#or just a dragon with gems

[egophiliac]

I have SO many thoughts about everything and they are in no kind of order yet, so here's just some quick little bits in the meantime!

I am not normal about any of these characters!

[synesthete-sylke]

gem and the scotts because that team didn't get enough love!! it was such a great vibe, all three povs were super fun to watch

[bluemarble-fr]

I am very happy for aether gene expansion in general but the new gene is so?? lovely?? Which is surprising for me

My first thought about it was lichen and moss:

Driftwood ripple /moss laquer/ algae ornaments

nature faded eyes

Soil tapir/ forest paisley/ olive ornaments

nature unusual eyes

Want them both so badly but the price

[star--nymph]

Vivienne's fear being 'becoming irrelevant' isn't something that's linked explicitly to her pride, no matter what Solas says about her (and the irony of Mr.Pride himself saying that should not be lost on you), it reveals what and who Vivienne truly is.

She's a survivalist.

Because we don't spend as much time in the Free Marches or Orlesian circles, we don't get to experience what being a mage is in these cultures. In Ferelden and Kirkwall, a mage is a lesser being without freedom no matter what they do--but in the Free Marches and Orlais specifically, mages are commodities that are given freedom so long as they play an entertaining enough role. They can explore the world if they have a noble patron, if they catch the right person's eye. They are, in a way, two sides of the same coin--refusing mages agency and forcing them to relay on higher powers. Vivienne lucked out, as sad as it is, when Bastion fell in love with her; she found someone who was contrarian enough to recognize her as a full person and also someone with power that could help her rise through the ranks. This is not to say that Vivienne on her own wasn't an exceedingly talented and intelligent individual--by nineteen she was already the youngest full fledged mage in Circle history and she was skilled enough to make herself an enchanter. But, I can not emphasize this enough, none of that matters if she didn't also play the Game and impress enough people.

Vivienne could have been the most brilliant mage in the history of Thedas and it means nothing if she was overlooked by nobility.

So when Bastion made her his mistress, she gained not just a lover but also a means to an end. Now she can use her magic to protect herself. Now she can roam where she wants and not be question for it because she's Madame Vivienne. Now, she can walk into the Orlasian court and belong there.

And what happens? Celene notices her and makes her the Court Enchanter, a position that has always been the equivalent of a jester. Vivienne took that title, ignored that it was essentially a glorified insult to who she is, and made it a position of power. She made the Court Enchanter into an advisor, a political rank. She had done the impossible and made mages an actual political entity in the Orlasian Court, something that wasn't seen outside of Tervinter (not counting what players can do under very specific conditions if they made mages in DAO and DA2).

All that, however, only continues as long as the court recognizes her as something worth their attention. Vivienne needs to maintain her act as Madame De Fer, The Lady of Iron, the Court Enchanter, The Jewel of the High Court, because the second she just becomes Vivienne, it's over for her. The assassins coming raining in, her name gets devoured by rumors and gossip, and she'll be found dead at bottom of the stair case with a dagger in her back if she's lucky.

So of course when the Circles fall apart during the Rebellion, she clings to that Loyalist Mages to maintain that structure--of course she moves her pieces to the Inquisition, knowing that if the Circle DOES fall, she at least as another place for herself and mages latch onto--of course when she hears that Celene replaced her with a new Court Enchanter that appeared out of no where, she grows to resent Morrigan.

Like, Morrigan literally pops up out of thin air, makes herself invaluable to Celene, and then plants herself in the place Vivienne had to claw her way up to and create so she could survive. Would you not be resentful when your life's work is usurped by some random witch of the wilds because she happened to charm the Empress? Everything Vivienne strived for all whisked away because the court find a gem who glimmers ever so slightly more than Vivienne.

So yes, Vivienne fears becoming irrelevant because the world has made it so that irrelevance for an Orlesian mage means death.

[ferberus-skull]

you WILL look at litebrite btw

[owleics-fr]

Obviously i am aware that one mans trash etc etc anyone could look at my lair and think all my dragons are ugly abominations but i do think its utterly fascinating when someone holds up the ugliest dragon ive ever seen and coos about just how perfect it is. Like thats literally fodder. I love it

[tequiilasunriise]

happy hatching day to one (1!!!) yang xiao long!!

[puppetmaster13u]

Am I slightly obsessed with dragon AUs? Maybe. Maybe I just really like dragons. So have another prompt.

Danny and Tucker have decided to reincarnate together in an entirely new world. Which isn't a new thing with reincarnation for beings such as them, but honestly they're a little tired of being humans or human-adjacent beings.

But they don't want to just be an animal either. They're Ancients after all, and can afford to be a bit prideful in choosing a form they'll hopefully spend at least another eighteen years in.

The forms they've chosen? Why dragons. It fits their power sets so well, and honestly it's something new for them! And well, Sam would join but it's her turn on the whole council thing since the Realms doesn't exactly have a king anymore.

But they have to make it through the whole... egg thing first. Which on one hand, dragon eggs are practically indestructible and it's free nap time! On the other, they can't exactly defend themselves besides whatever natural magical things might surround them.

Which is why it's so annoying that some assholes decide to steal them. They're literally stuck as eggs for at least a few months more, preferably a bit longer so they can be certain their new bodies are strong enough to hold their true power. Or at least the small fraction living bodies can hold.

And they aren't some gemstones! Honestly these people are also idiots and- oh, hey, someone is attacking the whole smuggling operation thing, thank fuuck... .... Oh hey, fellow undead! Yeah, hey, dude that doesn't feel full of greed and is maybe a bit angry but that's normal, yeah you! Hey get them out of this box! Yeah!

Jason on the other hand, is having a very What the Fuck sort of night right now.

[batfossil-fr]

+1 to the pair collection

1 / 2

[realyauza]

[theartingace]

going through some old CR files and found this random dragon hidden in the layers and idk what was happening here but it's a vibe (and I like this dragon design but I'm not going to do anything about it)

[zeldasadork]

scott and joel are good rivals too because they both are sort of the catalysts of their own demises (particularly in secret life) but scott moreso in a tactical self-martyring way and joel in a “unlucky and with poor risk assessment” way

[asphy7]

This is Kione and they're shaped like blue people avatar

[raayllum]

was thinking about why the fandom focuses on callum's devotion to rayla more so than the other way around - even if they're equally nuts in a lot of ways and i do think the focus is 60/40 - and i think a lot if is really comes down to callum just being 'easier' to love than rayla like, objectively, especially in arc 1.

he's sweet and goofy and emotionally open, he can be insecure and get stuck in his head but that's very internal, he makes mistakes but never anything too major, at most interpersonal relationship wise he can be a bit pushy or momentarily cruel, he's a prince and wanted peace with the elves from the start, he never really causes massive disasters and when he does there was a 50-50 chance it was going to work out anyway or if he is taking a massive risk, thus far it's really only involved risking himself.

he's cute and caring and has never really broken her heart (as she maintains hope even throughout his bouts of cold shoulder in s4). of course she loves him. of course she'd risk everything and anything for him. and even in arc 2 when he's being cold, he's still caring and still knows when to step in and support her

rayla is like... a much more 'difficult' character and person from the start. she lies repeatedly, especially to cover up her failures, she can swagger without actual substance, she's snarky and stand offish and can be snappish. she breaks at the worst of times and often leads to other people being put at risk. she abandons him and breaks his heart. she showed up threatening to kill him. she blew up their lives together and repeats the same mistakes over and over again.

on a surface level and on an interpersonal level, she's far more of an overt piece of work, whereas callum's nastiness comes out more sparingly and is more hidden under the surface; it's not always so apparent. but rayla's typically is, she is a moonshadow elf who fundamentally cannot hide her flaws even when she's trying to so hard

and callum loves her anyway.

he's endeared by the snark, he persists past the standoffish, she pushes him away and he keeps coming back to try and help her, he gets angry but he ultimately (and always rather quickly) forgives her, he's had multiple people telling him that she's bad and cannot/should not be trusted and just flat out doesn't listen to them, because he believes so fundamentally in her goodness, even or especially when she doesn't believe in it because of all the reasons above. he knows she can be difficult and he either doesn't care or loves her not in spite of those things but because of those things. and that's what's so appealing about that aspect of their dynamic.

callum is a wonderful walk in the park when it comes to catching feelings with only a few hiccups, and so often rayla is a ditch with spikes, and callum just goes "challenge accepted" every time (and succeeds) because he knows/believes that she's worth it (and he's right)

[monerelluvia]

More silly little comics with Petra and her roommates/friends! See the first two here. This one features Gravis, originally the necromancer warlock she was raised with in a cult. In the modern setting... they probably grew up together in the same neighborhood and had similar interests.

Below a follow up with Golden, another friend's OC from another campaign but it was funny to imagine our kobold bard as a freelancer singer and stand up actor.

[ferberus-skull]

i finally got desdemona all her genes. please behold her because she is perfect. the soul wrangler Ever