Dragon Age/Mass Effect sideblog ~ not spoiler free
I'm Jade. Feel free to say hi! More on the 'about' page or pinned post. I do a lot of writing, embroidery, and chewing on characters like furniture.
hello! I'm Jade. My main blog (where follows/likes are from) is @songofsaraneth but all my bioware themed thoughts, art, writing, and reblogs live here. My AO3 is Jadestone (JadeLavellan pseud for Dragon Age, JadeShepard pseud for Mass Effect). I post my own thoughts and chatter a lot in tags, feel free to reply/chat back! I love to interact, doesn't matter if we're mutuals or if you're following me or not.
This post is just an abridged version of the material on my blog's static pages, for those using the app rather than a desktop browser/mobile. If you aren't, you can get to the full pages at the below links:
about | my stuff | my writing | tags list | my characters
Otherwise, click the readmore below for all that
About
I'm Jade! by day I work in desert ecology, primarily botany and soil science, and have an interest in all things earth science related (especially when applied to fantasy/sci fi universes--every now and then you'll find me crying about the river and plant situations in Thedas). When not doing science, I also have a side career as a professional mermaid and freelance fine art model, and otherwise enjoy dressing up in costumes as various mythical creatures or characters. On this blog, I post and reblog a magpie mix of art, writing, lore, meta-analysis, jokes, and whatever else. I also spend a lot of time weeping over how long embroidery takes 😭 There's quite a bit of Solas, Fenris, Zevran, Garrus, and Lucanis in terms of characters/ships I'm most invested in.
My Stuff
Things I personally make or post. I have tags for:
My embroidery (finished pieces)
My writing tag (for WIPs, snippets, & thoughts--see masterpost for links to finished works)
My art
All of the above + screenshots, etc in one place
My general tag for original posts/replies is "ramblings"
Embroidery
Patterns & tutorials for my Dragon Age designs are available!
Ko-fi as ThreadWolf
Etsy as ThreadWolfTakeYou
I take commissions on a very limited basis, see full info post here
Writing Masterpost
Tag List Masterpost
My Characters
I have multiple playthroughs of each game but these are my 'canon' runs and the ones I write/chat about the most! Again there's more writeup on my characters page (not visible on the app, only mobile/browser) but you can still view their tags here.
Warden: Jade Surana
Hawke: Hawke
Inquisitor: Jacinth Lavellan
Rook: Juniper Aldwir
Shepard: Jade Shepard
Commissioned/gifted art showoff zone now because why not!
A lot of these artists have deleted their tumblrs or changed their urls over the years, and I have no idea where else to find them, but the ones who remain i still know of are: @le-mooon @raposabranca (bsky) @ayi-san @tropicoola @ruxandralache @ fleshworks @point-maitimo
(Please do not take, save, use for AI training or repost- Thank you! Reblogs are fine ♥ )
Joined in on another Sunday draw-along with @thehangedmancreatives and this picture started out very different. Then while I was looking through my screenshots for references I had an epiphany and this was born. Sort of an examination of "what if Solas won-- at what cost?" and "what if he became what he hated/fought against?" (and 'what if bringing down the veil only broke things more')
Stayed up late to finish it and upon waking up realized I forgot to tint the final layers around the throne (meant to have it match the wolves a bit better) but eh, still very happy with how it came out. I hope I never paint another mosaic again though. That throne was miserable to do lol. (also bonus eyebrow waggles to whoever can guess what I referenced from the game for the initial design of the throne arms. Actually I'm quite proud of the design in general.)
I commissioned this piece from the unbelievably talented Hotwe, who is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful, deliberate artists I've ever had the pleasure of working with. I cannot express how grateful I am for the kindness shown towards my imaginary dolls at every step of this process. Thank you! <3
This is paired piece to this one, also by Hotwe, which I commissioned immediately after finishing Inquisition for the first time. Once I finished Veilguard and filled out how the story ends for these two, I knew I desperately wanted the other half of this diptych.
Close-ups and lengthy notes on the incorporated symbolism are below the cut.
Where the first piece was much more somber and determined, I really wanted this moment to feel triumphant (if not unreservedly happy). These are two people at the end of a long war with each other, and moving forward doesn't mean erasing the road before.
Some notes in no particular order:
Solas's hands are now open, releasing the hard and inflexible grip he had in the original piece
The constellation is Fervenial, the Oak, for its associated concept of Vir Tanadhal: "fly straight and don't waver, bend but never break, and the idea of balance. ...The imagery of the hunter (Adahla) metaphorically striking like a bolt on Solas' plans and forcing a reframing of the lightning/smite-y/fate concept of Fulmenos into a concept of balance and growth/organic/spring" - straight from the artist's massive brain
(I've written about why constellations & stars, especially Fulmenos, are important to them here)
Red embrium leaves for healing
Spring growth for seasonal change
Solas, being pushed forward by the strong wind behind him, is finally able to stop thanks to Adahla's pressure
Adahla's dress is inspired by this statue (San Joaquín, Santa Ana y la Virgen Niña by Juan Alonso Villabrille y Ron), but has been reworked with Dragon Age motifs and emblems
The gold vines are from my post-Veilguard fic for them, The Heart Where I Have Roots
I plan to do one more post with both of these pieces together as soon as I can; their journey's been messy to the max, but it honestly brings me so much joy to know they've landed somewhere like this, and I'm again so thankful to Hotwe for bringing that ended war to life.
This summer, Melissa and I have been working on putting together a Dragon Age College AU zine, and ofc no college AU would be complete without A GIANT HOUSE PARTY!
This is my big illustration for the zine and it features our wardens Grapefruit and Vaydra. The full zine should be available online by the end of the month.
