#wavering-mind

[sirspeep]

tav, staring at the night sky unblinkingly: (voice of someone who has just learned polymorph) would you still love me if i was a worm

astarion, sleepy cat who just had dinner: (voice of someone unaware they just failed a crucial insight check) of course my dear

[vigilskept]

i know it would've been difficult for them to tackle, but it absolutely kills me thinking about the missed opportunities of getting into religious angle of everything that's going on in veilguard.

because it's insane, right? that there are gods in this game. and the game will tell you over and over that they aren't gods, that they're Just Mages, but that's actually not precisely true. they're something very different from what a tevinter magister is, at least, and not only on a power-scale.

powerful spirits are gods in this setting. that was the religion ascribed to by most of humanity, before andraste. the avvar and chasind still ascribe to that belief.

a lot has been said already about how the game fails to engage with belief for dalish characters, and i agree. i think the game also really fails its andrastian characters here though because this is actually huge.

it's not just whether the golden/black city is/was the seat of the maker. it's the very meaning of what god is that's at stake here.

the maker has abandoned humanity. only through the pleas of his prophet andraste is he willing to consider the idea of offering a second chance to his creation. he will not respond to your prayers, and he will not give you answers. his will is inscrutable, to be interpreted only through the words of his prophet which have been changed over the centuries.

and if you are a mage, you are taught that this maker has cursed you. your very being is a curse.

and then you meet elgar'nan. and then you meet ghilan'nain.

they are not your maker. not really. not even if you're an elf.

but these gods are knowable. they will speak to you, personally. they may even do so with kindness. they will tell you what you could do to please them, and even offer you something in return.

and what they ask is terrible. maybe even unfathomable. but in a world where exalted marches have been called in the name of the maker and entire circles annulled, isn't that enough to give you a little pause?

[astralleywright]

there's nothing orym would ask of the other hells that he wouldn't do himself, which is sort of the problem, really

[echo-bleu]

Eärendil WIP

[nellasbookplanet]

Do I actually think Imogen is going to turn on the party? No. I don't think it’s any more likely to happen than I did Fjord releasing Uk’otoa, or Caleb returning to Trent and the Vollstruckers.

Given the nature of the game, any character turning fully dark is unlikely, seeing as it would take them away from the party for a time or potentially even turn them into an npc, replaced by a new pc. So far the only time we've gotten close to seeing something like it happen was Yasha siding with Obann, which could only happen specifically because Ashley was gone from the table for a long time (it was also the product of mind control, not an active choice to turn dark, and as such still doesn’t really count as a pc turning on the party in my eyes).

But the possibility is there. The seeds planted. Travis has talked about how, after he threw the falchion away, he briefly considered having Fjord leave the party and retun to the coast and Uk’otoa. Liam has mentioned that, early on, Caleb returning to work for Trent was a very real possibilty. It can happen, if the players and narrative are open to it.

And now, canonically, Imogen is desperately and understandably searching for a reason not to have to fight her own mother. She is, however briefly, questioning whether the Ruby Vanguard might have a just cause. Much as she hates it, she also feels the allure of the power Ruidus gives her. Her closest ally is someone who has repeatedly assured she will stand by her no matter what she chooses, even after she voiced the possibility of letting Predathos get out. None of these parts of Imogen are evil, and all of them are understandable and deeply rooted in pain and ostracization, but they could very easily be turned into justification, were she pushed enough.

The seeds are planted. Again, I don’t think it will happen (she seems firmly against the evil plan when reminded of how evil it is), but there’s certainly nothing strange or hateful about engaging with and being interested in the darker possibilities as presented in canon. It isn't character hate to acknowledge that Imogen has the potential to go dark, much as Fjord and Caleb and Yasha. To me, it’s what makes her character interesting. I want to see her clash with the party, whether because she’s desperate to save her own mother or because she’s high off the power of Ruidus and lured in. I want to see Laudna have to choose between the world and her promise to stand by Imogen no matter what. I want to see the fallout, the slow healing and redemption and coming to terms with bad choices. I eat that shit up, and if it doesn’t happen in canon I'll probably go read some fic about it to get my fix.

[backjustforberena]

I don't think telling Corlys that Rhaenys died with honour, and how she might have wanted to (if she, in fact, did want to die in dragon flame especially as she thinks both her kids died by fire) means an actual jot to Corlys.

All he probably thinks is about how Rhaenys SHOULD have died. And she should have died at home. She should have died at peace, in peace. She should have died decades from now, with a smile on her face and no troubles. And, most importantly, she should have died after him.

[sixstringpansy]

unkillable.

every lyric from tonight's setlist that preaches survival, and living on against all odds // the drumhead.

(+bonus:)

(x)

[ispyspookymansion]

“human meat isnt supposed to taste good so i definitely wouldnt try it” says who 🤨

[grapecaseschoices]

the way fenris wont even consider turning in mages in the team bc it would upset hawke.

the way sebastian DOES considerate but struggles because there is no middle ground.

[adamnsey]

happy FREAKING bday adam parrish uncanny boy blasting his playlist all day 2day lets go

[shadystranger]

kills me michael escapes the boiler room and dean amidst his panic sees sam and goes i told you! and laments how could he let sam talk him out of it why would he let sam sway him (bc he's weak) and sam looks at him teary-eyed like he just didn't wanna lose dean ...

[bumblingbabooshka]

Chakotay/Neelix/Tuvok. Listen to me now. There's something there about duty to your home, to your family, to a cause that you believe in. About religion, mysticism, and the visceral rejection of it. The eventual turnaround to acceptance. How belief sustains, calms, fuels. About throwing your life away or having your life thrown away by forces beyond your control. How do you deal with it? How do you grieve? Are you a coward? Are you a criminal? Are you the last of your kind? You're the sole representative here. Rejecting or being rejected by your people and then returning the prodigal son - of being denied that return because your people are gone. Carefully monitoring yourself or overcompensating because you're on a ship of strangers turned family but no one's quite like you, are they? Admiration which dips ever-so-slightly into something that might be romantic love but not enough to fully penetrate through everything else. What do you want from him? What do you want from them? What do you want from me?

[defeateddetectives]

like eight whole years later about it: hold on a second [face in hands] just hold on a sec--

[innovatorbunny]

other than the neck bolts being removed tho frankie's g3 design is so fucking good. honestly they need to to take the elements from that design and incorporate it into g1 whenever they do collector's releases because they cooked so hard

[dailyfatefigures]

Nendoroid #1182 - Lord El-Melloi II by Orange Rouge

[noona-is-afk]

also I’m so glad we got so much more communication between our babies in episode 13 but I’m still BEGGING them to just tell each other the full story.

like pls stop talking in beautiful poems and metaphors and just say what you mean I beg

(then kiss and run away together, that would be great k thx)