#thedas tuesday

[defira85]

Thedas Tuesday

It's Thedas Tuesday again so I'm gonna post about one of my other Rooks... or technically two, because my qunari are twins!

Kasaanda and Vaaran, Amaranthine Grey Wardens

Kasaanda and Vaaran, who fled Par Vollen at the age of 15 when Kasaanda's magic manifested quite late, and she was terrified at the prospect of being Saarebas. Unfortunately, the year they were 15 was also the year of the Fifth Blight, and as they travelled south along the coast trying to find somewhere to stop running, they found the cities increasingly overflowing with Fereldan refugees, and unwilling to admit two qunari

So they found themselves in Amaranthine, a few days ahead of the siege by the Mother's forces, and were among the civilians who teamed up with the city guard to hold out until Elissa Cousland's wardens could relieve them. Starstruck by the Wardens, the girls lied about their age and survived the Joining several weeks later

Kas is delighted with her lifestyle. She loves being a warden, loves the freedom it allows her, and actually loves being a mage too. Vaaran is quieter, stoic. A defense tank through and through, the shield to her sister's staff. Vaaran never fully renounced the Qun, and tries to hold faith in her own way, doing her best to ignore the huge hypocrisy in allowing her sister to live unfettered

As of the onset of Veilguard, the girls have been wardens for over 20 years now - and Vaaran is showing signs of the Calling. Determined to save her sister's life, Kas has decided they will hunt down the ever flighty Elissa Cousland, who is rumoured to have cured herself of the Taint and was last known to be working with the Inquisition many years ago before vanishing again. Vaaran follows faithfully, reluctant to let Kas know that she has embraced her fate and intends an honourable suicide, as both the Qun and warden culture would have her do

Once again, is this something the game will let me do? Absolutely not! But I'm having fun, and that's what matters

[darkfeanix]

Thedas Tuesday

I started this last Tuesday, and you wanna know how many relationships I wrote between then and yesterday?

Varric. I wrote up Ariel's relationship with Varric last Tuesday, and then didn't get around to writing any of the others until this afternoon. Even having a clear idea of most of them, that took a lot out of me. Aveline in particular completely surprised me with the direction her relationship with Ariel took.

This is where I realised that my canon, while it aligns with the games it takes place, doesn't necessary line up with the game that followed. Again, this is about Aveline. In Dragon Age II, it is canonically possible to get her to a point where she will resign from the City Guard, and I decided that that I wanted to write that into her relationship with Ariel. That does mean it contradicts literally everything about her in relation to Dragon Age Inquisition, but you know what? That's Bioware's fault for giving me the option in Dragon Age II and not considering the follow-through in Inquisition.

Anway, without further adieu, please find the companion relationships for Dragon Age II under the cut (including Dog, because Dog counts, dammit).

Dermid Hawke

Ariel's shrewd mabari hound, undeniably the fourth Hawke child, and overall good boy. Expert card shark and frequent player at Varric's weekly Wicked Grace games.

Bethany Hawke

Ariel always got on better with Bethany than she did with Carver, and while that initially led to some tension between them after his death ("Could I have done more if I hadn't been so focused on protecting my sister?" is a question they both ask themselves many times in the years to come), ultimately the love they have for each other is deeper than any outside force. While Bethany initially resented Ariel for leaving her out of the Deep Roads Expedition, and was scared when the templars arrived to take her to the Circle, over time it grew to be more of a relief to not be looking over her shoulder anymore. This only reinforced Ariel's own beliefs that the Circles served a necessary role, and she would spend the next few years maintaining this perspective as their correspondence continued.

It wasn't until Bethany was abducted by Thrask and Grace, who hoped to use her as leverage to force Ariel to act, that Ariel was forced to admit that the situation in Kirkwall had gotten out of control. Even then, she resisted all efforts to force her to pick a side, toeing the line with Meredith right up until the moment when Meredith took it upon herself to annul the Kirkwall Circle of Magi in response to Anders destroying the Chantry. At long last, Ariel was forced to open her eyes and admit that she couldn't stand by and watch while the templars continued to abuse their authority. When the templars came to execute their charges, the Hawke sisters stood side by side and held the line, rebuking the attack and, when it came to it, striking down Knight-Commander Meredith.

Aveline Vallen

Initially tentative friends after fleeing from Lothering, the two of them grew distant in the year of indentured servitude to Athenril and her smugglers, as Aveline resented being made to do illegal work. The very day that their debt was cleared, Aveline enlisted with the Kirkwall city guard, and that put additional strain on their relationship as Ariel continued to associate with Kirkwall's criminal underworld. Even so, it was to Hawke that Aveline turned to when she began to suspect something untoward was happening with Guard Captain Jeven, and in the years to come, she would credit Hawke with her own rapid rise to the role of Guard Captain.

The relationship took another serious hit when a blood mage abducted and killing Ariel's mother. Ariel blamed the City Guards' inaction during an earlier investigation – and Aveline in particular – for her mother's death, while Aveline viewed it as a tragedy that she could not have prevents despite how much she wished it. It became a point of contention between them that wouldn't be resolved until a couple of years later. Aveline's involvement in the Arishok being moved to take action against Kirkwall drove an additional wedge between them.

With little in the way of friends and no family to speak of, Aveline threw herself into her role as Guard Captain for the next three years, taking the lessons she had learned from Leandra's death and the Qunari invasion and applying them to the City Guard with ruthless determination. Her new exacting standards produced a higher quality of guard overall, at the cost of quantity. And despite herself, Ariel's respect for Aveline grew, particularly as Meredith blocked all efforts to crown and new viscount, while the templars refused to step up and support the Guard. They finally mended fences after Jeven returned to stir up resentment in both the current guards and those who had failed to meet Aveline's standards. Realising that she had been trying to save something that was determined to destroy itself, Aveline decided to resign from her position and dedicate herself full time to the cause of keeping the city safe, alongside Ariel.

Varric Tethras

They get on like a house on fire. What began as a mutually beneficial business arrangement quickly evolved into a lasting friendship, and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that Varric is Ariel’s best friend. In the early days, Varric helped Ariel practice her lockpicking skills, giving her pointers and advice. As the years passed, she became his confidante and the person he turned to whenever he needed help. Similarly, Varric was always ready with a flagon of ale and an ear to listen when Ariel was fed up dealing with the Kirkwall nobility.

When Varric’s traitorous brother returned to Kirkwall, Ariel was eager to get some good old-fashioned revenge along with her friend, but she changed her mind after seeing the state he was in. She persuaded Varric to spare Bartrand’s life, and with her family’s connections to the Chantry, was able to help him find a sanitarium where he could receive the care he needed. For the remainder of her time in Kirkwall, Ariel would pay fortnightly visits to Bartrand, bringing flowers and reading to him. And a couple of years later, as the situation with the templars got worse and the Veil in Kirkwall grew ever more fragile, the two of them needed to return to the manor where Bartrand had been holed up, recovering a piece of the red lyrium idol that had driven him mad. The two of them debated for several tense minutes before Varric convinced Ariel that keeping the chip of the idol was worth the trouble, as it might help him help Bartrand.

When things finally came to a head with Knight-Commander Meredith, Varric expressed concerns about actively opposing the Templar Order, but he still backed Ariel a hundred percent.

Sebastian Vael

Grand Cleric Elthina might have said that Ariel brought out the worst in Sebastian, but the truth is that she only ever encouraged him to pursue what was rightfully his. Their relationship was tempestuous at times, but they developed real feelings for each other as the years passed, and the result was that Sebastian did begin to pull away from the Chantry as his focus turned to Starkhaven and how its people continued to suffer.

After Elthina's death at Anders' hands, Sebastian realised he had nothing left to hold him back. With Ariel's support, he returned to Starkhaven and claimed the throne that had been his all along.

Fenris

Ariel met Fenris through her connections with Athenril's smuggling ring, and the two became fast friends, with Fenris accompanying Ariel and Varric on the expedition into the Deep Roads along with another of their friends, Isabela. In the years the followed, he became one of Ariel's most reliable allies, and she his. Though they would never quite see eye-to-eye on the issue of mages, Ariel did help him to heal from many of his worst traumas, and in the end he stood side-by-side with her to protect the mages of Kirkwall when Meredith tried to annul the Circle of Magi.

Merrill

The relationship between Ariel and Merrill did not get off on the right foot, as Merrill's use of blood magic and consorting with a demon in the pursuit of knowledge to restore an ancient elven mirror immediately put Ariel on edge. It was not until after Bethany was taken by the templars that things began to change. Ariel, for all intents and purposes, adopted Merrill as a surrogate sister to protect, just as she had been taught all her life to protect Bethany. This didn't always go well. Merrill was no Bethany, and Ariel didn't always make the right choices in her efforts to "protect" Merrill. She always walked a thin line between trying to support Merrill's pursuit of lost knowledge and showing an interest in elven culture, and trying to discourage Merrill's use of "forbidden" magic.

Things finally came to a head some six or seven years after their first meeting, when Merril's former teacher and maternal figure, Keeper Marethari, took it upon herself to put a permanent end to Merrill's pursuit of the knowledge she sought by taking the demon into herself and becoming an abomination. Merrill was forced to fight and kill Marethari, and when the last remnants of her clan – those who hadn't already departed to find a home with other clans – found out what had happened, they turned on her and attempted to kill her. And Ariel did what she had been taught to do: she protected her sister.

Filled with shame and despair for her role in the death of her clan, Merrill shattered the mirror that she had poured so much of her life into. Ariel, surprising both of them, told Merrill that she couldn't hold herself responsible for the actions of Marethari or the clan, and encouraged Merrill to not give up on her pursuit of ancient elven knowledge.

Anders

Ariel had a great many concerns about Anders from the beginning, and the only reason the didn't turn him over to the templars on the spot was because of the potential attention it could bring to Bethany. As time went on, she had to concede that he did a lot of good work for the residents of Darktown, in particular the Fereldan refugees, but she never fully trusted him.

Isabela

While nobody looking from the outside would have called Ariel and Isabela friends, they did move in similar circles, and had a relationship built on mutual respect and sometimes also flirting. They both knew nothing would ever come of it, as Ariel was too pious for Isabela's tastes and Isabela too reckless by half from Ariel's perspective, but it was fun to play pretend all the same (and they did play, that one time, but again, nothing ever came of it). The two of them were also bonded by their shared love for Merrill.

Isabela blamed Ariel's influence on her for her decision to bring the Tome of Koslun back to return it to the Arishok, and also for her decisions to keep coming back to Kirkwall again and again over the next few years. For her part, Ariel did really appreciate Isabela's company, and was always happy to buy a round or three at the Hanged Man in Lowtown and listen to the latest tales of Isabela's attempts to leave Kirkwall behind.

Tallis

A Qunari agent who tricked Ariel into helping her recover a list of names that would have identified countless other Qunari working undercover in southern Thedas. Ariel bitterly regrets not being fast enough to put an end to Tallis and recover that list for herself.

[mrs-gauche]

Friendly reminder that Solas did *this* in Trespasser without breaking a sweat....

....and he is visibly shaken by *these* guys.

....Yeah. To quote BioWare themselves again

[mossattack]

love me some age difference in my ships, but i'm seriously entertaining the possibility of making a rook that is closer to emmrich's age than to that of the others in the team. two reasons: first of all, i think it would be extremely fun to be old judgemental queens together; second of all, the inherent romanticism of both parties coming to terms with their single life, thinking "well, maybe it's too late for me" only to find each other in the worst possible moment (the literal end of the world)

[littlelostmabari]

Chapter 16: For Want of a Moment's Peace (Part III)

In which Antsa joins the Circle, and Cullen confronts himself.

This chapter is heavy. Mind the tags, take care of yourself. CW: blood (creation of a phylactery, tranquility), child abuse (creation of a phylactery), mage abuse / beatings, mentions of minor character deaths, inactive bystanders, anxiety/panic.

Fandom: Dragon Age 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition

Current Pairings: Cullen Rutherford x OC. Background F!Hawke x Anders

Rating: M (Canon-typical violence & behavior, check tags & CW on chapters)

Links: Whole Work | Chapter 16 | Saoirse Character Sheet

(Dividers by cafekitsune)

The chamber where phylacteries were made lay just outside the wards of the vault — wards that only a select few Templars and the First Enchanter knew how to deactivate. It was one of the most heavily guarded areas in the Circle, a thought that only crossed his mind as he realized he was letting a wanted apostate get close enough to the vault to see its secrets. Flashes of a soft smile, a head of wavy blonde hair worn down across her shoulders because he told her once that it looked nice that way. A melody of a laugh at a passing joke. Then a wail as sword met flesh and iron and stone and the last time he let a mage this close to him, this close to a phylactery vault she and Jowan had used blood magic to — He cursed under his breath and stopped Orsino and Antsa before they could round the corner. It took some convincing, and some promises that she would get everything back in just a few minutes, but he relieved Antsa of both her ragdoll and the pocket around her waist before he fell back and allowed Orsino to lead the child towards the chambers. This needed to be over. He needed the Witch out of the Circle. He needed his afternoon ration of lyrium. He needed everything to go back to normal.

[pinacoladamatata]

Not sure if it's reassuring to me that several people on twitter coming forth to state they've played part of the game saying the actual gameplay maintains that dark fantasy feel, or if it's making me more suspicious

[femvaylin]

HER???

[goodstuffhappenedtoday]

‘Bigger than the Oscars’: Blackfeet Nation honors Lily Gladstone with stand-up headdress

BROWNING — Wearing a white sequin shawl and matching ribbon skirt, esteemed actress Lily Gladstone kneeled on the floor of the new arbor on the Blackfeet Reservation as tribal elders placed a stand-up headdress atop her head. 

Thousands of people who traveled across the country — and from Canada — to honor Gladstone watched in silence. 

Gladstone stood and embraced tribal leaders. Then, with one hand over her heart and the other holding onto Charlene Plume, the elder who made her headdress, Gladstone danced in a circle around the arbor. Members of the Women’s Stand-Up Headdress Society, tribal leaders, dignitaries, students, teachers and children followed behind.

The sound of drums boomed, and the crowd erupted. 

Gladstone, who grew up in Browning and East Glacier, recently rose to worldwide fame after starring in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” alongside Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. 

She made history, becoming the first Indigenous person to win a Golden Globe award for best actress and the first to be nominated for best actress at the Oscars. 

At Tuesday’s event — which included a grand entry, flag song, prayer, speeches from dignitaries, honor song and round dance — leaders thanked Gladstone for representing the Blackfeet Nation on the world stage and for being a role model for young people.

“Because of you, rez kids on every reservation here and in Canada can chase their dreams,” Councilman Everett Armstrong said at the event. “Students, take a look at this accomplishment — it’s possible.”

Councilman Robert DesRosier delighted in the fact that Gladstone “is just like us.”

“She’s us,” he told the crowd before turning to Gladstone. “Lily, welcome home.”

More than 50 members of the Women’s Stand-Up Headdress Society — a group of contemporary Blackfoot women in the U.S. and Canada who own such headdresses — traveled to Browning to celebrate Gladstone. Theda New Breast, a member of the society, said Tuesday marked the largest gathering of stand-up headdress members to date. (BEN ALLAN SMITH, Missoulian)

more at the link

[felassan]

The Next Dragon Age Has a New Title

by Author - BioWare - Posted on June 6, 2024

"Join us on Tuesday, June 11 for the Official Gameplay Reveal Hi everyone, Summer is nearly upon us, and as promised, we’re ready to provide an update on our big reveal. We’d like to invite the world to join us on Tuesday, June 11, for the official first look at gameplay for the next Dragon Age! After Dragon Age: Inquisition launched, the studio was given an incredible opportunity to explore, test, and validate a variety of gameplay concepts as we worked to determine what the next Dragon Age could look like. We brought everything to the table which, yes, even included a multiplayer concept. The time we spent experimenting and iterating gradually taught us a lot. This work, and the amazing support from EA, helped us re-focus on creating an incredible single player game, with all the choices, characters and world building you’d expect from us. At BioWare, we create worlds of adventure, conflict and companionship, where you’re at the center of it all. As fans of our franchise know, every Dragon Age game has delivered a new standalone story. Set in the world of Thedas, these tales explore epic locales and threats, always thrusting you into a new conflict. Each game also introduces a new lead hero – The Warden, Hawke, The Inquisitor – that you can call your own. You can expect all that, and more, with the new game. And of course, much like your unique hero, it wouldn’t be a Dragon Age game without an amazing cast of companions – right?  Each of the seven unique characters that make up your companions will have deep and compelling storylines where the decisions you make will impact your relationships with them – as well as their lives. You’ll unite this team of unforgettable heroes as you take on a terrifying new threat unleashed on the world. Naturally, the Dread Wolf still has an important part in this tale, but you and your companions – not your enemies – are the heart of this new experience. So, to capture what this game is all about, we changed the name as the original title didn’t show just how strongly we feel about our new heroes, their stories and how you’ll need to bring them together to save all of Thedas. We proudly introduce to you Dragon Age™: The Veilguard.

We know you’ve been waiting a long time for this reveal and we’re so ready to show you what we’ve been up to. We’ll see you on Tuesday, June 11th at 8:00am PT at the Dragon Age YouTube channel with over 15 minutes of gameplay from the opening moments of the game that has you jumping back into Thedas on your new adventure. This moment means so much to everyone at BioWare, and we wouldn’t be here without you. We’re ready to have some fun, so join the chat early…we’ve got a few special surprises for you.  Thank you for all your support. See you soon, Gary McKay Executive Producer, Dragon Age, and General Manager, BioWare"

[source]

[dalishious]

For those who haven't seen, we have a date for our first official gameplay reveal for Dragon Age: The Veilguard!

We know you’ve been waiting a long time for this reveal and we’re so ready to show you what we’ve been up to. We’ll see you on Tuesday, June 11th at 8:00am PT at the Dragon Age YouTube channel with over 15 minutes of gameplay from the opening moments of the game that has you jumping back into Thedas on your new adventure.

[gxldencity]

Don't care whether nonbinary is breaking immersion in thedas when the days of the week are called Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Wynne used the word earth in Origins

[defira85]

Thedas Tuesday

Anyway, disaster personal life aside, it's Tuesday again so I'll actually do something about it today. Like admit that it's been haunting me the ENTIRE TIME that Thedas Thursday has a much better mouthfeel. But I didn't come up with it on a Thursday, did I? And now I'm doomed for all time (until October 31st)

Nomi Ferruma de Riva

Oh I've just realised this is the first one I've been able to post since the surnames got announced. Nomi was actually fairly easy to incorporate the game surname with her existing surname, one of the few

A devout Andrastian Antivan surface dwarf (say that ten times fast), Nomi's family have lived in Antiva for generations - whatever thaig they originated from has been lost in the deep for so long that they have no memory of its name. Nomi is Antivan through and through, and is fiercely, almost zealously religious as well. She stops to pray to Andraste before all of her assassinations, and offers up a prayer for the souls of the deceased as well once she has taken her due

She comes from a big and lovingly boisterous family, very loud and very Antivan, and if Thedas had any version of pinups, she would have had pinups of Sister Leliana on her walls as a teenager. Such a devout and devoted priestess! Such a ruthless spy and killer! So utterly swoonworthy!

Nomi is, if it wasn't already obvious, a member of the Antivan Crows. She is well aware of some of the bleakier, less sanctimonious aspects of the Crows as an organisation (like the slavery) but justifies it to herself in a very... well, she's lying to herself. She believes that Andraste guides her path, that she is doing righteous thing on behalf of the Maker, and ergo there must be a reason for things like the slavery to be occurring

(Just because she's an adorable bright-eyed warrior nun who blushes the moment any woman talks to her doesn't mean she's not got some fucked up morality going on, and I Defira refuse to sanitise the Crows because my boy Zevran deserves better than that. I won't whitewash what he went through)

Nomi will be joining Beren as my only other rogue in the game

[darkfeanix]

Thedas Tuesday

Oh, boy, this is just scratching the surface of my guy Elio. Or at least his history. You'll understand what I mean when you see the quotes I included. Also, if you're curious, he's going to look like the Rook from the release date announcement trailer, because that guy is just so handsome. I hope he's a preset so I won't have to painstakingly try to recreate him in the CC.

He'll probably be more of a "fanfic Rook" than an "in-game Rook", because I have accidentally embedded him in the Nevarran royal family and I somehow doubt that will be an option in The Veilguard.

Now, without further adieu...

Elio Van Markham

Human Mage | Mourn Watch | Voice: Alex Jordan

"Today there are fourteen branches of the family—eighteen, if one counts our relations among the Van Markhams—each consisting of multiple families and twisting bloodlines connecting us to almost every major house across Thedas."

—From a letter by Baroness Alia Pentaghast, 9:38 Dragon

"I have hundreds of relatives so distant, they need charts to prove we're related at all. And they have them, oh, yes."

—Cassandra Pentaghast, to the Inquisitor, 9:41 Dragon

Elio Baltasar Leonidas Caspar Van Markham (born 9:24 Dragon) is a Marcher-born Nevarran of the noble Van Markham family, and a member of the Mourn Watch within the Mortalitasi. He is the oldest child and only son of Lady Davinia Van Markham and her husband, Lord Guillermo Selbrech. Born and raised in the city of Hasmal, Elio grew up on tales of the Grand Necropolois and Mortalitasi, with his mother making sure he had a proper education in the traditions and customs of her home. More than one journey was made to Nevarra city to attend the funeral of one distant relative or another, and it grew to be a point of fascination for Elio as he got older.

In 9:33 Dragon, shortly before his ninth birthday, Elio was attempting to perform funerary rites for his recently departed pet cat when he accidentally summoned a spirit of compassion into the body. Far from being frightened by the unexpected possession though, Elio was actually fascinated, and he carried on a lengthy conversation with the spirit before his parents found him and discovered what had happened.

His father, a dedicated Andrastian and Maker-fearing man, wanted Elio immediately sent to the Hasmal Circle, but Lady Davinia wouldn't hear of it. No son of Nevarra would be confined to a common Marcher Circle, particular not with all the recent rumours of unrest coming out of Kirkwall – to say nothing of his clear natural affinity with spirits. No, Elio would be sent to the Cumberland Circle where his talents would be appreciated, and his abilities could be nurtured.

As his mother hoped – or perhaps it would be more accurate to say she expected – Elio did indeed flourish at the Cumberland Circle of Magi. He flourished for the next seven years, until the Circle leadership voted to secede from the Chantry. Having never experienced the kind of oppression and abuse that so many of his fellow mages had, Elio was reluctant to become involved. When the Seekers of Truth declared every member of the Mortalitasi an apostate, however, he was just one of many who rose up.

Many mages died on that day, but the templars were routed, and most of their number driven from the city. More than any other country outside of Tevinter, the Nevarrans appreciate the work of its mages, and the attempt to annul the Circle brought a swift and deadly response from the city guard, along with a number of mercenary companies paid by noble houses with family among the Mortalitasi.

[hotvintagepoll]

Suraiya Propaganda!

Seeing Gregory Peck just now reminded me of this - after Suraiya sent him an autographed photo of herself (through Frank Capra), they missed each other at a FilmFare event in Mumbai. He'd been invited to the main event, but his plane had been delayed so he was only able to attend the after party. At the after party he met stars like Meena Kumari, Dev Anand, and many others.

But not Suraiya.

Suraiya had gone home rather than attend the party, and Gregory's plane back to Sri Lanka would leave before morning.

He asked someone at the party where she lived, and that person just so happened to be her uncle. The two of them went to her house, despite the late hour. "There was a knock on the door at a little past eleven of Tuesday night, January 5, and there, when it opened, was Mr. Peck himself asking Suraiya"s very astonished mother with a bow: 'Where is Suraiya, Madam?' Just like that. While she still hesitated, along came Suraiya from her bed, wide-eyed with wonder, to welcome her favourite star. who stepped in and stayed chatting informally till well past midnight, when he left to catch the Colombo plane..."

TLDR: a single PHOTOGRAPH of Suraiya had Gregory Peck on his knees just to get a single glimpse of her. How many other women of the age could say the same?

Theda Bara vs Suraiya

[sandraugiga]

So my holiday money arrived. Spending it in Thedas I guess…

For other people interested in buying this, I’m in the Netherlands, ordered this on 25 of may and this Tuesday it was send, arrived today. According to the postage, it was send from Germany. I guess they have stock there?

[spacevulpix]

Thedas has Tuesdays confirmed