Aging the dragons

Nastya/Val, he/she/they, 🇪🇪 this is a dragon age sideblog 😗✌️

[ajastu]

hiiiiiiiiii so i wanted somewhere where i can post art + reblog stuff about dragon age so i decided to make this sideblog 👉👈

My main art blog is Valgeristik, and my regular main blog is Surnudring

here's some tags for navigation:

art tag; text posts

oc tags:

zea; lora; noel; nikolai; sasha

[thewardenisonthecase]

[celestialteapot]

Happy Birthday Arisha!!

Me remembering to post gifts I draw for once!

Happy Birthmas to @captainmagpie-risha!

Kali and Davrin with their baby boi Assan

[ajastu]

maker, the grey wardens you put on this earth to fight the blight are having complex yuri moments instead 😩

[valgeristik]

Here we are, back again 😊 Noel's got the head of her enemy as a trophy and shes thriving 😊

In a way, Howe did her a favor. Something about cutting the leash. She mauled him for it, but c'est la vie or however the saying goes. If he couldn't kill her before she got to him, that's his skill issue 🤷‍♂️ (some more talk abt the art and Noel + a close up +a song for flavor under the cut)

Vetted Gaza Evacuation Fundraiser List

E-sims donation

this did not go the way i initially visualized it but i think its a banger regardless. Did not mean to add flower meanings to this one, failed step one, chose 4 flowers (yarrow for battle, palm leaf for victory, chestnut for restoration of justice, nettle for cruelty/mercilessness). the only ones that made it to the final cut are palm leaf and nettle, but i feel like this still works well thematically <3 I keep meaning to talk about Noel's sense of justice/morals. I say she's unhinged, and i suppose in some way she really is, but there's a strict method to the madness behind the scenes. She's not indiscriminate in her carnage. It has to have meaning, to have Challenge. She will not kill someone who begs for mercy. Not because she feels bad about it, but because it's not worth it. There is no honor in that, no point, no satisfaction. She will make them fight her if she absolutely wants the person dead (though, I don't think there's anyone like that besides Howe in her life), but killing someone who does not resist is something she feels is beneath her. Which is why she also hates people who take advantage of or kill those weaker than them. Like, have you no honor? Fight like a man or die like a coward. something like that. And she is here to ensure the dying part 😊 Though, maybe hate is a strong word. Disgust, maybe.

Which brings me to the point i mentioned earlier, the cutting of the leash. I think she would have felt obligated to follow the Societal Rules before her family was killed. She cared about them, their well-being, their reputation. Put herself in a box for their sake, to be someone they wanted her to be. And once that was all out of the window, and she had nothing more to lose.....Well, what does a rabid dog care about the laws of men? A girl's gotta bite once the muzzle is off, and by GOD she will. also if you're not familiar with what the fuck im talking about, heres a wiki description of the human noble origin story from DAO <3

BONUS song for flavor 😊 very "noel @ howe"-core to me. i love the idea of her calling him 'good friend' mockingly before killing him with violent intent

also honorary mentions of songs that ALSO fit very well (by the same band): 'you will never take my alive' (<-- general noel-core song to me) and 'a little place called trust' (<- another one that can be seen as noel @ howe <3)

OH AND as a deeper cut: 4 позиции бруно - сказка на ночь and an important addition:

[stormsbourne]

Me up again metaphorically pacing my room thinking about how datv is a game about hard choices that don't have a right or wrong answer (but the answer you choose still shapes you and your relationships the same way it shaped Solas and his own relationships)

and a game about regret for things you had no choice but to do (the same way Solas had no choice but to struggle against the rule of the evanuris including his best friend/lover/elder sister)

and a game about how even then you ultimately did have a choice (the same way Solas could have refused to make the dagger or could have allowed flemythal to do whatever she had planned or could have not tried to tear the veil back down which he knew would kill everybody before it fixed anything)

and a game about how sometimes you do your best and do things for good reasons and you still fuck up and you can't save everybody and people will still be frustrated with you (the same way the veil was an accident and Solas was only able to save a tiny fragment of mythal and even that fragment seems bitter about him holding her there even though he does it out of love)

and a game about what leadership does to its leaders (the same way Solas killed his blighted allies, the same way he betrayed felassan, the same way he ultimately betrayed the shard of mythal in flemeth)

and a game about GRIEF and how rook is trapped in it and not being allowed to move forward by blood magic, and how grief cages you (the same way Solas feels caged by the loss of mythal and he's just as trapped as rook is but it's of his own free will and how he uses rook as a method of self absolution for what he did to Varric)

and how every character arc and story touches on at least one if not multiple of these points and how it's all layered in with area quests, side quests, main story quests, that do the same thing. I'm tired of feeling like I have to qualify my praise of datv with "it has problems" because it's a fucking dragon age game. They are all, in their own ways, hot messes. Each one has its weak hinges and its stress points but the level of sheer thematic cohesion and thought in datv is absolutely fucking unparalleled and I don't think I'm wrong to say so

[ajastu]

@captainmagpie-risha i have NOTTTTT been drawing like at all bcs i got sucked into the persona series, which takes all my time BUT ALSO does not make me want to draw anything for it at ALL (a paradoxical situation for me) but. i did manage to start An Wip.

extremely fresh underbaked etc but i hope u see the vision

[raakivristik]

I was honestlyyy considering not doing one this year, bcs i thought that i won't have much to put in the slots, but i even managed to do An Art in december, so. Goes to show, i guess, that you shouldn't let the seasonal depression talk. I've been. reevaluating things. got this 🤏close to abandoning my main art blog (hence why im posting this on THIS one instead lol), but decided not to, in the end.

anyway. cant wait for spring

[sorrowsofarlathanmoved]

hero of ferelden at its finest

[ladyinthebluebox]

Bird of Paradise - LoF armour set and hat

Do you love the colours of Rivain? Blue of the sea, gold of the sandy beaches, red of the sun setting over the horizon... You can now wear t

Hey there Lords! Now you can become the most colourful birds in all of Thedas!

[captainmagpie-risha]

WIP whenever etc

Actually I HAVE something to share this time @sugar-peanut-cat !! Also soft tagging @ajastu 💕

I started this painting this week, been in a file with only the ref for like 2 months before I was able to start it lol.

Tw decapitation I GUESS ????? It's based on the painting Judith slaying Holopherne by Artemisia Gentileschi, which is one of my fav painting ever. Made me think about the Tabris origins againnnn. Process, drawing and ref under the cut.

Trying to get the shadows right lol, why is it so hard. will have to work on the light next, it's a bit muddy for now. And the drapes. Fucking drapes. 😭😭 Based on :

I always want to slay this fucking asshole more violently, so this feels cathartic :)

[ajastu]

For your WIP game ; the thing about Sasha and Carver ? 👀 (or I saw a something about Zea and Dav in the left column if you prefer to post art WIP 👀👀)

💕

seeing as that PSD file is all but empty (yes. that is how much of a hoarder i am.) ..... here's basically all i have of that writing WIP (its basically untouched since i first wrote it, so its far from polished dfkgjdfg youve been warned) for context, this is taking place shortly after the events in this post I just couldnt let go of the idea...

It was an incredible stroke of luck that they managed to find a bronto prone to being bribed, and a cart to go with it. Because, frankly, Sasha did not think she could make the way back on her own feet, what's with the concussion and all. 

She watches the road, the horizon, only half-paying attention to it. She feels… hazy, unfocused. Tired. It has been a long, long day, full of uncomfortable revelations. 

Their father did not want her to be a mage. Their father used blood magic. 

Their father now felt like a stranger. 

Before she can spiral any deeper, Carver startles her out of it, all but dropping himself right next to her. 

“Doing alright, sister?” he asks, in that tone of his that can't decide if he's trying to be friendly or mocking. 

“Take a guess,” she rolls her eyes, flipping him off. He does it right back, almost instinctively. 

It used to be a game between the three of them. A crude gesture to flash at each other in a way that their parents would not catch - their mother hated when they did it. 

They did get into trouble for it, several times. Or, well, Sasha did, for “being a bad influence on her younger siblings”. 

But the twins found the game so funny, she simply couldn't deny them the joy. 

And now it's just the two of them. 

Maker, she really did miss him. Her stubborn, annoying little brother. So grown up, now. A man in his own right, just like he always wanted to be. 

A warden with an expiration date. 

Yet another family member she's probably going to outlive. 

Sometimes she can think about it without crying. No such luck today, it seems. 

“Damn, is it that bad?” Carver's hand hovers around her shoulder, worried, “I think, uh, we still had a health potion around here somewhere-”

“It's not that,” she says, wiping the tears away with one hand, quietly laughing at the situation, “you can stop fussing.”

“well, i wouldnt need to fuss if you didnt throw yourself in front of me during the fight

[ajastu]

WIP ask game

Rules: post the names of all files in your WIP folder regardless how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell us about it.

thank you for the tag @captainmagpie-risha🥰 i only have like...2 writing wips that i think i might finish one of these days, but they're not an...active priority dkjgfdg the titles are as follows: 1. palia stuff bcs im plagued by demons

2. sasha n carver talk question mark

as for art wips....

these go all the way back to 2016 and i reserve the right not to post whats in there if its too cringe 👍 tagging @nekrobiom and @blu3mila if you want to do this 🥰 also whomever else wants to, consider urself tagged as well 🐛

[ajastu]

got tagged in a "people id like to know better" thing. thank youu @captainmagpie-risha 🥰 im too awkward to tag anyone BUT if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged 🐛

Fun fact: i can blink my eyes individually without squinting, and it used to freak out one of my friends back in school

Favorite color: i tend to answer this with "green", but honestly, its really hard to decide...

Last song on repeat: .....разборки из-за баб by король и шут. idk, the first half of it is just so fun to me.......the lyrics r fun

Currently Watching: do game playthrus on youtube count?

Last Movie: i legitemately dont remember. im not a huge movie watcher....

Currently reading: 'monday begins on saturday' by brothers Strugatski 👍 a very fun mix of folklore and magic with the plain everyday reality of work in a soviet setting

Currently playing: dead by daylight with friends. let me tell you. my rabbit heart was not made for this

Currently Eating: what if im NOT currently eating...what then!!!

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: not a huge fan of overly spicy food, especially if it hangs around for aaages after. like. unhand me🤨

Relationship Status: happily single 😌

Current obsession: been thinking about Chicory again... my good friend Chicory... (my dnd bard. still have to finish their redesign fully...a couple more outfits...)

Last Google Search: ................time change 2025 estonia

Currently Working On: aforementioned bard redesign dkjfghdfg heres a bit that i DID finish:

[ajastu]

who wants to see this ancient Kolya wip i will probably never finish bcs i let the embarrassment win?

[captainmagpie-risha]

Ennera Lavellan and Marian Hawke ; full drawing under the cut, censored nsfw because tumblr hates boobs

Look.............. i have no justification for this except that Ennera is simping over every woman in Thedas, especially those who can lift her up

Uncensored version

what am i doing with my life

[captainmagpie-risha]

Ennera & Cullen. Just wanted to do a quick drawing :} I missed them.