It's not an active blog, just my collection to both save space on the basic page and not lose the wonderful things I come across. Feel free to follow but don't expect much 💖
When I saw the tag #da Spite for the first time, I didn’t read it as “Dragon Age Spite”, but as DA SPITE!!! SPITE IS HERE! THIS IS DA ONE AND ONLY SPITE!! Yk?
This was exactly what was in my head when I read it
"Lucanis´ alt and casual appearances
I worked on Lucanis´ casual and alternate appearances and explorations on the VFX concept of Spite/Lucanis´ demonic powers" [source]
Do you guys remember when I would share my wips from a Pavellan fic I was working on?
No?
Well if you do... I did some reworking of it (making a second draft) an now I'm sharing its first chapter on AO3!
Something Entirely New
The premise is that my Inquisitor Lavellan, Cullen, and Dorian now have to work together whilst navigating the trials and tribulations ahead of them as they begin something entirely new.
Please read the tags on the fic, and if you could give me some feedback in the comments at the end of the first chapter (even if it's just: "wow good writing 👍") I would very much appreciate it.
Small tag list to help spread the word if you will: @dragonagegayz @alystrin03 @doctormur @elishnord @byc0n3j0 @ofcrowsanddragons
We understand that Broodmother is a reflection of the brutality of Orzammar and its use of women’s bodies explicitly for breeding, right?
In Orzammar women are always already broodmothers.
Broodmother is a narrative reflection of that use and that reality, a use of women which is justified in Orzammar as having to replenish the Warrior and upper castes due to the constant pressure of Darkspawn, but in the deep roads is stripped away of all its social pretence.
Orzammar’s narratives are entirely about people being used, abused and consumed in the service of caste and necessity, and how this particularly effects people who are assumed to be able to give birth, how it creates not just sex work but pregnancy work, and the coercive ways necessity operates on people.
It’s not at all a subtle parallel. The darkspawn do not defeat House Branka; Branka- Paragon, Noble, highest caste and most powerful woman in Orzammar- feeds her lessers to the darkspawn.
She has all her story reasons for doing it, but at the base and inescapable level, she (like all the other Dwarves of Orzammar) use and discard lower Castes because they can, because they have the power to, because the caste system organises them to be able to.
I honestly absolutely hate with a spitting seething passion the kind of analysis that sees horror, especially horror against women, being committed in a narrative and immediately becomes incapable of saying anything about media other than “it’s just edgy/gritty/grimdark” and dismissing it.
Life is edgy gritty and grimdark for a lot of us. I was a teenage sex worker. My life was edgy gritty and grimdark. I experienced some of the most vulgar expressions of how gender works in my society, and I experienced them bluntly.
And to dismiss depictions of sexual, gendered violence as “purely for shock” when they are not, when they have something to say about gender and power and violence in a setting, is to assign stories like my real life as “shock value”.
There is more feminist shit to say about Orzammar alone than anything in Veilguard, because Orzammar is actually interested in gender and in the social roles and violences that create, reinforce and are a consequence of gender systems*.
And personally, I will pick a story that clumsily tries to say something about power and violence and society over a smooth story that says nothing about those things every single time; but that doesn’t mean Broodmother isn’t worthy and deserving of criticism (it is!) but can we please at least start from a place of criticising it for what it actually is and what it is actually doing in the game? The work and text that is the game?
*I am not saying Orzammar is feminist or is doing feminism, but you can analyse it from a feminist standpoint because the cloying weight of Gender and Gender In Society as a faucet of the setting is inescapable.
the “non-sexist Thedas” thing was always kind of insane to me bc i had interpreted the in-world treatment of the broodmothers as something universally viewed as horrible/terrifying vs the acceptance Orzammar’s citizens have of its caste system societal structure as a commentary on how different irl societies often criticize each other for Things (including discrimination/violence against women) while also perpetuating those same Things in different (or even sometimes similar) ways. and idk if they thought that throwing out “sexism doesn’t exist” would make people feel better or what, but if anything it almost had the opposite effect because like, okay then what was all of THAT gesticulates towards Origins’ female city elf prologue and Orzammar’s treatment of women and broodmothers etc. even for???? because i had assumed it was intentional commentary but now y’all got me thinking otherwise which. is perchance. Not A Great Look?
there’s been such a weird shift in media overall where the assumption seems to be that people DON’T want to engage with like, basic statements or ideas that may reflect reality? and it’s really been weirding me out. and people have been using the whole “oh but i don’t like grimdark” thing as an excuse and it’s like???? that’s not what that means???
like sorry not to make everything about Star Wars on main, but take the first film (A New Hope) for example. LITERALLY the word “hope” is in the mf title! i highly doubt that if you asked anyone who’s seen it to describe the film they’d say it’s grimdark or depressing. but you know what it has?
among other things:
oppressive authoritarian fascist government
a scene in which the main character’s parental figures are burned alive in their own home
a scene in which a captive character is heavily implied to be tortured
a cybernetic death samurai who kills people with his evil-colored laser sword for Breathing At Him Wrong
and if you took any one of those things out of the narrative it wouldn’t hit the same. they’re important to the narrative at least in part because even though they’re negative or uncomfortable, they’re reflections of things that are real, and the narrative takes those reflections and holds them up in front of you and says “i think we should talk about what America is doing in Vietnam” (George Lucas was hugely anti-Vietnam war and it shows in his depiction of a fascist government fighting to exterminate a rag-tag group of Rebels) or “i think we should talk about how Western society’s idea of love is actually kind of possessive, and sometimes love is about letting go and moving on and that’s ok” (George Lucas is Buddhist and again it comes across in his depiction of the Jedi and their philosophy). and while i personally think he was extremely valid for saying those things, whether or not George Lucas was correct or even if he made those points well is not the point, the point is that he was willing to engage in the discussions in the first place.
you can have discussions about things that are sometimes hard to have discussions about without dismissing them as “edgy”/“grimdark.” that is a thing that you can do. i can’t help but feel as though we’ve gotten to a very strange point in time where so many creators and consumers are just fully unwilling to do that (op’s initial point about Broodmothers being an excellent example of that imho) and it sucks.
The game script contains cut lines of Antivan Crows sabotaging the Antaam-used amplifiers in the city to deliver their own messages.
(Amplifier) The Antivan Crows fight for you. The Butcher will not prevail.
(Amplifier) We interrupt again to remind the Butcher that the Crows rule Antiva. Treviso will be free.
(Amplifier) We will silence the Butcher. He will speak his final words by Crow demand.
(Amplifier) Take heart, Treviso. These occupiers will not defeat you. The Butcher will die.
(Amplifier) We will cast aside his Antaam as easily as his voice. Hear us, Treviso, you will be free.
(Amplifier) The Butcher may claim the streets, but can never claim our hearts. The Crows are with you.
(Amplifier) Treviso will not be caged for long. The Butcher will not silence us.
Check out the tag for more useless facts: #useless davg fact of the day!
I think there is a visible remnant of this still in the game as i came across something that always intrigued me.
There is what could be one of these 'amplifiers' / broadcast horn right at the start of the game. Near the trellis to climb to the Crow paths next to the Diamond, you can see an Antaam embellished giant horn on the wall, next to a statue. You see it, the moment you return to Treviso when you do the mission A Slow Poison.
Soon as that mission is complete, next time you go past that area - the horn is gone.
Watching Leo acting is a process that makes the wheels in my head turn. It's not even the fact he's adorable, and his character could not be just a paper villain, it's... Oh, just look at him! *sounds of hard thinking*
A little something for @dafuckedupshipsweek. The lovely Lilya belongs to @serensama. Tags for @davrinsleftpectoral and @blackwall-my-tiny-husband since you have requested them before.
Pairing: Illario x Ilene de Riva
-------
A flash of lightning illuminated the freckled skin of the woman sitting at the window. Illario was sure that some measure of the drenching rain outside had to be reaching her, but she simply continued to blow puffs of smoke out into the downpour. With a touch less grace than usual, he pushed himself upright to sit against the headboard. The room was no longer spinning as it had when they'd entered. He reached for the bottle on the nightstand to remedy that.
The rain had started during the ceremony, and the timing of a particularly loud crash of thunder during the vows had made the gathered crowd titter with mildly uncomfortable laughter. At the priest's insistence, Lucanis had repeated the words the thunder had drowned out, his smile rigid under all the attention. Lilya had squeezed his hand, her smile nothing but all the sweet tenderness a bride should show. She had been gorgeous. Radiant. Breathtaking. Illario surely had barely been able to breathe around the constriction in his chest.
He'd gone straight to the bar after the ceremony, where he'd stumbled across Ilene. They hadn't decided to spend the night together so much as independently and drunkenly decided not to spend it alone.
He took a long pull from the bottle, then wiped his chin with the back of his hand. "Are you still in love with him then?"
Ilene snorted and blew a perfectly round ring of smoke. "I don't do love."
"Ah, so all those years you spent lurking and making eyes at my cousin were my imagination?"
"Yep," she replied, popping the "p" with a sharp snap. She plucked a stray bit of elfroot from her tongue and took another drag.
"Does Lilya know?"
That got her attention. Her head whipped around, further disturbing the mess their activities had made of her hair, her gaze as venomous as any of Viago's adders.
"If you fill her head with any of your fucking bullshit, I swear—"
He raised both hands in a gesture of peace. "If I get anywhere near Lilya in the foreseeable future, Caterina will have me killed. Or Viago will." He chuckled. "Perhaps he'd even give you the contract."
Her suspicious glare lingered. "I'd enjoy it."
Illario clucked his tongue. "Always such a cruel little thing. I think you'd miss me."
Her sharp bark of laughter probably reached the courtyard. "Fuck off."
"Is there anyone else in the whole of Thedas who knows exactly how you feel right now?"
She had no biting response to that. Instead she turned back to the window, hunching into herself and wrapping her arms around her legs. Illario took another drink, and they sat in silence, listening to the rain.
To open the gate to the revenant dragon during The Heart of Corruption quest, Rook must collect the essences of three revenants, each of whom is also behind a sealed gate that is opened by the essence of champions.
Previously, in the location of the revenants there were vials of blood that needed to be interacted with in order to summon the owner of this blood.
Concept art by Albert Urmanov shows what this idea looked like.
In the script you can find unused lines related to these vials.
Mysterious Blood Vial
The air is cold and unusually still around this area. A small glass vial sits undisturbed. Do you touch it?
There are also cut pieces of dialogue in the files when Rook finds another vial.
Rook: Blood. But it smells like… (Disgusted noise)
Bellara: Like it's been rotting forever.
Davrin: Worse than darkspawn blood.
Emmrich: Like an adept's first experiment.
Harding: Like I feel a little sick.
Lucanis: That's not blood. It's something worse.
Neve: And it's in a vial. Positioned to be found.
Taash: (Revolted noise) It's gonna be in my nose all day!
Rook: Another blood vial. Get ready.
Rook: Another blood vial. I can feel the chill from here… Get ready.
Just like in the game, defeated revenants dropped keys. Rook used them to lit the glyphs on the gates to the dragon.
Rook: Whatever we got from that undead, it's… pulling towards the door.
Rook: The other glyphs are still dark. If we want inside, we must need more blood vials.
Rook: Another one lit. One more to go.
Rook: One last key.
Rook: And then there were three.
A belated bday gift for the one and only @kabsey , who deserves the world. I'm glad this video made your day a little brighter and a helluva lot more fun! XD
If anyone is thinking of getting a cameo from Zach, don't hesitate, just get on in there and get one. He's a secret mage. I don't know how he got so many things right, but he did.
PLEASE DO NOT REPOST (twas a present after all <3)
Charter was supposed to appear in DA4 since the time of Joplin according to the artbook. And it seemed like there were plans to involve her in the events of DAtV, but later this idea was abandoned. However, you can still find a mention of Charter in the files. For example, her character file.
A returning character from DA:I, Charter serves as Rook's link to/mouthpiece of the Inquisitor and what's left of the Inquisition.
You can also find her character ID in in some scenes, although her lines have been removed. But there are still parts of dialogue with her in the script. One of which I tried to restore, all lines were sorted manually. Based on the conversation, the first meeting was in the Veil Jumpers camp during Bellara's recruitment. Charter was talking with Harding until Rook approached them.
Harding: Okay, listen, maybe it was touch and go for a bit...
Charter: Things are not going well.
Harding: They're going okay!
Harding: Oh, good. Here he/she/they is/are now. Charter, this is Rook.
Harding: He/She/They helped me and Varric chase Solas for the better part of a year.
Harding: Rook, this is Charter. She and I served in the Inquisition together. She taught me everything I know.
Charter: Leliana always said Harding was our best scout. I'm so glad she's with you now.
Rook: It's nice to meet you, Charter.
Charter: I understand that Bellara may be able to repair your eluvian, so you can travel faster?
Harding: Yes. I should check on her now, in fact. It was great to see you, Charter!
Harding leaves
Charter: You had the Archon's palace firing at you in the middle of Minrathous.
I guess this is a reference to the previous version of the prologue, according to devnote in the script:
Floating Palace "eye of Sauron" focuses on Rook & Varric using "spotlight" Harding yells "look out", and runs into first arena Ship launches long-range magic attacks, blowing up the bar behind Rook Scripted event: when the bar explodes, Rook is knocked down
If Rook is a Shadow Dragon
Rook: I know, right? The rest of the Shadow Dragons will be buying me drinks for weeks!
If Rook is a Lord of Fortune
Rook: Ah, come on. I'm a Lord of Fortune. I've gotten through worse fire-traps while nursing a hangover.
Rook: I know, right? Those fire bolts were so big!
Charter: But the Shadows wanted to know what was happening, and guess who had an invite?
Charter: I couldn't ignore it either.
Rook: Uh, it was the Venatori's fault. They're cultists.
Charter: I know who the Venatori are. I pointed you at them in Minrathous. Hunting a Venatori spy is what brought me here.
Rook: There's a spy in the Veil Jumpers?
Charter: I dealt with it.
If Rook is an Antivan Crow
Rook: I'm an Antivan Crow. You don't have to say "dealt with it" like a little murder will hurt my feelings.
Charter: It's... fine. I just didn't realize what... level of experience I was dealing with.
Rook: And by "dealt with it," we mean...
Charter: I understand if the scale of what you're dealing with confuses someone of your... level of experience.
Charter: So. Harding hit the high points of what happened. Do you have your mission report with you, or is it back at the Lighthouse?
Rook: Mission report? Is that, ah... Is there like a form, or...?
Charter: (Sighs.)
Option: Ah, that was a front.
Rook: I take it I'm now meeting the actual Charter.
Option: What's the issue?
Rook: You got a problem with how we just saved the world?
Option: It all mostly worked out!
Rook: I know it got messy, but the world is still here, right? I think basically we did okay!
Option: We did our job.
Rook: Hey, we got it done. Sorry we didn't get it done pretty.
Charter: Please pardon me while I take a moment to adjust my expectations.
Option: Enough of this shit.
Rook: Oh, shit, I'm sorry. I meant to give it to you at the ritual site.
Rook: I just didn't see you there. You know, while we were saving the world.
Charter: Do you think you did this alone? That your team would have reached Arlathan without the help of countless agents?
Rook: Did Harding tell you about the things that escaped?
Charter: Yes. Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, if Solas is telling the truth. I overheard your talk with Strife and Irelin.
Rook: Rude.
Rook: Solas said they were both elven gods...
Charter: (Chuckles.) I imagine he was delightful to talk to, given how you disrupted his plans.
Rook: Yes. Having an irritated god in my dreams was lovely. Hoping not to repeat the experience.
If Rook is a Veil Jumper
Rook: I studied the elven gods in the Veil Jumpers. We can't be sure that this is them...
If Rook is a Mourn Watcher
Rook: I saw some large Veil disturbances in the Mourn Watch, but these things, whether they're gods or not...
Charter: And they were blighted?
If Rook is a Grey Warden
Rook: Definitely. Worst I've ever seen.
Charter: You're the Grey Warden. I'll trust your expertise, and maybe I can get you some more.
Charter: Your Order is the best in the world at fighting the blight. I'll pull some strings and call in support.
Rook: That's what Solas said, and they looked that way. But I don't have much experience with the blight.
Charter: I can help with that.
Charter: I'll pull some strings with the Grey Wardens. They're the best in the world at fighting the blight.
Rook: Um, okay. I'd appreciate it.
Charter: In the meantime, good luck with your investigation.
Charter: If I find anything useful, you and Harding will be the first to know.
This version is different from the one in the game. Not only because the fake was created after the Blood of Arlathan quest, but also because the original dagger was crafted by Mythal herself, while in the game it was crafted by Solas.
This is mentioned in cut conversation, parts of which are in the script. The lines are sorted manually, but I didn't assign speakers here. I can only share my opinion. Bellara is the one who suggests blocking Solas' magic with a fake dagger so he can be defeated almost on equal terms. Neve can use her contacts to get what is needed for this. Emmrich suggests improving the trap by giving the fake a similar aura to the original, and making it only work if Solas turns against them. Harding believes Solas can still be persuaded. And the best person to do so is someone connected to Mythal - either the Inquisitor or Morrigan, depending on who drank from the Well of Sorrows.
We can't afford to miss anything.
Like Solas.
When Elgar'nan raised his Archdemon, the Veil got a little... well, wobbly. Thin.
Thin enough for Solas to reach out from his prison. Any more and...
He'll escape. Probably when we kill one of the gods. I'm betting it'll weaken the Veil.
He's going to turn on us, right? That's what the Dread Wolf does. He's sneaky.
We'll be dead tired, no shape to stop him. He'll go for the dagger. He needs it to kill the last god.
But he's still going to let the Veil collapse, which will drown us all in demons and kill a bunch of people.
Then don't fight on his terms. Fight on ours. How can we take away his power?
Not power. Magic. We need to block his access to the magic of the Fade.
Like Veil Jumpers shutting down an artifact. Bellara?
I could dampen the magic... if I had the right components. I'd need pure lyrium, and the enchantments are complex.
Lyrium's not a problem. I can find us the perfect piece.
I did some work for the best enchanter in Minrathous. She'll give us a deal.
Dagger's easy enough to duplicate, at least visually.
And as Solas created the Veil, I can tie the effect to his unique resonance, to ensure it affects him.
Then give him what he thinks he wants...
Let him steal a fake instead.
Well. It'll definitely block his magic. But it'll dampen ours, too. So. Evenly matched. Mostly.
I'll take those odds.
I believe I can improve our trap. Mythal crafted the original dagger herself.
The fragment of her essence we recovered from the dragon will give our forgery an identical aura.
I can rig some nasty enchantments to fire when he tries to use it.
If Solas doesn't betray us, no harm done.
But if he does... he's betrayed himself.
Solas would never stand down because we gave an order. But what if we gave him a choice? Could he stop then?
Yeah. It's his responsibility. He's gone too far and done too many terrible things to stop now.
No. Not for us. He's doing this for Mythal. She's his family. And family gets you all twisted up.
He needs to make it right... what he did to the Titans. And if family led to this, then maybe family can help.
We need Mythal... the Inquisitor picked up a piece of her at the Well of Sorrows.
We need Mythal... and we have her essence from the dragon, as well as someone with her memories.
There is an alternate version with the fake dagger where Solas imprisons Rook, but I'm not sure if it's related to this version.
Since you said to put this in ask. A letter to Rook from Viago once he realizes she’s dating Lucanis. And he’s the last to know.
Thank you so much for putting this here as a reminder to actually do it.
It was - again - so much fun and I stuck with the theme of Teia hijacking Viago's (private!!!!!!!!!) letters.
Here we go, hope you and everyone else has fun, too.
Transcription:
Viago bold
Teia italic
Rook,
Anyway I think we've come a long way for him not starting this type of letter with 'Idiot' anymore
But as much as he claims to hate it, he would hate it even more to remain silent
I really hate to have to address this at this most inconvenient of all times – Given the tasks at hand that you and we all have to face all to soon, as we are just about to rally for one last and final strike on the enemy. Our last chance of restoring order and peace for all of Thedas – and also us as Antivan Crows - to thrive.
I think he wants to point out how great you are doing and how far you've come. Bear with him. He tries. Really he does.
However.
You see me upset, devastated even.
- I – have seen him upset. It was... something, believe me.
About how a crow of the 5th Talon's house – and MY sister of all people, decides to just blatantly defy the things taught to her and, dare I say, ignoring direct orders of a superior (that would be me!) We KNOW, Viago. not only responsible for the welfare of my house but also your own blood!
I know, you already know what this is all about but let me spell it out for you:
Have I not explicitly warned you, to not entangle yourself with Dellamorte family business astray from whatever contract you had with them?
This family is nothing but trouble.
And what did I (and the entirety of the Diamond!) have to witness the other day when you and your team dropped by?
Lovey Dovey eyes at each other. Touching hands (WITH NO GLOVES ON!)
We are working on this 'gloves stay on at all times' thing. I promise!
Have I really raised and trained you this poorly? To be this oblivious to lingering dangers? You might run yourself into a dagger all the same with such little concern and respect for you life. And the reputation of your house!
Hooray! He eventually noticed what everyone already knew for months.
I mean there are always options worse than who you chose to be your spouse.
And maybe I should be grateful you didn't choose another Grey Warden to reenact the story of the House, we don't speak about all over again.
Or you could have chosen a necromancer whos sole purpose in life seems to ridicule our honorable profession into a never ending joke by bringing back the dead.
I personally would not have judged you for choosing either of them. Because both are mighty fine gents.
BUT A DELLAMORTE?
You are aware that years ago your beloved Lucanis threatened me and all House de Riva, right? By sending a dagger to make his point clear. You must remember this incident.
I won't tell him another time, what this 'Dagger Incident' was all about. This torch now goes over onto you now. I've tried all I could. It's now your job, to make him understand.
You and I, little lady, will have a serious conversation about your poor sense of judgment once you are back from your contract of killing that ancient God. And if I have to pull you out of the fade (again!) in order to do so, I will!
I'm sure he actually would, I give him this much!
In short: Don't die, because your brother (and 5th Talon) needs to talk to you about your life choices.
He loves you, you know that, right?
- Viago
PS: And tell Dellamorte not to die either, because I'll kill him myself!
We really need to make Vi understand, what the 'Dagger Incident' was all about asap. Maybe he'll be so embarrassed by missing the cue that he'll forget about wanting to kill Lucanis. Oh wait, maybe that'll make things worse... we really have to think about something here. Always yours
- Teia xxx
here we have the second letter from Viago to Cara, also hijacked by Teia.
Find more Antivan Postal Service shenanigans and the rules to participate here
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