thetevinterspy

[thetevinterspy]

utilising the gift of imagination to hallucinate moments of tenderness between fictional people

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Hey #elektavor friends I finished this today lol

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61519297/chapters/157272694

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In which Gale confesses.

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Added two more chapters to this. Can’t stop won’t stop

Writing Gale fluff heals me

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64024588/chapters/164243587

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Writing Gale fluff heals me

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64024588/chapters/164243587

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Doing baldurs gate for the first time, wrote some dirty Astarion fanfic. I hope you like it!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63776071?view_adult=true

[thetevinterspy]

Doing baldurs gate for the first time, wrote some dirty Astarion fanfic. I hope you like it!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63776071?view_adult=true

[thetevinterspy]

Words

A Poem by The Tevinter Spy

Words can’t hurt you

except they do

poems too quiet, excruciating stillness

music too loud, stimulated pixels

Words can’t hurt you

except they do

fear and hate gnaw on keyboards

hiding in a static black box

Words can’t hurt you

until they do

tiny claw marks on porcelain skin

red seeping through on canvas

Words can’t hurt you

until they do

changing, hating, until it sticks

numb acceptance and salted tears

But

Words can heal you

spoken with care

sweet notes of calm reverence

whispered sighs in the inky black

Words can heal you

the cup overflows

honeyed lips at worship

full and content

Words can heal you

fervently, earnestly

praising and proud

a deep warmth fills

Words can heal, too

speak with compassion and joy

tranquility of soul

and always, love.

[thetevinterspy]

Thoughts: Re BioWare

Dragon Age wasn’t my first video game RPG. I was born in 1981 and have been gaming all my life, both on computers and consoles. But for me, Thedas is the greatest fantasy universe. It’s a place I’ve returned to countless times, where I’ve felt the safest and happiest. As a fan of all four games and the additional content, I feel deeply saddened by BioWare’s current situation. At the end of the day, this world and these characters belong to more than just the fans—they belong to everyone who worked on those projects.

Over the course of twenty years, countless creatives across various departments have contributed to the franchise. I’ve been fortunate enough to become friends with a few of them and to interact with many others. Most have been gracious, kind, and open to questions and feedback.

Today, as a fan, I’m uncertain whether we’ll ever see more official content for Dragon Age. While I’ve held onto hope in the past, I’m not sure that future seems as likely now. And so, I’m left feeling sad. When I think back on my experiences in Thedas, I can only imagine that the people who worked on these games must feel even more deeply and more conflicted than I do, especially because of the way the fandom has treated this IP through the years, and the developers with it.

This team, these developers, in gaming in general but especially within this fandom, have been horribly mistreated by both their corporate executives and the very fans who claim to love this IP. Instead of celebrating the wins—the incredible fifteen-year interactive story we all enjoyed—there’s been a constant stream of negative, misleading headlines, and attacks on anyone even remotely connected to the last game. It’s deplorable, and honestly, I’m not sure we deserve any more Dragon Age content. I don’t think I would be able to stomach putting these people through another Dragon Age development cycle to be abused and berated online.

I believe there is important work to be done by fans and content creators in fandom spaces to build safe, diverse, and welcoming environments where developers, writers, artists, and others can interact with fans. It’s crucial that content creators and influencers in these spaces foster critical thinking when discussing the games they cover. We need more committed in this space to hold positive boundaries between fans, creators, journalists and developers.

To the developers of Dragon Age, at any point and in any capacity: thank you. It speaks volumes that your game, your characters, your art, voices, and stories and things you poured years of effort into are so deeply loved. I don’t know what the future holds for Dragon Age, but I do know that many moments of personal happiness in my life are thanks to you all. I am so sorry that there is so much uncertainty today. I am truly grateful for the world you created and I promise to do my part in promoting a safer, more respectful fandom space for developers to engage with in the future and to continue to push, as a fan with a voice, for inclusive and diverse gaming experiences.

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When I was little, people said I had too many opinions. Some thought I’d grow up to be a lawyer, but instead, I became someone who’s just outspoken on the internet. And now, it’s your problem, because here I am, sharing my unsolicited thoughts in blog form.

Today, news broke—though not directly from her—that Dragon Age: Veilguard game director Corrine Busche is leaving BioWare. The official announcement came later, but by the time I saw it, the story had already been circulating for a while. I found myself wondering about the timing since Edmonton’s in a different time zone, but eventually, the news was confirmed. It got me thinking—about the Dragon Age team, BioWare as a whole, and the strange dynamics of the gaming industry.

From the outside, it all seems incredibly stressful. The fan ecosystem surrounding these games is, to put it mildly, unique. Developers are treated almost like celebrities by certain parts of the fandom, but they don’t actually have the status or protection that comes with being a public figure. Meanwhile, EA and BioWare often seem to adopt a say-nothing approach, rarely stepping in to defend developers when things get heated or personal.

From an outside perspective—especially coming from a business and PR background—the payoff for game developers doesn’t seem to justify the stress and anxiety they endure. I’m sure there are countless reasons why unions aren’t common in the industry, but what I see is creative developers increasingly unable—or unwilling—to interact with fans due to our own bad behavior as a community and lack of protection and defense by those above them. Studios, in my opinion, need to do far more to protect their teams from crunch, burnout, and the toxicity of “fans” that has become all too common in this space.

But you know who I think holds the biggest responsibility to do better? Games “journalists” and creators who leap at any chance to rage-bait for clicks and views, amplifying hateful rhetoric without concern for the consequences. And the studios themselves, who then sit by and do nothing while their developers endure harassment. Someone at EA should be going through video after video, tweet after tweet, cataloging the hate, death threats, racism, and misogyny that Dragon Age developers, creators, and fans have faced—and responding with lawsuits where necessary. Ignoring it only emboldens the worst corners of the internet.

If BioWare wants to avoid this with Mass Effect, they need to overhaul their social media and PR strategies well before the game launches. Otherwise, we’ll see the same toxic cycle repeat itself. Until then, it falls on creators and prominent fans to push back against harmful “journalism” and hateful campaigns—to protect not only the IP we love but also the people who make it possible.

Now, I have no idea if any of this played a role in why Corrine left, but I do know that I couldn’t have endured what she likely faced over the last two or three years. She’s far from the only developer on the Dragon Age team to be on the receiving end of relentless criticism and harassment, much of it fueled by so-called “journalistic” hit pieces that embolden fans to run their mouths. It’s disgusting behavior.

And this issue isn’t limited to BioWare. The entire gaming industry needs more respected, responsible news outlets—and studios need to take far stronger action to combat threats and harassment. Ignoring the problem isn’t a solution, and it’s long past time for real change.

To Corinne and any other devs that have left BioWare since Veilguard: I see you. We see you. Thank you. Take care of yourselves. 💜

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I have a hot take on the whole TikTok ban and China and USA situation, and since I treat this blog like a journal anyway, I’m putting my thoughts here.

When it became clear that, with the looming TikTok ban, people were looking at Rednote as an alternative, I’ll admit—I was a little nervous. Not because of the whole “China stealing our data” thing. I’ve been online since 1996, so if someone wants to find information on me, they probably already can. I’m not worried about that.

But I was nervous for a couple of reasons. I worried we might go there and make fools of ourselves, that we’d show up in droves and ruin the app, even unintentionally. Or worse, that the people there wouldn’t want us around at all.

I’ve seen others express similar concerns, but I decided to make a Rednote account anyway, just to see what it was like for myself. I felt I knew enough about China and East Asian culture to at least avoid embarrassing myself. So, I made a few posts—writing them in both English and Chinese—and started scrolling.

And, you guys? It’s good. To me, it feels like a mix of Instagram and Pinterest, and I had no trouble signing up. What’s been most incredible is seeing how…everyone’s just vibing. Now, I know we have some profound differences in government, culture, and ideology. But one thing about Americans is that we’re pretty friendly and curious. And this? This feels like an opportunity—an opportunity for both sides to see each other for who we really are, beyond politics. To see that we don’t have to be enemies.

I don’t think TikTok will actually be banned, but even so, I plan to stick around on Rednote as long as I’m welcome there. The home décor inspo, the hair, the nails, the dancing—it’s all so good. I’m loving this cultural exchange and the potential it has if we approach it with care.

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Hi friends!

I updated my AO3 today- with chapter 5 in the Elek/Rook story, and I also added the beginnings of a new series with Emmrich.

I thought it might be fun to see how I do with other characters, just to get a handle on their voices, and I really wanted to explore the idea of Emmrich being the suave one, and I like how the first part turned out.

I also write things not related to Dragon Age, (gothic romance, mystery, and fantasy) if you’re interested in hearing more (or beta reading), please drop me a DM!

As always I love comments, feedback and suggestions.

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“What do you intend to do?” Viago’s voice cut through the silence, sharp and taut. Elek had already started to leave, his back to them, but the question made him pause.

He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m going to get her back.”

Viago gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. There was something in his eyes — not quite approval, not quite hope — but it was enough. Elek nodded once in return, then turned and strode out of the Diamond.

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I laugh every time someone random says they know the lore of a video game better than the ppl who created it.

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Wow

your heart is a good heart 💖

team if there’s one thing i know how to do it’s make myself sad over pixels. a lil baby bellara/ cyrian wip for you.

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Remember kids, every npc is romanceable through the power of delusion

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Hi friends!

I have a new fic started with Elek and Vittoria. This one will be broken into chapters, and chapter one is fully edited and posted. This part isn’t explicit at all, and is mostly setup for later.

Thanks to all for the kind comments and reblogs. I have always loved to write but lately has brought me a new joy that I missed and needed.

The new fic is ‘Into the Fire’ 🔥 💕🫶🏻