Weird Art Purgatory

On one hand: get to see pre-sinking Orr which is kinda rad.

But there were other trees from which sylvari grew. This is ANet's time to finally bring back the story threads relating to that fact (even though this is waaaay before Malyk would have been alive)

Is it likely? Who knows. But is it possible? Yes.

So it's over 1,000 years before GW1, and Abaddon is still there given the trailer embroidery.

Guild Wars 3 is Before Exodus.

The first Guild War was 100 AE.

This was a blast to work on and I'm so lucky to have gotten the opportunity. The fic is so well written and fun and I hope I did it justice!

This was a blast to work on and I'm so lucky to have gotten the opportunity. The fic is so well written and fun and I hope I did it justice!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/85336956/chapters/225380816 Hi everyone! We're back with our twenty-fourth piece for the Dragon Age Big Bang 2026!

Let's give it up for author Aereona and artist SeasnAres; they did incredible work! Go check out their efforts over on Archive of Our Own, and we hope y'all enjoy!

Rating: Explicit Summary: Solas has been stuck as a painting since he created the Veil over three thousand years ago.

Rook de Riva enjoys liberating objects from their current whereabouts (definitely not pretty paintings that catch his eye on his way to assassinate a target).

normalize fans being reminded that boundaries between fandom and creators exist for a reason.

normalize fans recognizing their own creative potential without seeking canon validation

normalize the idea that fandom is a hobby, not an identity to threaten and fight and harass people over

normalize a healthy understanding of the boundaries between fiction and reality

"You are completely off, you have gotten multiple basic facts wrong, you also lack x and y context"

People, it's fine to learn new things and to not jump into a topic as if you have knowledge when you know you don't! It's good even, to engage on the level you're at or to ask for more information from those that you know are more knowledgeable on a topic!!

Like, part of this urge is rooted in not wanting to look uninformed because so often that's linked socially with being in a weak position or whatever other nonsense. But goddamn it's exhausting.

Got an idea. Had to act on it. Here's Quincy and my Drifter.

Elrond: Alright, everyone listen up. We elves have 4 methods of dealing with Accursed Fucking Objects™, as demonstrated by my four parents. 

Number 1, the Elwing Method or Mom Method. This is to hide the accursed fucking thing away and keep it safe and close. This is highly not reccommended if the object can take over its user like the ring can, and Sauron will be searching for it, so this method is out of the question. 

Number 2, the Earendil Method or the Dad #1 Method. This is, send the accursed fucking thing across the sea or to some higher power. According to Mithrandir, the Valar will not take it and Tom Bombadil wants nothing to do with it, so this is also out of the question. 

Number 3 is the Maglor Method, or Dad #2 Method. This is to yeet the accursed fucking thing into the ocean. In this case, it is not a good idea as Ulmo will be very upset and we will still have to contend with Sauron. 

Like let’s talk about this. Drifter, right? First of all it’s mostly implied that Drifter doesn’t really remember being close with their parents, which is a great start lmao. Anyways Drifter makes a deal with the god equivalent of a monkey’s paw. They’re alone for hundreds of years. They’re stuck on the fucking Zariman surrounded by nothing but the haunted screams of adults they once knew and trusted. Then they manifest Duviri and everything is okay for a little! But that very quickly also falls apart.

Teenager alone in a big vast world is scary on its own, let alone getting fucking murdered all the time over and over and over!!! They lose their one companion, Thrax, they’re at the mercy of the changing moods and the fact that this is a trauma manifestation, and on top of that they lose all sense of emotion. They literally care so little that they don’t know time is passing. hundreds and hundreds of years !!!!!!!!!! the world is changing, the world they knew no longer exists, hell there’s a whole alternate universe running along parallel to theirs!

Ok but then they escape Duviri and they get stuck in all the Narmer bullshit. Suddenly it’s their job to deal with that, and during that time they learn about the kid, the other universe. Are given powers they have no understanding of and have to catch up with lore.

And then this is the other big thing for me: they have Operator. Who is them but isn’t them. Who is so much more beloved and strong and talented than Drifter, even while being younger. During Lotus Eaters there’s the scene where Lotus sends Drifter to 1999 and it’s very clear at least to me that she can’t bear to part with the Operator. That’s her beloved kid. Even though Drifter is technically the kid, Lotus has her favorite. This is proven as well when you talk to Roathe about a backup plan in the theoretical case that Lotus manipulates the Tenno in the future: she does not care about You, as in the Drifter. You are not the Tenno. You are the expendable one.

And Drifter sits there and says “yes you’re absolutely right we can’t put more pressure on the kid! Of course I’ll abandon the first allies I’ve had in centuries, I’ll abandon Ordis and Kahl and the kid and this wonderful new world I still know very little about!” Drifter talks multiple times about how they don’t want to burden the kid, and so they’ll take on the hard work. Which in some ways, for sure Drifter is better equipped emotionally for a lot of this shit as they’re more mature, but still!!!

Point is, Drifter is passed from place to place, apathetic and alone, just put on quest after quest. Then Lotus sends them thousands of years away into the past, gets Drifter out of her metaphorical hair. And Drifter meets the Hex, understands their mission: don’t let the nuke go off, stop Entrati. Fix the timeline. That’s it.

But hold on… the Hex… like the Drifter.

They talk to Drifter daily, open up to them, play games and go on adventures. Together, as a team. They give Drifter nicknames and tease them and do favors for them. They fall in love with Drifter.

Like can you fucking see why this makes me ugly cry if I think about it too hard???????

Drifter experiences love. For the first time ever. After years of being stuck in endless apathetic gray. After being shunned over and over and over again. They’re still… loved. By strangers who know nothing about their past, what they’ve lived, what they’ve done. Drifter doesn’t have to think about stress and war all the time anymore, they can develop interests, try food, make jokes. Do you understand how much this hurts my soul in the best way???

Every dating option understands, too, on some level. They know what it’s like to be unloved, alone, pushed aside. To be hurt until they can’t hurt anymore. To have terrible relationships with their family or their past. To miss their relationships or their past terribly. Like Drifter is being SEEN for the first time ever and it just… omfg