to climb on him and ride as he then took you away from the elven camp.

You held onto his mane as he ran through the woods and fields. You felt hopeful as the path seemed new. However, you felt slightly anxious as it would not probably take long for the elves to notice that one of their horses was missing. The hawk and the duck followed you through flight.

You were right as you heard the horn in the distance.

You also heard hounds so you guided Goliath to run beside a river in hopes of hiding your scent. However, the white duck suddenly quacked in alarm as it flew near you. You didn’t have time to question why it was suddenly alerted but your answer to the missing seventh rider was answered when a dark rider with his horse jumped out of the river, reaching out to you with his clawed hands. You pulled back, falling from Goliath’s back.

You groaned from the fall as the impact caused the wound on your leg to open, but quickly fled into the forest. However, with your wound burning like a hot knife, you didn’t get far and when you heard the rider coming for you, you lost control of the wendigo again.

When the rider was about to strike you, you screamed and pounced high enough to tackle him from his horse. The helmet he wore got thrown on and you roared at him as you laid on top of him. His horse whined and tried to attack you, but Goliath came back, kicking and preventing the other horse from approaching you.

Seeing the rider’s face and realizing who was below you snapped you back in control. You stared in shock as it was Maglor who looked back at you. His skin was pale as snow and his hair was darker than ever. He had what you could describe as scales dressing the skin below his eyes which were sharp like that of a snake. You then realized that he must have been your siren from before as he was the one who came out of the water and most likely kept track of you. Now it made more clear why the white duck was so alarmed when you were near water.

“Maglor?” You uttered in disbelief as you stared at each other with shock and bewilderment.

However, when you heard the horns and sounds of horses, you quickly climbed back on Goliath and rode away from Maglor. You looked back for a moment, seeing Maglor looking after you but making no attempts to chase after you. You shook your head and focused on escaping.

Goliath ran like the wind and when you got to the end of the forest, you suddenly felt like you went through something and like a heavy spell had been lifted from you. You realized that you had finally escaped the trap and urged Goliath to keep running, you did not want to risk Maglor and his brothers coming after you now that you had officially escaped them. Celegorm would most likely not take it lightly that his prey got away.

However, it did not stop you from thinking about Maglor and how he had changed. There was a chance he didn’t know it was you when he tried to lure you into the water. Now you were concerned about what he would do now that he knew it was you. For a moment you thought you saw his old self when you looked at him in the eyes. However, you did not decide to stay and find out.

You rode toward the east on Goliath, guided by the white duck and the hawk as you left Ossiriand. You could only hope your journey would get easier from there.

#silmarillion #silmarillion x reader #tolkien #middle earth x reader #silm fic #middle earth #silmarillion imagines #maglor x reader #silmarillion fanfiction #fae maglor #tw:dark #maglor

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