#yes its about isabela's design

[dragon-age-sideblog]

update after seeing spoilers: STOP BRINGING BACK OLD CHRACTERS IF UR GONNA DO THAT TO THEM OMG

regarding the whole choices thing. I've decided if bioware wants to pretend none of my other characters existed or their choices mattered in this new blank slate game. then I'm gonna just consider it two completely different canons. there's the one thats more important to me and I'll continue to build onto it on my own and incorporate my characters and decisions into it. and then there's veilguard. which I'm sure will still be fun but its gonna be set in its own canon world separate entirely from mine <3

[hungee-boy]

Feel free to ignore if you’re uncomfortable with or just don’t want to answer but how would you change isebela to not be caricature without changing the whole character? Would it be more fashion changes or physical or something else?

Kinda like: how would you change her if you were her character writer/designer for the new game?

isabela at her core i think is a very compelling character and is relatable to a lot of romani experiences, especially with her doing whatever she has to to survive

i would definitely keep her stealing as castillion's responsibility, him making her steal the tome of koslun under threat of death for example would be fine because if he wasnt in the picture, chances are she wouldnt have stolen it in the first place

other forms of thievery besides just like looting bodies and picking chests (as those are gameplay mechanics for all characters) shouldnt be for her enjoyment or greed, only for her survival or just not done at all

her staying a pirate is fine imo and i like the idea of her being an ethical pirate (like her freeing the slaves castillion had her transport) but we all need to look at how pirates are depicted in fantasy and how much of that is anti-roma racism and caricatures

her being so sexualized and her comments on "life back home" are where i have the biggest issues honestly

like romani women have always been targets of fetishization and sexual violence, as well as many women being sterilized without consent to prevent more romani children being brought into the world

getting some damn clothes on her would be a great start, like some pants at the very least. i would like to incorporate more romani clothing in her design tho like maybe a traditional blouse instead of her usual top

maybe a romanced isabela can have her replace her blue dikhlo with red, since wearing a dikhlo is usually reserved for married women of certain vitsas (most common with eastern european roma if im not mistaken) or giving her a red hipcloth (again specific to certain vitsas)

romani dress is usually modest and loose fitting, with women commonly wearing long skirts and blouses with jewelry and adornments to symbolize her wealth and status and im not saying isabela should be covered head to toe, shes an open person and not every romani woman should be expected to dress one way over another, its just her look is way too impractical for the sake of being sexy and again romani women are very often sexualized regardless of what they wear

isabela's attitude towards sex and being open to intimacy is not an issue on its own, what is the issue is how the writers make fucking jokes of her sexuality at every chance they get (like the std joke in anders' clinic, aveline's slut shaming, etc. etc. etc.....) and this is just my personal opinion but there are times that she comes on too strong to like hawke or carver or fenris that seems unrealistic and just like an attempt for the writers to further hone in on how horny shes supposed to make you feel

like yes have her be open and not ashamed of being intimate but put more love and respect on it. i love an isabela that is repressed in her own feelings and the only way she knows how to have meaningful connections is through sex cus thats what was expected of her. like oh my god do you know how many people relate to that, if its done right it could be a very compelling arch to her character and maybe something she learns isnt concrete the more platonic/romantic meaningful time she has with everyone in da2 and beyond

as for her comments about rivain and the people there, like the phrase "even deny a fortune teller and theyll run you out of town" to merrill, just makes rivainis out to be greedy and shameless swindlers and that projection is obviously also put on romani people since that is a VERY common stereotype

like the phrase "getting gypped" literally means to be cheated and comes from the word gypsy. theres no denying the intention the writers had when they wrote that line for isabela

and honestly i love the idea of rivain (i say the idea cus we only hear accounts of the nation, we havent seen it in person yet) i love the idea of a matriarchal society that is religious and spiritual but does not tolerate the chantry's bigotry and openly accepts society's outcast such as mages and qunari

romani culture irl is patriarchal and often anybody who is not romani is typically not trusted, but if rivain was treated as an idealistic fantasy romanistan, where our values and traditions are implemented and we make a better world for ourselves and other outcasts then it could be very compelling

thats the thing with representation, sometimes it doesnt have to reflect reality 100%, but it still requires knowledge so that you can make new ideas based on the facts and reasoning of the group youre representing

[lazywhispersobject]

Review: ‘Madame Web’ is actually a good movie. Yes, really.

I'm not gonna lie: while I was heading to the theater, I was concerned going into “Madame Web.” The majority of X, formerly known as Twitter, users seemed to be against what they saw as meager storylines and weak writing, characters, and performances, especially compared to other Sony/Marvel superhero movies, so I was hesitant. I was expecting “Madame Web” to be a lot worse than it was, but a few good performances and strong found family themes elevate “Madame Web” above some lesser Sony/Marvel superhero movies.

Columbia Pictures’ “Madame Web” was released in theaters on Feb. 14 and follows Cassandra Webb (played by Dakota Johnson), a paramedic in New York City. Webb finds herself having to protect three teenagers from Ezekiel Sims, a murderous adversary with superhuman powers who is hunting them.

“Madame Web” is set in 2003 and sort of pays homage to the conventions of the comic book movies of that era. The muted color palette and minimalistic special effects are all designed to remind viewers of movies like 2002’s “Spider-Man” or 2003’s “Daredevil.”

Also, like many of those movies, Webb is depicted as aloof and antisocial, with her friend having to drag her to social gatherings. Occasionally, with these characters it doesn’t feel realistic, but Johnson really sells it which makes it all the better when she finally finds her chosen family.

The other star of “Madame Web” is Adam Scott. I’ll admit that Scott and his glorious deadpan was half of the reason why I actually watched the movie in the first place, and he absolutely killed it as Ben Parker, a name most Spider-Man fans will recognize.

That’s the other thing about Sony’s recent Spider-Man Universe — it doesn’t have Spider-Man, but it gets really close. Sony is trying to convince people that its movies are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they’re not. It is this confusion that is driving audiences away from its movies after films like “Morbius,” which was both a critical and commercial failure. It’s a shame too, because with better marketing more people might be able to actually enjoy this movie.

I mentioned that Adam Scott was half the reason I wanted to watch “Madame Web,” the other half was because of Isabela Merced. Merced, known for her starring role as Dora the Explorer in 2019’s “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” brings layers to the role of Anya Corazon, who was my favorite of the three girls. The A-plus-student Corazon was one of my favorite characters in the 2017 “Spider-Man” animated series. Still, Merced portrays her as more than just an intellectual here, which I appreciated.

Sydney Sweeney and Celeste O’Connor were okay as Julia Cornwall and Mattie Franklin, but the script doesn’t give them much to do other than be a goody-two-shoes and a rebel, respectively.

The writing for “Madame Web” is kind of basic. The hero gets powers that she can’t control, finds the other main characters and must come into her power to save them – it’s all been done before. I am willing to forgive it, though, because of the ending.

I’m a sucker for the found family trope. It’s one of my favorites and “Madame Web” is a great example of it. Webb is initially reluctant to save the girls, but after learning that their real families have abandoned or left them, she takes it upon herself to protect them. By the end, Webb accepts Corazon, Cornwall and Franklin as her chosen family.

The villain in “Madame Web” is also bland. Sims sees a vision of Corazon, Cornwall and Franklin killing him, which is fine, but what I don’t get is why he doesn’t just try to talk to them first, instead of going right to hunting them.

I also thought the dialogue mixing for him was off. Whenever he spoke in voiceover, it sounded much deeper than his actual voice.

There was a lot of good humor in “Madame Web.” Johnson and Scott have a good rapport as Webb and Parker, with Scott stealing the spotlight in every scene he is in. The girls also have good chemistry.

The music was surprisingly good. I appreciated the use of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” as a plot device, and Tiffany’s cover of “I Think We’re Alone Now” was also appropriate for the scene, because they were, in fact, alone.

Unlike most of X, I actually enjoyed “Madame Web.” If you ignore what people on the Internet say, maybe you will too.

by Tyler D'Errico - The Collegian

"Cassie"

Madame Web premiere

[shivunin]

gently tosses you Fenris and Sebastian for the character meme

Carefully catches them both, but Fenris is kinda prickly and I fumble him a lil bit.

(Thank you for asking! c:)

(Character Ask thing)

Fenris

First impression: oh fuck did he just rip that dude's heart out through his back 😳(i am absolutely projecting this reaction onto Maria haha)

Impression now: I mean. there's no going back at this point lol. Dude altered my brain chemistry permanently. He is an asshole, he is deeply flawed, he is so hurt and angry and funny and so shockingly poetic. He is gorgeous and so unsure about anyone caring about him (platonically or romantically). He is loyal to a fault. He is still figuring out how to be his own person. He's the reason I got back into reading fic, and thus the reason I started writing fic and participating in the fandom at all. I don't even know what my opinion is anymore because that is how much I have thought about Fenris. I am rotating him in my mind at shocking speeds.

Favorite moment: It's a tie between the moment after he rips out Danarius's heart and turns to look at Hawke like 🥺-and- his final monologue. I also think his conversation w the mabari is really sweet. Or lol his "I was just glad. To see you. That's all." from the Legacy DLC

Idea for a story: *gestures to fic idea mountain* haha. But as for ones I have not written, my favorites are my "worst road trip with my future sister-in-law ever/fenris gets kidnapped" story (which i am writing very slowly rn) and one where there's some sort of double of Hawke and he has to determine which is the real her (I love this trope)

Unpopular opinion: Oh man. I have no idea. I guess that I enjoy the Bitter Pill -> Questioning Beliefs quest order version of the romance scene, but I also like the other one. There are painful pieces to both of them and that's what it's all about for me.

Favorite relationship: Fenris and Isabela. I love that they're constantly needling each other.

Favorite headcanon: The bodies in his foyer are practice dummies dressed in robes.

As funny as "Fenris lives in a literal mansion of corpses is," that level of squalor does, in fact, make you sick. Also...after six years, there are no signs of decomposition? With how many rats are sure to live in Kirkwall? I don't think so.

I like to imagine someone broke in at some point, saw the corpses on the floor, said "oh, no thank you, actually" and dipped, and Fenris went "Hmm. Now wait a moment, maybe I'm onto something."

So: that's my headcanon. The bodies are fake and he lets everyone think they're real/everyone jokes that they're real because it's a good bit. Now, does he leave his bedroom a hot hot mess always just because? Yes. But I think the bodies are fake.

Sebastian

*With the caveat that I have only started one pt with Sebastian because my console hates me (has to be plugged into an internet port directly to run the Exiled Prince DLC and there isn't one in the room with the TV) and most of my initial information was based on the fandom:

First impression: Ah, he must be the designated Religious Character for this game as a counterpoint to the dude who hates the Chantry. Got it.

Impression now: I am shaking him in a jar. He is such a wild study in contrasts?? When you do the quest in the Hahriman's mansion and one of the dudes is getting with the maid and Sebastian apologizes to Hawke for exposing them to it---I said "Excuse me, sir???" out loud. Like what? In a ~dark fantasy~ game, this guy is apologizing for you seeing some slap and tickle?

I think he wants so badly to believe that the world is black and white so he can do the right thing, and when confronted with all its variegations instead he creates exceptions. Lots of other characters do this, too (see: Fenris and Hawke/Bethany being "good" mages because they are stronger than the others and thus not tempted by demons/blood magic) but I think Sebastian particularly plays in the grey spaces in an interesting way.

Also, I think the running theme of him wanting vengeance/wanting to not want vengeance is fascinating in the light of that final scene at the Chantry. He's talked about trying to forgive before, but when it comes down to it he wants to kill Anders or march on Kirkwall if you won't let him. That is fascinating to me. I do really want to finish this playthrough with him so I can see the rest of it play out, but...we will get there.

Also, I think it's a bummer that he frequently gets left out of companion round-ups and lists. I get that he comes from a DLC, but love him or hate him he's a really interesting character in 2.

Favorite moment: I don't have a favorite, but anytime he's talking tbh. He has a really lovely voice

Idea for a story: I have a half-written thing about Sebastian and the role that faith plays in Hawke recovering from Leandra's death. A lot of it is coming to terms with the fact that Hawke doesn't really believe in Chantry doctrine...but it does genuinely help her to know that someone who shared Leandra's faith is praying for her in the way she would have wanted. He also does the service for Leandra even though Elthina offered (it was like. the only thing Hawke asked for: Sebastian has to do the service).

(A lot of this is inspired by the fact that he is one of the few companions who has lost his parents---not "never knew them" or "hated them and now they're gone" but actually lost them, complicated as their relationship was. And I think it's something that would help her in that moment)

Unpopular opinion: I liked bringing him on Anders' act 2 quest. Not only because of my own internal narrative (Maria asks Sebastian to kill her if it seems like the templars will take her because she is terrified of being made Tranquil and because she knows he'll do it if she can make him promise; all of which I find delightfully angsty) but because I think the conflict between Anders and Sebastian is exceptionally interesting if you've taken them on this quest together.

Favorite relationship: Sebastian and Fenris. I think they each challenge each other's ideas about the world and I like the way Sebastian treats Fenris. It feels nonjudgmental to me.

Favorite headcanon: Sebastian wanders Lowtown trying to help people in his off time. I refuse to believe that he actually hangs out in the Chantry all the time, and it seems like something he would find noble. I like to believe he spends time with the refugees after befriending Hawke, trying to connect them with the resources they need to find stability.

[adventure-oc]

The Family Madrigal (Giftless Camilo AU)

Lyrics

No lyrics

(Between the song lyrics)

(Someone other than Camilo singing)

________________________________________________________________

(Buenos días, Abuelo.)

(Cecilia, Alejandra, and Juancho, with his usual cup full of coffee, ran and leaned on the rocks in front of Casita.)

(As he approached the dining room the windows opened, letting some natural light shine. Camilo dramatically put his hands in front of the part of his maskless face, as if it was killing him.)

(The plates rolled on the big table to Camilo, the latter catching them all, almost letting go of his prima’s Isabela.)

"Camilo !!!"

Camilo almost dropped the plates in surprise. He turned around and saw his three favorite village children.

Camilo : "Buenos días, niños." He saluted before continuing placing the plates, "I'm sorry to say that, but considering what's happening, I need all my energy, so no lesson for anyone about anything today."

Juancho : What ?!

Alejandra : Really ?

Cecilia : What is happening ?

Camilo : Duh, my brother's ceremony, did you forget ? We will all know what Gift he will get tonight.

??? : Hey…

Camilo and the trio all turned their heads towards the new voice. It was a child wearing a turquoise ruana. Camilo recognized him; it was Rico, one of the most introverted kids around. He approached timidly with a frown on his face.

Camilo : Buenos días, Rico.

Rico : B-buenos días Camilo... I wanted to know…who are all the amazing Madrigal… and… what are their Gifts ?

Camilo (smiling compassionately before smirking) : I understand, nino. We can be lost with all of them. I'll explain everything, but before… who wants to know more ?

All kids : US !!!

Camilo : Alright, "us". Be careful and listen, because I'm only going to say it once. Casita ! Ayudame !

Drawers !

Floors !!

Doors !!!

Come on !!!!

This is our home, we’ve got every generation

So full of muuuusic, a rhythm of its own design

Here’s my family, a great constellation

So many stars, every member gets to shine

Hey ! 

Let's all be clear, it's all thanks to Abuela 

Hey !

Without her, there wouldn't be any familia

Hey !

We're a big family, but don't worry

I'll explain, so you would all be happy, so

Welcome to the family Madrigal

The home of the family Madrigal (yes we're coming)

Where all the people are fantastical and magical

I'm part of the Family Madrigal

The kids (in different tones) : Oh my gosh, it's them !

Alejandra : What are all the Gifts ?

Cecilia : I can't remember all of them.

Rico : W-what is your power ?

Camilo : Calm down, calm down, kids. I said I'll tell ya everything.

Alejandra : But you still didn't ! So it's physically impossible to relax !

Cecilia : So tell us now. What is your power ?

Juancho (overexcited) : Just tell us what everyone can do !!!!

Camilo (snatching the cup) : And that's why coffee is for adults.

Mi Madre Pepa, makes sun when she's happy

But when she's annoyed, it can get all rainy

Mi tio Bruno

(What is it about Bruno ?)

Can give a prophecy

But he stays a mystery

Oh, and here's my tia Julieta

Wow, she can heal every injury

Wow, no one else can be so lovely

Between you and me, she's my favorita (Tia !)

Welcome to the family Madrigal

The home of the family Madrigal (hey, coming through!)

I know it sounds a bit fantastical and magical

But I'm part of the family Madrigal

Two men fell in love with family Madrigal

And now, they're part of the family Madrigal

So, yeah, Tío Agustin married Julieta

And my dad married miss Pepa

That's how Abuela became an abuela Madrigal

Let's go, let's go

We swear to always help those around us

And earn the miracle that somehow found us

The town keeps growing, the world keeps turning

But work and dedication will keep the miracle burning

And each new generation must keep the miracle burning

Alejandra : Wait, who’s a sibling and who’s the prima ?

Cecilia : There’s so many people. 

Juancho : How do you keep them all straight ?!

Camilo : Well, they’re my familia, that’s the first thing, and second, when you’re in the familia, you’ll all get used to it.

Davina (approaching) : Camilo ! Camilo ! Will you talk about the others ?!

All the kids (agreeing) : Yeah, please please. Who are they ?!

So many kids in our house, so let’s turn the sound up!

You know why? I think it’s time for a grandkid roundup

Kids : GRANDKID ROUNDUP ?!

Camilo (Flinching a bit) : Yes ! Grandkid Roundup. And for those who just came I repeat; I'll say it only one time. But we have to be a bit quiet

Alejandra : Why ?!

Camilo : Because first…

Big sis Dolores, can hear a pin drop

Little Antonio, will give us a new hope 

Mirabel, Luisa, and Isa are my three primas

Smart strong graceeeful, perfect in all the ways

Isabela 

Make a rose and the town goes wild !

Isabela 

The first golden child

The second is Mirabel, who can sew and stitch out of thin air

And Luisa (Luisa)

Throws everything in the air

The beauty, the brain and the brawn do not wrong !!!

(Time to work)

(Coming Abuela !!!)

That's life in the family Madrigal (whoa-oh-oh-oh)

Now, you know the family Madrigal (whoa-oh-oh-oh)

Where all the people are fantastical and magical 

That's who we are in the family Madrigal

Camilo with a salute before knocking into Alejandra : Finished and adiós! Ooh!

Alejandra : But what’s YOUR Gift ?!

The children (agreeing) : YEAH, WHAT’S YOUR GIFT ?!

Camilo was about to respond when a guitar had been tossed into his arms. When he saw his three friends Valentino, Angelica and Arturo looking at him with mocking smirks as they played with their respective instruments, the Djembe, the tambourine, and the accordeon. Never the one to back out from a challenge, Camilo played his part as he sent a smirk to them then the kids.

Well, I’m part of the family Madrigal (whoa-oh-oh-oh)

So I can tell you about mee too (whoa-oh-oh-oh)

So if you wanna know you’ll have to follow meeeeee.

Because I too am a Madrigal.

(But what about Camilo ?!)

Well, there is Abuela

And tio Bruno who can avoid disasters

(What about Camilo ?!)

I can do many things, like painting and theater.

(What about Camilo ?!)

Mi tia Julieta will heal you as if you weren’t hurt.

(But Camilo !)

Tio Agustin, huh… he loves to help but he gets hurt.

(Camilo !!!)

(Trying to avoid balls) If you really wanna know, I can sew and make masks for you-

(Camilo !)

My brother Antonio is adorable and wants to shine.

(Camilo !)

And me too I really want the best for him !

(Camilo !)

Yo, It’s mister Mariano, ya

Can marry Isabela if ya want ta,

But between ya and me, there are really better out there

See ya next time, I hope you’ll be a good pair.

(Camilo !)

You kids are amazing !

(Camilo !)

So let me tell you one thing !

(CAMILO !!!)

It’s that-

(Camilo !)

[himbopunk]

For hakim: i think the concept terrifies him cuz hes scared of commitment so itd take a little bit post-game to feel comfortable with the idea but eventually the idea that he wants to spend his life with lucanis nests in his brain and the second lucanis proposes he Will say yes. (Not sure how this is working with the neve throuple situation. i feel like shed be similarly a bit touchy on it and i feel like hakim just barrels into the subject one day like. Hey neve you wanna get married and shes like what the hell rook). i feel like the wedding would be in antiva, though rook would kind of prefer to do it back in rivain, i think theres a certain amount of appeasing caterina that has to be done. he is wearing as much as his rivaini gold and such as possible though. oh god i want to design wedding outfits now.

i think esp w the throuple sitch that the actual ceremony is done first fairly privately, so its like caterina, illario (lol), teia, viago, the veilguard so davrin, bellara, emmrich, taash, i'm undecided if they ever manage to track down hakim's dad but if not theyd leave a seat open for him and harding despite knowing they wont be there & isabela is there cuz shes the closest thing hakim has to family at this point. i dont. Know if neve has living family i never remember seeing her talk about it??? shrug. maybe rana and tarquin show up. uhhh strife, antoine and evka. thats it. the reception though? oh buddy the reception is a party, tons of crows, lords, raiders and even some shadow dragons in one place means someone is getting poisoned (alcohol or otherwise) and something is getting blown up by the end of the night.

traditions wise i feel like its mostly a traditional antivan wedding that teia and caterina did most the planning for with rook occasionally throwing in some must haves for rivaini like. theyd all be tiny superstition things you do at weddings like to appease spirits n such. which is funny bc i dont think hakim generally comes off as superstitious but hes a sailor at heart i guess. i think seer rowan officiates also for this reason. i think neve has some little things she brings to it as well but i cant. Think of anything specific other than like food and attire

for iktom... he heard that dialogue w harding and emmrich where emmrich says hed hoped hed get married someday and is immediately hearing wedding bells. he struggles to wait until the endgame to ask about it and i think emmrich and him had both mentally prepped a whole thing on how to approach the subject but in reality what happens is theyre doing a small mission in arlathan or something helping out in the postgame and when they defeat whatever it is iktom blurts out DO YOU WANNA GET MARRIED and kills emmrich on the spot DHFKSKGKS trying to figure out who the funniest third person to be here would be. i can picture bellara there like omg... i dont think iktom cares Where the wedding is, though i dont think he wants a huge to do about it. i think it happens in nevarra and its a fairly closed event... more than Just Family probably but nothing spectacular.

emmrich does a lot of the planning, iktom only has a small handful of anderfel traditions to add to the mix (i think his first wedding was mostly dwarven in tradition so they may be things he didnt get to do then and kinds regretted not doing) (i think theres like One qunari thing also he talks to taash about cuz the qunari dont exactly. Have marriages under the qun so?? but maybe theres other ideas of partnership n such or a symbolic gesture that still works & emmrich is very excited to incorporate). I know emmrich is going to serve absolute cunt in the outfit he picks god. iktom is going to pass out. i feel like one of them cries. iktoms outfit is fairly plain in comparison but maybe has a little flair cuz lucanis helped with it. get him a nice little like shoulder cloak situation idk.

i think antoine and/or evka officiate the wedding, mamfreds the ringbearer For Sure. a bunch of mourn watchers and a handful of spirits that emmrich is friendly with are there, including hezenkoss' skull fsr. handful of wardens, iktoms father if hes still alive by this point. his ex wife, and staalgard (who is buddies w his ex wife And harding atp so.) i think illario viago and teia show up with lucanis and neve. (at one point illario starts flirting with iktoms ex wife and lucanis warns him hes playing with fire) (if bouquets are tossed taash reaches over everyone to grab it and harding is very flustered about it)

Hey, hope you all had a good weekend! Unfortunately, it’s Monday =/ Fortunately, it’s time for Rook Intro Hour! 🍀🌺🌼🌸

How it works: I ask you a question about your Rook(s) and you answer it with as much brevity or verbosity as you desire. You can do this whenever you want, and I’ll reblog it + add some comments! There’s no time limit— if you want to do the older ones, they are collected here! (The post is updated on Fridays!)

Today’s Question(s): Does your Rook want to get married to their LI(s)? Do they care about where? Is there a specific tradition/traditions they want to follow, when they do? Who would they invite? What would they wear?

Have fun & thanks for sharing!

[clownmoontoon]

@amrrow4 @incomprehensible-vagabond

SO UH.. HERES THE FULL WDTAB REMIX FROM THE OSCARS

yes its bad but not bc any of the performers sang or rapped poorly, im not coming for any of them when i complain about this

it was bad bc of the amount of hype and expectation the academy put around this being a live performance of what is literally the world's most popular song rn, so many ppl were tuning in JUST to see this performance!!

not to mention that every commercial promoting it would play camilo's "7 FOOT FRAME, RATS ALONG HIS BACK" soundbite bc its arguably the most visually entertaining and catchy part of the song to get everyone excited

bUT THEN CAMILO'S PART WAS CUT COMPLETELY FROM THE PERFORMANCE NOT JUST HIM BUT DOLORES' AND ISABELA'S TOO AND FOR WHAT??? FOR NEW LYRICS THAT PRAISED THE OSCARS FOR SOME REASON??? FOR A NEW FUCKING CHORUS ??????

WHY???

when a song gets nominated for an oscar theres always a live performance so while many (including me!) were happy dos oruguitas was getting recognition there was a bit of "aw man it wouldve been so cool to see a live vers of wdtab" SO WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED THERE WOULD BE ONE ANYWAY EVERYONE WAS ECSTATIC!!!!!

literally everyone ive talked to and seen posting around (and me too!!) were expecting a broadway level performance, to see the lighting used in the movie, the choreography, creative movie inspired set design, THE VOICE ACTORS SINGING THEIR PARTS etc bc thats par the course for an oscar musical performance!!

IN FACT BC WE KNEW BRUNO'S VA WAS THERE EVERYONE WAS EXPECTING HIM TO EITHER MAKE A SNEAKY APPEARANCE OR GET A NEW LINE IN THE SONG!!

instead he just ended up introducing the song with a witty remark of "they didnt ask me to sing, even tho i AM BRUNO" lmao wish we couldve heard u too bro T__T

i wasnt even mad about there being celebrities inserted into the song or the possibility of the song being remixed, as long as the sONG WAS ACTUALLY BEING PERFORMED

HOW CAN YOU ADVERTISE YOURE GOING TO BE PERFORMING "WE DONT TALK ABOUT BRUNO" WHEN THE CHORUS IS "WE'RE HERE TO CELEBRATE OSCARS" IM ... ???

[thepictureofsdr]

so ive been seeing a LOT of controversy lately over the new art and i wanted to throw my two cents in as someone who has experience drawing the lady of the hour

am i a leading artist of this fandom? no. am i an expert on drawing people, skin, or colour theory? no. am i perfect at portraying poc? no. (so far no one has had an issue with me but i hope that if i ever do something wrong someone would call me out) the examples i have aren’t even my most recent design of cordelia. but even someone like me can grasp the basics of skin colour.

im someone who exists only to wake up and use dramatic lighting, which is why i feel i can say something here. ive seen people defending the whitewashing saying its the lighting. but that’s not how that works. yes, some poc skin may look white under certain lighting, but that is ONLY in the area directly hit by the light, its no explanation for the rest of skin. lets look at isabela madrigal as an example. she’s very pale where the light DIRECTLY hits, but the rest of her skin is a brown tone, and her shadows are especially dark since she has darker skin to begin with, the consistent base tone for her design is a brown. now if we look at the cordelia art, she’s light where the pink sunrise hits, but the REST of her skin is LIGHT. this is because the base tone used was very light, her darkest shadow is almost a neutral tone on isabela. now look at the tone difference between matthew and cordelia. this is NOT the difference you’re supposed to see between a BRITISH WHITE PERSON and a person of colour. some people have brought up that cordelia is mixed but that has no place in this discussion as she’s been described as having inherited her mothers dark skin multiple times.

there have been some brilliant posts already, one by @youngreckless with a wonderful addition by @have-a-holly-jolly-angstmas in the notes, but i just wanted to pop in as someone who has spent a year drawing these characters, theres absolutely no excuse for this. sometimes filters and lighting can change a piece, but we’re not talking a shade’s difference here this is literally changing the base tone of her skin. and even if it’s lighting or filters, its your job as an artist to fix those things before posting, especially when being posted by the AUTHOR. its also the authors job to commission art that sticks to the canon. the inconsistency in cordelia’s skin tone and features in recent art has been ridiculous. we’re not talking fan artists who are still getting the hang of drawing these characters we’re talking professionals who’ve been paid to do this. most of the little alastair art we’ve gotten seems to be decently consistent, in that he has his fathers jaw and nose and his mothers hair and skin. but cordelia is all over the place, one second she has a strong jaw and nose with dark skin and the next she’s all soft and light, the difference between two pieces of one character is ridiculous, it’s genuinely embarrassing.

how can you look me in the eye and say these are the same person. you can’t. my friend thought the first one was TESSA until they realized the boy was blond and not will. this goes way farther than style or individual interpretation, these are three different women.

excuse the old art but ive drawn alastair far more than cordelia and once again, its very easy to draw lighting while respecting the actual skin colour of the characters you’re portraying. the characters deserve better than this, but more importantly, the people who read these stories and see themselves deserve better and consistent representation.

this isn’t a full discussion, there are many things about cordelia’s whitewashing that i didn’t speak about this isn’t intended to be a full discussion of the topic, just a point from someone who is so fucking sick of the lighting argument, please go look at this post and all the notes for some wonderful points.

[lilyclawthorne]

I'm not sure if it's the same in the English version, but in the French version, Isabela (when hugging mirabel) says "Its you, you're my gift" and it just has me thinking if Isabela and Luisa are close? I imagine they were when they were younger, but drifted apart. And, if you think about it, they are kind of swapping personalities in the movie,

Luisa is the perfect child, she loves helping out, she works hard and she's very sweet and kind.

And Isabela is the strong, independent child, who wants to design her own future.

And I think, when they were younger, Luisa was like, "Look Isa, I'm pretty too." While copying Isabela because she looks up to her.

And Isabela being brain washed from all the trauma just responds with "That's not your job."

(IDK I JUST WISH THEY INTERACTED MORE)

I mean, I definitely do imagine they’d were closer when they were younger and the pressure that was placed on each of them caused them to drift apart, but more from just literally not having time or energy to spend with one another.

There’s a part of me that wonders though, if a younger Isa and Luisa interacted like the way you wrote out, how much of it is Isa wanting to stay the golden child in her Abuela’s eyes vs how much of it is Isa thinking Luisa shouldn’t have to be like me. That Isa craves that approval from Abuela for herself but also already knows to get it she has to be someone she’s not and doesn’t want that for Luisa. Distancing herself from Luisa or discouraging Luisa from being like her so Luisa doesn’t have to feel what she feels. Luisa’s clearly protective of Mirabel, why not assume Isabela would be protective of Luisa?

But yes I really wish we could’ve seen them interact more too, but if that mini series thing people have mentioned is happening, then maybe we will?

[rowsandrows-of-roses]

Yes, maybe in the next few years, Paris Fashion Week would invite the brands that Isabela modeled for, but she would not be invited. That was the cruel reality of fashion. She was already reaching the upper age limits of most of the models.

Which would have been fine, if she had a husband and a family she was beginning to prepare for. But, that wasn't the case. Soon, Isabela would start to lose her endorsements and then where would she be? With no husband to show for it. No family.

Of course, she wouldn't say that.

"Oh yes, I agree," she told him. And it was true, she did. Isabela liked to be positive about politics. Even if it was difficult, considering her own experiences in Avalor. Being positive was easier, in her opinion, than not being.

"And places like New York Fashion Week is much more open. I wouldn't say they're perfect, but they have invited a few Magick-friendly brands and Magick designers the last couple of years. Hopefully, the rest of the fashion world follows suit but it hasn't always been known for its bold social strides."

@let-remy-cook

A Perfect Pairing || Remisa

[sacredtime]

Encanto headcanons/rant

NOTE: I haven’t seen the movie yet so characters may be ooc and I’m going to be projecting a bit but also this gets very rant-y

TLDR: I projected onto Luisa and how I think puberty went for her as compared to Isabela and how Isabela’s golden child standards would’ve affected Luisa and Isabela

Ok so we all know the gifts and their (at least general) concepts Isabela makes plant life grow, Camilo shapeshifts, Dolores has superhuman hearing, Pepa controls the weather, etc. but like we see them in the movie and how they react/were brought up with Abuela’s pressure/teachings on how a Madrigal is.

Now I’ve had this thought: what was it like when her teachings was put in place. It’s clear that until the triplets started getting older these pressures weren’t strong or even there bc who knows how to raise magical children especially when their all that same age and it looks as (with possible exception to Bruno) the ‘perfect image’ wasn’t brought down nearly as hard as it was with the grandchildren.

A case can be made for Bruno but it seems like that didn’t happen until later on in his life when the town started to form and the townspeople didn’t hear what they wanted to hear. From things that were genetic like that one man’s hair loss, something they did to themselves like the other man’s gut or something completely unavoidable and unstoppable like that woman’s fish dying. It seems like pressure only really started piling on after his visions weren’t utopian looks into the future and that reality can be harsh as hell and something you don’t want to face.

Now I don’t think the teachings are taught immediately after a child gets a gift. They do need to acclimate to it and in some cases possibly get it under control and moderation (Isabela, Luisa and Dolores in particular) but let’s skip past that right now and focus on something that puts things into a slightly different light.

Puberty. Something that is not typically pretty for anyone. Particularly with two people Isabela and Luisa.

Its clear in the majority of the movie Isabela is perfect and constantly beautiful in the eyes of everyone, the epitome of beauty. Now I don’t think she was always like that. Like yeah she was a cute kid and I don’t think she ever DID have things like bad hair days but puberty is more then that it be awkward especially when you not only have powers but also now a changing body and imo now a VERY hard push to be the golden child and match the beauty of the flora you create. It be very stressful trying to live up to expectations and she’d have to mature FAST and work even harder to be perfect especially now that she doesn’t have that child like cuteness anymore as seen in her room and line in her song ‘I make perfect practiced poses’.

Now to Luisa. Her gift is something slightly unexpected from Disney, Super strength. A traditionally masculine power mostly given to men in media. Only time you will see women have this super power is if they’re Demi-gods or of similar stature (wonder woman), aliens/other other worldly creatures (Super woman), it is bundled in with other powers but rarely used or they’re technically a artificial being (powerpuff girls) and with few exceptions all these women are also very feminine and/or retain a stereotypical womanly figure/appeal, but Luisa isn’t like that. In the movie she is tall probably being one of the if not the tallest character and made of pure muscle. While yes there are feminine qualities about her, her character design is not a traditionally or typical female body type for Disney.

While I will say the studio is branching out in designing in recent years and that’s great, Luisa’s design is not one typically given to woman or if it is they aren’t good as these types of characters are made to be seen as disgusting and an obvious indication they are the bad guy. But Luisa isn’t that, yeah she has her faults and is mostly used to get the story plot moving but she isn’t the bad guy.

Now back on point. Luisa is bulky especially when compared to most of the characters and embraces that as seen with her working out when there is the reality that she probably doesn’t need to do that in the movie-although I think while she can lift anything she is still susceptible to injury like in her core if she didn’t maintain that strength-but imo it wasn’t always that way. There is a couple years between her and Isabela so (imo) no doubt she looked up to her to an extent and when she hit puberty she probably wanted to look as beautiful as Isabela so when Luisa started going through it and started to see that see was so much taller then her and any delicate features started going away (I feel like she’s just naturally stocky) it hurt and it didn’t help much with Dolores not being able to keep secrets of the other teenagers in town who probably snickered and whispered about her.

Her gift didn’t help either in trying to boost her confidence she felt so out of place and almost like a outsider when standing next to her family, when Abuela’s expectations fell upon her, Luisa probably nearly cracked with her insecurities. After many nights worrying about the fact she wasn’t perfect like Isabela, it wasn’t until she started getting praise by helping move a house did she eventually fall into line with her given expectations with the mindset ‘As long as they are happy with my work that’s what makes me worth something to the family’. And we can see that when Luisa starts loosing her gift, shes panicking trying to show she can move things, even small things and can still be of use and worth something.

This probably sounds like a mess and nonsense but this is all I got and am going to give for this night as it’s 2:43 am and I’m tired.

[theharellan]

101 DRAGON AGE QUESTIONS | not accepting

for the sake of reducing the number of ooc posts i’m answering these all in one and just @ing the people who asked the questions! thank you for them all!

if you sent me one of these btw and rbed this meme yourself and i didn’t send you something, please let me know! i want to send you things back and must have missed you reblogging the meme. this includes non-mutuals.

1. How did you get into Dragon Age? | asked by @kaaras-adaar & @dreamerlavellan​

Sort of by accident, actually. It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in university (2011) and summertime is generally a time of inactivity and depression because I cannot tolerate the weather here. My dad happened to own Origins and I picked it up because??? Fantasy? RPG?

Starting the game I saw you could play as a dwarf, who have been my favourites in fantasy since a child as The Hobbit is among my favourite books. Then after that I fell in love with the worldbuilding for dwarves and Gorim, my first actual Dragon Age love. I was more or less hooked after that. DA was actually not my first Bioware game, I was obsessed with Jade Empire as a kid so like Origins appealed to me immediately despite being far less fun to play than literally any other Bioware game I’ve ever played. The characters and world more than made up for it.

I beat it relatively quickly and my dad bought Dragon Age II which had come out earlier that day, actually against my suggestion because I’d heard it wasn’t good. And in this instance my dad forgetting something I said turned out for the best because I ended up enjoying DAII more in some respects. While it took me a while to join the fandom as a content producer I was a consumer and certified DA trash from then on.

2. Have you finished all three games? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

Kskjdfs yes. I’ve beaten each at least 4 times, but probably more like 8. The only thing I haven’t played are some of the Origins DLC because as much as I enjoy my replays I am so ready to be out by the end of the game (and I have the worst luck with Awakening bugs) and I also don’t have Sebastians DLC b/c his never goes on sale individually and I refuse to spend more than like $4 on him.

3. How long did it take you to finish the series? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

I honestly don’t know. I think it took me like a week to beat Inquisition without 100%ing it, I’d say my first playthroughs all probably took about that long. I tend not to do everything in my first playthrough. Like shard collecting didn’t happen until round two, etc.

7. Favorite DA:O backstory? | asked by @dreamerlavellan & @fatefaulted

I’ve played through all of them and I enjoy them all except Cousland, but my favourite is Aeducan. I enjoy the politics, the culture, the aesthetic of Orzammar. I love Gorim Saelac and the surprising amount of depth to this character who is designed to be thrown away after the prologue. I love how it ties you to the Darkspawn threat in a bigger way than any of the origins accomplish. I love how it ties you to the Orzammar plot later in the game, and playing Aeducan first is probably one reason why I adore that branch of the game. It’s a good origin that establishes its world really well and has great characters to boot.

11. Share a pic of your favorite OC from any DA game. | asked by @dreamerlavellan

I just want to share pics of my girl and Solas’ future husband.

Ian Lavellan, non-Inquisitor written by @theshirallen

Thora Cadash, dwarven Inquisitor and default Inquisitor for this blog written by... me lmao.

22. Favorite DA2 party combo? | asked by @fatefaulted

My main Hawke is a mage Hawke, so this party is horrendously imbalanced, but: Varric, Merrill, Isabela. They all just like each other and I think that’s neat. Although in act one my favourite is probably Carver, Merrill, Isabela / Varric. Unfortunately the game doesn’t want me to have a warrior in my party.

24. Favorite main-story quest from DA:I? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

It’s hard to pick between In Hushed Whispers and In Your Heart Shall Burn. I love seeing the red lyrium’d companions and the dark future of Thedas, and speculating on what happened in the intervening year. I love reflecting on what it must do for the Inquisitor to see that and have it be undone. I think it sets up the rest of the game really well, and in ways Champions of the Just doesn’t do quite as well.

In Your Heart Shall burn is a simpler quest but I think the power and emotions in the quest are so raw. Playing this the first time was riveting and I was on the edge of my seat. The triumph of closing the Breach, the strangeness of your first encounter with Cole (whose appearance at the gates is another reason I prefer IHW tbh, I think it’s more tension building than Dorian’s), Corypheus, crawling through the snow. Capping it off with The Dawn Will Come and the journey to Skyhold idk, it’s just such an emotional high point in the series that every time I replay I get goosebumps.

25. Favorite DA:I place? | asked by @fatefaulted

It’s a tie between the Frostback Basin and the Emerald Graves. I love the lore in both, as elf trash I prefer the lore in the graves especially if I can include the Din’an Hanin into that category. But the Avvar lore and Ameridan is also Very Good, and while I adore the giant trees of the graves the Frostback Basin clearly was able to have more resources poured into its design, and as a result the different sections of the map have so much more character.

A close runner-up is the Hinterlands, as I think the quests there are fun and it feels like home. I enjoy returning to it. Which is good, b/c I’ve played through it... a lot... I think loving it might be a coping mechanism, but also I love the vibe of the early game that’s best captured in the Hinterlands.

32. Favorite DLC mission overall? | asked by @fatefaulted

Trespasser is up there with Shivering Isles as my favourite DLC ever produced. Its hits every emotional beat I think it needed to hit, set up the next game with greater detail and intrigue than the initial epilogue, and I’m honestly dying to get to replay it again on Thora despite what it does to my nerves. The first time I played it I could feel my heart beating faster like wtf me.

37. Blood magic: yes or no? | asked by @hopewrought​

Would I use it myself? No. Morally I think it can be reprehensible but also neutral, much like any other magic in the game. In certain characters I think even if used for good it may encourage unhealthy habits, but I think it can be learned to be engaged with in better ways.

59. Who was written really poorly? | asked by @theshirallen you can’t hide behind anon I know it was you

Oghren fucking Kondrat. When I think about the reasons Origins is my least favourite game he is among them. With Oghren there was a really good chance to portray an alcoholic abuse victim, suffering from severe mental health issues, and still mourning his wife, with the respect it deserves. Instead he just... is a gross sexist dwarf and his alcoholism is mostly played for jokes. And then he comes back in Awakening and... continues to be a gross sexist dwarf whose alcoholism is mostly played for jokes.

There could have been some really interesting stuff with Oghren, the Warrior caste of dwarves I think would suffer from issues similar to qunari warriors, where when they can no longer fill the purpose society has dictated they must serve, what then? They can’t do anything but fight. There could be comradery with Sten, or perhaps Zevran or Alistair, or any of the companions who have had the path their lives took dictated to them by societal forces they had no say in (even if they are happy with that direction). There are snippets of good stuff in here, the line “let us show them our hearts, Warden, and then show them theirs” is one of the best of the good-byes the game offers us imo. It’s a shame about what came before.

Like there are other characters, such as Sera, who I think were done dirty by their writers, but Sera at least got some growth in the DLC and there were attempts to address criticism of her character. Oghren in Awakening was just kind of a take two of an already poorly-done arc.

60. Who do you wish had been given more story? | asked by @hopewrought​

I wish Briala had more, like that she had some impact on the story in universes where Gaspard isn’t crowned with her as his puppetmaster. She and the elves reappears in that but not if you reunite her with Celene or exile her, and I think it would’ve been neat. I also wish she’d had a chance to interact with Solas in some small way given how many parallels were drawn by one of his own agents during Masked Empire.

I also wish we had more about dwarves in general in 2 and Inquisition. We get some great lore in Inquisition that was set up in 2, but with our only dwarf companion being Varric, who honestly has a relationship with his race that at times is comparable to Sera’s, it pulls a few of its punches. I really think they have dwarves set up to be important players in the next game, with their architecture featuring heavily in the dev diary, buuut no dwarves to be seen. So who knows. Just give me dwarves in the next game who aren’t Varric Bioware pls. Let me kiss one maybe.

61. Favorite NPC? | asked by @kaaras-adaar​

I’m not going to count advisors even though they kinda are NPCs and I’m going to answer one for each game so uhh...

Origins - Anora

DA2 - Feynriel

DA:I - Krem

Bonus - Lord Woolsley, the only unproblematic DA character

63. Best story moment? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

It’s a tie between the journey to Skyhold and the talk with Solas at the end of Trespasser and the resulting disbanding of the Inquisition (if you so choose). I really can’t separate them because I think the reason Trespasser works so well is how it calls back to the very beginning of Inquisition and that moment with Solas in the snow. It’s triumphant and sad, something’s ending, the fellowship is breaking, but you know all of you will continue to work towards a better world apart.

In DA:O I think it’d be saying good-bye before the final battle and in DA2 I think the moment where you can tell the Arishok he was right to take in the elves who killed that guardmen is good. Probably one of the reasons why I think Hawke-Arishok work so well as a protagonist-antagonist combination.

81. Favorite fanfic? | asked by @ghilannainguideme​

I don’t read a lot of fanfic, actually. Save what I read on here, which I do count, but idk if other people do.

My favourite writers to read are @theshirallen​, obviously. Joly wants to tweakIan’s personal quest but I think the version they have written now is still very good and you can find it here. I love reading Peace’s stuff and find their smut especially spicy in the best possible way, you can find a Merrill/f!Mahariel piece here! Gaia doesn’t write on Tumblr much these days, but she wrote a wonderful Tug/Sketch (the companions from Leliana’s Song) that you can find here.

I follow so many talented writers and I can’t list them all but here are a few I can fire off real fast: @theshirallen / @ghilannainguideme / @seahaloed / @sabraelin / @valorcorrupt / @mercysought / @hopewrought / @ofrevas / @skyheld have all moved me with their words at some point, be it in fic or rp.

82. Favorite fanart/fanartist? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

Again I just can’t choose jsdfks.

The easiest way is to just link my Solas fanart tag. Obviously this favours Solas artists, however, so also here’s a link to thedaswlw where there’s a boatload of amazing fanart all of wlw.

Of people I’m mutuals with I know @abracafockyou, @kaaras-adaar, @dalathin (currently inactive but I gotta link them), and @syntharts​ are all very talented artists.  I’m also a big fan of destinyapostacy, nipuni, elbenherzart, starscollected (on twitter), and many more.

97. What’s your favorite DA mod? | asked by @ghilannainguideme​ & @hopewrought​

I’ll chose one as many as I want to apparently from each game again, b/c why not?

DA:O - I have to admit I find this game hard to mod because nothing can really salvage the gameplay or look of the game. I need Better Dwarf Model so I don’t have to look at the odd dwarf proportions in the game (the women have arms for days). Mostly I have armour mods. I like Grey Wardens of Ferelden so I can match Alistair in the final batte and have everyone in uniforms in Awakening. I do like Kirkwall Exports because I can put Zevran in the robes of the notorious pirate tho. I haven’t used this mod yet but I also love this mod I retweeted this morning.

DA2 - Again, I don’t mod 2 very much. You could probably make some kind of chart for correlating my enjoyment of a game versus my urge to mod it, with the more I love a game means I want to mod it more. With 2 I enjoy the combat and overall design of the characters more so I mostly use a couple of tweaks, my favourite is Ishs Scarf for Merrill which just adds a cute blue scarf to Merrill and hides the fact that elves in this game have weirdly long necks. Oh and a mod to fix the weird hand dirt.

DA:I - Equal Opportunity Solas mod, I bought the game again on PC just to use it. Being able to play Solas/Ian for screencaps was everything tbh. Other mods I enjoy are More Banter, which while I have better luck with banter it is nice to be able to count on it. I installed it this latest pt and I have heard location comments that have never triggered before. Black Hair for Everyone has changed my life because finally Thora doesn’t have grey hair. No Dirt Buildup is also amazing, as the dirt can cause some really weird blotting on PCs that’s especially noticeable on dark-skinned Inquisitors.

99. Where would you live (Ferelden, Orlais, Free Marches etc?) | asked by @heysales​​

Probably Ferelden. It is fantasy England and hey if I make it past Inquisition maybe nothing will ever happen there again. Somewhere in the Free Marches might also be chill. Not Kirkwall. Maybe Starkhaven? Honestly tho I just want to live in the Frostback Basin. Have a spirit friend. Shake hands with nugs.

101. If you could meet your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor, what would you say? | asked by @dreamerlavellan​

If I met Thora I’d tell her I’m proud of her. She’d be confused, but that’s ok.

[trulycertain]

Just wanted to weigh in (belatedly) on your DA2 pt and say I started in the same boat. Played immediately after DA:O (like, 3 days?) and felt like it was trying too hard to be what O had achieved. Not as funny or compelling. But, like everyone else has said- it really is more relationship driven, and if you try to appreciate it as Origins, it really does feel lacking, doesn’t it? Love everything you’re sharing to this point on character analysis and broader POV on familial expectation 1/?

Oh, and also, my first pt I completely skipped Fenris, too. I was aiming to get enough gold to go on the expedition and by the time his quest came around I was like, “Nah, I’m good. I don’t need to go do this umpteenth side job.” See ya! And thus had a gap in my loading party screen the whole game XDDDD. Feel free to take a phone pic of your Hawke and share it with us if you’d like :D Also you should definitely consider doing some DA2 art :D

Thank you! I’m so glad you’re liking the rambling. It’s been an interesting experiment.

Oh, you too had the Mysterious Gap? *laugh* I did a lot of squinting and head-tilting my first playthrough, wondering if it was just my imagination or weird design.

I would definitely say that trying to make it fit my image of Origins meant it was doomed for me. It has its own charms, narrative and mechanics-wise. I will always be fond of it for introducing melee-mages as a thing.

One of the things I really enjoy in DA2 that isn’t explored nearly as much in Origins or Inquisition is how the companions in DA2 have been through A Lot, and the narrative is often quite unflinching about that. Trauma isn’t just portrayed as an angsty backstory you can infodump about and then go back to laughing with friends. Sure, they go for drinks and they make roots and they’re all badasses and a lot of them have a great sense of humour, but... they’re all bitter, and most importantly, they’re all allowed to be, which is not something I see in this genre much. (I need to make a separate post about that sometime.) They’re... difficult, at times, and obviously in pain, and not condemned for that.

I’d also forgotten how much I loved Anders - I really do, and this is going to hurt, and I’m still angry about how fandom treated Jennifer Hepler. I like healers and hurting, sarcastic characters (who knew?). And blonds. *cough* Do I think some of the mental illness metaphor is a tad heavyhanded and tasteless? Oh, fuck yes, that’s never been something I was comfortable with. Do I like him as a character? Yes.

Oh, also Fenris is not the way I thought he’d be at all, and he’s a lot more fun than I expected. I didn’t expect to like him, but I wanted to keep an open mind, and I’m warming fast. (And Emery’s voicing decisions with him are not what I expected, either. I really like that the guy who’s usually hired as muscle and spent years as a bodyguard has fancy enunciation, clearly got sick of hiding his intelligence when he was captive and refuses to do it anymore, and chooses his words so carefully. And then comes out with some of the most ridiculous jokes, even moreso than Anders - still utterly deadpan. “Smell the oppression,” dear god, man. Also that his voice is about six foot four and he’s about five-ten.) 

Also, finally getting to high approval with Isabela and Fenris and taking them around has been delightful. I absolutely understand why some people find their banters uncomfortable, and I might yet run into something that changes my mind - Isabela is unrepentantly pervy about some of the most inappropriate things - but it’s shown that she’ll back off if she’s asked to - see Varric’s objectification banter - and he seems to find her lack of pity refreshing and enjoyable. I love how she can almost always make him laugh, and how much they genuinely seem to enjoy each other’s company. Neither of them wants to be pitied for the pain in their pasts, and they both value freedom in very different ways. She’s also one of the few companions who he actually reaches out to, when he gets prickly. When they’re talking about the issue of mage freedom, she says, quite earnestly, “Let’s not fight,” and it’s him who makes a tentative quip about her guessing the colour of his underwear again and lets her change the subject. It’s an unusual, weirdly sweet moment. Despite making some decisions that may be selfish, Isabela is one of the most matter-of-factly kind, conciliatory companions in DA2, and that is an unexpected delight. And he’s one of the few companions who pays that back in spades (other than Varric and sometimes Anders).

On the other hand, I don’t miss the grimdarkness. You’re right, DA2 is less funny than DAO - and that’s because it’s less often allowed to be. They definitely had a tone they were going for, and sometimes that falls into Narm Charm with just how grim it is. Sometimes it feels like companions’ anger with each other is a tad arbitrary and inserted for the sake of Conflict(TM). And also, while I know for a fact he can do serious, stoic writing very well, there’s something tragic about having David Gaider in your team and not letting him go full-snark with his characters, even if he was head writer and I’m sure that was his tonal choice. I miss the “snarky and sometimes prickly but so often compassionate and rarely intentionally cruel unless you poke ’em” feel he brings that’s one of my favourite things about Dragon Age (Zevran, Alistair, Cassandra, Dorian). Sheryl Chee is pretty great at that, too. Inquisition, I felt, got the balance about perfect, and was noticeably lighter and sweeter than Origins or, especially, 2. 

And I would rather not have more quests with murdered women as a background narrative event. (At least in The Witcher, which is not immune to this, it became a full-on investigation and examination of the tropes rather than just a mood-setter that would be something to beat the protag round the head with later.) 

It was a great delight to me when I was wandering round the Deep Roads, ominous music and all, and got the Varric and Fenris, “What do you do in that big mansion all day?” / “I dance” banter. Because God, I needed that. (One of my favourite moments in Origins was exploring the seemingly endless, dark Deep Roads, and getting into a chat with Leliana about silk shoes by accident. That was when it truly felt like she and my Warden were friends.) I feel like Inquisition has a better balance that way; it has so many wonderful, absolutely brutal moments (I still find the “sometimes love isn’t enough” banter bloody hard to listen to), and so many wonderful palate-cleansers (arse-arrows).

This is actually one of the few games my mid-good PC can run! Pre-2013 there’s a half-decent chance. I doubt I could run Inquisition well. So here’s some Guin:

Kirkwall: A Summary.

And yes, I may... already be doodling. *cough*

[shannaraisles]

... Wasn’t Me

What happens when a Hawke trying to rescue a friend ends up as the Herald of Andraste? With this particular Hawke ... anything is possible.

[Read on AO3]

"Tomorrow, you will meet with the Divine. I hope you have better sense than to lie to her, Varric."

"Oh, Seeker, anyone would think you didn't trust me."

"Ugh ..."

The dwarf grinned carelessly as the door was pulled shut, trapping him inside. She didn't turn the key in the lock - she didn't need to. He couldn't have escaped Haven alone, not the way things were. There were too many mages and templars, too many mercenaries, and all of them knew he was the personal prisoner of the Right Hand of the Divine. He was in a precarious position, far from home and allies, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing he was less than confident. Indeed, the grin didn't fade until he was certain Cassandra Pentaghast was definitely not peering in through the window in the door.

Then he sighed, moving to thump down onto the bed with a groan. He missed Bianca's familiar weight at his back. Still, he trusted that the Seeker would take care of her. He'd kicked up enough of a fuss about it, after all. And the woman hadn't been cruel exactly; he couldn't say he'd been tortured in the conventional sense. Admittedly, having to spin tales for hours on end wasn't exactly playing nice, but she'd certainly bought the worst of his lies.

Varric smirked to himself in the dark gloom of the hut. Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, Right Hand of the Divine, definitely had a crush on the Champion of Kirkwall. She'd probably had a crush on him long before Varric started spinning tales of his annoyingly heroic personality for her amusement, but after her interrogations, Varric would be very surprised if she didn't blush whenever she thought about Callum Hawke. That in itself was an hilarious thought, especially when set against how transparent she had been in trying to force him to divulge the identity of Hawke's lover. It was almost adorable, if it hadn't been for the fact that he was her prisoner.

He was glad she hadn't been able to track his friend down, though. The Chantry, the people in authority, they had done enough to Callum for a lifetime and more. He'd already made his stance on mages and templars plain enough. Varric saw no reason to put his best friend in even more direct danger by sharing his location with a woman who apparently wanted to punish him for existing and get his autograph. Of course, that meant he was the one who was arrested - kidnapped - and brought to the arse-end of Ferelden, a country with more than enough arse to go around. Divine Justinia might listen ... but then, she was the one who sent the Nightingale to Kirkwall before the explosion to find out whether or not an Exalted March would be an overreaction.

Cassandra couldn't object too much if she ever found out about some of his little embellishments. All right, so Carver hadn't died in the Korcari Wilds, and Bethany hadn't died in the Deep Roads; Hawke hadn't romanced Isabela to provide her with a reason to give the damned book back ... but those were minor things. Little embellishments to give heart to a story that would have been a little emotionally bland without them. Truth was, Callum Hawke lead a pretty charmed life. Very little ever went wrong for him - even Leandra's death had a silver lining in its way. But it was Varric's friendship with Hawke's lover that kept her name out of things, hid her in the shadows and mentioned her only as a silhouette on the edge of notice. He was damned lucky the Seeker enjoyed a good story.

Letting out a huff of breath, Varric lay down on the bed, wishing he was back in The Hanged Man and his own bed. It probably wasn't even there anymore, he reflected thoughtfully. Not his rooms anymore. Someone else would have moved in. If he was lucky, that someone else would be a friend -

"Psst."

Varric's eyes opened as he frowned into the darkness. Had he really just heard that?

"Psst!"

Yes, he had definitely heard that. Pushing up onto his elbows, he looked toward the door Cassandra had pulled shut on her exit, aware of a clinking, scrabbling noise that betrayed someone with clumsy fingers trying to pick a lock.

"It's not locked," he said, his gravelly voice low in the gloom.

"Now he tells me," a familiar voice muttered.

The shock of it hit Varric like a sack of apples to the groin, his jaw dropping open in genuine surprise as the door opened to admit a familiar silhouette, all broad shoulders and tapered waist, human and tall and really not supposed to be here.

"Hawke?"

Callum Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall, grinned at his best friend as he crouched down by the bed, flashing his teeth in the gloom. Varric was both horrified and deeply relieved to see him - horrified, because he’d spent the last four months insisting to the Seeker that he had no idea where his friend was, and relieved because he always felt better when Hawke was around.

"Hallo, Varric. Where's Bianca?"

It took a moment for Varric to get his voice back under his own control.

"You know, Hawke, generally they don't let prisoners keep their own weapons," he pointed out. "What in the name of Andraste's tits are you doing here?"

Callum chuckled deep in his chest.

"You just said it yourself, my best friend's a prisoner," he pointed out, patting the dwarf's shoulder warmly. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm here to break you out. Tomorrow night."

"Wait - tomorrow night?" Varric frowned in the darkness. "What's wrong with doing it tonight?"

He scowled as Callum's big hand patted his head affectionately.

"Because if I break you out tonight, big fella, I can't go and eavesdrop on the talks at the Temple," he pointed out. "And if I don't have something big and important to tell her when we get back to Kirkwall, Rumor's going to castrate me for setting off without her."

"She's going to do that anyway," Varric countered, shaking Callum's hand from his head. "Okay, fine, I'll give you that one. But if you get caught, I'm going to deny all knowledge of ever having seen you before in my life."

"That sounds fair to me." Callum grinned at his friend, unhooking the heavy two-handed sword from his back. "Budge over."

"What?"

“I’m not hiking up that valley without getting some shut-eye,” the big human informed him. “And you’ve got this useful bed here. Budge over, a man needs his sleep.”

Varric's protest was a little strangled as his human friend pushed him over to one side of the now extremely narrow bed and lay down himself, legs crossed at the ankles and hands linked on his stomach. Callum didn't even seem to have noticed that putting himself to bed in a prison cell was probably not the wisest of moves. But then, Callum Hawke wasn't known for being wise; that was what he had friends and family for.

"Hawke, you can't sleep here."

"Shhh, sleepy time."

"Andraste's ..."

Varric sighed, rolling his eyes as he thumped onto his own back on the half of the bed Callum had designated his. He knew his friend was likely only going to sleep for an hour or so before getting up and moving on, but it still felt risky. What if the Seeker chose to come back and ask more questions? What if any of the guards looked in on them? So many what ifs, not least of which was ... what if Rumor had actually followed Hawke and was waiting for the opportunity to make them both suffer for this side-trip? What if Hawke overslept and got caught leaving the cell?

A low growl of sound alerted him to the fact that Hawke was snoring. Despite himself, Varric snorted with laughter, wriggling to get a little more comfortable. Ah, well, nothing for it. Hawke's plans rarely went wrong, after all. This time tomorrow, they'd be on their way back to Kirkwall. He could put up with being a prisoner for one more day.

Not long now.

[todisturbtheuniverse]

FIC: Before I Embark

Rating: T Pairing: f!Hawke/Isabela, but primary focus is on Leandra & Hawke relationships Word Count: 5,000 Summary: Mid-Act 2: Leandra's relationship with her daughter has been nothing short of strained since leaving Lothering. Now, though, she is attempting to make amends. A loose follow-up to A Shadow, Passing Through. Also on: AO3 Notes: My post on Friday reminded me that I’ve been hanging on to this one since August, so here it is, finally.

After discovering Marian's involvement with her pirate girl, Leandra put a stop to the intimate little dinner parties scheduled with nobles and merchants, the ones that were meant to help her daughter meet someone. Marian had already met someone. Someone with a certain lawlessness and lack of respectability, to be sure, but Malcolm had not exactly been a model citizen.

"You're sure you don't need me for anything?" Marian asked from the doorway of the kitchen, arms folded across her chest. "No fancy soirée tonight? No party in the courtyard?"

"No," Leandra said, smiling slightly, from where she was shaping a pie crust—even though this was a lie, and she had turned down an invitation to a dinner party on Marian's behalf. "No social events for you to endure. You should go, see your friends."

"This may come as a surprise, but seeing my friends is its own act of endurance." Marian paused, but then she moved into the kitchen, coming to stand at Leandra's side instead. "If you'd like me to go to anything, I will," she said, pitching her voice low so that Bodahn, passing by in the hallway, wouldn't overhear. "I can keep up appearances just as I've been—"

"Keep up appearances? With the same people who gossiped about my running away with your father for thirty years, barring better scandal?" Leandra chuckled at that, and Marian actually smiled. Not the smirk, which she wore nearly at all times, but a quiet, genuine sort of smile. It made her look quite young again. It still came as a shock to Leandra that her oldest child was nearly thirty, in the same way that her own gray hair still surprised her as she passed by a mirror.

"Well, it does sound like a juicy morsel," Marian agreed. "If you're sure…it's not as if my dining with the locals will upset her."

Leandra glanced sideways at her daughter. This expression, too, made Marian look very young. Better for her to be pining after this supposedly unrequited love than worrying about crime in Kirkwall, in Leandra's opinion. But then, just as quickly, she realized she was being looked at, and her usual expression—a certain thoughtlessness, a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth—returned.

Leandra had seen more glimpses of the daughter she remembered—the daughter who had gone away to Ostagar and not come back—in these last few weeks than she had in the last several years. They had tiptoed around one another since buying back the estate, maintained a polite sort of friendliness but nothing deeper.

What a waste. Leandra hated that she had allowed it to go on—that in the end, she had been no better than her own parents. The details were different, but the outcome looked painfully similar.

"Nothing upsets your pirate girl," Leandra said, though she could remember one occasion when this had been untrue. It had—unsurprisingly—involved Marian. "But I am sure. We've attended—and hosted—plenty of parties. Consider yourself indefinitely freed."

Marian leaned over and kissed Leandra's cheek. "I'll stop testing my luck, then. I'll be at The Hanged Man." She plucked a cherry out of the pile designated for the pie—Leandra swatted at it—and sauntered away, chuckling under her breath.

Leandra returned to the pie crust, thinking. Marian's birthday was coming up, just about a month away. They hadn't celebrated, these past few years. Marian had made a point not to, always making sure to be away on some job for both the day itself and the days surrounding it. But to Leandra, it seemed, there was something to celebrate this year. With the life that they'd led since leaving Ferelden, it was something akin to a miracle that Marian had made it to thirty. With all they'd lost…even more important to hold tight to what they had.

As a little girl, she'd wanted a party, when she had still been too young to understand. They had never been able to risk such a thing; they had never made more than passing acquaintances in the towns they'd lived in, those first tumultuous years. She'd never really had friends. Before she'd turned ten, she had stopped asking.

But she had friends now. Plenty of them, even if they required some…endurance. And they came to the parties, sometimes, but none of them were very comfortable there, among the upper crust of Kirkwall.

An idea began to form, small but genuine, as Leandra finished assembling the pie.

The next time that Marian left for a job, taking Isabela, Merrill, and Fenris with her, Leandra walked the stairs to Lowtown.

She returned to this place often enough. She had made some few friends while she had lived in Gamlen's house, and they were more comfortable remaining in Lowtown than coming to visit her in Hightown. This had not come as a surprise to her; she'd learned, those first few years with Malcolm, that every class of people had a particular kind of pride, not just the noble ones.

She dressed down for the occasion, though, donning a plain dress and keeping her small purse out of sight. Many of the merchants in the bazaar waved to her or called out a greeting; she knew that, far from being particularly fond of her, they had an affection for her daughter, who still put in a great deal of work keeping their streets safe at night. Her heart filled with pride.

There was not much of a crowd at The Hanged Man at mid-afternoon, but those who were present raised a glass to her or gave a nod. Marian's influence, again. The barman—Corff, Marian had called him—called out to her.

"Can I help you, Messere Hawke?"

"Please," she said, skirting the tables toward him, "it's just Leandra. I'm looking for Serah Tethras?"

"Up the stairs and straight ahead," Corff said, pointing. "You can't miss it."

"My thanks," she said, nodding, and made for the stairs.

All of Marian's friends were quite sharp—they had to be, she supposed, for the kinds of adventures and trouble they attracted—so she was not surprised that the dwarf she was looking for stood just inside the door, waiting for her.

"Messere," he greeted her genially. "What brings you to The Hanged Man? Should I send for drinks?" He gestured to a seat—clearly one of the chairs he kept for the humans he frequently entertained. Lowering his voice, he added, "I have my own reserve, if you'd prefer."

"I…yes, that would be fine. Please, as I've said before—call me Leandra."

He smiled, plenty warmly, and took a bottle down from the shelf. "Leandra, then. What can I help you with?"

She had a resentment for this dwarf. After all, if not for his expedition, Bethany might still have been safe at home, not off with the Grey Wardens…but without his expedition, she was not sure the estate would ever have been returned to them. He was charming, certainly, and one of Marian's closest confidantes, if she understood correctly, but she did not know that she would ever be able to like him.

And it didn't matter. He was Marian's friend, Marian's very good friend, it appeared; that would serve, for now.

"I don't know if you knew this, but Marian—Hawke," she clarified, "is turning thirty next month."

Momentarily, his eyes gleamed; he finished pouring her drink and handed her the glass.

"I didn't know," he said, though there was a delighted undertone to his voice, as if she had just given him a handsome present. She tried not to second-guess her plan just because of this. "She likes to buy us all a round on our birthdays—those of us who remember, of course, and those of us who don't, she assigns an arbitrary day—but she's been awfully quiet about her own. Couldn't ever get it out of Bethany, even."

Leandra's heart hurt, at that, because of course Bethany knew—of course she had always given Marian some small token, maybe a pretty rock she'd found when they were children, or maybe a bit of ribbon she'd painstakingly saved for—but she wouldn't go against Marian's wishes and reveal anything. Of course not. Was this a good plan?

She steeled herself. She had to do something, and this was what she could do. She didn't think it could make things worse, at least.

"Well," Leandra said, smoothing her skirt, "you know that I host parties at the estate, now and then."

"Always lovely," he said. He was a better liar than Marian; she almost believed him.

"She's always put in appearances when I've asked, but…I'd like this party to be for her. All of her friends. And I need your help, or I know she'll disappear from the city for the week, as she always does."

Varric rubbed his hands together, outright smiling now. "This, I'd be delighted to help with. Jobs usually come through me before they go to her. I can keep her calendar clear for the day." He winked, his gold adornments glittering. "Need help with the invitation list? Hawke's got a lot of friends."

"Yes," Leandra said, and though it was hesitant, she smiled, too. "I've heard she does. There's…one other matter." He nodded for her to go on. "When we returned to the estate, there were some things missing. I don't care for most of them, but there's one item…I'm sure it must have been sold, perhaps by my brother, but I'd like to find it, if I could. As a surprise, for her."

Varric got out a pen. "If it can be found, I'll find it. Describe it, and I'll see what I can do."

A few days later, as Leandra browsed the Hightown markets for some suitable new fabric, she spotted her daughter, offloading what looked like an entire sack of swords, shields, and bows on the weapons merchant. Isabela was with her, munching contentedly on what looked like a small savory pie—probably bought fresh from the vendor down the street.

Marian folded up the empty sack, shook hands with the merchant, and tucked her new gold away in her coinpurse. "We do pick up so much stuff," she said forlornly, slinging the sack over her shoulder.

"Some real good things in that bit, though. Thanks for the new dagger." Isabela patted the hilt fondly with her free hand. "It's going to carve right through some—oh! Hello, Leandra!"

Marian's head turned. They were only perhaps a dozen feet apart, but until Isabela's greeting, Marian hadn't noticed her. A fleeting look of discomfort crossed her face—no doubt remembering the last time Isabela and Leandra had been in the same room—but then it faded, replaced with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Mother!" she called, waving too. "What are you up to?"

Leandra closed the gap between them, making sure that her purchases so far were tucked out of sight in her basket. "Oh, just looking for some linens; I thought I might embroider a new tablecloth."

At this, Marian's embarrassed smile turned fond, which was its own kind of gift. "You've embroidered three in the last year; are you sure we don't need more napkins, instead?"

"There will be napkins to match," Leandra said primly while Isabela chuckled. "And this will be the last one I do for a while, young lady, so make your requests or hold your piece."

For a moment, Leandra thought that Marian would wave her off, tell her to pick what she liked, as she had the last three times; but this time, Marian's eyes caught on Isabela, who was too busy calling out to Merrill to notice. She was looking at Isabela's faded blue bandana, at the gold thread that still winked in the embroidery.

Marian didn't often remind Leandra of Malcolm, but in these moments, it was like his ghost passed through her. Leandra had known that look—known it well.

"Blue," Marian said. "You know, I think I'd like blue."

"And gold embroidery?" Leandra suggested knowingly.

The dreaminess in Marian's eyes evaporated; she cast Leandra a warning look, but Isabela hadn't noticed.

"Blue?" she cut in. "But Hawke, you like everything red. It's sort of everywhere. And you look dashing in it," she added hastily, when Marian raised an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing wrong with a little variety," Marian said. "Only if you can find it, Mother."

"I'm certain that somewhere in Hightown, someone sells blue linens." She patted her daughter on the cheek, made a note of the pattern in Isabela's bandana, and said, "I'll leave you to your bartering."

"It's her favorite thing," Isabela said, with an air of deep suffering. "You wouldn't believe how she wheedles. It can take all morning."

"You volunteered to come along."

"I knew you would buy me a pie if I did."

"That's all I am to you," Marian said, but fondly, with a smile. "A pie dispenser."

"Well," Isabela allowed. "There are other things." She looked about to throw a wink in with it, realized that Leandra was still standing there, and covered the salacious pause very well. "Like daggers." She patted the hilt again.

Leandra shook her head, waved goodbye to the girls, and moved along to the next market square. Perhaps she didn't see it yet, but Isabela was just the match for Marian. The same quick wit, the same humor, the same skill. They would keep one another on their toes for decades, if they would just put aside their caution for a moment.

The party, she hoped, would help.

Over the next few weeks, Leandra planned. She organized a caterer, someone who didn't typically serve Hightown nobles but would certainly serve the kind of hearty food her daughter would want to eat. She unearthed the tattered recipe book she'd kept during their years in Ferelden, marking the things that Marian had liked best and had been allowed to eat rarely. She found an old, weathered cake recipe; she'd made it once, for a birthday long ago, a little girl turning three instead of thirty. This part, she would do herself.

She only wished she had other coin to draw from to pay for it. She'd learned from Varric that Marian did not keep a very close eye on their accounts, preferring to pull from the small funds she reaped by selling castoffs to merchants. The discretionary fund which Leandra had access to was a piddling fraction of their family's wealth, but it still felt a bit wrong, to be throwing a party for Marian that Marian was also unknowingly paying for.

"Trust me, you're doing her a favor," Varric told Leandra. "She never spends a bit on herself, unless it's that swill Corff ferments."

She hired the usual dressmaker, showed the woman the design she'd decided on, and passed over the materials she'd collected. She had the downstairs rooms well-cleaned. She wrote out the invitations, choosing days that Marian was expected to be gone for some hours to do so. Varric took care of the delivery of them; there was one, however, that she planned to deliver herself, in person, and she had to wait for just the right time to do it.

The opportunity came, just two weeks before the planned party. Marian had business at the docks, Varric's messenger told her, and she hadn't taken Isabela along with. Leandra put on her Lowtown dress and returned to The Hanged Man, finding the room she wanted this time without direction.

For a moment, after her knock, she feared that Isabela wasn't in; then came the stamping of booted feet, a heavy sigh, and the door opened. "This had better be—" Isabela began, but cut herself off immediately. "Leandra. Fancy seeing you here."

"I won't keep you long." She held out the envelope.

Isabela turned it over in her hands; she looked a touch wary. "What's this?"

"An invitation, to a party for Marian. Her birthday is in two weeks."

"That sneak," she said, beginning to smile now. "She never said."

"It won't be like the other parties you haven't come to—or, rather, the parties you've come to about halfway through, then taking Marian out the window with you." Isabela only smiled wider at this, unembarrassed, and Leandra pressed on. "I think it would make her very happy if you came."

This, of all things, made Isabela's smile falter. "Oh?" she asked, in a vaguely interested tone of voice. "What makes you think that?"

Leandra shrugged. She did not want to push this too heavily. Marian didn't talk very much of Isabela, but Leandra understood, from the things she did know, that she was as apt to sail out of Kirkwall every morning as she was to stay in bed late.

"I know that you're close friends, that's all," she said. "She's very fond of you. I'm sure you know."

Plenty of her daughter's friends were accomplished liars, but briefly, Isabela looked just as young as Marian had in the kitchen that night: unsure, and worried, and a little longing, too.

"I'm not so fond of nobles," she hedged.

"Then you're in luck. This party will be strictly noble-free. Aside from Marian, I suppose."

"Well." Leandra thought she was considering it, at least. "All right, then. I take it this is some sort of surprise?"

"Yes," Leandra said, stepping back. "All the details are in the invitation."

"Well," Isabela said, and eyed her, a little curiously. "Thank you."

Leandra departed in high spirits. Everything was going just according to plan.

It was a rush, those last two weeks, getting everything together—and under Marian's nose. She had never been particularly interested in the affairs of the house, but she'd been making a point to be home for dinner more often recently, and that left Leandra with less time.

She didn't mind. She and Marian had talked to one another very little over the last several years, very superficially; she felt as if she was beginning to know her daughter again, however slowly. She was grateful.

Varric hadn't sent any word about the gift, only a message about a week prior: Found the item. Working on getting the owner to part with it. Everything else, however, had come together: the kitchen and larder stocked with supplies, the dressmaker delivering exactly what Leandra had ordered, the invitations returning—formally or informally—marked yes. These went through Varric, so that Hawke would not spot them and get wind of what they were planning.

The morning of the party, Leandra set to work on the cake. Varric had arranged it so that Hawke had a business meeting for several hours; she would be sufficiently occupied. Still, Leandra worked as quickly as possible, and had only completed the confection and covered it with the cake dome when the front door creaked.

"Maker," Marian's voice echoed from the foyer. "I've never seen such fine print in my life." She raised her voice. "Mother? Are you home?"

Leandra bustled out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "How did the meeting go?"

Marian was working on the buckles of her boots. "Well, no one got stabbed. I suppose that means well?"

Leandra shook her head—Marian's sense of humor still left something to be desired, at times—and moved forward to help with the many buckles dotting the dark leather cuirass. "Is that why you wore full armor? For fear that you'd be stabbed?"

"This is Kirkwall," Marian said, a touch grimly. "Sometimes Varric says, 'business meeting,' and it turns out to be, you know, the usual violence. I swear, this city is diseased. Besides, if it does turn out to just be paperwork, they take you more seriously in full armor." She shot a grin over her shoulder. "Thanks."

"I do hope you're being careful."

Marian made a bit of a face. "Well, as careful as I can be, anyway."

Leandra lifted the cuirass away and passed it off to Bodahn. "Why don't you go and clean up? I'll have lunch ready in a bit."

"Excellent," Marian said. "I'll wash behind the ears. I've heard carelessness gets stuck there."

Leandra shook her head, smiling, as Marian wandered off up the stairs, then caught Bodahn as he re-entered the room. "Any more word from Varric?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

Bodahn looked about as disappointed as she felt. "No, messere. But there's time yet."

And it wasn't the most important thing, Leandra assured herself, even though her heart told her otherwise.

They had a light lunch together in the kitchen. The cake dome was safely hidden, but Marian kept looking around, frowning slightly.

"Something wrong, dear?" Leandra asked.

Marian shook her head, a little bemused. "Would you believe me if I said I have nothing to do this afternoon? Or tonight. Or tomorrow. Varric insists there hasn't been a new job, but I can't remember the last time I had this kind of gap. I thought maybe…" She shrugged. "I don't know what I thought. It's just odd."

"Maybe you should enjoy the time off," Leandra suggested, though her palms were sweating a little. She wanted to pull off the surprise, and Marian was too clever for her own good. "Relax a little."

"You're right," Marian sighed. "I haven't gotten to read any of that book you lent to me; maybe I'll do that for a little while. Or maybe you'd like to play a game?"

She actually looked hopeful, too, like a child asking their parent to save them from their own boredom. Leandra laughed.

"What's the game you and your friends love so much? Wicked Grace?"

"Do you know how to play?"

"I used to. You might have to help me with the rules at first."

"Easy," Marian declared. "I'll get the cards."

They passed an hour or so like that, but Marian eventually wandered off to read, and good thing; not long after she'd vanished upstairs, the caterer and her assistants arrived, ready to set to work. And still, no word had come from Varric.

Leandra supervised the caterer for most of the prep work, double-checked the cake, and then—just when she was about to go upstairs and coax Marian into getting ready—an out-of-breath messenger arrived. Bodahn let him into the foyer.

"From Varric Tethras," he said, between great lungfuls of air. The boy was maybe thirteen. "For Leandra Hawke. I ran as fast as I could—"

Leandra had Bodahn get him some water, and unwrapped the package. The necklace was just as she remembered: pearls strung between a delicate, silvery chain, small and perfectly shaped.

She'd reached the top of the stairs when Marian came out of her room, frowning. "I thought I heard someone shouting," she said. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's perfectly fine," Leandra said, "but I have a surprise for you. Wait in your room a moment?"

Still frowning, obviously puzzled, Marian returned to her room. Leandra evicted the dress from the closet it had been hiding in and followed.

As soon as Marian caught sight of the thing, she frowned even more deeply. "Ah," she said, in a voice that tried very hard to be even. "Is the surprise a party?"

"Yes, but not how you think." Leandra laid the dress out over the bed. She was nervous, she realized, afraid that the thing that she had tried to do would not make Marian very happy, the way she had worried on and off for the past several weeks. Maybe she really would prefer to forget her birthday. Maybe—

Marian had come up alongside her to look at the dress. "It doesn't look very…pinchy. Not that I don't like the other ones. Just, whatever Isabela says, corsets are not right for me."

Leandra laughed. "I know. And neither are those parties I've been hosting these last few years. This will be entirely different, I promise."

"All right," Marian said, a little slowly. "How?"

"Well, it's for your birthday, to begin with."

"But it's not my…" Marian trailed off, frowning; she spun on her heel and strode over to her desk, bending over her calendar.

After a moment's long pause, she said, "Ah. So it is."

She'd forgotten. There was something worse about that, something awful and heartbreaking, that Leandra didn't want to look too closely at—that she had gone so long telling herself not to ask that even she had forgotten the date's significance. Leandra swallowed over the lump in her throat.

"I thought you might like to celebrate with your friends," she offered, her voice a little small.

Slowly, Marian straightened up and turned back to Leandra again, her face very still. Not combative, not yet, at least, but just waiting.

"Your friend Varric helped me clear your schedule," Leandra said, feeling as if an explanation was in order.

"Of course," Marian said in an undertone, frowning. "That's why…hmm. What a sneak."

It was so similar to what Isabela had said.

"And he helped with the guest list," Leandra continued on. She didn't seem to outright loathe the idea, at least. "They'll be here in about an hour."

"Oh," Marian said.

"We can call it off," Leandra offered hurriedly; damn the work she had put in, if it wouldn't make Marian happy, it was simply pointless. "If you would rather—"

"No, no, I just…I don't know what to say." Marian looked at the dress on the bed, at her calendar, and back to Leandra. "We don't usually…I'm always…" She shook her head. "I'm very badly startled," she said with a small smile, regaining some of her humor. "Clearly."

"We don't usually, and it's a shame. You've accomplished so much—look around you! And more is coming, I'm sure. You're worth celebrating." She'd regained her footing now, she felt. "You deserve a night of fun, a night with your friends." With Isabela, she thought, though didn't say. The pirate hadn't sent in her RSVP, but perhaps that was not the pirate way. She hadn't said no, at least. "I'm sorry that I haven't been…a very good mother, these last few years."

Something in Marian's face creased; it looked a little like panic. "Mother—"

"No, listen to me. I have something worthwhile to say, for once. I haven't been fair to you, and I haven't known how to fix it. I thought that this might be a start." She took a breath. "I'm sorry. For so many things, but right now, I don't want you to think about that. I want you to enjoy your life. That you built, with your very capable hands. That's all."

Marian's features twisted, but she nodded, as if she didn't know what to say, or perhaps couldn't.

"And I have a gift for you."

She managed a laugh at that. "Besides all this? Besides the party, and everything?"

Leandra held out the necklace in her cupped hands. Marian stepped closer to look at it, her eyes softening.

"It was an heirloom," she said. "That went missing, when Gamlen lost the estate. Varric helped me track it down. I'd like you to have it."

"They're yours," Marian protested. "I couldn't—"

"I think Isabela would like them."

Marian's mouth snapped shut; her cheeks turned faintly red. It had been an awfully long time since Leandra had seen her blush.

"I know what you think," Leandra said softly, "I know that you think it's just a bit of fun, but—my darling girl—I don't see how anyone couldn't fall in love with you. Just give it a bit of time."

Marian managed a crooked smile. "Is that how father got you to come around? Patiently waiting?"

"More than you'd think. Now, get ready. Your guests will be here soon."

Before she could turn to leave, Marian had reached out and hugged her, hard. "Thank you, Mama," she whispered—an old childhood endearment, long lost until these last few weeks.

Leandra had made so many mistakes. She would set them all right, somehow. A little patience, a little work. It would turn out, in the end.

All of the guests had arrived.

Marian walked among them in her new, flowing, sky-blue gown; it brought out the piercing color of her eyes and contrasted sharply with her dark hair. The pearls strung around her throat gleamed in the low lamplight. She had a smile for everyone tonight, for her friends and acquaintances alike. There were many of them; dozens of people had been helped by Marian, had helped her in return. Kirkwall could be an unforgiving place, but Leandra's daughter had forged bonds of steel to stand against it.

She was proud. Prouder than she could ever have said without crying.

There was just one person missing, and she knew that Marian had noticed it, too. She kept glancing at the door, at the windows, as if still hoping she might appear, but the party had begun half an hour ago, musicians playing a lively tune in the corner, and Isabela had not arrived.

Leandra ducked into the kitchen to make sure that the food was coming along nicely, and when she returned to the room holding the party, the atmosphere had changed. What had been light and happy before was lively now; in the center of a crowd of dancers, Marian twirled someone around the floor, someone wearing a bright red coat and a dashing tricorn hat with an enormous feather sticking out of it.

Well. Her job here was done, then. She took the stairs up to her room, and at the top, she paused to watch a moment longer; they were laughing and talking while they danced, Marian's eyes crinkled at the corners.

Young people always did think they knew everything about heartache. She remembered.

It was late the next morning when Marian knocked and brought in a tea tray, piled with leftover cake. "I thought we could talk," she said, smiling as brightly as she'd ever smiled.

They whiled away the late morning like that. The cake was sweeter than Leandra remembered, and Marian got a peculiar gleam in her eyes when she looked at it.

They talked, but some things didn't need to be said.

[selfish-cat]

DA2 Drabble

AKA: Aveline’s Life is Hard

“Aveline!”

She sighs and crosses her arms in preparation of whatever ordeal is about to be hurled at her. Ever since that first argument she broke up between Wesley and Bethany during their escape, for whatever reason, she's become the designated conflict resolver of their ragtag group.

“What is it now?”

“Carver won't come with me to Darktown to break into our old mansion to find our grandfather’s will!” Hawke whines.

“I have better things to do! You're Mother’s favourite anyway, so you do it!” Carver protests.

Hawke frowns, the atmosphere suddenly heavy. “Bethany was Mother's favourite. You know that.”

Eyes watering up, Carver stares at his feet and lets out a huff. “Bethany was everyone's favourite.”

Aveline’s shoulders slump, her gaze softening as the brothers stand in sullen silence, both sore from their argument. “Carver, go with your brother. It'll be good for the both of you,” she says gently.

She hates that she's not only condoning the break-in but actively encouraging it.

“But Aveline!”

All she has to do is arch a brow and Carver sulks in defeat.

--

As their little group grows in size, so does the frequency of the ‘Kirkwall Trials’ as Varric likes to call them.

“Aveline! Fenris won't stop calling me ‘abomination’!”

“You are one!”

She rubs her temples. “Fenris, call Anders something nicer.”

Fenris crosses his arms and scowls. “Fine. Mage,” he hisses with all the venom thrumming through his system. In that way, ‘demon’ sounds almost friendly in comparison.

Anders arches a brow at her.

Aveline shrugs. “It's nicer than ‘abomination’.”

--

The trials don't stop even after she gets promoted to guard-captain.

“Aveline! Tell Varric to stop!”

“Or maybe you can tell Rivaini to stop?”

She raises a hand to stop them both. “That's enough, whatever you're doing, Isabela.”

Pouting, Isabela places her hands at her hips. “You don't even know what I was doing yet…or who.”

Hawke grins and gives her a fist bumps.

“It's usually your fault,” Aveline reasons. “Except when it's Hawke’s.”

Varric holds out a hand. “Ha! My exact words! Pay up.”

Sighing, both Hawke and Isabela hands him a sovereign. “Spoilsport.”

Some days Aveline wonders why she puts up with them.

--

“Aveline!”

She looks up to see Isabela standing there with an uncharacteristically solemn frown. At once, she's on guard and standing up. “What's wrong?”

“It's Hawke. His mother's gone missing. Everyone's out looking for her.”

Without hesitation, she grabs her sword. “Let's go.”

--

For a while, things almost go back to normal after the whole Qunari fiasco.

Almost.

“Aveline, come quick! Merrill’s planning on talking to a demon!” Anders cries.

She slams her fists down on her desk. “For Maker sake! She was supposed to be the good one! ”

--

When the battle with Meredith ends and the crew split up, each going their separate way, Kirkwall feels like a shell of its former self. Then one day, Aveline receives a letter from Hawke.

‘Aveline! Anders won't stay in hiding! ’

She scowls and sends a letter back.

‘Anders, if you don't go back into hiding, I will come out there and find you and seal you up in a cave myself.’

Aveline doesn't hear about any further trouble after that.

--

Then the sky rips open and Hawke leaves to help the newly found Inquisition on his own. He somehow survives (because of course he does) and their little group starts to reform in Kirkwall.

“Aveline! Tell Hawke he was an idiot for going to Skyhold alone!”

“Tell Fenris red lyrium is especially dangerous to him, which is why I made him stay! It was a perfectly valid reason even though I missed him terribly!”

She stares at them. “Have you two been going at it since Weisshaupt?”

Hawke grins, slinging an arm casually around the other’s shoulders. “No, no, we decided to set it aside until we got back. The trip back was lovely, by the way. We even stopped for little cakes.”

“There was little point in continuing the argument when we needed a neutral third party to be the judge,” Fenris elaborates, his arms crossed. “And we were supposed to bring some of those cakes back, but Hawke ate them all in a drunken stupor.”

“Hey, you helped! You ate all the honeyed ones, remember?”

“They were rather good,” Fenris concedes.

“We’ll have to get more next time.”

Fenris arches a brow. “Next time? We’re still not finished fighting about this time.”

Hawke quickly kisses him on the cheek. “Yes, well, when we’re finished with this. Next time we’ll go together. Promise.”

Aveline stifles a sigh. “Maker, what did I do to deserve this?”

From her side, Donnic laughs. “Admit it, you missed them.”

She glares at him. “You laugh now, but just wait until Isabela docks next week.”

--

As the world begins to repair itself, Varric becomes the viscount of Kirkwall but the peace doesn’t keep. It never does.

Not that anyone ever expected it to with Varric as viscount.

“Aveline! Viscount Tethras won't let me pay my property tax!” Hawke shouts, storming into the office.

This statement, she was not expecting.

She blinks. “What now?”

Varric scowls. “Stupid Bran and his big mouth. You didn't even know that was a thing!”

“Well, I do now and I demand you let me pay it like a normal citizen!”

“Hawke, you’re not a normal citizen! You've done more than enough for Kirkwall! Just having you around drives our tourism up! Let those other moots pay!”

Shaking his head, Hawke crosses his arms. “No, I’m an adult and I want to pay my taxes, Varric!”

“Maker’s breath, you're only saying that because everyone else is doing it!”

Aveline glances pointedly over at Donnic. “With these giant babies around, you still want children?”

--

Bonus:

"Aveline, Hawke brought his dog to the Rose again last night!"

She scrubs her face with her hand. "Hawke, we've talked about this. I don't care if it's for a mission..."

Merrill blinks. "What? Oh, no, it wasn't a problem at all! Everyone loved the dog! We had a great time even though we lost Isabela half way through. You should've been there!"