#still the textures in ostagar get all fucked up

[dafeelscz]

I've been trying to play Origins again but the amount of times I've had to replay the entirety of the Cousland origin because of mods clashing/crashing is staggering

I've replayed the dying scene alone like 12 times. like Bryce is dying and I'm just going yup. skip skip.

pleASE lemme play im begging

[secretsfromwholecloth]

Hey. Hey, everyone. I don’t have to be back at work until the 31st, so LET’S AGE SOME MOTHERFUCKING DRAGONS WHOOOOOOOOO.

You know, between my unimpressive eyesight and the godawful lighting in all of DA’s character creation screens, I’m not actually sure what color any of my babies’ eyes are.

No goddamn lie, I would commit actual murder for another dozen bun/updo/tied-back/braided hairstyles. This is probably the main philosophical difference between me and the creators of all the hair mods out there.

I’ve already used the single and double buns for other characters, and I envision this one also having fairly long hair that she binds up, so Baroness hair it is, I guess. *sigh*

If you expect me to create a character in DAO without pushing up the cheekbone sliders at least one or two notches, you don’t know me very well. I did restrain myself and only push them up a little bit this time, though.

Anyway! Everyone, meet Isaura Amell. Most of her personality will have to reveal itself to me as I play, as the plans I have are mostly a) fairly nebulous and b) for later in the game.

For the record, I think her eyes are gray. Who the fuck knows if I’m right, though.

Fine, Valour, Isaura will play your game...Oh, what’s that, you’re just handing her a staff? Very nice of you.

You tried, Mouse. Thanks for the lesson.

Jowan gets less whiny when he’s out of this specific situation, right?

Goodness, that’s what Niall looks like outside the Fade.

Now that I get a good listen to him, yeah, I can hear that he shares a VA with Serafen from Deadfire.

Ah, hello, Duncan. Is it good to see you? I think it is.

Jowan, I swear, you get the worst ideas sometimes.

Hello, Cullen. Apparently you’re 19 here, though I’d be hard-pressed to say you look it. You know what, I was a total shithead when I was 19. I get it.

Isaura is going to call Cullen’s bluff and offer to “continue the discussion” in private as much because it makes her feel in control for once as anything. Maybe she understands deep down that someone wanting to fuck you isn’t the same as having power over them, though I don’t think she’s yet had to learn it the hard way, but when you live in a Circle tower, you take your happiness where you can.

Also, there’s no way she’s older than maybe 23, probably closer to 20 or 21, which is still a good age for shitheadery.

She really just wanted to toy with Cullen, and I doubt she was thinking far enough ahead to have a plan for what she’d do if he took her up on her offer. The running away part was an amusing if unexpected bonus.

Keeping Jowan and Lily’s secret, and helping them out (which of course means they owe her and know it), is a similar “being in control” kind of thing.

So the Storage Caves are like a tiny little mini-Deep Roads, huh?

Huh, this is the first time I’ve seen the tower basement outside the context of Witch Hunt.

Whee, time to murder our way through the basement!

Oh, hello there, Eleni Zinovia.

Oops, got caught, time to play dumb.

Isaura certainly had an idea Jowan was dabbling in blood magic, but she didn’t think he was quite foolish enough to go and do that in front of Irving and Greagoir. Really, Jowan. The worst ideas, Jowan.

Hello, Cailan. You’re very enthusiastic for someone about to have such a very, very bad day.

Isaura has had enough of antagonizing the powerful for one week, so she’s going to be polite and deferential to Cailan and laugh at his jokes. We’ve all been there.

A “secret ritual”, huh, Duncan? Isaura just wants to know if she’s going to have to fight any more demons.

Ooh, my first crash! Luckily for me, I saved a couple of seconds before, knowing it’s always a risk when I cross the bridge into Ostagar for some reason. And it didn’t take the whole computer with it and wipe out all my typing.

Hello, Wynne. Fancy seeing you here.

The glitchies already? The Ostagar quartermaster’s clothing textures aren’t loading.

Hello, Alistair. Meet your future girlfriend.

Oh, look, a baby Templar. Well, some kind of former baby Templar. Quite possibly still a baby Templar at heart. Isaura can play with him like she used to do with Cullen, and then get all surprised when she grows to really, genuinely like the guy. (What? He’s sweet. Stop looking at her like that.)

Alistair, dearie, the woman wearing Circle robes and carrying a staff slung across her back “[doesn’t] look like a mage”? You didn’t think that one through, did you?

Hello, Morrigan. *sigh*

Part of Isaura wants to be friends, part of her wonders if there’s really room in her world for another young mage woman who spent her youth shut away from the bulk of humanity and who has a tendency to talk like a book because of it.

But as long as they’re the only two women around, “let’s be friends” will win out. Anyway, she doesn’t know any of this yet.

It’s so weird seeing Flemeth without her hair and makeup done.

“Your woman’s mind”—at this point, I just wonder what she’d ask of male Cousland, who’d have nothing to distinguish him from the other three in terms of gender, species, or magical ability.

Tower of Ishal time!

What, I don’t get a rogue for this part? Dammit. Well, it was worth asking.

I sure do love Flame Blast.

Flaming Weapons doesn’t look too shabby either.

Well, time to clean the place out like we’re not on a deadline.

Ha, the ogre went down like a chump. I love Winter’s Grasp, too.

Well, that’s done. To Lothering!

Oh, hello, doggie. Now, what do I name you? Hm, how about Rashvine?

And after the first of many, many conversations where Alistair and Morrigan snark at each other a whole lot, I’m being forced to pack it in for the night, so more in the morning.

[nxtherold]

TAGGED  BY : @seahaloed​ for Rosara Cousland (<3<3<3) TAGGING :  If your url starts with a letter from A-Z I’m tagging you

ROSARA COUSLAND

—    BASICS.

▸     IS    YOUR    MUSE    TALL    /    SHORT    /    AVERAGE ? On the taller side of average. She stands at around 5′7″.

▸      ARE    THEY    OKAY    WITH    THEIR    HEIGHT ? Her height is never really something she’s stopped to consider. She no tiny pixie, but she’s also not towering over people so there’s never been much attention called to it.

▸      WHAT’S    THEIR    HAIR    LIKE ? Tawny blonde with slight waves. It was lighter in her younger years but naturally turned darker over time. It reaches a little below her upper back. She usually styles it into a half-up/half-down style but in more combat-heavy situations she will pull into a braided crown to keep it out of the way. The texture is a medium-thick and collects oil easily, so she has to wash it often.

▸     DO    THEY    SPEND    A    LOT    OF    TIME    ON    THEIR    HAIR     /    GROOMING ? She spends a lot of time on it. She wasn’t forced to conform to high beauty standards like most women born into similar status are, but she does maintain a strict routine out of her own preference. She can be very meticulous and vain when it comes to upholding her own standards for how she should look, and if she’s deprived access to her preferred grooming she can get quite grumpy.

▸      DOES   YOUR   MUSE   CARE   ABOUT   THEIR   APPEARANCE   /   WHAT    OTHERS    THINK ? She cares greatly about her own appearance, but it’s mostly for her own personal approval. Though she understands that her looks will affect how others react to her and is more than willing to use perception of her beauty to charm people into doing what she wants, when it comes down to it, she really doesn’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks of her looks. She has really strong self-esteem and only cares whether or not she herself is happy with her appearance.

—    PREFERENCES.

▸     INDOORS    OR    OUTDOORS ?  Indoors ▸     RAIN    OR    SUNSHINE ?  Rain ▸     FOREST    OR    BEACH ?  Forest ▸     PRECIOUS    METALS    OR    GEMS ?   Gems ▸     FLOWERS    OR    PERFUMES ?  Flowers ▸     PERSONALITY    OR    APPEARANCE ?  Personality  ▸     BEING    ALONE    OR    BEING    IN    A    CROWD ?  Crowd ▸     ORDER    OR    ANARCHY ?  Order ▸     PAINFUL    TRUTHS    OR    WHITE    LIES ?  White lies ▸     SCIENCE    OR    MAGIC ?  Both ▸     PEACE    OR    CONFLICT ?  Both ▸     NIGHT    OR    DAY ?  Night ▸     DUSK    OR    DAWN ?  Dusk ▸     WARMTH    OR    COLD ?  Warmth ▸     MANY   ACQUAINTANCES    OR    A    FEW    CLOSE    FRIENDS ?  Both ▸     READING    OR    PLAYING    A    GAME ?  Playing a game

—    QUESTIONNAIRE.

▸      WHAT    ARE    SOME    OF    YOUR    MUSE’S    BAD    HABITS ?

She’s argumentative and will not back down to another’s whims. Sometimes she’s right and her way is better, but when she’s wrong, trying to convince her that she’s wrong is impossible.

She sometimes gets into trouble for the sake of trouble.

It goes with the first one, but while she’s a fantastic leader, she is also a horrible follower unless you manage to earn her trust. She has a bad problem with challenging any authority she works under if she thinks she has a better way of doing things, even when her open insubordination is inappropriately timed. She won’t wait to call out someone in private (unless she respects them enough), she’ll do it in front of all of their subordinates.

She works herself to death.

▸      HAS    YOUR    MUSE    LOST    ANYONE    CLOSE    TO    THEM ?      HOW    HAS    IT    AFFECTED    THEM ? Well, given that she is a Cousland and I don’t diverge from the events of that origin, at one point she lost everyone. Her entire family save for her brother was wiped out through treachery. And it really fucked her up. Outside of giving her major PTSD, it made her angrier. Colder. For a time, it was like her heart had been removed from her entirely. But she had an opportunity to work through a lot of those emotions at Ostagar, and then afterward when traveling as a Grey Warden. She becomes like her old self again during her Warden training, but there’s something unmistakably different about her to those that knew her before. Like after she picked up all the pieces of herself, there was still a piece missing. Her innocence was gone, and something darker and sadder had taken its place.

▸      WHAT    ARE    SOME    FOND    MEMORIES    YOUR    MUSE    HAS ?   She loved all the parties she got to attend as a noble. From soirees to negotiations, those memories rank high in her mind. Socializing. Intrigue. The pride in her father’s eyes as he watched his daughter thrive. She misses that feeling greatly.

▸     IS    IT    EASY    FOR    YOUR    MUSE    TO    KILL ? Yes. It wasn’t before, but after watching her family be massacred, death became something familiar to her. Not that she likes to see a loss of life, but it’s become too normalized to her to wound her conscience.

▸      WHAT’S    IT    LIKE    WHEN    YOUR    MUSE    BREAKS    DOWN ? Silence. She refuses to break down in front of others. She will brood, then the moment she finds privacy, it starts with anger. Always anger, because it’s easier to be angry than to be sad for her. Yet another thing that stems from the Cousland tragedy; that event created such a strong sense of sadness and vulnerability in her that now she has trouble processing sadness without feeling that same vulnerability, and she desperately wishes she would never have to feel vulnerable again.

▸      IS    YOUR    MUSE    CAPABLE    OF    TRUSTING    SOMEONE    WITH    THEIR    LIFE ? She has very few people she would truly trust with her life in the fullest sense (her companions comprise the majority of that number), but she is often in situations where at least a degree of trust must be placed upon others. As a Warden, she needs to trust that her comrades will have her back. As a noble, she must trust her guards to be dutiful and loyal. As the Dark Wolf, she trusts in her followers to uphold their secrets and collectively protect everyone involved. But only when it comes to the limited few who have her full trust would she believe they would genuinely put her life over theirs if it came down to a “it’s either me or you” situation.

▸      WHAT’S    YOUR    MUSE    LIKE    WHEN    THEY’RE    IN    LOVE ? Fiercely protective of the person she’s in love with. Not overbearingly so, but she won’t hesitate to defend their honor or safety. She cherishes those she loves, and their needs always come before her own. She can be publicly affectionate, but only if her partner would not be embarrassed. She is playful, passionate, and doting, and she never wants a moment to pass when her partner feels unadored by her. When she falls in love, she loves hard. And after having experienced so much loss, she is intent to not lose anyone she loves ever again.

[secretsfromwholecloth]

Dragon Age: Origins, day 6.

Ooh. Enjoy your drakeskin armor, Zevran.

Daiwen is feeling like a bit of a failure after a) letting darkspawn find and attack the camp and b) seeing what became of Tamlen. Thanks for, uh, all of you coming running to help put him down, babies. Very...helpful. (Alistair, your attempt at being comforting is very sweet.)

First up, Return to Ostagar. Alistair, Wynne, of course you’re coming along, that’s why you’re in the party in the first place.

I presume making Wynne 49 was an accident—someone chained a bunch of events and ages together and didn’t run the numbers to make sure they made sense. But here we are, and this series has now lost the right to have anyone make cracks about her being old. Especially the one where she says she’s old enough to be Zevran’s grandmother.

Look, I like numbers, I pick up on them. And now that Wynne has been pinned down as being forty-goddamn-nine, it turns out I’m closer in age to her than to the likes of Alistair, so hey, Bioware, what exactly is your intended messaging here?

Wynne is being written by her normal writer here, so of course she doesn’t feel any different. Alistair feels very slightly off, but it’s no terrible thing considering my love-hate relationship with his usual writer. We’ll see what feeling I get from Zevran, who’s rounding out the party.

I always give Cailan a proper funeral. Not least because I always have Alistair along, and whatever else may have been the case, that’s his brother (and I don’t love not being able to point that out—Daiwen could give a shit about Cailan’s “royal blood”, but his friend deserves a chance to do what his culture says is the right thing here).

Zevran, please place your disapproval somewhere uncomfortable. This isn’t your affair.

For the record, I still really dislike the banter where Alistair and Wynne flirt with each other. For multiple reasons.

I will be well pleased when Alistair’s Strength score gets to the point where he can equip the good armor and I can get rid of the stuff he’s wearing now and free up a couple of inventory slots. Just two more levels!

Welp, time for Leliana’s musical number.

I...no. Especially not in light of some of her earlier comments. It does comfort me to imagine Daiwen spending the whole time thinking “OK, clearly the ‘wise elven woman’ she learned this from knew a very different version of this part of the melody...nope, pretty sure that’s wrong...what word is she even trying to pronounce here...”

Level 14-15 isn’t dragonslaying time, and I don’t want to do Orzammar just yet, so let’s head for Soldier’s Peak.

“Gee, I’m taking Sten, the dog, and Leliana on a quick jaunt to Redcliffe to knock out a no-combat sidequest, hope we don’t get into any fights!” *cue darkspawn ambush*

After all this time, I still keep reading “poultice” as “poutine”. Fuck it, they’re health poutines now. Makes at least as much sense as drinking a poultice, ahem.

Oh, fine, before going after Shale I’ll take a quick look at Orzammar. Got a couple of side/companion quests whose next step is there, anyway.

We know we’re getting into the later game when the graphics start doing the glitchy thing. You know the one, where the game gets confused about what textures to load and stuff gets flickery and wrong-colored.

Tends to be comorbid with the crashies, too. As I’m finding out the hard way.

Clearly shemlen polities don’t have a monopoly on being incredibly tedious; now Orzammar is drawing Daiwen into its own succession crisis, and he has even less time for this one than for Ferelden’s.

He may be taking his cue from his player here; I’m kind of ready to be done, and a third of my mind is already on Awakening, but this has to get done first.

Zevran seems to be coming down on Bhelen’s side, so that solves (well, justifies) that.

Nug acquired. Hello, Schmooples.

YAAAAAAY DEEP ROADS *headdesk*

At this point, it’ll be weird if I ever hear Tara Platt in something where she doesn’t voice a woman whose only concern is motherhood and who says “child” a lot.

Anyway, Zerlinda has been convinced to emigrate, and no, of course this doesn’t remind me of anything, why do you ask?

Jarvia’s hideout, AKA the mini-Deep Roads! Yaaaaay! *wail*

And dealing with Jarvia herself can wait for tomorrow, because it’s gotten rather late to be starting a big fight like that.