#uthabelas

[orxna]

uthabelas replied to your post: || OOC ||

use…”Dog”

excuse you, that’s the warden’s mabari’s name

[divinitatem]

Does Urian have any strong opinions he announces to the public about the Herald of Andraste? Anything he keeps to himself in private?

I mean, honestly? A lotof this will depend very greatly on a few factors. Urian is, through andthrough, a politician. Very little of what he might say aloud is likely to begenuinely and 100% his actual thoughts or opinions. He can sway public opinionto one degree or another, and he has his constituents, whose positions he generallyhas to enforce or agree with, but overall, you’re not likely to get a lot ofgenuine emotional truth out of his public statements.

The main thing that willinfluence what he’s likely to say is… well, who the Herald of Andraste is.

For example, a QunariHerald is…. not going to be popular in Tevinter, given that theQunari and Tevinter have been engaged in a lengthy cold war which – isn’t eventhat cold, most of the time. To have a Qunari rise to prominence in the south,and in the southern Chantry, moreover… it would be seen as very threatening,even to the most liberal of Tevinters. (Even Dorian will talk about hismemories of fleeing from invading/attacking Qunari; it’s canon that they makefairly frequent incursions around Qarinus and other coastal cities. Beingforced to run from an invading force who’s killing and kidnapping/brainwashingyour friends, family, and other countrymen does not for cordial relations make.)

Urian is not the sort ofzealot who preaches about the “oxman threat,” though there are magisters whocanonically do. He’s also not about to get up there and suggest rolling overand showing the belly submissively. There’d more than likely be a lot ofsermons reminding the congregations that Tevinter is the true holy land, thatthe Imperial Chantry is the truest and original church of the Maker. Nationalistpropaganda, but without any of the virulent “back to the glory days” edge ofthe Venatori. Just something which would keep the Imperium strong and united inthe face of what would surely seem like two of their enemies combining.(Distinctions between Qunari and Tal-Vashoth are unlikely to be heeded; they’llsee the horns, nothing else.)

An elven Herald mightprovoke something similar but the sermons might have a slightly pitying edge.There’d be sermons which speak about the virtues of self-sacrifice, which havelong (always) been part of Tevinter’s national monomyth of identity, about dutyand how those who rule and those who serve are none of them fully free. Theremight be some veiled comments implying the elf is just a figurehead, set up tomimic our Lady Andraste’s status as a slave, almost profiting off of it, in away.

A dwarf – well, Tevinterlikes dwarves. That would be a much more positive situation, over all. So woulda mage inquisitor, if we’re speaking of humans. A human mage in power is thenatural order. There might be concerns then, however, that the Inquisition issetting itself up as a more one-to-one rival with the Imperial Chantry; theremight be discussion in his speeches and sermons about the benighted ignoranceof the south finally finding the light of the Maker. Casting the OrlesianChantry as backwards but learning, improving, coming to see things in theproper way at last. They were once one Chantry, before the Schism, after all.

And depending on choices – did the Herald ally with the Qunari or not? Did they ally with themages or the Templars? – some of these opinions or speeches would change, ofcourse.

In some specific verses –like @orxna’s Herald verse, or the one @archontem and I have where my owncanon-divergent mage Inquisitor ends up arranged-married to the Archon, there’d be specificopinions and statements made, in a much less general way. But overall, what hesays aloud, what he preaches or speaks on, will follow certain themes dependingon the Herald’s background and choices – and, more specifically, on howTevinter’s masses are likely to feel about those things.

Privately, his opinionswill also have a degree of variation by specific case, but will overall justeither see the Herald as a so-calledHerald; he doesn’t believe that Andraste chose them, no matter what theInquisition bruits about. He will also tend to see the Herald/Inquisitor aseither a completely paper-thin figurehead of a person or a politically savvy potential enemy – or potentially usefulally. There’s not a lot of in between there. Either the person merits a degreeof genuine respect, or they’re a tool to be used. He’s pragmatic that way.

[alltstjornu]

ADD JULIAN ADD JULIAN ADD JULIAN

babe how many more alcoholic disasters does my blog need

who am i kidding for u i will <3

[farsights]

bliss

SEND A MOOD AND I’LL DESCRIBE HOW MY MUSE COPES

bliss is a much stronger emotion than islwyn generally commits to feeling. at his happiest and most peaceful, he is generally content more than anything else. bliss is - to him - an extreme that almost frightens him, threatening his grounding and his careful crafting of realistic expectations. bliss is simply unbearably too much and he would struggle in having to analyze or even admit this feeling.

generally, he does not have to worry about being overburdened by strong emotions. as noted, contentment comes to him far more easily (but contentment and fulfillment are not the same, I should note).

however, if he should become aware, and overwhelmed (mainly as a consequence of not…understanding how to manage strong emotions and subsequently panicked by it), he’s likely to withdraw from the source. even if it is a perfectly good and healthy thing, and so his fear and avoidance are actually extremely maladaptive.

if he could be coached through this panic, if someone could help him be able to be present and secure in the moment, and with his feelings, he might find that many more moments can bring him bliss.

[theharellan]

EÎS

january positivity meme | accepting

EÎS: Positivity for someone you remember from when you first started your blog.

i’ve had solas over 3 years now, so a lot of the people i remember from when i first started have moved on by now. which is a little sad, but also inevitable.

that being said, some ppl who have been following me for all three of those years and are still around:

@arielshepard – technically i’ve been w/ ariel since my mass effect rp days. if you enjoy canon divergent shepards, i’d highly recommend her! it’s a highly creative take on the control ending and just a+ writing.

@cadashsmash – joly was probably one of the first ppl who took interest in thora? even tho cadri was and is 1000 times better developed than thora.

@avrorean – the blog’s been remade so technically you’ve not on my first page, but i’m going to count it. one of my fave wardens since our first rp tbh and i’m glad you’re back <3

[ofrevas-a]

uthabelas replied to your post: this ask has turned into me crying about...

I support tears on this dash

just not my own >:U

well you would satan

[ofrevas-a]

@uthabelas

Can I tempt you with a grown-up gratuitous lip shot or 

[farsights]

4 & 12

CHARACTER CREATION QUESTIONS 

4: How do you get into your OC’s mindset to write for them? How do you find the muse for them?

Music, by far. This is true of all of my characters, but Islwyn’s playlist is easily the most structured, and often a little bit atavistic. It helps me to capture the very dreamy atmosphere. Interestingly, this is the first character where smells and tastes help me settle down and write with inspiration. Teas, incense, (and one specific kind of ice cream!) are very much associated with him now. Just the ritual of sitting down with a cup of herbal tea almost always helps.  

In regards to the second half of this question, I already had built the basics of Islwyn’s character from my interpretation of Falon’din.  The foundations remain: the stillness, the quiet intensity, the great capacity for learning, the jealousy, the vanity and pridefulness, the poor grasp of his emotions, and even the same sense of playfulness (though here, of course, he has much greater opportunity to express it).  Falon’din had been made on a whim - I had never expected to write him for as long as I did, but I fell in love with the person he was. I had to explore him deeply to make his evil convincing, and I got to know him very well, and appreciate how subtle a person he could be.

So here, it has been incredible to be be able to write that same person under such vastly different circumstances. He still shares many of the same story parallels and traits, but he has still diverged in many ways - even his imagery is softer. It’s been incredible.

12: What scent calms them? Reminds them of home or something soothing?

Joss sticks calm him, grounding him in the sensory experience and in the scent connection to religious observance, helping him in ordering his thoughts, in giving him a pattern to anchor to. Sage, foxglove, and the slightly verdant smell of freshwater lakes remind him of home (as does the smell of fertilizer mixed into the field and the musk of sheep and wool - he finds it comforting and familiar but he keeps this much to himself). Eventually, he also finds comfort in the smell of ink and parchment, of @crowcrafts‘s coat and shampoo.