one more thought about Blackwall.
it's so, so rare that a media depicts the path of atonement. very often the story talks about redemption - and just stops there. acknowledgement of wrongdoings, and that's it (and sometimes not even that). there is no more work done, people who were hurt don't benefit from that, but the wrongdoer gets a slap on the wrist and a nod of approval.
but Blackwall's story is both just the beginning and already full force. he has already come to terms with what he's done. he knows saying anything now will be worthless. so he gets up and he DOES things. he helps people as much as he can, he trains people to defend themselves. that's also why he joins the Inquisition, not for some selfish reason but because it was the right thing to do. he could be recognized any moment, seeing as the Inquisition grew so fast and powerful, and he kept going.
in Inquisition a lot of companions have so much space to grow. they are still dealing with traumas, with whatever problems life throws their way or they happen during the events of the game and they have to deal with it. some characters even stagnate. but not with Blackwall, he probably comes off as boring to many people because he's already gone through all that. there is only one big heartbreaking revelation which changes very little. now it's just hard relentless work to make the world better. it's a long process.
and i love it. I think more media would benefit from this kind of stories, too.
Dwarves in inquisition having a 25 percent magic resistance is retroactively so fun. Like Hawke knows he can graze Varric with a fireball and he'll be fine. Oghren, actively on fire but can't see it past his helmet like "Anybody else warm? It's toasty in here." Sigrun laughs when she gets shocked. She will actively hold onto a charged lightning surface and laugh.
Also though, I bet this makes it really hard to heal them, it'd probably take more than one mage to do it.
Can I say something that blows my mind about Varric and Solas’ relationship? Imo Varric was THIS close to actually convincing Solas. we all talk about romanced Lavellan almost getting him to admit everything and possibly give up his plans, but we neeeeddddd to give Varric props like this man was really about to convince a whole ass god (literally named Pride) that he is wrong, that going through with some self destructive attempt at rectifying ur mistakes by destroying the world is Not the proper way to process ur grief, and Varric doesn’t even know he’s doing it. Varric really is the party bard fr the charisma score on this man………..
yes I’m talking about the man on the island banter. Every time I hear it I tear my hair out because VARRIC you almost HAD HIM he was CRUMBLING I just KNOW IT
Odysseus' Homesickness (Alexander Rothaug, 1910)
diagnosed w/ slutty :(
I wanted to do more art for Black Emporium 2023 than I managed to finish in time, so here's Cassandra and Vivienne.
Going mad over Silver being told “The crew will look after you” in the final episode of season two as the crew’s surgeon is about to cut off his leg despite Silver’s repeated pleas that he doesn’t want him to, and part of it may be due to the unbearable pain he’s in, but I don’t think that’s all of it.
Randall died one episode ago. When Billy introduced Silver to him at the beginning of season one, he said that Randall had been injured while in service of this crew and that the crew owed it to him to take care of him despite his infirmity — because of his infirmity. As a disabled man, Randall has no future outside Flint’s crew in the harsh world they live in.
Silver knows this. As we approach the end of season two, he’s slowly becoming a true member of the crew, “I” becomes “we” and “the men” becomes “my men” or “my brothers,” but he can still walk away from them if he chooses to do so. By cutting off his leg, even with the best intentions in the world, the crew is tying him to them more securely than any contract or blood pact to these men and — for the time being — to Flint’s captaincy. His very ability to walk away from them is literally being limited, which we see in the beginning of season three as he struggles with his new wooden leg.
Silver has gained the infinite loyalty of these men at the price of his leg and maybe even of his independence — he can still leave them and try his luck elsewhere, he knows how to make himself useful, but no matter how charismatic he is, the first thing people will probably always see is his wooden leg. He has become Randall. Despite being in the throes of immense pain, I think Silver realized what he was about to lose. Even if a part of him had still been entertaining the possibility that this was just a temporary situation, from this point on, he has no choice but to serve these men to the best of his ability because now they’re in a symbiotic relationship.
It’s a very grim answer to the question his entire season two arc is asking: where does he belong? What is his place in the world? In the end, he who held most of the cards in his hands at one point is not being given a choice: he’s staying here, with this crew, echoing the question Flint asked him earlier in the season — where else in the world would you wake up and matter like this? It’s the only place left in the world where he can matter now. The infinite possibilities have collapsed down to one. The man who wanted everything, who could be anyone, is now forced into a single role and can only play it genuinely.
Writers Museum.
🏛Edinburgh, Scotland
So one of the best minor twists in the original Dragon Age Origins, is the reveal that Herren is a desire demon, a reveal you will only ever learn if you play through the alternate timeline campaign Darkspawn chronicles where the main PC Warden dies and the darkspawn wins.
I love how this one, simple revelation completely turns over everything that the first game tells you about demons and spirits on it's head, something which would be expanded on in later games, but also how it fits in perfectly with everything else shown in the game.
While abominations creates absolute hideous monsters when formed, Desire demon abominations march to a completely different drum, as we see with Connor, where the demon leaves him perfectly physically healthy.
Desire Demons also are the only ones in game who flat out does not need an outside body at all to function, as shown with Kitty not having possessed a cat, but instead taken the form of one.
They also have far more well thought out and logical plan making than any other demons, capable of making plans that could actually work in the long run.
Which brings us back to Harren, the lover and business partner of the genius blacksmith who forges your best blade in awakening, and dragon armor in origins.
Here we see a Demon that has integrated completely into human society, has found an actual relationship with a human that satisfies his needs, and as shown with the way he acts exasperated by his lovers eccentric nature, he has clearly grown beyond the basic nature of a desire demon, into a human who at the end of the day, still retained his demonic powers(as we see in the darkspawn chronicles.
In other words, he is a demon version of Cole, introduced long, long before Cole was a thing.
I love how you can go back to the start of Dragon Age, and realize that they really had figured out the rules of this universe from day one.
BLACK SAILS, Season 4 Episode 1
(backup blog for @frostbackmountaineering!) | they/them. biracial; reconnecting nahua. | art is under #art tag; ramblings are under #imhar.txt | mostly just using this account to follow/interact.
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