ok alright. i am finally posting āØwhere there's smokeāØ my inquisition au fic! newest chapter is here!
the premise, in short:
what if, after anders was notably an apostate who blew up a chantry building and killed a chantry leader... people are not particularly stoked when this happens again. except even more destructively. and this time with a Heathen Elfā¢ļø found at the scene.
so, instead of seeing the prisoner as any sort of positive religious omen, (most of) the people in haven instead see her as a dangerous criminal, and react accordingly. and this starts to cause further problems. solavellan is also there eventually.
the premise, in long:
what if the tranquil didn't just all get turned into oculara offscreen, and actually were part of the plot.
what if anders and kirkwall haunted the narrative a bit more.
what if, a dalish elf who suddenly wakes up in chantry custody for a mass murder... assumes any personal information shared will lead to providing a target for an exalted march. and therefore doesn't share any. which only looks more suspicious lmao.
what if the dalish/city elf stuff was not written in a way that i personally found very stupid (it will at least, be stupid in a new, different way! diversity win <3)
[holds up incredibly minor npcs] "i just think they're neat"
what if leliana's rose vision and general heretical tendencies went somewhere. i think she can have a little a chantry schism, as a treat.
what kind of weird person would be like "hm yes. i love to wander around. as a visibly dalish apostate. all by myself :^)" and, what reasons might they have for going to the conclave directly, when it's literally Templar Central. here's her character tag uwu.
also i retconned some aspects of vg lore when i felt like it. didn't make sense and doesn't compel me! the elves don't need white guilt! solas cannot be arlathan's most special, invaluable, genius military mastermind, who singlehandedly won the titan war, and invented tranquility, the blight, eluvians, and sliced bread - then was still mythal's yappy lapdog who got laughed at in meetings afterwards. that is just contradictory fhdghfkdh.
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So I just simultaneously did, and possibly didn't lose my job today :)
Very much did in the sense that I literally do not know where my job is at the moment. But, for the time being I haven't been let go because nobody else including the store owner knows where it is either.
So, I don't wanna risk doxxing myself by posting pictures but goddamn am I tempted because this is not a believable event. This is a cartoon problem. For looneytoons.
But yeah, so, I work(ed?) at a kiosk selling boba tea, right? Freestanding kiosk in the mall with full water and electrical hookups and multiple fridges and sinks and a mini kitchen and the works. Fully functional tea shop. Very important to note that it was there last night, The work chat was discussing another issue last night at closing time. I'll get back to this.
It's been showing signs of being on the way out with how business is being handled lately and I've been considering other options, which is probably why I'm not as torn up about this as I should be, but maybe it just hasn't set in yet, but that's not the point. The point is there's been a lot of shit breaking and not being replaced and nobody mentioning anything about it until I walk into work in the morning and have to figure out why shit like the fucking cash register isn't there today. So I'm kinda used to having to ask questions about big things that nobody bothered to update me on. I was out for two weeks recovering from a surgery, so I came to work this morning assuming there'd be some kind of bullshit, yeah?
So, the question I had to ask the chat this morning was:
Not a text I ever thought I'd have to send in sincerity, but there it is. Because what I found instead was a fenced off patch of discolored tiles and a few holes in the floor where my entire place of employment used to be.
And the answer? Nobody knows! It was there last night when the mall closed, and every single trace of the structure and all its contents including drink making supplies and our safe and cashbox was gone when it opened again. And when I say nobody knows, I mean everyone from last night's closers to the actual (former?) owner of the store jad no fucking clue about this until getting that text from me this morning. For once I am actually the first to know. š.
So. I guess I didn't so much lose my job as had it stolen. Not by AI, but good old fashioned hands-on human beings picking it up and carrying it away somehow. All mall security would tell me was that they were instructed not to tell me anything and have us contact our management. Who also don't know anything. And later on I came across some construction workers around the gravesite of the kiosk discussing filling in the holes, asked them about it, and was told that they "weren't at liberty to say".
So, not only is my job gone in the most literal physical sense of the word, but it was taken in some kind of super secret kiosk extraction in the dead of night without any warning or witnesses and nobody is allowed to speak of it. The store owner said she was gonna figure it out 10 hours ago and still no word back.
I don't know what else to say aside from I've been laughing all day and I'm gonna have a hell of a time explaining Schrodinger's Unemployment to the benefits office.
Update that is not an update because I'm basically certain this isn't what actually happened:
My mother in law thinks the FBI took it.
Not any of the other stores around the state. Just the one little kiosk.
Why? Because she loves a conspiracy and is just a little bit extra.
Also because she was around for the massive crackdown on Yakuza-owned businesses in Waikiki (in her homestate) that did actually involve the FBI seizing stores (no confirmation of making kiosks cleanly disappear in the middle of the night though).
Still no word from my job on what's actually going on, but the most likely theory so far is that maybe the kiosk was on lease and got repossessed? The mystery continues
(also shout out to the person who proposed Carmen Sandiego)
According to the owner, based on what she's been able to find out, the kiosk was not removed legally and they're starting a potentially long process of legal action. I hope she gets to sue the shit out of whoever did it but for now at least I know for sure I'm unemployed.
Really hoping for more details in terms of who/why/how, so I'll keep updating if I learn anything.
For now the summary is: An unnamed entity that is most likely mall management (on account of mall security cooperating with them) stole an entire kiosk and all the contents including money and machinery with barely a trace in the middle of the night grinch-style, with zero warning or explanation, and ensured the silence of both security and the construction crew, in an action that was definitely preplanned and illegal, and as far as I know nobody knows its whereabouts.
So now I'm officially out of a job. Because my workplace was literally stolen in the night.
Actually fuck it let's share some photos cause I wouldn't be inclined to believe this myself. It's not like anyone can stalk me at my job now and I'm not gonna have to see any coworkers that might find my tumblr.
Enjoy the unintentionally funniest text I've ever sent in my life
Aaand a close-up:
The last remains of a once Very Much Solid And Immobile Workplace
The Scarlet Hollow RUMORS UPDATE will be releasing on July 30th!
And once it's out, the first five episodes of Scarlet Hollow will be a combined one-million words long!
On that note, we've wrapped up writing work on our planned expansion to Episode 5, which means we're moving on to art. We'll be looking to get a build of this update out to testers in about a couple of weeks, so if you're interested in checking it out early,Ā you can sign up for our Patreon and get access to exclusive Discord channels on our server.
Here's (some of) what you can expect from this upcoming expansion. SPOILERS FOR CURRENTLY RELEASED CONTENT BELOW THE CUT:
Episode 5:
About 70,000 words of new and remastered content, with most of it expanding some of the shorter sections of the chapter.
Visit the church for spiritual guidance!
Chat with Avery and Doctor Kelly while driving to the farms.
Talk at Franklin from the back of the squad car after you've been arrested.
The transition to the farms should be smoother and more drawn out across most playthroughs, including longer interactions with Reese, Wayne and Irma.
Players romancing Reese with the Hot trait will have the ability to more thoroughly explore the town, though this might come with its own set of consequences.
Going to the farms with Stella will have more route-unique content, including some entirely new backgrounds.
Most routes through Episode 5 now contain more background context for Julius, helping bring players who skipped Julius-relevant scenes in previous Episodes up to speed.
The Tabitha office confrontation scene has been rebalanced. Overall, the "best" outcome should be harder to obtain, without making it easier to trigger a hard failure. The "most powerful" strategies for this scene have been nerfed, and the weakest strategies have been buffed.
Keen Eye has been given a number of buffs. Notably, it now gives the player warnings ahead of major relationship checks that the player is likely going to fail before the player locks in to an attempt. This further cements its role as a powerful trait for first time players, while falling off for players with significant game knowledge.
Reworked the farms ending where the player transfers the baby to a wounded Avery to communicate what's going on more clearly, and bring it in line with our original vision.
Earlier Episodes:
Added a confirmation screen before taking The Roads Untraveled route in Episode 2, with in-universe narration suggesting that the player might miss out on things by staying at the Estate. We think this route provides a compelling perspective on certain characters and events, but it also makes the gameās social elements harder to navigate, and it makes it easy to miss context around Avery and Julius. We think itās best to take this on a second playthrough, but we also donāt want to fully restrict players from taking options that feel correct for their characters. Hopefully this nudge balances things out!
Expanding on the above, the player now has the option to return to the Estate in Episode 2 after visiting town, allowing for more exploration (General Store + Diner) without committing to the Stella/Kaneeka library route. This opens up Averyās content and Juliusā introduction in the diner while still allowing the player to roleplay as avoiding danger and respecting Tabithaās wishes.
Removed the Street Smart requirement for giving Isaacs the playerās contact information specifically for The Roads Untraveled mines route. This should both open up more story avenues for players taking this path, and serve to boost player relationships compared to the default route. Snitching on the strike should give the player an opportunity to avoid Tabithaās hangout without taking a further penalty to her relationship, and also opens up an opportunity to take a hangout with another character.
Avery's scene in the general store in Episode 3 now occurs across all playthroughs, instead of just serving as a catch-up scene for players who didn't meet Avery in previous episodes.
New rare resolution to the clinic in Episode 4.
There'll be more to find than the above, but we'll leave of that to fan discovery :]
Writing for Episode 6 is also well under way!
Cheers,
Tony and Abby
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[Video Description: An ad with piano music over it all, showing an elderly woman in her home, knitting, when two younger men walk by her window, which catches her attention. She stares out her window at them as they kiss each other while walking, the old lady staring in disbelief. Cut to the old woman approaching a residence with a broom in hand, staring up at the second floor window where a small rainbow Pride flag is hanging. The old woman stares up at it and mutters "Ridiculo", before getting up on a ladder with her broom to remove the flag. Focus on the flag fluttering to the ground as church bells chime. The scene then cuts to the couple from before, approaching their home with grocery bags in hand before one stops and stares at the second floor, stopping his partner who then drops the groceries as he too stares up. It's then revealed that the small pride flag had been replaced with a gigantic, hand-knit pride flag. It then cuts back to the old woman's home, where a tin of rainbow-colored yarn sits on her table. The hands of the old woman are holding and fondly touching an old black and white photo of two young smiling women, leaning against each other. Cut to the old woman's face as she stares out with a look of happy pride on her face. At the end of the video, the name "Idealista" appears on screen, followed by "buon pride" along with a rainbow. End VD.]
The old lady is not in her home. She is at work. She's meant to be what in Italian is called "la portinaia", aka a cross between a doorwoman and cleaner of a residential building. She's in her small "office" space, at the entrance of the building, from where she can survey the coming and goings of the inhabitants. It's a job that has mostly disappeared, but is culturally very clear to us as having the connotation of "potentially gossipy, one-million-percent judgmental woman who sees everything that goes on in the apartment complex, knows everyone and their secrets, and has Strong Opinionsā¢ļø".
In this case, thankfully, the Strong Opinionā¢ļø is that those two men are ridiculous with their teeny tiny flag for ants.
hello beloved tumblr followers, i have a question šļø
the "what if the victorian empire was Diverse" book is... fascinatingly horrible as a concept. but i've seen a couple others with a similar type of premise, in that the author is frantically spinning their wheels and going "no no, you don't understand, this imperial power is LITERALLY nice. and it is queer."
along with veilguard, the ones i saw were red white and royal blue, and bonds of brass. do you know of books or other media in this vein? i'm very curious how widespread it is haha. is there a genre of military occupation hopepunk? queer drone operator core? cozy colonialism? cozylonialism(??)
Racism in fandom spaces is actually insanely bad and if you ever try to downplay or avoid conversations about it because "fandom is supposed to be fun" then I'm not sorry to say this: You're adding on to the problem.
If POC speaking up about a fandom's racism issue offends you more than the racism itself, you need to think about that. You need to think about how POC fighting racism offends you more than the racism.
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I interviewed someone that was detained at Delaney Hall in New Jersey while being lost in ICEās detention system.
This comic was based off of an hour long interview. Shout out to āEā for being willing to speak with me, and my patrons for backing this comic. You can read all my comics early at on my patreon for free.
the shadow dragons couldāve been so good if they were good. instead they were so laughably bad in every possible way. largely a product of the complete sanitization of tevinter but good god what a mess of a faction. led by 3 wealthy human mages one of whom directly profits off of slavery as his day job another of whom is the āman on the insideā in the government but see the only people who do slavery in this game are evil venatori! so why do you even need a man on the inside in the government then, itās not like heās even accomplished anything in his 8 years of holding a seat, he almost punched a guy once but thatās all we hear of. and the third of whom is literally one of the richest people in tevinter and maybe thedas who has used her immense wealth and monopoly over tevinterās business ties to orzammar to apparently do absolutely fuckall. thereās also a human templar for some reason. there is one named character who is a former slave but you learn this from a codex entry and you cannot talk to her about it. and she operates the front end of the pawn shop: she is the first in the line of fire. she is expendable. if you save treviso you find her body in the street.
so what do the shadow dragons do? they assist in slave revolts, apparently. but when you work with them in one of the first missions in the game youāre tracking down a red lyrium ārelic.ā no explanation as to what this is or why itās important other than the venatori have it. so surely during the shadow dragon companionās quest you must do something dealing with slavery right, since thatās the shadow dragonsā whole thing? no? aelia is (checks notes) trying to unleash a demon sealed beneath minrathous, for evil reasons i guess? if i want more context i have to read tevinter nights? apparently sheās venatori but there is no connection between what sheās doing and what the other venatori are doing in the main plot of the game, and neveās plotline is about the threads, not the shadow dragons? the shadow dragons are just kind of fully irrelevant?
so what about rook mercar? as a rook who works with the anti-slavery faction, you must have some input on literally any of this, right? no, you donāt know your base of operations or the leaders of your organization or the fact that mae lost her seat which happened years ago and is the reason the shadow dragons even exist and it was a public smear campaign so rook not knowing this is literally insane. youāre explicitly raised by a wealthy military family from a city that isnāt this one, and thereās no explanation as to how you got to minrathous or why you started working with the shadow dragons. the only mercar-specific dialogues you really get are saying āshadows stick together :)ā a few times. you have broken chains in your bedroom from a slave rebellion you helped. why the fuck did you keep those? rook mercar is useless and toothless and stupid on purpose so that you donāt think too hard about the issues that supposedly drive your character but are barely present in the game. and at the same time, they were sent away from the shadow dragons for being too radical and not going along with the safe plan! š
and then for some reason you get to choose the next archonāthe ruler of a system that is built upon slavery. for some reason one of your queer liberal friends gets to be president even though itās an internal election process within the magisterium and dorian has probably fewer than a dozen allies and mae is believed by most of the imperium to have committed some sort of vaguely-alluded-to treason. we are not even going to confirm whether all the magisters blighted by elgarānan were killed or not. literally donāt worry about it kitten ā¤ļø. nothing about the system is going to change. dorian using spies and blackmail and assassins to accomplish his goals is framed as radical when he spent an entire game making snide jabs about how thatās the essence of tevinter politics. mae says you can get the people on your side and show them the truth as if tevinter being a complete farce and magisters doing blood magic and the nation running on slavery isnāt the stereotype everyone outside of the country knows and as if all of that isnāt known more deeply by the people who live there. as if āhaving the people on your sideā means anything in tevinter and can accomplish change without revolution and without any violence.
itās just all such a nonsensical disaster it hurts to think about. and of course weekes says that they didnāt want to write about revolution because they ādonāt have that sort of attitudeāāitās so painfully obvious how terrified they are of actual change and addressing the deep-seated issues of empire and colonialism (and they make it blatantly clear on a panel about writing about empire. lol). itās obvious that they just didnāt want to deal with the intricacies of a society built on slavery because they are perfectly fine with their status quo and not examining what the settler state they live in is built on. obviously weekes is not the only writer of this game but this mindset bleeds into its entirety and certainly does not come from only weekes. it shows so clearly in every part of tevinter and dock town and the shadow dragons, both in what they are and in what they arenāt
also all of this is not even to mention that iirc veilguard doesnāt show or describe any slave uprisings that were successful without the aid of the shadow dragonsāagain an organization that is headed by 3 wealthy highborn human mages. this is to demonstrate that āhey, look, the shadow dragons do do something!ā but what happens as a consequence is it gives off the impression that the writers believe enslaved people cannot gain freedom on their own without the aid of these extremely privileged people who are cosplaying rebellion from the comfort of their estates. when you do interact with slaves in like one or two quests theyāre helpless captives and you rescue them and then they sing your praises. itās a blatant white savior fantasy and itās rancid
ALSO also. sorry iām not done with this post. the shadow dragons being The Queer Faction is very intentional. do not think about the slavery do not think all the suffering and exploitation going on in tevinter. see, our leaders are a trans woman, a gay man, a trans man, and (squints) matt mercer i guess. the shadow dragons are an idyllic queer haven and that is the part of tevinter you are shown. thereās no corruption just your faction of fun cool gay and trans friends who would never do anything as evil as profiting off of slavery or owning slaves or working for the state to capture escaped slaves (tarquin is literally a templar and sure heās ācorruptā (in a good way donāt worry) and ālooks the other wayā but he wouldnāt still have the job if he never did it.) mae is your nice friendly mom friend who wouldnāt hurt a fly, dorian i cannot emphasize enough has done absolutely jack shit in the magisterium, ashur may or may not be the black divine wink wink weāre going to give you enough information through missable codices and banters to confirm it but weāre not going to outright state it or youāll realize this whole faction is a sham. but i digress i have too many thoughts on ashur. anyway. tevinter is progressive actually look at all your trans friendsā¤ļø. the pinkwashing happening here is off the shits!!! hello!!! insert weekes quote
I can write people living in an empire despite that empire. Because I am several things the United States has currently said they're making it a priority to get rid of. And I'm not going to write a novel about destroying the United States because I'm not good at that. I don't have that sort of attitude. I don't want to destroy the, I don't want a civil war. So many people would die. But what I can do is write a novel about someone who is neurodiverse, someone who is trans, someone who is not straight, living defiantly because that is something in the empire that I can push back against directly.
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as a half Iranian (living abroad) DA fan who has followed you for ages I appreciate rooting for us in the world cup š and hey we got to play despite the āfifa peace prizeā winner war screaming at fifa to throw us out and let Italy in instead and Italy were like absolutely not lmao so the fact we got to actually be in it & play is a small win
of course!! i'm obligated to root for whichever country is making the us and/or israel weaker š«”š«”š«”
