Latest Posts by insomniactiefling - Page 3
In the imaginary version of Thedas that I made up and have archived in my head dwarves have soulmates (they're the only ones that have them) and they're called 'stonemates'... There are also stonenemies
WHAT IF all those wolf statues we see in the game are not sculptures representing Fen'harel, but ordinary wolves who had the misfortune of somehow displeasing Solas, and he turned them into stone…
hi Lydia-Marc! long time follower, first time asker. do you have any tips for getting good screenshots of the pcs in dao and da2, like specific cutscenes? in preparation for dav i'm having fun filling out those oc templates for my past oc's and such, but 99% of the screenshots i have are ass🙄 thank you so much!
For DA:O, I highly recommend this.
For DA:2, I rely on pure luck, sorry.
Matt Rhodes: "Orlais is a culture that regularly uses masks. I thought it would be cool if that was true of the architecture as well. Behind the facade, you can see Orlais' true face." [source]
Art by Matt Rhodes
I see halla-coded Lavellans and wolf/predator-coded Lavellans everywhere — and I love them! I love all of you!
Today I wanna talk about shepherd-coded Lavellan. The one who wanders, guarding her flock. Because she has so many people she loves, and who love her in return, but they don't understand. Not the way she does, seeing what she has seen. Looking the Dread Wolf in his eyes, watching him turn away, every line of his form cusping on turning back, coming back, coming back.
They are her flock, and so she must tend to them. Not because the shepherd is worth more than the sheep, but because their roles are different. Without them, she would not be herself.
But no shepherd is a shepherd without the wolf, either. The shepherd may guard her flock, but that is not where her eye must remain more often than not.
Always, the shepherd must watch the shadowed treeline. Always, she must await the wolf. It is her purpose: to be of use to her sheep, she must turn away from them, again and again and again, to watch for the monstrous. To warn them away.
To convince the fanged beast, whether with word or weapon, not to attack.
To be the shepherd is to be the in-between, as inextricable from the flock as from the wolf. And, if she does her job well, the sheep will never understand why she watches for threats that never seem to befall them.
But the wolf—the wolf will always know.
Rook stumbles upon a hidden bookshelf in the Lighthouse.
Rook: *running their fingers across the book spines* What’s this? Your evil plan repository?
Solas: Unimportant.
Rook: Oddly reticent. Let’s have a read.
Solas: NO!
Rook: Oh, that just makes me want to read it more.
Rook pulls a random book out and flips to a random page. The smile on their face drops. Their brow furrows.
Rook: Solas, literally the first sentence I read was: “My mouth descended upon her yearning flower.”
Solas: *coughs awkwardly and looks away*
Rook: Solas…Solas, is this your porn stash?
Solas: Erotica.
Rook: Nuance, listen—wait, this is your hand writing. D-did…did you write this?
Solas: …
Rook: *grabs another random book* You’re hand writing again. “Her masterful mouth and tongue worked my-“
Solas: You don’t have to read it out loud.
Several hours later…
Rook: * throwing books all over the place* It’s all fucking lewd’s!!! You wrote all this smut!
Solas: A mere thought experiment put to paper.
Rook: This is not a thought experiment, this is a horny dissertation! All about you and this Lavellan lady. Andraste’s Tits! Are you trying to get a PhD in Down Bad?!
Solas: Can we stop talking now?
Rook: Did you get this peer reviewed by Desire Demon’s or something? This shit’s smutty. I thought Varric was bad.
Sometime…
Lavellan: My name is Lavellan.
Rook, mouth agape, turns to the projection of Solas.
Solas: Not. A. Word.
Rook: *shaking Lavellan’s hand* Hi. I’ve read all about you.
A tear in the Fade appears. Solas reaches out and begins to strangle Rook.
I like to write Solas and Lavellan as equally unhinged.
✨ PRE-ORDERS ARE OPEN ✨
ARDENT BLOSSOM: A BOTANICAL COMPENDIUM is now available for preorders from September 21 to October 21!
This book features 30 illustrations and 18 original codex entries exploring the language of flowers, in the format of a traditional floriography book. Each illustration is paired with notes written by our writers, intrepid members of the Botanical Society of Thedas!
ARDENT BLOSSOM is available in the following bundles:
Elfroot Bundle: High-quality PDF of the zine
Embrium Bundle: Physical copy of the zine
Black Lotus Bundle: Zine & all DAO-themed merch
Blood Lotus Bundle: Zine & all DA2-themed merch
Dawn Lotus Bundle: Zine & all DAI-themed merch
Crystal Grace Bundle: Zine & all merch from all 3 games!
Dragonthorn Bundle: Merch-only bundle
Prophet's Laurel add-on: Make your zine hardcover!
We are also announcing six stretch goals!
All stretch goals are automatically added to all merch bundles. The travel postcards will have 1 postcard added to their respective game bundles, and all 3 added to full bundles!
50 orders: Travel Postcards
100 orders: Veilguard Sticker Sheet
150 orders: Gold Foil Cover
200 orders: Enamel Pin
250 orders: Tote Bag
300 orders: Pocket Field Journal
Reblog this post for the chance to win a free full bundle or a refund on the bundle you purchased!
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Frostback Mountains DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION 2014・dev. BioWare
All About The Antivan Crows
(NOTE: This piece is a revised, 2nd edition of an old one, updated with information that has since been added to the lore. I will be deleting the outdated post to avoid confusion!)
The Antivan Crows, also known as the House of Crows, is a league of assassins from the northeast nation of, as their name suggests, Antiva. While their notoriety is especially high in their home country, the Crows are well-known across Thedas as brutally efficient killers. The bulk of their work is in Antiva, but they accept contracts all over the continent. Because of their reputation for adhering to agreements—something that should one fail to do makes one’s life forfeit as far as the Crows are concerned—they are an expensive but valuable investment.
To find the Crows anywhere from Ferelden to Seheron is not an unlikely sight. Nations at war send them to cut down leaders on opposing sides. Noble houses with grudges against each other send them to cut down family trees. And of course, politicians vying for power send them to cut down their competition. Whatever the reason, the Crows are never short on contracts. They are even willing to intervene in Circle politics.
While assassinations are the most common contract, and what the Crows are most known for, they’re also no strangers to thievery and spying. In Antiva City rests a giant, well-protected archive, housing of all their collected blackmail secrets, records of past contracts, recipes for their own special poisons, and other such valuables. The secrets in this archive are what keeps the Crows ruling Antiva from the shadows by controlling the nobility and merchant princes. That is, those that aren’t among their ranks.
At the very top of the power ladder is a council of Guildmasters made up of the eight most wealthy and powerful Crow Houses. The role of Guildmaster is most typically inherited down through a family, after successfully proving their skill by single-handedly killing a target with nothing but a ceremonial dagger. The Houses that are part of this council are known as Talons, ranked from one to eight, one being the most powerful. Talon has also been used interchangeably with Guildmaster when referring to the leader of one of these eight Houses.
Below the Talons are the lesser Houses, known as the Cuchillos. The Cuchillo leaders not Guildmasters but simply Masters, entitled as Lords, until their House may gain the rank of Talon. The ranks of these different houses can change with circumstance, gaining or losing power. House heads are also capable of taking over different houses by eliminating others, should they dare to be so ambitious. As such, despite being part of a larger organization, the Antivan Crows are always in competition with each other, and are not unknown to assassinate within their own ranks to get what they want.
The current Eight Talons are as followed:
Dellamorte
Balazar
Valisti
Kortez
De Riva
Nero
Cantori
Arainai
Other known Houses are:
Ferragani
D’Evaliste
Di Bastion
Members of the Antivan royal family and merchant prince dynasties routinely join the high-ranks of the Crows, either as a way to boost their social standing, or because they were forced into it. Assassinations are seen as part of everyday politics in Antiva, and how positions of power often change hands. Having strong ties with the Crows brings a noble family both leverage and security. They also have an arrangement referred to as The Azul Contract, in which bastard royal children are given a choice of either exile or joining the Crows – such as the case was with Viago de Riva. In return, the Antivan Crows all but run the nation. Even kings have come directly from the Crows.
While the Crows are mostly led by nobility, the bulk of their organization is made up of their recruits, though the word recruit makes it sound like there was a choice involved. The vast majority of recruits, referred to as compradi, are children between the ages of five and ten, bought as slaves or found on the streets alone. For example, Zevran Arainai was seven years old when he was bought by the Crows. Compradi are usually gathered in scores at a time, though only a few survive to become full-fledged assassins. The Crows keep the children in poor, cramped quarters, and raise them in emotionally detached and torturous conditions, teaching them to know nothing else but murder, as Zevran puts it. They are allowed no personal items, and are encouraged not to make friends. Along with general training and education in Crow ciphers and Crow history, training of recruits includes pitting them against each other, tests of pain resistance and gauntlets, and challenges like locking them in an oubliette for weeks. All this leads most Antivan Crows immune to morality as much as they are to interrogation. It also breeds loyalty to the only life recruits know. Indeed, many Crows would sooner kill themselves than betray the guild.
It is very rare for a recruit to rise all the way to the top of the organization’s tiered leadership, but not unheard of. For example, Teia Cantori, climbed her way to the head of her house – but despite this, she is still regarded as an “overreaching street rat” by her noble peers.
The Crows favour recruiting elves, as they are widely regarded as beautiful and unthreatening; both advantageous impressions for an assassin. However, they take recruits from all races. Assassins are most typically rogues, but the Crows also train warriors and even mages, providing protection for their apostate assassins from the Chantry.
An experienced Assassin may gain the title of Master Assassin with time, putting them just below the leader of their House in terms of rank. Masters are capable of deciding their own contracts, and command groups of Assassins below them. Guildmasters decide which Master Assassins get which contracts based on the amount of the contract’s offer they bid to give to the guild, and their chances of success. Regularly, Assassins are not allowed to bid on contracts, and are instead assigned contracts or roles in larger ones by the Master Assassins that command them. The exception to this is when an Assassin is attempting to gain the rank of Master.
Save for rare exceptions of escape, Crows are Crows for life. The only way to leave them is to make them think you are dead, or find someone willing to protect you from them. Otherwise they will hunt you down and kill you for betraying the guild, and that is the better alternative: Anyone who angers the Crows and lives risks ending up in their own personal prison, the Velabanchel, to spend the rest of their days locked up and tortured.
Antivan Crows are often easily identifiable by those who recognize their unique tattoos – a tradition taken from the Rivaini. Some of these designs are sacred to the Crows, marking them as which house they belong to, while others are purely decorative. While some Crows display their tattoos with pride and intimidation, others prefer to keep them hidden.
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SOURCES
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age II
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Codex Entry: Zevran Arainai (Dragon Age II)
Codex entry: Blackfeather Boots (Dragon Age II)
Codex entry: Finesse (Dragon Age II)
Codex Entry: The Crows and Queen Madrigal (Dragon Age: Inquisition)
Item Description: Gift of the Talons (Dragon Age: Inquisition)
Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights
Dragon Age: Last Flight
Dragon Age: The Silent Grove
Dragon Age: Deception
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 1
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 2
Dragon Age Promotional Wiki: Assassin
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Shadow Dragon Rook was adopted into a military family… Shadow Dragon Rook was adopted into a military family… Shadow Dragon Rook was adopted into a military family…
When you’re a Solasmancer and your inquisitor is a Knight Enchanter 🥲just came across this text at Emerald Graves
Warden Mahariel. Champion of Kirkwall. Inquisitor Lavellan.
The hands of our heroes.
One bit of obscure Dragon Age lore a day until Dragon Age: The Veilguard is released
The Tirashan, a forest located on the western fringes of Thedas, is home to elves who wear brilliant crimson tattoos. These elves appear to be worshippers of the Forgotten Ones.
Source: Dragon Age: The Last Court - Sylvan Raids
Previous bit
I know that it’s now canon that Solas is bald because after a long period of time ancient elves lose their hair, but I think it’s far more interesting and powerful if Solas just keeps his head shaved as a sign of mourning, almost a penance for his actions in the past. That’s substantially more compelling to me. And it should be darker tbh.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard - all of Rook's faction background surnames
Grey Wardens - Thorne Mourn Watch - Ingellvar Shadow Dragons - Mercar Antivan Crows - de Riva Veil Jumpers - Aldwir Lords of Fortune - Laidir
[source]
DRAGON AGE info spreadsheet
i've made THIS SPREADSHEET that has different information about Dragon Age media, such as:
· the canon ages of DA important characters · known info about the DATV companions · where you can find the DATV devs on social media · a tab with relevant links to archived lost media, interesting dragon age posts, official content, and other useful things like this sheet
everything with sources :)
(these images are previews. i strongly advice you to check the sheet itself and not these images for updated info in case there were mistakes, i added new stuff, for links and for better quality.)
some of the things i'll be adding to the sheet next are (probably):
· a sheet with all dragon age media in chronological order (+ relevant links) · visual references (official clear images of the companions mostly, + other things) · more characters in the "character ages" sheet (if there's an interest, let me know if that's the case) · and characters' nationalities (in-game and irl approximations)
keep in mind that there are spoilers all over it, for all games (even datv, who hasn't yet come out at the time of posting this) and for other dragon age media (books, comics, etc.) i did my best to add warnings though!
reach out to me (mostly here or twitter) if there are any mistakes, or if you have any sort of feedback regarding the contents, formatting or accessibility! i'd appreciate it a lot! and talk to me to if you'd be willing to collaborate with me for the upcoming information! i could use the help.
and if the link is broken:
if got it from a reblog, look at the original post and check if it works there (in case i changed it for whatever reason)
if not, just reach out to me (op)
there's more information on the sheet itself. make sure to scroll all the way down and to the right to see all of the sheet :]
i hope this is useful for someone. i did this because most people don't take the time to source their information, and i also find it more comfortable to have most stuff in one place. it took (and continues to take) a loooong time to do this lol it was exhausting. thanks for your attention!
The Oh Hellos Prompts
➣ writing prompts from The Oh Hellos songs. feel free to edit as you see fit.
"The terrible fire of old regret is honey on my tongue." - Bitter Water
"There is beauty in the way of things." - There Beneath
"I am not the fool I was when I was younger." - Exeunt
"I am not afraid to die." - This Will End
"They were quick to recognize the devil in me." - Second Child, Restless Child
"I can't shake this feeling that I was only pushing the spear into your side again." - Passerine
"We have lived in fear, and our fear has betrayed us." - I Have Made Mistakes
"I want to be more than this devil inside of me." - Dear Wormwood
"I know I shouldn't love you." Bitter Water
"Leave the ruins where they fall." - Grow
"You can't take any gold or rings further than the grave." - Eurus
"I can see how this will end in all its bitter tragedy." - This Will End
"You'll bury me beneath the tree I climbed when I was a child." - Bitter Water
"The heavens can be both sacred and dust." - Hieroglyphs
"I cannot trust what you say when you're grieving." - Exeunt
"When I saw my reflection it was a stranger beneath my face." - The Lament of Eustace Scrubb
"Suffering is all there is to gain in life." - This Will End
"The sight held me fixed like a bayonet against my throat." - Pale White Horse
"We were born in the shadow of the crimes of our fathers." - The Valley
"My palms and fingers still reek of gasoline from throwing fuel to the fire." - Passerine
"You were the brightest shade of sun I had ever seen." - Like the Dawn
"I know that wicked shape to your smile." - Where Is Your Rider
"You have always been there in my mind." - Dear Wormwood
"I am coming home to you." - Thus Always To Tyrants
"I wanna give it all I've got, and I want nothing back." - Theseus
"I want to spin something out of nothing." - Zephyrus
"Blood was our inheritance." - The Valley
"I think that you're worth keeping around." - Soap
"I've got holes in my pockets burned by liar's gold." - In Memoriam
"You were the light that the fire would bring." - Passerine
"All the memories come flooding fast." - Grow
"Like the wind it slips again out of my fingers." - Eurus
"You've been too busy thinking ahead of where we're all going after we're dead to maybe consider our bodies are worth more than the dust that we can return to the ground again." - Hieroglyphs
"You were the song that I'd always sing." - Passerine
"We were born in the valley of the dead and the wicked." - The Valley
"Like the dawn you broke the dark and my whole earth shook." - Like the Dawn
"Death, she is cunning and clever as hell." - Eat You Alive
"They saw trouble in my eyes." - Second Child, Restless Child
"I stole from my father all I thought I could sell." - Wishing Well
"When I saw my demons I knew them well and welcomed them." - The Lament of Eustace Scrubb
"I was torn between my god and my Father." - I Was Wrong
"The rain will strengthen your soul." - I Have Made Mistakes
"If there's two things I know, it's that the sky looked white and then the water like wine when I first met you." - Lapis Lazuli
As I'm doing my sweep to make sure I've gotten all the curses and insults in dragon age, I was curious how many times certain common curses and insults (and any variation of them) were used in the games specifically.
Barbarian
DAO: 46
DA2: 1
DAI: 35
Bastard
DAO: 151
DA2: 98
DAI: 178
Bitch
DAO: 29
DA2: 65
DAI: 17
Cock
DAO: 0
DA2: 2
DAI: 4
Crap
DAO: 5
DA2: 4
DAI: 73
Damn
DAO: 79
DA2: 80
DAI: 177
Fuck
DAO: 0
DA2: 0
DAI: 20
Piss
DAO: 44
DA2: 17
DAI: 112
Savage
DAO: 45
DA2: 1
DAI: 46
Shit/Shite
DAO: 5
DA2: 80
DAI: 374
Hawke Family | Aesthetic (Before DA2)
Dragon Age Worldstate: All Their Words For Glory
Lyrics references: Marja Aeducan: Yellow Flicker Beat - Lorde Darvis Brosca: Thank God I'm Not You - The Himalayas Thalia Hawke: Nightmare - Halsey Genevieve Amell-Trevelyan: Youth - Daughter
template here
Tabris Family | Aesthetic
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Character Sheet
It's finally finished! I worked really hard on this character sheet for Dragon Age, inspired by the UI for The Veilguard. However, it can be customized to be used for any of your characters.
Available here (free, but optional donations are appreciated!)