#riddleredcoats

[anneapocalypse]

#interesting #tho i think that Leliana's problem as a whole and why she's 'hard to read' and has this appearing contradicting story is because #Leliana doesn't know who she is#not in a - 'she's finding herself' narrative but more in a 'Leliana has internalised the We Wear Masks part of Orlais too deeply' #she twists and turns according to the situation to fit the mold people expect of her - or that she tries to expect of herself #and she's lost herself so deeply that in DAO DA2 and even DAI - it's not the 'real' her and I don't even think she knows who she really is #because she's lost herself trying to fit the masks. She's absorbed them so fully and does it so often that there is no real her anymore imo #its why she's so lost without having anyone to guide her or being 'above' her #she's what the Marjolaine wants her to be#she's what the Warden wants her to be #she's what Justinia what's her to be #and then she's what she thinks the world needs - no thoughts about its actual impact #i think she's forgotten an essential part of Orlesian culture that Vivienne tells us - there IS supposed to be a real you beneath the mask#when you take the mask off you ARE the real you - not whatever construct you've invented. #Leliana has been so absorbed into her masks - likely in part because Marjo demanded it of her - that she has no real center anymore imo #I think that's why Leliana and Vivienne - though cordial - appear to be on opposite specters #Vivienne has always known who she is even beneath all her masks while Leliana doesn't and simply jumps from mask to mask #it's also why Leliana and Morrigan clash - because Morrigan and Viviene while also on opposite specters have more in common than they'd lik #i honestly think the issue is the same #they are well defined and unmovable no matter what trappings they wear while Leliana only has the dress#to be clear - that is not a bad thing; its very interesting imo #Leliana becoming Divine completes her arc and she becomes the robes of the religion she wishes was so different than it actually is#once again finding purpose in becoming the personification of a construct she has envisioned#either way interesting thoughts#dragon age

@riddleredcoats Sorry to pull this out of the tags but I had to say that I agree with this assessment wholeheartedly! Leliana does not know who she is. She doesn't know in Origins, and she still doesn't know in Inquisition, which is why her personality is still able to be swayed one way or the other by the person leading her despite her not really having the close relationship with the Inquisitor that she can have with the Warden.

This is why, in looking at her rather two-faced behavior toward Morrigan, I don't take either of those faces to be the "true" Leliana necessarily. Or rather in a sense they're both true. The Leliana who calls Morrigan a vile fiend is both as authentic and as inauthentic as the Leliana who wants to convert Morrigan to faith in the Maker and also dress her in velvet and admire her "features."

And a big yes to Morrigan and Vivienne in contrast both having a very strong sense of self that is not easily swayed by others.

This is why I think that a lot of the differences between Origins!Leliana and Inquisition!Leliana are superficial, and can be deceptive. She has not gone on a journey of self-discovery. Even her faith is malleable to her present situation and who she is presently allowing herself to be influenced by. She's still struggling with the same centerlessness and lack of identity after ten years. It's the real tragedy of her character, imo, regardless of how the Inquisitor steers her post-Inquisition.

I cannot help feeling like the tendency to see Inquisition!Leliana in stark contrast to Origins!Leliana has led to some people forgetting what... Leliana is actually like in Origins.

In fairness, as in all Dragon Age games some very revealing character moments happen in party banter which makes it easy to miss. But the gentle-hearted mystic who desires only to draw others unto the love of the Maker has never been all that Leliana is, and it's always been in direct conflict with the side of her that is not only adept at intrigue and yes, violence, but enjoys those things. This is the central conflict of her whole character, and it's not a trivial conflict, because there is not one simple answer to who Leliana truly is. She is both of these things. She is deeply religious and finds comfort in her faith, and thinks it should bring comfort to others as well. She's also prone to gossip and pettiness and all the qualities that helped her thrive as a bard.

There's this one particularly revealing piece of banter with Alistair if the Warden is in a romance with Morrigan:

Alistair: So have you heard? Morrigan and him are... you know. Leliana: Have you nothing better to do than to spread idle gossip? And besides, he can probably hear us both. You're not being very discreet. Alistair: No, look, he's not even paying attention. Leliana: Hmmm. maybe. You don't... think that he's serious about it, do you? The woman is a vile fiend. Alistair: Well, look here, now who's an idle gossip? Me-ow! Leliana: You're the one who started this, I might remind you. And I'm... well, I'm ending it!

I once had the especially entertaining experience of getting this banter, and minutes later hearing Leliana turn to Morrigan to give her the "It's so nice that you're together, isn't love wonderful?" line. But whether or not you have the pleasure of hearing them back to back, I think this dialogue make it pretty clear that while Leliana would like not to think of herself as a gossip, it takes very little prompting from Alistair to get her to slip back into that mean girl persona. And Alistair (who is more perceptive than he often gets credit for), calls her on it immediately, clearly embarrassing Leliana--who realizes that her mask has slipped.

I don't think it follows from this that Leliana necessarily hates Morrigan unilaterally. There's something much more complex going on between them, in my opinion, because they are such distinct opposites in upbringing and personality. Both Leliana's faith and her life of courtly intrigue are nonsense to Morrigan, who neither believes in the Maker nor has much patience for intricate social graces (at least, not yet). Meanwhile, I think Morrigan's outward self-possession and the sense of power she exudes is a source of both fascination and frustration for Leliana, who thinks she understands power, both social and divine--but finds in Morrigan a kind she cannot fully comprehend. (I also think you can definitely feel some sexual tension into their banter, especially the much-beloved banter about the velvet dress.) Ultimately, both of them are very concerned with power, but approach that concept very differently. And Leliana responds to this clash of ideals in a particular way because her own self-image is so conflicted.

As all great Dragon Age foils do, Leliana and Morrigan needle one another, push each other's buttons, challenge one another's sense of self, and in doing so reveal one another in their complexity and sometimes in their ugliness. It is perhaps easy to write this off as the tired trope of women being unable to get along with one another, or conversely to claim that they get along just fine and fandom has fabricated the tensions between them; I think to do either of those things diminishes a genuinely complex and sticky relationship that serves to reveal a lot about both characters.

[woodytwig]

Music Tag Game

tagged by @onaperduamedee thank you!! put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs + tag 10 people

Within Temptation - The Fire Within Mokoma - Toinen ihminen Blondie - One Way Or Another Eluveitie - LVGVS Leonard Cohen - Traveling Light Jack and the Weatherman - Free Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl Måneskin - GOSSIP Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows Nightwish - How's the Heart?

and tagging with no obligations @thatordinaryoddity @sapphoshands @moiraine-aes-sedai @nadia-el-mansours @lurkz

@defenestratedcow @akacosima @regalshenanigans @tarenferry @riddleredcoats

[sekaithemystic]

Her hair was black, falling in ringlets around her, and her tan skin spoke of her time in Montfort. As usual, her black eyes were sharp, cunning, a strange echo of Mantillon’s that Briala hated.

that which shatters over and over and still beats, chapter 3 - RiddleRedCoats

An (not really successful) attempt (I guess) at recreating Lady Fleur based on @riddleredcoats's work. I love my queen currently smiling and plotting Gaspard's downfall <3

[amemoryofwot]

Tag Game: 9 Favorite Characters

Tagged by @asha-mage

I’ll do one character per fandom or this would just be nine WoT characters. I love the quotes that asha-mage had so if I can find some I’ll include them

1) Egwene al’Vere - the Wheel of Time

“I’d name you Darkfriend as well, but I suspect that the Dark One would perhaps be embarrassed to associate with you.”

2) Harrowhark Nonagesimus - The Locked Tomb

“Did I sin, lord? Did I kill two of my fathers that day?”

3) Marissa Coulter - His Dark Materials

“It came to me like a thief in the night, and now I love her so much my heart is bursting with it.”

4) Wynona Earp - Wynona Earp

“Make your peace.”

5) Jasnah Kholin - Stormlight Archive

“A woman’s mind is her most precious weapon.”

Jasnah fanart by blacksalander

6) Ellie Williams - the Last of Us

“I’m just a girl, not a threat.”

7) Jasper - Steven Universe

“My diamond, your diamond, Pink Diamond!”

8) Reinhardt - Overwatch

“I have been called. I must answer. Always.”

9) Anakin Skywalker - Star Wars

“I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the Dark Side like you do.”

I’ll tag @cozcat @wheresmulder @clearancecreedwatersurvival @sixth-light @romanimp @riddleredcoats @twicetolivetwicetodie @jaqobis @butterflydm

[fishwivesfic]

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Moiraine Damodred/Siuan Sanche

Warning: Spoilers for the Whole Series!

Summary: There was something strange going on in the Field of Merrilor and, despite the amassing armies for the Last Battle, Siuan Sanche was going to figure out what exactly is going on.

[askweisswolf]

I was tagged by @the-rebel-archivist and @ohmypawsandwhiskers for this particular meme, and I can finally respond to it since I’ve been working on a new fic tonight! Thank you both so much for the tag!

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words.  

Mary supposes she owes her that much, at least.

@jellydishes, @kittlesandbugs, @floirida, @pip-n-flinx, @molliehaswords, @lexa-griffins, @maburito, @gisellasmoonflower, @riddleredcoats

[leliwardens]

#I honestly thought that Leliana was born in 9:00 or 9:01 Dragon - which makes her 3-4 years older than Celene#which tbh only adds to the absolute whiplash they must feel when they encounter one another#Celene - already so deep in the game she can't see the surface#Leliana - about to be dunked in fully#Celene younger than Leliana but impossibly more powerful#Leliana older but much more naive#Celene watching Leliana fall deeper into Marjolaine - watching history repeat itself#an older woman showing a young girl all she can be in Orlais but having to trade in her innocence and kindness for it#and Celene does nothing because god she can barely do anything for HERSELF much less Leliana#Leliana watching a girl younger than her rule an empire - a *continent* because of Orlais' influence - and doing it so well and alone.#watching her do the right thing even when it goes against all of Orlais past actions - peace and arts and education and good economic polic#lots to coalesce here even if ultimately I don't think Celene and Leliana like each other very much.#especially post-WEWH; but tbh ever since the Inquisition started more like... Celene doesn't like meddling she can't control. (tags via @riddleredcoats)

i'm going pepe silva mode because i learned leliana and celene are about the same age. celene became empress at age 16 and leliana first went to val royeaux when she was 16 and that's where she met marjolaine.

do you think they talked, by chance. leliana dazzled by not only the beauty of the city but by the empress herself. maybe even before marjolaine. do you think they realize they were the same age. do you think they thought about it when they met again years down the line. i'm going to lay down.

[theartfuldodger26]

SO, hi! I'm not gonna ask for a especific WIP, because I know how many you have (😂), but tell me about 10,14, and 19!

Hey! Thanks, @riddleredcoats for the ask and the compassion! ;) To my credit, tho, I’m trying to focus on one or two WIPs these days, in order to be more submersed in the plot and characters, and to preserve any dignity I have left. 

So, here it goes. 

10. Do you have an outline? Do you stick to it? 

Yes, I usually do. It’s easier to write something that has a distinct start, middle and end. Chaos and uncertainty unsettle me greatly. 

Even fics that involve characters just working on their relationship by talking to each other will have an endgame. Said endgame could be a shift in a relationship that they cause consciously or unconsciously, a major change in the canon plot, or just a joke I find funny and fleshed out the entire fic around it (whispers this is the case more often than you think). 

Usually, the outline is not written right away, because I’m young and innocent and every time is like the first time. Then, at about the end of the first third of the fic I’ll realise that the separate scenes I had in mind actually need to be linked together by coherent plot, so that’s when I’ll take my notebook out and visualise stuff so I don’t throw the entire computer out the window. In fact, most of my abandoned projects went into cold storage when I couldn’t fill in those gaps. 

On the other hand, I also get very stressed out when I’m coming up with plot-points, which means many good ideas strike me out of the blue later, while I’m writing or taking a shower or not paying attention in class. This is not a huge disruption to the outline most of the times, it just makes the story richer/more insightful/poignant, because the idea probably came with the original ‘endgame’ in mind, but it change some things, sure. 

I’m eager to free-style on a multichap where I’ve only got a vague idea on what I want to happen, but it scares me, not to mention that the only other fic I tried this is now sitting in the Recycling Bin. Maybe when I have more time it’ll be the project to tackle. 

14. Tell us about an upcoming scene in your WIP, what you’re excited about. 

I’m not in an excited mood right now, but I would really like to see two scenes unfold. 

The first one is about the Slytherin parafernalia, like the snake pin and ring, where Bella gives Voldemort her set because he never had one, and in return he gives her back a Muggle object (which was your fantastic suggestion, @riddleredcoats), even if Idk what the object is going to be. 

The second is from the Harry-finds-out-about-Bellamort fic promised to @thelastdarkstar, where Harry is surrounded by all the trinkets Voldemort’s collected throughout his life. I want it to be like a chest of memories married to a  cabinet of curiosities, plus Bella’s sexy pictures ;) 

Wish I could be more specific XD

19. Do you know how your story ends before you start writing?

That’s a good question, because it touches on the reason many of my fics exist:  the ending is my point. It’s what sparked the story to begin with, and the question was, rather, where do I start in order to give the right concept. (Now I’m rereading this I’m starting to think this might actually be the root to some writing problems I’ve been facing as of recent, so, um, thanks :) )

Other times, with more character-interaction fics, the ending is something like: ‘and they rode away, as the sun was setting’ or just smut, because I’m unoriginal like that. In those cases I know it’s going to be anticlimactic and just put a full-stop when it feels I’ve had enough. 

As mentioned in q.10, not having an at least vague plan for the fic is what prohibits me from making progress in writing, especially when it comes to the ending. It’s one of the reasons the Harry-finds-out fic is moving so slow: Idk how to end it. 

And that’s it! Thanks again for the ask, hope it was interesting or even helpful. :)

[sigurdjarlson]

@riddleredcoats nice! Thank you for the help! :)

[sekaithemystic]

dying on the bed reading briala & celene works from riddleredcoats i will never escape this

[terapsina]

35 and 54!

35. Which do you prefer to write: longer or shorter fics?

I love writing longer fics because they're fun to get into but they get decidedly LESS fun once they turn into the dreaded WIPs. So one shots are probably BETTER for me.

54. Do you usually like what you write?

Yes. Right up until I post them. And then again 6 months later when I reread them.

[romans-art]

@riddleredcoats​ - the scar at her lip is still there. the lighting across the lower half of her face just makes it difficult to see in comparison to her eyebrow scar which is in shadow

[crystalphi]

rules: tag 9 people who you want to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions.

tagged by: @snake-queen7 - thank you so much!

3 ships: I can’t really name 3. I can ship anything as long as the artwork depicting them or the fic talking about them is nice. So I guess that I ship almost everything.

last song: “Monster” - from “Frozen: The Broadway Musical”

last movie: “Slender Man”. Awful movie, I just watched it because Slender Man is... good looking? Kinda? 

current cravings: beef bbq ribs, beer, will to be productive.

current readings: “Artemis Fowl and the Artict Incident”. I actually started it a week ago, but then I got sick and just spent the days listening to “The Magnus Archives”.

Tagging: @melvinarin @rubbish78 @paranormal-shitness @ineffablewitch @riddleredcoats @aquamotto @andyandnormski @lemmesellyourorgans @boxyyy

Don’t feel forced in doing it, of course! 

[consistantly-changing]

List 5 OTPs from 5 fandoms, then tag 10 people to pass it on.

On mobile so let’s see how bad this looks:

Thanks to @meggiry-khaleesi for tagging me!

Blue/Yellow diamond (Steven Universe)

Harley/Ivy (DC comics/extended universe)

Entrapta/Hordak (She-ra Princesses of Power)

Raoul/Christine (Phantom of the Opera)

Brotherhood ot3!! (Rapunzel’s tangled adventures)

Tag 10 (that’s a lot of people, do I even know that many people?): @faelapis, @ankle-beez, @pnumbra-rbs, @rohad93, @aureole, @izzyaro, @desnaa, @marzipanandminutiae, @riddleredcoats, @pennylogue

[fugamalefica]

Favorite Bellamort fanfics? Make me cry

I sob when I read these.

[sorroki]

Hiya guys- More people than  I expected said they too wanted a Bellamort discord server so I went ahead and made one!

https://discord.gg/YyDSvar

Tagging everyone who replied to my last post:

@thelastdarkstar @c-lestrange @ionlydrinkonline @wheresthemonet @riddleredcoats

Also on a side note yall ever afraid of tagging the wrong people lol