#despairprayer

[dirthara-an]

How about Dadvice from one dad to another: "How would I go about bonding with a youth who seems to look up to me as a father figure? They are still learning much of the world, and I wish to guide them as well as I might."

                         Dirthamen’s Dadvice | Accepting 

“Do they have long hair? Try braiding it, perhaps. I have learned that the most relaxed conversations stem from calm activities such as drinking tea together, or braiding hair... My daughter also liked to weave these flower crowns, it could be worth a try.”

[ofxelvhen]

@despairprayer cont x

Ethial bites his tongue so hard he tastes blood, but by some miracle (or ages’ worth of practice) he manages to keep his expression thoughtfully placid, as though he merely weighs the Dread Wolf’s words with care. There is much hecould say, but now as always, he must tread carefully. “These chains were not forged by our own hands, surely,” he says, as respectfully as can be managed. “Can we not place that blame where it belongs, on those who see squalor and vagrancy, slavery and destitution, as our only birthright? We did not choose this life, not truly; not even the-” He checks himself. “Not even we, the Dalish, truly chose our path, mirthadra Fen’Harel, but were set upon it when even Halamshiral was stolen from us. If you will forgive me - it seems needlessly cruel to claim we could not benefit from the return of… of the Creators.” He takes a deep breath, steadying himself. “Some of our chains are doubtless our own doing, but still greater in number are those too heavy and too thick to break alone. These chains require, perhaps, a divine hand.” After all, Fen’Harel, did a divine hand not forge them in the first place?

“I do not mean the chains of today,” Solas replies easily, “Those who are enslaved are so through no fault of their own; I speak of the chains created in the days of old. The chains that caused the Elvhen to elevate others to kings and gods.”

This was the hardest part of his mission; convincing the Dalish that their gods, the Evanuris, were nothing more than beliefs confining and condemning them to the same lives they currently lived. The return of their gods would not end the pursuit of slavery, would not end the oppression. Their gods cared little about the People.

“There is no innocent among those worshiped as gods, save Mythal. Even Dirthamen, who I once considered a friend, is little more than a pawn in Falon’Din’s bloody schemes. Content to allow masses to die in bloody slaughter branded as war and conquest.” He shakes his head and sighs, still feeling the loss of his once friend, even after all these years. “If the People are to truly be free, as a whole the chains of belief in these false gods must be broken. Only then can things become as they should be.”

[dryadalismagicae]

@despairprayer  ||  Discovered the Wanderer

  ┇ ┈  ✖ ┉  ┇     There was something off about that place - something weird of which felt as if it was watching him as he gazed over the writing upon walls. So beautiful, one could not deny it; vast scriptures he could not read before his very eyes, paintings and things of the sorts adorning almost every wall. Soft and respectful were his footsteps, a silent air about him despite his apparent caution and wariness; was he alone there? He had presumed such but... with the bizarre sense tingling up his spine of being watched... it simply couldn’t be.   

[ofsacrificeandfallingsnows]

🌌

Send me a 🌌 for random positivity about someone’s blog!

we’re starting off with Fox but in a twist of fate I’m giving it to @despairprayer.

Fox has a tendency to take smaller characters, latch on, and give them a life of their own in her hands and it’s absolutely beautiful to watch and see. She took Dirthamen’s High Priest from the Dragon Age franchise, gave him a name and a story and a voice and he feels real in her hands. He’s deeply sheltered and very manipulated by his god to serve the function he’s meant to but it’s all very realistic, down to his interactions with modern Thedas after he unexpectedly wakes up. She handles it all very beautifully and I’ve always loved her writing and seeing her on my dash. She managed to get me playing Dragon Age with this love of hers and I hold no regrets for it. If you or anyone are interested in Dragon Age I encourage you to follow her blog because it’s worth it, even if you only do so little as ask headcanons.

(of course, she also writes an absolutely fabulous Stephanivien over at @skysteelsun.)

[theharellan]

✾ your favourite da:o main quest, ➽ your favourite da2 location, ღ your favourite da:i banter, and ☾ some positivity for an original character roleplay blog!

✾ your favourite da:o main quest

paragon of her kind!

da:o shines above the others in one thing imo and that’s dwarf lore. da2 and da:i have their share of interesting dwarf lore, but da:o is for dwarves what da:i is for elves imo in that they have the best lore and quests. everyone can fight me, the deep roads in this game are fine.

the outcome is likely the greyest option in the game. the landsmeet is a close second, but i tend to argue that ousting anora is morally kinda shitty, especially if you put yourself on the throne in her stead. no matter what, though, you get two pretty fair monarchs with relatively similar flaws. both end up ordering a crackdown on the alienage if shianni is named bann and murdered nor make any headway on circle independence, etc, although this partially seems a result of the epilogues/boons in da:o seemingly written for a game that might not get a sequel, but i digress.

the point i’m trying to make is that bhelen and harrowmont are two very different choices. you get someone who upholds the status quo, albeit a very shitty status quo or you get someone more progressive who is by all accounts a tyrant. and even so, that progressivism is incredibly flawed, putting swords in the hands of casteless to prove themselves, etc, but it’s still something.

i tend towards bhelen with my dwarven wardens and harrowmont with non-dwarves, favouring bhelen if only b/c i think harrowmont’s conservativism would lead to orzammar’s doom.

beyond that, the politics in dusttown, the provings, discovering what happened to branka, the fucking broodmother bit? it’s arguably the most involved main quest in the game and i can never bring myself to leave it to last, usually playing it after the circle and before the forest which are my least favourites.

➽ your favourite da2 location

i already talked about sundermount the last time i reblogged this meme sooo– lowtown?

for all the complaints about same-y level design in da2 (and they do have merit) the architecture in kirkwall is interesting when you get into its history. lowtown especially is ugly, tight and cramped, and there isn’t a single plant to be seen besides the alienage. you can see its history as a slave city in lowtown, the doors that serve to conveniently railroad us during main quests having a historical use is a cool detail.

the very architecture of the city is a tool of oppression that’s still being used today, and there was some interesting worldbuilding put into designing it.

ღ your favourite da:i banter

i was going over some cole banter for a post i wrote the other day when i came across this one, set in the hissing wastes

Sera: (Teases.) I know what you diiid...! You two, in the loft.Blackwall: Uh, h-how did you--?Sera: Just do. 'Cause I know things.Blackwall: (Whispers.) Could we not speak so loudly about these things that you know?Sera: Too late for that. You're the one scaring horses, getting hay up your nooks. Crannies.Blackwall: (Sighs.)

i don’t have a lot to say about this one compared to other answers i had for this question, and tbh i could pick out almost every banter in the game and talk about what i like about it.

i mostly just like it b/c someone is calling blackwall out for bedding the inquisitor in a barn.

☾ some positivity for an original character roleplay blog!

i’m sending love to @youriinquisitorialness for having such choice meta. i’ve followed rachel’s lavellan for a while now and i’ve never failed to be impressed by her prose and her headcanons. this goes for her mai blog too tbh, but given i’ve been following theria for the longest she’s special 2 me.

[scionmage-blog]

despairprayer replied to your post: sb: are you two a thing papalymo and yda: we’re...

They should just print up some business cards that say “WE ARE GAY” and just start handing them out

fdsjkhgkhgdkh that would fix the problem real fast and people would stop asking

[dirthara-an]

Just for the record @despairprayer and @fadewalking are awful crack-enablers! I laughed so hard, I nearly pissed myself! X,DDDDD

[dirthara-an]

Yeee our Dirthamen’s took different turns on the road of fate, quite clearly. XD

Also, another headcanon I’ve kept bouncing around in my head, but never truly integrated into my blog, because it would make the existance of Harellin and Harellan redundant is, that the fairytale of Dirthamen and Falon’Din is actually an allegory of the political happenstances in the old Empire.

Falon’Din and Dirthamen being as close, as only mythical twins can be and then Falon’Din leaves for a place, Dirthamen struggles to follow to (his madness, his desire to conquer the Empire, religious war) and doubt (Deceit) and fear plague Dirthamen, as he still struggles to follow the path his brother has taken. By conquering these feelings - either by finally vowing loyalty to Falin’Din’s cause, or by siding with the gods rallied against Falon’Din, or making up a third party, as I mentioned in my headcanon about Dirthamen’s Wisdom - he finally can find his twin again. Which in this case means, either he is united with his brother in peace, or he can make him see the madness of his act and convince him to surrender, or the war is generally won and Dirthamen manages to plead with the rest of the gods for mercy on Falon’Din’s behalf.