#thread 4

[toa-masquerade]

You make sure to equip the mask even before stepping inside the illusionary portal. You are unsure if the mask's design is enough to mask your identity, but the bishops stationed promise that the rest of you will be unrecognizable. That is all you need to hear.

The sight ahead is simply dreamlike, comparable to the dream of being able to toss away the stresses of reality. You wonder if any other masked participants feel the same while wandering along this ballroom.

Well, merriment cannot ensue without someone making the first step. You know that all too well.

The natural start for you is to approach the selection of glasses and liquor. First pouring a separate glass, then one for yourself.

"Would anyone like to share an early drink?" you call out nearby, hoping your voice isn't drowned out in the trance-like crowd.

[lesliestedeman]

@sabrina-christiansen sent...

“Don’t carry it all.”

Leslie couldn't help but smile feeling the weight on his arm being lifted for just a moment as Sabrina attempted to take one of the large bags. But he was carrying two big bags of dog food as well, so getting the other large reusable grocery bags off his arm might be a problem.

"It's alright. I'm stronger than I look. If you wouldn't mind getting the door, though..."

As much as he hated the thought of being part demon, he had to admit the thought of having a tail was tempting. Provided it was prehensile enough to do things like grab a door when his hands were full. He decided to let Sabrina help and put down the dog food packages and shrug a few bags from his arms.

"Okay you win. Probably isn't the smartest thing to do, walking home with all this... But I'm pretty used to a long walk. I won't be offended if you don't want to carry it the whole way."

Once Sabrina had enough to carry, Leslie saddled up his arms with the other bags, then leaned one dog food bag against his shoulder and carried the other under his free arm. He hadn't seen Sabrina in quite a while. But that was his fault entirely. And now with Wilder gone, he had even less friends here... With Wild there was a short hand with his fellow Kiwi. Wilder was the one person he'd told his horrible secret to and the were-bear hadn't blinked. He hadn't cared a lamb for Leslie being part-demon. Leslie couldn't be so sure of the same of others. But Sabrina was dating a vampire... Maybe when they knew each other better...

[enduringdevotion]

Wolfwood playfully winces at the news. Same home, bet that first meeting went as well as a feral worm with a stranger in their territory. But, Badou was still here and chose to follow Nai into his new home so it only makes sense that it went well somewhere along the line.

"I'm sure Nai and Legato would be pragmatic enough to ask 'did you deserve it' before murdering wildly." He's pretty confident Nai wouldn't ever murder without a damn good reason to anymore. "At least he likes you, better than him hating you I guess."

A pet-- that sets an edge to the back of his teeth, and though he's cowardly, he still bites down hard enough to draw blood, leave a jagged wound you won't easily forget.

This dog won't bite his owners though...not unless he thinks they need a demonstration, a wake up call. He can do wake up calls without violence, he's not an animal-- oh wait, that takes away from the imagery.

"I can't relax-- you've clearly seen my life is like this. I can't have them flying off the handle every time someone breaks my nose."

It'd be flattering, maybe, if he thought about it more, maybe. Not great for his rep, though.

Grumbling still, Badou shrugs. "Nai was put in the same apartment as me, and a couple of times we went through some shit."

[hinamie]

wanted to practice some more intense angry expressions and what better excuse to further my agenda of giving megumi the emotional catharsis he deserves

[milosneptune]

i wasnt expecting to be so obsessed with ninjago but a thread in me snapped and it took over

[silvykinesis]

Trans Sora headcanons my everything 🏳️‍⚧️

[tatretot]

hellooo danandphilgames buddies!! happy belated 10 year (more like 5 but shhh) anniversary :-)

[mymarifae]

guys twitter dot com doesn't like when you criticize toriel's parenting decisions. don't do it

[angelictragedy]

Knives doesn't even bat an eye as nails bite into his skin. He doesn't even flinch as the other digs into his own arm. The human needed a moment, he understood the need for pain, for agony, it grounded the mind. He needed to be patient.

And he was rewarded with that self inflicting hand finding his shoulder, those gorgeous gold eyes finding his, and answers. He raises a hand to cup the other's face, gently wiping the tears away as he listens. The moment the head moves, so does his hand, careful not to touch the neck he threads fingers through those alluring blue locks. It was enough information for the Plant to understand, for the pain to register.

"Of course we can sleep. I'm not going anywhere, my light. I am yours." It's soft, sweet as he kisses the hair, free arm snaking around the other's back, pulling his own body to Legato's, keeping his hold light. "Rest, my star. I am going nowhere." He repeated the words, kissing that head as he settled down, longing for his wings to wrap around his beloved and embrace him.

Shuddering, rapid breaths rattle his lungs and he curls his fingers slightly into Knives' skin. Just enough to leave slight little divots at his fingertips. Just enough that he can feel the Plant's heart pounding strong under his whole hand. The human keens and digs his fingers into his own arm harder for a moment but slowly eases the pressure before he can break skin.

Knives is fine, he's right here, breathing, heart beating. The only blood is remnants of an injury from before, there is nothing new to be found. There's no handprint bruise around his throat, there's no splash of blood on the floors and the wall.

There's no crumbled pieces of his Angel in a smoking crater.

He's shaking, tears trailing down his face, but he lets go of his own arm to curl his hand around Knives' shoulder instead.

"I've already lost you enough. I w-watched and couldn't do anything... my powers- weak." He shudders again and falls silent for several heartbeats, letting Knives' pulse be his full focus. Every little spark of electricity in his body, every little jolt of life in his veins. Legato let's the sensation of Knives consume him.

"Sorry..." He says hoarsly after several minutes. "I... sorry...." He can't say it. Can't bring himself to speak outright that he's seen Knives killed, let alone how. He tips forward instead and buries his nose against the pulse at the Plant's neck. He's exhausted, both from feeding Astarion and the emotional rollercoaster this last hour has been.

"Can we... can we sleep?"

[olessan]

[purplebass]

kell probably thought this after the essen tasch

[felassan]

Compilation of snippets from the DA:TV acting talent panel at SDCC (Dragon Age: Meet the Heroic Companions of Thedas) today (July 26th). DA:TV spoilers under cut.

Huge props and tysm to the users who live-tweeted and clipped this panel, you are heroes 🙏💜!!

The panel was moderated. In attendance were John Epler, creative performance director Ashley Barlow, and the actors of Lucanis, Neve, Emmrich, and Harding - Zach Mendez, Jessica Clark, Nick Boraine, and Ali Hillis respectively.

The panel ended with a Q&A session.

(BioWare have stated that a recording of the panel will be made available at a later date.)

Edit/update: I've now been through this post and tidied it up :)

---

Here are some pictures from the panel [source]

Here are some more pictures from the panel [source]

In this Twitter thread there are also some video clips of parts of the panel [source]

BioWare tried to avoid spoilers in the panel [source]

Key points/summary of DA:TV: hunting Solas, found family companions, stop the elven gods [source]

When auditioning the companions, BW were specifically looking for character chemistry [source]

BW used motion capture for the game [source]. Mo-cap was mentioned a lot in the panel [source]

Lucanis sees assassination as a job. His mind is as dangerous as his knives and he is also "kinda hilarious" [source]

There was mention of other Crows [source]

Zach Mendez read Tevinter Nights like three times [source]

A clip of the actors doing mo-cap was shown [source]. Photos of Zach mo-capping for other characters was shown [source]

BioWare said that Zach brought a certain darkness to Lucanis [source]

Zach is excited for the romance and is looking forward to the stats [source]

Zach mentioned that he used his own relationship with his brother in his portrayal of Lucanis [source] (surely this means ILLARIO.. ?👀)

Zach played a lot of darkspawn originally while auditioning [source]

Ali Hillis really welcomed Zach into the DA family [source]

Neve is from Minrathous. She has fun banter and is a cynical detective with a heart of gold. They want to show a rebellious side of Tevinter [source]

Jessica Clark loves Neve's loyalty, dedication, and different vision of Tevinter

Neve is fighting for the people [source]. Jessica: "She is really really fighting for those people, and she loves those people. So, yes, she's cynical, and yes she's kind of tough and brusque and all these other things, but when they say there's a heart of gold, there really, like, to have that kind of a passion and dedicate your life to something like that, I think that's definitely my favorite part about her" [source]

Jessica loves how much Neve loves Docktown and its people [source]

Neve sees a different vision for Tevinter than what has previously been depicted in the series [source]

The actors were separate from one another while recording lines but still bonded really well and organically [source]

There are several Veilguard gc [source] (groupchats?)

Ali is an angel and very supportive of the new cast [source]

Emmrich is a "stone cold silver fox" (this is a quote from the panel moderator) [source]

BioWare knew the reaction they would get about Emmrich from the fandom [source]

Nick Boraine feels like he's been preparing for Emmrich all his life. He's obsessed with death (as a comfort and not scary) and enabling people to transition into death. He is attracted to this aspect of the character [source]

"You're gonna need a dictionary for Emmrich" for all the magic spells [source]

"Interesting how this character caught fire compared to the other sexy characters" [source] (I think this was said wrt Emmrich?)

BW had a great time recording with Nick, he is a very consistent actor [source]

Nick and Matt Mercer have never met [source]

Manfred plays off of Emmrich. "I set the tone" [source]

What has Harding been doing in-between DA:I and DA:TV? She's been working closely with Varric and the Inquisition remnants. She and Neve already met in the comics [source]

Ali vividly remembers the beginning of voicing Harding, she says it's brilliant writing. She really thought of Harding's personality and traits. She's so happy to be back [source]

wrt the Covid-19 pandemic and the year 2020, BW had to pivot with working remotely and were able to push through their projects. [source]

"[Harding] chasing Solas for a decade..." "that was a great relationship that [you] developed... and now I'll stop talking now". Ali was excited [source]

John Epler talked about how companions may but heads, and won't be predictable [source]

There are thousands and thousands of lines and so many characters to meet [source]

Zach "unfortunately has been around the DA Reddit before recording as Lucanis" [source]. He feels inspired by all the fans and cannot wait for us to play it [source]

[new textblock due to character limit!]

John Epler on Emmrich: "I mean honestly, I will say, like, we expected a great reaction to Emmrich. Went beyond what we expected for sure. But it’s been fascinating to see, because again, Emmrich is this character, he’s more of the professorial, more, he brings a wisdom and kind of a calmness to the group, so even when things are at their worst, there’s that one person in the group who is kinda like, ‘okay, y’know, we've got, let's figure it out, let’s take a deep breath’. And just his journey through his character arc, and his interactions with the others, it’s been fantastic to see. Even just finding opportunities for him to bounce off the other characters, you know, the way he talks to Bellara, the way he talks to Neve, it’s all so different, but it’s also just, again, based around this core of this warm, kind-hearted, professorial necromancer. Which, again, is not something you see a lot of in media. I mean, usually, necromancers are depicted in a very specific way. But it’s been, it's awesome to see how Emmrich has grown and just, really one of the most, one of my favorite experiences has been just working with Emmrich’s writer, working with Emmrich as a character." [source]

All the actors are excited about the dialogue and narrative, and for us to explore DA:TV [source]

Ali says that we will really find ourselves in this game [source]

During the recording process, the actors all hear the previous person's recording and react or respond to it [source]

Due to Covid-related lockdown, a lot of recording was done over Zoom, and the writers besides Ashley Barlow (creative performance director) would jump in on the call to talk about the previous person’s lines [source]

A question was asked about the background factions. "Characters not causes". [source]

You can work with the Grey Wardens in the game (for example) [source]

The actors all met this weekend. They are an "un-chosen" family [source]

Zach stood in for multiple characters for mo-cap, for example he was Assan [source]

Lucanis has a heart but is stubborn and stuck in his ways. Zach is excited for fans to help his character open up as the story progresses [source]

Jessica is incredibly honored to join the DA universe. She is new to voice acting for video games. “This is play pretend. Playing Neve allowed her to step into her power.” [source]

A question was asked on what their first exposure to fantasy was, and do they implement this into the acting? John talked about Lord of the Rings and how every media you experience will seep out into your work [source]

Ashley didn't want the dialogue to sound modern [source]

Zach loves Theseus and talked about the symbolism in DA [source]

Jessica loves Greek mythology and lore [source]

Nick talked about The Hobbit and how he would dress up in big boots and a cape when his mother would read to him [source]

Ali recently went to Greece and felt like she saw DA everywhere [source]

A question was asked - "From your companion's perspective, which previous companion would you romance?" Zach kind of has a thing for The Iron Bull, saying "oh that awakened something inside of me". He also likes Dorian. Jessica was too overwhelmed to answer. Nick was also overwhelmed by the question, but thinks Solas is sexy [source] [source]

Ali fangirled over Lucanis and Emmrich [source], prefers Emmrich [source]

A question was asked - "Is DA:TV and DA:I streamlined together?" [paraphrased]. Answer: DA games are not as streamlined as Mass Effect and act almost as standalones [source]

The cast were asked about which aspect of their character is their favorite. Ali loves the little quirks about Harding. "Lucanis is a good cook!?" ** Neve is very dry and pretty closed off about it. For Emmrich, it's the "exploration of the idea of death and necromancy" [source] (** FINALLY CITATION for this? :D)

A question was asked: "How do you decide to introduce the lore in each game?" BioWare answered that it depends as they build each game. They always know the base lore, and see opportunities through game mechanics and characters. They try not to infodump [source]

A question was asked: "Any favorite party banter?" Ashley Barlow said to listen for "hand to bone combat" [source]

The game takes place approximately 10 years after the end of DA:I. You start the game hunting for Solas. The game is built on some core principles: be who you want to be in a world worth saving and with characters that matter. The companions are always at the heart of DA and they are at the heart of this game too. [source]

The moderator asked John Epler about what is bringing this party of people ("this rogues' gallery") together. John: "I mean, it's the end of the world, and each character that you bring into your party understands that the world is ending, that they need to stop that, and you're really building, what I would say is, more of a found family. These are characters who may not start off liking each other, may not even start off liking you, but over time they grow to understand the importance of what they're doing and just, how critical it is to stop the elven gods" [source]

"He is kind and has some spectacular lines. He is a natural nerdy scientist. He loves learning." [source] (Emmrich? ^^)

Ali didn't realize that Harding was such a beloved character. She thanked fans for bringing this character back [source]

Ali is super excited that the game is releasing. She said that there has been an evolution to Harding's character and that she's been chasing Solas for like a decade at this point [source]

Jessica loves the writing in the game [source]

Nick loves its narrative [source]

Ali said that this game is going to take you into a world that will blow your minds [source]

On Manfred: Nick was asked what it was like having another character to bounce off of. He said "Oh man! I mean, that is such a hard question, because Matt and I have never met, and we worked completely separately, and, I, I mean I know that the rapport is really great, but it's in the ether, I mean it is just, the magic that these guys create, telling us how to respond, how to do that, but it's, I can't wait to meet Matt" [source]

BW still said that the game's release window is Fall 2024 [source]. Nothing more specific was given [source]

There are also more snippets here in this Tumblr post, go check it out!

[source, two]

[fangsanddaggers]

The care was almost sweet coming from the younger brother of the two. Astarion had been warned of the bleeding heart, warned he might not be entirely accepting of everything, if anything at all. But it was still sweet, for the man to care.

"Trust me. There's nothing he can do to me that my own abuser hasn't likely already done." The laugh is higher pitched, a knee jerk reaction to soothe the moment, though he shifted his stance to something more relaxed.

"We seems to have gotten on the wrong foot. My name is Astarion Ancunin. A pleasure to meet you, Vash Sa-the Stampede. Care to share a glass of wine with me and perhaps a tale or two of your youth? Sadly I don't have many of my youth, but my darling friends I was torn from might entertain you. Especially the silly wizard." Oh how he missed them all. "To second chances, if you will." he holds out his hand to the tall string bean of a man.

An olive branch to try anew.

「𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔤 𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔤!」- The tilt of the head, the confusion that flickered there - clearly the man hadn't been expecting him to ask that. But didn't he have a right to wonder about how these two had met?

Blue eyes shifted away, unable to quite look Astarion in the face as he explained himself and the situation. They shared a drink, ended up talking. It was that simple? Although Vash knew that it was likely easier since this man was evidently not human it was still difficult for him to imagine Knives willingly sharing a drink with anyone. His mind was still filled with the tyrannical devil of a creature that his brother had become.

Yet, no matter the differences between their experiences, despite what he had witnessed for himself -

"They might be tryin' ta change, but... I still think ya should try an' be careful." He couldn't help cautioning it. The three of them had shared many experiences, or at least, he had shared experiences with both Legato and Knives... yet those experiences had led them all in very different directions in the end. He understood, at the very least, where Knives came from, he understood who he had been before Tesla, but even still... "I just don't want anyone else gettin' hurt again."

[amanda-plays]

Cleaning out my screenshots folder

[rad-roche]

oh shit, mind games is happening!

i'd heard about this way back and thought it seemed really ambitious. from the mod page

Mind Games is an upcoming quest mod for Fallout 4. Take on a new detective case with Nick Valentine, where you find yourself entangled amongst various factions vying for control over the sewers and tunnels beneath Boston, while facing the consequences of the search for your son - everything from Skinny Malone to Jenny / K1-98, from the Institute's machinations to Kellogg's lingering presence. Meet new characters, make tough choices, spend more time with your companions, and explore new locations.

i've only skimmed the video since i want to play it myself, but i went checking to see if there was any ai used for the voices (in which case i would not be playing it)

[quilting-is-my-new-hobby]

The frog quilt!

This one is my first time doing a “3-yard quilt.” I’m surprised at the size and really like the pattern. It’s 48”x60” so I did have to add a back panel to get my backing to work but I like the fun a back stripe adds. I’d like to try this one again with the dark color as the background sometime.

I used flannel as batting which I think is a fine weight but obviously less poof and it was easier to accidentally poke all the way through while doing the binding… but at least my cat enjoyed snuggling during that part. I definitely have to throw this one in the wash before it gets donated.

Made July 2025