Okay So I Started The DA Series And Played Through DA:O, Gave Up On DA:2 (because Why Was It So Hard?

Self care is looking like a wet rat after 4 hours in the bath listening to nothing but whatever Spotify Shuffle decides for you because work sucks and life sucks and you're trying your best but your best isn't good enough so after 4 hours you get a call from your concerned friend cuz you're not mentally stable.

Except its a face time call so now you are facing your friend with your hair dripping wet, your eyes red -not from crying but because, like a child, you tried opening your eyes under water despite having put soap, bath salts, and a bath bomb in your bath- and shaking because its been four hours and your bath is cold now.

Your friend asks if you are okay because you haven't answered any of their texts and, as said previously, you aren't very mentally stable. You smile and say yes, you voice all weird and garbled because you got water in your phone's microphone, so you opt for giving them a thumbs up only to realize your hand is all wrinkly and pruny like a 114 year old great grandma.

And after your friend is content witnessing your evolution into an ancient being with fragile bones and saggy skin that shouldn't really have any business being here in this mortal plane, you spend another thirty minutes in your cold bath, listening to music you have never heard before.

THAT is self care.

Foreshadowing I

Foreshadowing is a literary element where the author hints at a future event without giving it away. However, if you're like me and struggle to actually include original, effective foreshadowing, then luckily for you, I completely racked my brain to find very specific types/examples of foreshadowing that you can include to your story!

Note: I specifically stated "very specific types," I'm not going to be detailing the separate types of this element that you learn in school, but more of prompts and ideas that are meant to spark your creativity!

Dialogue:

>> Threats - Threats hint at future negative events that may occur to your character(s).

>> Warnings - Warnings and threats are not necessarily the same thing. While they both suggest negative things, a warning does not have to come from aggression, but rather helpfulness!

>> Promises - Promises foreshadow two things: said promise being kept, and said promise being broken. However, most readers will assume the former, since the latter is typically less likely.

Item symbolism:

>> Flower language - Different flowers have different meanings, and while most readers will skip over that, it's a fun addition! You can use those meanings to hint at what might happen later. For example: Purple hyacinth represents a desire for forgiveness! With the idea of foreshadowing in mind, if a character gives the flower to someone they're close to, it suggests that they might do something they'll regret in the future.

>> A broken item - This is an example used to foreshadow future struggles, pain, and separation. To get the most effective result, choose an item that has value to your character and is connected to the future event. For example: A crack in a glass picture frame holding a picture of a character and their closest friends should hint at the idea that the group of friends will split up.

Miscellaneous:

>> History - You know what they say! History always repeats itself! Use this to your advantage! What people did a long time ago can still influence the current generation, and what happened in the past could most definitely happen again in the future. This could involve family, ancestors, wars, diseases, deaths, friendships, etc.

>> Weather and seasons - This is a pretty simple idea, different types of weather and seasons symbolize different things! Summer and sunny weather typically demonstrate joy and blitheness! Fall and similar weather exhibits a change or shift in things, and even nostalgia! Winter and cold/stormy weather can symbolize an ending, numbness, apathy, and darkness. However, winter can also symbolize beauty, comfort, and festivity! Lastly, we have spring! Spring represents a fresh start and change!

Alright! That's it for now, so here you go! Hopefully, these examples are able to give you some new ideas! There will be a part two, but in the form of dialogue prompts! So if that's what you're looking for, keep an eye out for that!

Happy writing~

3hks :]

favourite things about first drafts:

square brackets with notes to self mid-line like [does this make sense with worldbuilding?]

ah yes, Main Character and their closest friends, Unnamed Character A and Unnamed Character B.

bullshitting your way through something that you probably definitely need to research later

also square brackets to link up scenes. [scene transition idk] my beloved

the total freedom of word vomits

"I'll fix that later"

the moment when the world and characters start to gain a life of their own

pieces falling into place as you write that you were uncertain about before you started

the accomplishment of Made A Thing

Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.

It's me ya boi

Anyway can we talk about how many parallels there are towards death and the strong themes of cheating death present in the DA games?

DAO: Cousland cheats death the first time by escaping their castle or whatever. Don't remember the other back stories but I know they also evade consequences or death. THEN you evade death AGAIN when you become a Warden. Then once more at the betrayal, when you get saved by Morgan and Flemeth. Then if you complete the dark ritual you manage to slay and survive the Archdemon. THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS the entire point of being a Warden is to die. To slay dark spawns until you get killed or go insane -in which case you die anyway- Your whole premise is to be an honorable sacrifice, to die and take as many dark spawn as you can with you so that no one else has to. By surviving over and over again you're not only forsaking your purpose but spiting the wardens that came before you. How dare YOU be the one to survive? How dare you cheat your death over and over and over again? What about you makes you so special? More important than the other wardens? How fucking dare you?

Da2: So first Hawke survives the hordes of dark spawn in Fereldan, they survive the ogre attack in place of their sibling, then the trip to Kirkwall and then the entry into Kirkwall. How many died during those events, how many different times did Hawke cheat death in those instances? Hundreds of times, definitely. One wrong move and Hawke would've been killed, but they weren't. How lucky. Then in the deep roads, Hawke can lose their OTHER sibling to the taint. Then they lose their mother. What was all that surviving for if they were just going to lose all of their family, be left in this world without the people Hawke had worked so hard to save and to care for? Champion of Kirkwall, what a heavy title to bear with all the deaths of people Hawke couldn't save. They cheat death once more at the end, against Meredith.

DAI: Inky is sent to the chantry, and it blows up. You should've died but you didn't, instead you're given a key to close the rift and a woman saves you. Then you are found, imprisoned for terrorism. You should've been executed, good thing you have that key. Good thing you were the one to try and save Justinia, right? Good thing it was you who survived and not the thousands of others. Then comes the reinstitution of the Inquisition, a portion of the chantry long since dead -for good reason- that rises up from the ashes with you. Then in that one mission you get sent forward in time, in which everyone dies for you to get you to fix the disastrous consequences of you NOT defeating Corypheus. There are more moments but fast forwarding to the dragon secret and defeating Corypheus. You should not have been able to get that secret, but you did, the same way that key imbedded in your hand/arm. By all means, you were always meant to be dead. There was nothing special about Inky, there was no reason they should have survived any of what happened to them but they did. And that can be viewed as either happy, bittersweet, or outright tragic. Then, at the very end, the one thing that made you special, the key, has to be CUT OFF because it is killing you. You should have died but good thing Solas is there to take your arm, to help you cheat death again -which is a great parallel to how he helped you in the very beginning-

I stand by the idea that Dragon Age is a tragedy. The MC, whether that's Warden, or Hawke, or Inky has to give up EVERYTHING, their families, their lives, everything, to be forced into positions of power and save the world. And whether their willing or not, it doesn't matter because they will be forced into that position. Forced to be Hero of Fereldan, Champion of Kirkwall, or Inquisitor. You will be robbed of everything and forged into what people need you to be. That's the consequence of cheating death and being at the right place at the right time. But it's a good thing youre special, huh?

And you know the thing about being a Main Character is that you will cheat death over and over and over again, and the only consequence is that someone is going to be there to take your place, someone is going to die for you, eventually. There's nothing you can do about it except watch your life be taken away from you and watch all the people you love and care for die.

Okay but because I am the bisexual disaster that I am...

Morrigan from DA:O has a motherfucking chokehold on me. Like istg shes super hot, she's intelligent, and by the end of the game she turns into a MILF!?

I looked at her for the first time and fell in love, I swear. How dare my bisexual heart have a crush on a straight woman >:(

Same goes for Varric too, I am in love with that man (or maybe it's his chest hair) I know I'm always going to be second to Bianca and I don't care :,(

Body Language

When someone is...

Sad

Face/Body:

Avoidant/reduced eye contact

Drooping eyelids

Downcast eyes

Frowning

Raised inner ends of eyebrows

Dropped or furrowed eyebrows

Quivering lip/biting lip

Wrinkled nose

Voice:

Soft pitch

Low lone

Pauses/hesitant speech

Quiet/breathy

Slow speech

Voice cracks/breaking voice

Gestures/Posture:

Slouching/lowered head

Rigid/tense posture

Half formed/slow movement

Fidgeting or clasped hands

Sniffing or heavy swallows

Self soothing gestures (running hands over the arms, hand over heart, holding face in palms, etc)

Was on bike-gram today and the most delicious, juicest, toe curling, mouth watering, panty wetting idea:

CEO!biker!Simon Riley x Assistant reader

You're Simon Riley's new assistant and aren't used to his antics and oddities, but you do what he says nonetheless and adapt to his unusualness. He tells you to meet him outside the building in 5 with the suit you grabbed from dry-cleaning. Okay, totally normal right?

Well he pulls up, bike revving, takes off his helmet, "Hello love, glad you got my text."

OR

Maybe you take public transit home, but you missed your bus or train because you were working late. By "coincidence" hes there late too and offers you a ride home, makes you wear his helmet because your safety matters more, makes you hold him tight, relishes in how you squeeze him when he accelerates

Eventually buys a spare helmet and another riding jacket just for when you, in his words, "Need another ride, darlin'"

UGHH

Okay, idea. Well, question.

Humans are known for repetitive behavior. Throughout history we see themes that persist to modern day. But my question has to do with objects that look like they glow, like.

A light hits something and it looks like it glows and we think "Oh this is a quest object" or "This guys gonna send me on a quest to get exactly 342 radishes" and shi like that but, like, what did people think in the olden days?

Were they walking around thinking "Yeah thats how lighteth w'rks" or were they like "Ah yes, this guys gonna sendeth me on a quest to collecteth exactly 342 radishes! ha! what excit'ment!" and they chortle along their way.

How did video game logic work without video games?

hate writing. never writing again.